SB754: Lower Blood Alcohol Limit Would Divert Police from Catching Real Drunks
Applicants Wanted for State Ethics and Campaign Spending Commissions
Flooded Kaupakalua Dam Slated for Removal this Summer
Maui: Drought and Flood Disasters Declared on Same Day
Alaska cruising crisis shows need for flexibility in U.S. maritime law
COVID Vax—How Public Employees find ways to jump line
SA: … Renee Tulonghari, an educational assistant, was among the Department of Education staff able to get a COVID-19 vaccination through word of mouth as co-workers and friends shared links and phone numbers to register.
(NYT: Only Hawaii and NM are still at 70+ age limit for Vax. All other states are at 65 or below. Now we know why.)
Tulonghari and other staff members, who are part of the essential workforce currently eligible for the vaccine, used their ingenuity to find ways to sign up even before the DOE established its own vaccination hub.
But others whose turn have not yet come up are also finding ways to get a shot.
“I know people who are signing up, and they’re finding loopholes. To me I would have a hard time because that’s like, ethically, how could you do that?” she said. “It’s pretty sad when you hear this kind of stuff. It’s not hidden. We all know that people are jumping the line.”
Tulonghari registered over the phone for the vaccination hub at Pier 2 run by Hawaii Pacific Health, but she said she did not have to verify her job when she got there.
”It’s pretty much on the honor system,” she said.
The state Department of Health said it relies on employers to identify who in their companies are front-line essential workers eligible for the shot, and also on vaccinators to verify the people getting inoculated….
Hawaii has vaccinated 416,034 people against COVID-19, Lt. Gov. Josh Green wrote in an online post Tuesday…. (This is 17th-highest per capita, but insiders are getting their shots first.)
(And the teachers just forced the Superintendent out because she suggested that they might actually have to start working again.)
read … Some Hawaii vaccine recipients finding ways to jump line
Hawaii Schools Superintendent To Step Down After Her Contract Expires In July
CB: … Hawaii’s Schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said Tuesday that the debate over whether to renew her contract when it expires in July has become an “unnecessary distraction” that drove her decision to step down but promised to remain focused on efforts to reopen more schools during the time she has left.
The announcement came as Kishimoto faced criticism from the state teachers’ union, principals and others over her handling of the coronavirus pandemic and her communications style. Kishimoto said her last day will be July 30.
“That matter related to my contract is both a personnel matter and a personal matter,” she told reporters during an afternoon Zoom call after announcing she would not seek a contract renewal. “What I am seeing is an unnecessary distraction to what we need to be focused on. It’s really in the interest of not having my contract be a distraction to keeping our eyes on what has to happen for students.” ….
HTH: Kishimoto to leave DOE
SA: Hawaii schools superintendent Christina Kishimoto stepping down in July when contract ends
March 5, 2021: Blackmail: HSTA Operatives Admit Threat to Fire Kishimoto is Retaliation for Reopening Elementary Schools
read … Hawaii Schools Superintendent To Step Down After Her Contract Expires In July
Hawaii Gets $17B COVID Relief – ‘Still Not Enough’
CB: … Democrats in the House passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package Wednesday that is expected to bring billions of dollars to Hawaii, which is suffering from one of the highest unemployment rates in the country largely due to travel restrictions that have shut down the state’s tourism economy.
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, who sits on the Appropriations Committee, estimated that Hawaii stands to receive at least $6 billion in stimulus spending through the American Rescue Plan. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure by the end of the week.
According to the Hawaii Data Collaborative, the state has already received more than $11 billion through previous recovery bills passed by Congress.
A large share of the new money — about $2.2 billion — will go directly to state and county governments to help shore up lost tax revenues and pay for the costs of responding to a deadly pandemic.
Billions more will go toward direct cash payments to eligible Hawaii residents, unemployment benefits, schools and transportation projects, including $70 million that was carved out to help build Honolulu’s beleaguered $11 billion rail project.
An expanded child tax credit, which proponents say will cut child poverty nearly in half, would help an estimated 300,000 children in Hawaii….
Beth Giesting said. “The federal relief isn’t going to take care of all of our problems, but it will buy us some time to figure out the next step.”
(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)
read … New Federal Relief Bill Will Help Hawaii. But It’s Still Not Enough For A Full Recovery
Mayor Blangiardi’s financial disclosure is incomplete
ILind: … A quick online search found at least two substantial interests held by the mayor’s wife, Karen Chang, that were not included on the mayor’s financial disclosure. …
Chang is a member of the executive team of Livmor, Inc., a California medical technology company founded in 2016. According to the company website, she holds the position of Executive Board Chair. Although based in California, the company registered to do business in Hawaii in July 2018, and listed Chang as a corporate officer. It’s annual report for 2020, filed in September, still lists Chang as the company’s chief operating officer (COO) and executive chair.
If Chang received compensation for her executive board service, that should have been disclosed as well.
Chang was also named to the Board of Trustees of St. Andrew’s Schools in early 2019, according to an item in Pacific Business News.
According to PBN: “Trustees act as voting members of the St. Andrew’s Schools Board and member responsibilities include developing policies, procedures, and regulations for the operation of the school, and monitoring the school’s financial health, programs, and overall performance.”
In a filing with the state Business Registration Division, Chang was still listed among the school’s directors as of September 11, 2020.
In addition, Blangiardi’s candidate financial statement, filed at the beginning of the 2020 campaign, failed to disclose any of his wife’s interests and positions. It also omitted property she owns in the Sand Island Industrial Park, as well as the positions described above.
The crazy thing is that this is not rocket science….
There are additional omissions in the mayor’s latest disclosure, but those may reflect more on the practices of the Honolulu Ethics Commission than on the mayor and other public officials. I’ll come back to that issue in a later post….
Related: Sand Island Disclosure After BRAT Threatens Blangiardi with ‘Citizens Arrest’
read … Mayor Blangiardi’s financial disclosure is incomplete
Hawaii Senate Votes To Legalize Marijuana, Raise Minimum Wage
CB: … While both proposals appear dead on arrival in the House, lawmakers will still consider scores of other measures related to abortions, taxes and housing development ….
read … Hawaii Senate Votes To Legalize Marijuana, Raise Minimum Wage
HB1096: ‘Parental Rights’ to be assigned Politically, not Biologically
CB: … A bill in the Legislature seeks to change that. House Bill 1096, introduced by Rep. Jackson Sayama, initially revised the state’s Uniform Parentage Act to allow people of any gender to establish parentage at their child’s birth. Currently, the state has a process for heterosexual couples but doesn’t clearly lay out one for LGBTQ couples so many end up in court.
On Tuesday, the House passed an amended version of the bill that instead would establish a task force on the issue. Rep. Bob McDermott, a Republican lawmaker who voted against legalizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii and unsuccessfully sued to prevent the state from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, was the only legislator to vote against the bill….
read … Task force to try to make it easier for queer parents to establish parentage at birth
SB132 prohibit sale of sunscreen products containing avobenzone and octocrylene
WHT: … Sunscreens containing two harmful petrochemicals, avobenzone and octocrylene, would be banned from sale in Hawaii under a bill passed Tuesday by the state Senate.
This bill follows a 2018 law banning oxybenzone and octinoxate sunscreens. The Center for Biological Diversity reported studies show that all four of these petrochemical sunscreens are toxic to human health, coral reefs and marine species….
Experts say the best protection from midday sun is staying in the shade or wearing hats and covering clothing. Sunscreens containing the minerals zinc oxide or titanium dioxide do not wash off as easily in water as petrochemical ones, so they may provide better protection while not harming reefs.
If enacted into law, the Senate bill (SB 132) would ban the sale of sunscreens containing octocrylene and avobenzone starting on Jan. 1, 2023….
(Don’t be a tool. ‘Studies say’ is a con. The whole point of this exercise is to pressure FDA into allowing European sunscreen manufacturers access to the US market. Here is the rundown from EWG: “Does Europe Have Better Sunscreens? FDA Sunscreen Rulemaking Schedule: LINK)
TGI: S.B. 132 SD2 would ban the sale of sunscreens containing octocrylene and avobenzone starting on Jan. 1, 2023.
read … Bill would prohibit sale of sunscreen products containing avobenzone and octocrylene
KPD Chief Raybuck faces discrimination charges
TGI: … The commission investigation concluded two incidents last year, one on July 29 and the other on Nov. 13, violated Section II of the Policy Against Discrimination, according to Adams’ Feb. 26 letter. Other incidents, including favoritism and non-selection for promotion in retaliation, were not corroborated by the investigation.
In audio recordings that were submitted as evidence for the sustained complaint obtained by The Garden Island, Raybuck is heard making broad stereotypes about the Japanese. These comments, according to the complaint, were said during a July meeting in which Raybuck was explaining why an employee of Japanese descent was not chosen for a promotion.
“So, somebody in the Japanese culture, if they think your idea is absolutely stupid and the dumbest thing they’ve ever heard, what’s their typical response to you?” Raybuck asks rhetorically. “‘Yes, yes, yes.’”
These comments, the complaint alleges, were paired with squinting and bowing.
“During this meeting, he talked to me about the Japanese culture, which including mocking the way Japanese people look by squinting his eyes, nodding his head and saying ‘yes,’ ‘yes,’ ‘yes,’ with a very-bad Chinese accent,” the complaint reads.
“I felt very offended and humiliated by his stereotypical comments and actions. I felt that he was telling me this as a reason I wasn’t selected because he believes all Japanese people don’t tell you the truth.”
Raybuck, in the recording, continues to say, “That’s why Western businessmen, when they go to Japan, freaking go home and they think ‘Man, I got it! I got the deal!’ and then it doesn’t come through because the Japanese people don’t want to hurt their feelings.
“Japanese businessmen aren’t going to go, ‘That’s is the dumbest idea we’ve ever heard, not interested.”….
MN: KPD quiet on allegations against Chief
read … KPD Chief Raybuck faces discrimination charges
Maui Criminals Refuse Vax
MN: … A total of 83 inmates have tested positive for the virus since the first case was reported Feb. 1.
Forty cases are still active. Last week, one staff member tested positive through independent testing but has since recovered, the department said Tuesday….
The state Department of Health’s Maui District Health Office has made two stops at the jail to provide first doses to inmates; 54 percent of about 300 inmates have received first shots, Otani said in a phone interview with The Maui News. About 150 inmates received the shot on Feb. 22. Only 16 elected to get a vaccine on Monday.
“It’s a little bit disappointing, especially with the virus in the facility, that more people are not taking advantage of the vaccine,” Otani said. “But then again, it’s done voluntarily and we can’t force people to take it.” …
(That's the problem.)
As cases have mounted at the jail, family and community members of inmates have voiced concerns (excitement at the possibility that their bread-stealer might get out) and held a sign-waving rally Friday. They have called for proper isolation and quarantining of inmates who have or are suspected of having COVID-19, proper care for sick inmates, mask-wearing at all times, proper following of federal guidelines and “prompt sharing of accurate data” on the jail’s COVID-19 infections (but mostly they think this is a chance to get out of jail because the usual soft-on-crime types told them so.).
The group said over the weekend that they will hold “ongoing protests” at the jail from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturdays “until improvements are actually made.” They encouraged residents with loved ones at the jail to connect with the group and be involved in discussions at tinyurl.com/Protect-Our-Inmates/.
read … Trying to use COVID to get out
Ed Case Ran Furthest Ahead of Biden
TH: … On average, Democratic congressional candidates across the country ran just 8-tenths-of-a-percentage-point ahead of President Biden in their districts. Meanwhile GOPers ran 1.2-points behind Donald Trump.
The House Democrats who ran farthest ahead of Biden were Hawaii’s Ed Case and Maine’s Jared Golden (full disclosure: Mellman Group client), who bested the presidential candidate by just 8 points. Two others ran 7 points ahead and it was down from there. Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar ran farthest behind Biden (an extreme outlier at minus 16 points), while another candidate garnered 10 points less than the president.
It wasn’t always so. In 1984, I worked for then-Rep. Tom Daschle who ran 21 points ahead of presidential candidate Walter Mondale in South Dakota. He was not alone. His North Dakota neighbor, then-Rep. Byron Dorgan, ran a vast 45 points ahead of Mondale, while the Hawaii members bested their presidential candidate by 38 points — feats impossible to imagine today….
read … Party brand vs personal brand
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