Clintons Funnel Russia Money to Support Kai Kahele
VIDEO: Gabbard out of CD2 Race--Senator Jill Tokuda, Rep Chris Lee, and Self-Absorbed Airhead Kaniela Ing Considering Run
NYC secretly exports homeless to Hawaii
Saving the Legislature from Itself
Bridge Aina Lea: Will Takings Claim Be Ruled out by Statute of Limitations?
Enviros Salivate as WESPAC Selected for Audit
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted October 26, 2019
Laughing at You: Suspended Kaneshiro Gets $12,000 Pay Raise
Shapiro: … Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, on paid leave since March after being named a target of the federal probe, got a $12,000 pay raise to $176,688 while doing no work. And this is the guy whose job is to make sure crime doesn’t pay ….
CB: Honolulu City Officials Have Received Big Pay Raises In The Past Year
read … Ige, Caldwell hit the road; regrettably, they’ll be back
Rail All or Nothing with P3: Public should see rail P3 contract
SA Editorial: … That’s why the Honolulu City Council should adopt Resolution 19-256, introduced by Councilwoman Heidi Tsuneyoshi, which aims to ensure this make-or-break contract is executed in full transparency to the public.
The measure is not yet scheduled for a final vote. But when it is: It’s right that the Council should see what the P3 would entail because the city will be paying the partner longterm for rail operations and maintenance.
The partnership was conceived to manage costs of building this final section of the alignment. The partner would work within a set construction budget and recoup revenue through the operations and maintenance agreement into the future.
This surely will affect costs to the city and ultimate fares once the system is in operation, so the taxpayers and transit users need to be informed.
The terms and sign-off on the P3 will be extremely consequential. The D.C. authorities who have oversight already have approved the project’s revised financial plan. But the Federal Transit Administration will not release the remaining half of the $1.55 billion full-funding grant agreement needed to complete the project unless the P3 contract is deemed viable. And as there’s no alternative financing strategy in the HART plan, this one had better work..….
read … Public should see rail P3 contract
TMT: We need a way forward for all
HTH: … TMT is also the first telescope to pay substantial lease rent, ramping up to $1 million a year when operational. Eighty percent of the lease rent will go to the Office of Maunakea Management for stewardship of the mountain and 20% will go to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs….
HNN: TMT official makes direct plea to move project forward as protests continue
Related: Telescope: For OHA, it’s all About the Rent Money
read … TMT: We need a way forward for all
Delays in clearing TMT protesters pose risks to stability, security
SA: … It is time Gov. David Ige and Big Island Mayor Harry Kim cleared the protest camp on Mauna Kea. Their continuing delay is destabilizing our society and creating risks to our national security. The protests against the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) have morphed from what may have been a legitimate exercise in civil disobedience, into an anarchic campaign corroding the rule of law….
the protests are shifting to Pohakuloa, a major training base that any number of American adversaries in the Pacific would happily see closed….
read … Delays in clearing TMT protesters pose risks to stability, security
Smarter Balanced Assessment—DoE Insiders Find New Way to Make it Look Good When it isn’t
SA: … A new analysis shows that Hawaii’s public school students rank in the middle of the pack in both English and math proficiency among the states that use the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
When Hawaii made its SBA scores public Oct. 3, comparisons weren’t available because the 11 states using the exam each release their results separately and on their own timing. But since then, a veteran testing specialist, Douglas McRae, based in Monterey, Calif., obtained results from 10 of those states and analyzed them. Vermont won’t release its results until later this year.
His report shows that 53.3% of Hawaii students in grades 3 through 8 tested as proficient or better in English language arts, compared to an average of 52.6% for the 10 states in the consortium. Hawaii’s proficiency rate exceeded California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and South Dakota, but fell below Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho and Washington state….
SA: Room for improvement on test scores
Reality: Several schools see proficiency rates in math fall to single digits
PDF: Smarter Balanced Assessment
read … Hawaii kids hit median on Smarter Balanced Assessment
Give Neighborhood Boards Subpoena Power
Borreca: … Maybe that’s what local citizens need: more power over government.
For instance, giving neighborhood boards subpoena power would help restore local trust in government. If local groups could officially require developers, state agencies and government heads to publicly answer questions from an engaged citizenry, it would go along way toward calming the mistrust….
Anything to Avoid this Topic: Kahuku and Waimanalo Protests show why Hawaii Needs Municipal Government
read … Beyond negativity of just saying ‘no,’ protests need plans for positive accomplishments
Calmer voices seek middle ground on North Shore
Cataluna: … This week, the Honolulu City Council Committee on Parks and Community Services heard testimony on Bill 2, which is shaped as an attempt to bring regulation to the many beach-based businesses that have taken root on Oahu’s North Shore….
then something a little different happened; something a bit unusual in these polarized times. There were people who stepped away from their corners and moved a bit toward the middle.
Racquel Achiu, a North Shore resident who is a member of the neighborhood board, came to the podium and spoke in a quiet voice of a community weary but willing to work toward a better situation.
She advocated for, “… not so much of a ban, but a compromise. The reality is, yeah, tourism is our economic survival mode, and these tour buses take cars off the road … If we could somehow come up with a form of regulation, say … no commercial activity on weekends or holidays. Obviously a ban would be attractive to a lot of people in our community … but that’s just not the reality. Limit the amount of time they have on the weekdays. People in our community are tired of fighting for what they should have access to. They can’t get to and from work. They can’t get their kids to and from school and after-school activities. Getting to and from the store. It is the wild wild west out there. We need help.”…
read … Calmer voices seek middle ground on North Shore
Bill 25 standoff reveals difficulty in using green energy as excuse to make housing even more expensive
SA: … The Honolulu City Council is now weighing how much improvement to reach for with Bill 25, which updates the city Energy Conservation Code. The measure adopts the 2017 state Energy Code — based on the latest International Energy Conservation Code — and seeks to fold in Oahu-specific amendments, including two that are touching off intense debate:
>> Renewable hot water heating, which requires that new and substantially remodeled (permit-required) residential single-family homes use solar or an alternate technology that advances renewable energy for at least 90% of energy needed for water heating; and
>> Electric vehicle infrastructure and capability, which requires, in most cases, that at least 25% of parking stalls in new multi-unit residential structures are “EV charger ready,” and that new residences are similarly fitted with wiring and conduit for charging….
In a recent meeting with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s editorial board, Bob Bruhl, president of D.R. Horton-Schuler Homes, called the measure a “terrible, terrible rushed plan.” His company is building the masterplanned Ho‘opili community in West Oahu — more than 500 homes of 11,750 planned are completed….
Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc., estimated that the EV and solar heating amendments would add at least $41 million to the cost of homes in Koa Ridge. Sales for that masterplanned Central Oahu community, which includes 3,500 homes, are set to start within the next year….
read … Bill 25 standoff reveals difficulty in requiring greener energy as part of Oahu’s building code
Yap government warns of rumors in AG murder investigation
GP: … "Gov. Henry S. Falan would like to assure the residents of Yap and the general public that the ongoing investigation into the murder of acting Attorney General Rachelle Bergeron remains in the intermediate phase, as reported earlier this week," said Constantine Yowbalaw, the director of youth and civic affairs for Yap. "Gov. Falan asks for your help in giving law enforcement officials and your fellow citizens your respect by not engaging in spreading rumors, assumptions and speculations."
He said the investigation team continues its work "diligently and methodically" to track down Bergeron's killer.
"We assure you that justice will be done," he said.
Investigators have not released the names of any of the people of interest they have identified….
Oct 24: Article names two alleged suspects, then taken down
read … Yap government warns of rumors in AG murder investigation
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