IMF to HART: How to Control the Costs of Public-Private Partnerships
Con-Con Opponents’ Nostalgia for Hawaii’s Golden Age of Democratic Reform
Walk-in Early Voting Sites Open Tuesday Oct 23
Auditor Looks at HDoT Energy Savings Contracts
Test Case for Hawaii? Internet Providers Take On Vermont Net Neutrality
DoE Antique Mainframe Crashes--Vendors Still Waiting 3 weeks Later
VIDEO: Cam Cavasso - Ed Case Congressional Debate
HNN: …Colin Moore, a political analyst for Hawaii News Now, said voters have two very clear choices ahead of them.
“Cam Cavasso is a conservative Republican. He has never pretended to be anything other than that,” he said. “And Ed Case is more of a moderate democrat.”
Cavasso went on to say that, “Overall, they pretty much are representing their party’s positions.”
Voters will be able to cast their ballot soon as Election Day is coming up quickly on Nov. 6. If you haven’t registered yet, you can register at any early walk in voting location in your county or at your assigned polling place on Election Day.
read … Congressional candidates squared off, traded jabs in lively debate
Soft on Crime: Armed Robber Allowed to Run for Mayor
MN: …On Nov. 27, 1993, Cochran – then 28 and known under her maiden name as Eleanora Kellett – was with Marco Antonio DeCiaccione when he pointed a .38-caliber handgun at four tourists and demanded money from them in the parking lot of the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Cochran tried to help DeCiaccione after he was apprehended by mall security and “attempted to wrestle the gun away from the security guard” before she could be subdued, according to court documents.
In 1994, Cochran pleaded no contest in to second-degree attempted theft, a felony, though she received a certificate of discharge from the state after completing five years’ probation and 200 hours of community service, which Maui County Clerk Jeffrey Kuwada said in 2010 made her eligible to run for office….
read … Soft on Crime
Katherine Kealoha accused of faking illness to delay her trial date
SA: …Katherine Kealoha’s lawyer filed court documents two weeks ago asking to push back the trial date. The lawyer filed the request under seal because they contain confidential medical records and information.
In response, government lawyers said the documents fail “to establish how (Kealoha’s) alleged medical condition would interfere with (her) ability to prepare for and participate in her trial.”
U.S. District Chief Judge Michael Seabright scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday to hear arguments on Kealoha’s request.
The government said Kealoha had previously attempted to manipulate others by claiming to suffer from serious medical conditions and that her request to push back next month’s trial appeared to be another attempt to avoid being held responsible for her actions.
In the original and superseding indictments charging the Kealohas with bank fraud, the government said Kealoha falsely claimed to have serious health problems that affected her vision and handwriting to explain the different handwriting on a loan application….
read … Katherine Kealoha accused of faking illness to delay her trial date
Convicted murderer returns to OCCC almost 4 hours late
HNN: … A work furlough inmate who went missing after leaving on a work furlough pass Saturday night has returned, Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials said.
Paul Ah Sing is spending time behind bars for second-degree murder. He was supposed to return to OCCC at 8 p.m. Saturday, but failed to do so on time. About an hour later, the DPS sent out an alert notifying the public.
Ah Sing returned to the facility around 11:50 p.m., and now faces an additional escape charge and other administrative actions, DPS says.
Hawaii News Now has reached out to the department for additional comment and to explain why a convicted murderer was given work furlough status. We are waiting to hear back from officials….
read … Convicted murderer returns to OCCC almost 4 hours late
Population Decline Hurts Hawaii
CB: … Honolulu faces three daunting challenges, all of which have implications for its economic future: 1) an aging population, 2) decelerating population growth, and 3) the out-migration of residents unable to find jobs that pay well enough to afford housing costs.
An aging population is a statewide issue.
In 2010, the share of the Hawaii population between 18 and 64, the age range which is the broadest measure of Hawaii’s potential labor force, was 63.4 percent; the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism forecasts this will shrink to 56.5 percent by 2045. Between 2010 and 2045, Hawaii’s 65 and above population will grow by 86 percent, with the 0-17 and 18-64 population segments remaining unchanged in size. DBEDT anticipates the 65 and above population will account for 24 percent of Hawaii population in 2045, which is a higher level than the Census Bureau forecasts for the entire nation in 2060.
Population growth is slowing statewide, but most notably in Honolulu. Between statehood and 2017, state population increased by 129 percent. Honolulu saw a 102 percent increase, easily exceeding the 83 percent increase in the U.S. Demographers anticipate this reversing between 2017 and 2045, with the state seeing 15 percent growth and Oahu just 9 percent, both well below the 20 percent growth forecast for the U.S. through 2045….
The out-migration situation is most dire on Oahu, which between 2010 and 2017 has seen a net domestic loss (local residents moving away) of 47,970, with the outflow growing annually to reach 13,473 in 2016-2017.
Population numbers are influenced by three other factors: international migration, births and deaths. Oahu births peaked in 2008 at 13,712, according to Department of Health data, which reports a preliminary total for 2017 of 12,863. When young working families relocate, their potential to have children goes with them. The result of these ongoing shifts is that Honolulu’s population has declined since peaking in 2015….
read … How Our Population Decline Actually Hurts Hawaii
Wanna Kill Off an Annoying Oldster? Suicide Squad is on Big Island
HTH: …Compassion & Choices Hawaii will present programs on the topic this week in Kona, Waimea and Hilo for both the community and health care professionals.
The presentations are “very similar to help educate people about the law and how it works,” said Samantha Trad, access campaign director for Compassion and Choices, a national organization that has advocated for end-of-life rights. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding sometimes about what the law is and how medical aid in dying works.”
Additionally, Trad said they also want to let people know that medical aid in dying is just one of many palliative care options available, and start conversations about end-of-life choices….
It’s also important for people to start asking their doctors now if they would honor their end-of-life decision, said Trad….
Lorrin Kim, chief of the DOH Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development said the bill is a “strange piece of legislation” because it puts the department in charge of implementing the law, but the majority of the process occurs in the private sector and the DOH was not given any legal authority in the matter.
“The main idea is that this department believes this is a private matter between a patient and a doctor, like all medical care, and we do not want to insert ourselves in any kind of regulatory manner,” he said. “… That being said, we are still trying to figure out how to implement this when we don’t have any legal authority.”
According to Kim, most decisions will be made in private health care. Doctors and providers are able to opt out and the department cannot “force anyone to do anything.”
The department is doing what it can to help the provider and patient communities prepare for the legislation’s implementation, he said. That includes doctor conferences, community meetings and meetings with law enforcement and insurance carriers.
While the department acknowledges “this is (patients’) right to require life-ending medication,” Kim said they want to make sure other options are known, too….
In Hilo, some local care providers are still working to develop policies.
“We did get the communication from the Department of Health and we are in high level discussions with our leadership to discuss a course of action in preparation for the law to come into effect at the beginning of the year,” Hilo Medical Center spokeswoman Elena Cabatu said.
Brenda Ho, CEO of Hawaii Care Choices, formerly Hospice of Hilo, said her organization has not yet finalized its process for how such requests would be facilitated, but said there’s not a lot that will change in what they do….
Coordinated by the Hawaii County Office of Aging, state Sens. Lorraine Inouye and Russell Ruderman, and state Reps. Cindy Evans and Joy San Buenaventura, the Compassion and Choices Hawaii presentations are free and open to the public.
Community presentations are planned for 10-11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the West Hawaii Civic Center Council Chambers, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona; 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Tutu’s House, 64-1032 Mamalahoa Highway, Suite 305, Waimea; and 10-11:30 a.m Wednesday at Hilo Aging and Disability Resource Center, 1055 Kinoole St., Hilo.
Additional programs are being held specifically for medical, health and human services professionals and are set for 2:30-4 p.m. today at the West Hawaii Civic Center Council Chambers and 12:30-2 p.m. Wednesday at Hilo ADRC.
Registration, which is helpful but not required, can be done by calling 974-4000, ext. 67885….
Kokua Line: Regular doctor may refuse dying patient’s last request
read … Sessions to help community, professionals prepare for ‘Our Care, Our Choice’ Act
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