School Choice Week--Activities in Hawaii
Hawaii Most Unionized State
We The Excluded vs Mazie Hirono
High Costs Make Hawaii Worst State for Drivers
Old Boys, Republicans Rally Behind Kahele for CD2
SA: … Kahele made his announcement (was coronated by the media) at the Moʻoheau Bandstand in downtown Hilo, where Hawaii’s Democratic Party rallies every election. He was surrounded by his family, including wife and two children, and supporters. Former state Sen. Brickwood ‘Buzzy’ Galuteria moderated the event. State Sen. Lorraine Inouye (D-Kaupulehu-Waimea-North Hilo) also attended….
(Really Obvious Question: Who else will be running for CD2?)
Gabbard can run for both offices simultaneously, according to the state Office of Elections. She has not responded to repeated questions from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in recent weeks about whether she does indeed plan to run again for her congressional seat in light of her presidential bid. She also didn’t respond to a request to comment on Kahele’s announcement.
(Good question. Here’s another one: Will Kai Kahele resign from State Senate? Every point he makes about Gabbard applies to him as well.)
On Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Gabbard about the challenge from Kahele, which was first reported by the Star-Advertiser on Saturday.
“If you don’t get the Democratic nomination, are you going to try to stay in the House?” asked Tapper.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” said Gabbard. “I haven’t heard from Sen. Kahele, but whatever he decides to do, I wish him well.”
“Are you concerned at all about a primary challenge?” asked Tapper.
“I’m not thinking about politics right now,” said Gabbard. (LOL!) “I’m looking forward to seeing how I can best serve the country.”
This would be the most formidable challenge Gabbard has had since being elected to Congress in 2012. Gabbard has refused to debate her primary challengers during the last two elections. It would be much more difficult for her to dodge a debate with a state senator….
Look at all the Old Boy Media Attention:
read … Old Boy Candidate
Daily KOS Endorses Kai Kahele
KOS: (Skip to the only intelligent comment) “His ratings from different groups do not make me think he is Progressive: votesmart.org/ …”
read … KOS Endorsement
Community wants stiffer charges thrown at group behind OHA attack
KITV: … Members of the Kingdom of Atooi attempted to seize OHA Thursday and identified themselves as federal marshals.
Its a law enforcement title they claim holds jurisdiction. Its also a title thats resulted in past arrests of group members on their island home of Kaua'i.
International law expert Keanu Sai says there are gaps in Atooi’s claims….
KITV's spoken with two OHA employees who say the group assaulted them. One victim said he suffered two broken ribs. …
All five suspects arrested last Thursday were released on $100 bail. Community members are in an uproar none were charged with impersonating an officer.
In an interview with KITV following the incident, cultural practitioner Hina Wong said what took place isn't behavior a majority of the Native Hawaiian community condones….
Some of the men arrested Thursday had a history of run ins with the law.
Court records show Ene Faletogo was convicted for several counts of promoting drugs in 2007 and 2005. Police also arrested him in 1976 for drinking on a public highway.
36-year-old Jordan Feletogo had a total of five temporary restraining orders made against him. Documents show he was found guilty of violating the terms and sentenced to probation. Police also arrested him several times for assault, according to records.
Records also show 39-year-old Remedio Dabaluz was arrested for alleged abuse of a family member several times. Most of those charges were dismissed in court. Police also arrested him for burglary, property damage and promoting drugs….
read … Community wants stiffer charges thrown at group behind OHA attack
Feds Say Hawaii Is Too Quick To Approve Wind Power Turbines
CB: … The federal government has charged that state officials are rushing to approve wind power projects without adequately considering environmental impacts, particularly the adverse consequences for an endangered species, the opeapea bat.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service asked the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission in a Dec. 27 letter to stop approving any new wind turbines until state and federal officials have had the chance to meet with the facility owners and review the plans.
This could substantially slow down PUC approval of some controversial wind turbine projects, particularly a newly proposed 13-tower wind farm in western Oahu called Palehua, which federal officials said is threatening the opeapea, also known as the Hawaiian hoary bat….
Letter: Feds to PUC: Stop Approving Bat-Killing Windfarms without Endangered Species Permits
read … Feds Say Hawaii Is Too Quick To Approve Wind Power Turbines
Hawai`i Community-Based Renewable Energy Projects Delayed
IM: … The independent observer explained why no community solar project will be operational until at least November 2020 and no electric bill offsets will occur until 2021.
“Because Phase 1 is designed as a first come first serve process, in my view, that sort of gives an incentive to developers to quickly submit within the first hours the program is open, what they have on hand, what projects are available.
"As opposed to submitting the most viable projects that could be developed.
"So, we have had some projects in the early round of applications which clearly have fatal flaws which only identified over time. In particular, some of them have suffered from a failure to be able to demonstrate that the developer has site control over the facilities host location.
"And so, this has slowed things down for those projects because the companies have tried to work developers to see if site control would be obtained, complete site control, and that has not necessarily been accessible. …
read … Hawai`i Community-Based Renewable Energy Projects Delayed
Hanalei Rebuilding: Nobody Believes in Sea-Level Rise
CB: … Kauai has tightened requirements for shoreline development, but they don’t take into account more alarming recent predictions of the impact of climate change and rising seas….
The owners of multimillion-dollar homes ravaged by record-breaking rainfall last April are flooding county planners with applications to rebuild their residences in place on the soft sands of Hanalei Bay….
read … Nobody Believes in Sea Level Rise
35% of Hawaii ‘Nonprofits’ Depend Entirely on Government Handouts
SA: … More than a third of Hawaii’s human services nonprofits are operating on little to no charitable donations.
Of the state’s 300 community- based organizations, 35 percent report revenue of 1 percent or less from philanthropy, according to a recent study commissioned by Child & Family Service.
That is affecting their ability to invest in their staff and technology, advocacy and social services that help lift people out of poverty, improve their education and the overall health of the community.
“There’s no margin for error. They’re heavily dependent on grants and contracts, so any singular change in those grants and contracts could be highly disruptive for them financially,” said Susan Dreyfus, president and CEO of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, a Washington, D.C., network of 450 human services organizations. Dreyfus is speaking today at the first Hawaii conference convened by Child & Family Service to discuss ways to improve financial stability for nonprofits, which she recommends should generate at least 30 percent of revenue from charitable giving….
read … Hawaii’s nonprofits need benefactors’ help
The same sort of rhetoric appeals to people both on the far left and far right
CB: … Rep. Case shouldn’t have to apologize to mainlanders who do not understand the culture that Hawaii residents share. Instead, they should take a hard look at Hawaii and understand the multicultural experience that we share before tweeting boorish criticism all over social media. Indeed, many of the replies on the original tweet regarding Case’s comment have devolved into crude insults on his character and family.
Instead of drawing light to the real issues of racism against Asian-Americans, some of these “activist” commentators have written offensive comments about both Case and his Japanese-American wife, accusing him of fetishizing Asian culture. Hardly a constructive approach to serious issues that affect millions in minority communities.
Unfortunately for many of the commentators, it seems that the cultural experience Hawaii residents share has been lost in the increasingly polarized racial tensions present on the mainland, where the link between cultural heritage and an individual’s given race seems to be the only narrow framework in which one can analyze any cultural experience.
Indeed, the same sort of rhetoric appeals to people both on the far left and far right of the political spectrums. Instead of targeting real racism that minorities face daily and uplifting the relentless efforts made by the unsung activists who work tirelessly to fight racial tension, these commentators have targeted and vilified a harmless comment, ignoring its very context and the cultural background it was derived from while doing so.
It seems that in today’s world, instead of reaching out and celebrating our different cultures as is often done in Hawaii, mainlanders would rather bicker about ownership of “whitewashed” prom dresses and lighthearted cultural jokes, displaying an ultimate act of self-righteousness — that being individuals claiming an entire culture and all of its nuances for themselves, and themselves only.….
(Clue: Social media wars are a social climbing exercise. And politics is a circle.)
read … Mainland Critics Overreact To Ed Case’s Goofy Comment
Confessions Of A Bill Hijacker
CB: … In mid-session that year, it was discovered that my committee had no bill introductions addressing a certain topic that had arisen. Chatting with a House Majority Staff Office analyst whose name I can’t recall, I lamented that there was nothing we could do.
“You actually can do anything you like,” said the analyst. “The question is simply finding a bill that has a title that’s suitable for the subject. You realize a bill is like a taxi cab. It’s a vehicle that gets an idea into law, and the words are the occupants. All you have to do is take out the old occupants and put in the ones you want.”
“So … hijack the taxi cab? Bill hijacking?” I asked, envisioning a hostile takeover.
“We call it G&R, gut and replace,” she replied. “But yes, bill hijacking.”
“I’ll talk to my boss,” I said, gathering up my hearing folder and notes. When I discussed the idea with the committee chair, then-Rep. Alex Sonson, I got permission to proceed, and went about looking for a bill to repurpose.
I ended up being an accomplice to several bill hijackings. …
read … Confessions Of A Bill Hijacker
Hawaii eyes lottery and gaming revenue with new state lottery bill
GO: … Hawaii Senator Gil Keith-Agaran has introduced legislation to establish a state lottery that would also offer online gaming to players over the age of 18.
The bill’s introduction follows an unsuccessful attempt last year to establish a state lottery in Hawaii, one of only five US states without one….
read … Hawaii eyes lottery and gaming revenue with new state lottery bill
Raising senior fare 340% for bus harmful
SA: … I recently came home on the bus. At the bus stop was a posting saying that there are proposed increases in bus fares.
Most of the increases seemed fair until I got to the proposed increase for senior riders’ annual pass. They want to increase it from $35 per year to $120 — A 340 percent increase. As if it isn’t hard enough for seniors to live in Hawaii, now TheBus wants to increase the senior fares so high that many seniors won’t be able to afford a pass….
read … Raising senior fare for bus harmful
No turn on red? Honolulu mayor wants to change a traffic law on Oahu
HNN: … prohibits drivers of vehicles in a county with a population greater than 500,000 from making any turns while a traffic control device facing oncoming traffic displays a red signal…..
Text, Status: House Bill 185
read … No turn on red? Honolulu mayor wants to change a traffic law on Oahu
Health risk from Drug Addicted Shelter-Refusers at Diamond Head
KITV: …"If I incur 5,000 tickets I don't plan on leaving. It is the best place I've been so far," stated Engle.
Campers are not only periodically ticketed, but occasionally swept form the slopes.
Because hidden beside the beauty of the beach, there is an ugly side to illegal camping.
"The biggest problem is the trash they leave . When the campsite goes cold and they move on to some other place, they just trash the monument," stated Cottrell.
The last time the city and state did a coordinated cleanup, 3.65 tons of rubbish and debris along with 11 cubic yards of metal were collected. That was just some of the waste left behind.
"there was human waste as well. Which jeopardizes state workers or contractors doing a cleanup," added Cottrell….
Homeless living along Diamond Head will be counted during the upcoming annual point in time census, then they will be cleared off the slopes. Those illegally camping told KITV4 a sweep was planned for February, after the count is over….
Beat Comment: “The biggest problem is when they throw objects at passing vehicles.”
read … Health risk from hidden homeless at Diamond Head
QUICK HITS: