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Sunday, April 18, 2021
April 18, 2021 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:21 PM :: 3294 Views

State Auditor Facing a Whack Job?

Time to get state out of tourism promotion?

HGEA Demands Negotiations over Telework

HSTA Complains About Summer School Plan

Simon Shares Vision for Future as Astronomy Institute Director

COVID-19 infections, vaccines, and economic recovery

DHHL Offers Rent-With-Option-To-Purchase Homes on Hawaiʻi Island

Bill that would give legislators more oversight of governor’s emergency orders advances

HTH: … A bill that would allow the state Legislature to review emergency orders put in place by the governor after 60 days is headed for a House-Senate conference committee.

House Bill 103 would also require the governor to justify the suspension of any laws during a declared emergency.

The measure cleared its third and final floor vote on by a 24-2 vote on Wednesday. The no votes were cast by Oahu Sens. Donna Mercado Kim and Kurt Fevella — the latter the Senate’s lone Republican. Oahu Sen. Gil Riviere cast his aye vote with reservations….

Sen. Lorraine Inouye, a Democrat who represents Hamakua and parts of Hilo, Kohala and Kona, supports the bill. She said she thinks people are tired of the differing sets of rules between the state and the individual counties and are ready for a return to normal.

“If the governor extends (the emergency), there’s no hearings,” she said. “You know, the transparency part? That’s another reason the Legislature felt after the 60 days of a proclamation, if he wants to extend it, we’d like to know why. That’s what’s missing.”

Written testimony about the bill prior to a joint session of the Judiciary and Ways and Means committees earlier this month ran 6-4 in support of the measure.

Organizations in support include For Our Rights, Common Cause Hawaii, League of Women Voters Hawaii, the Civil Beat Law Center in the Public Interest and Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Some of the testimony took aim at Ige’s partial suspension of the state’s Sunshine Law — which provides for open meetings and decision making in public — and his complete suspension of the state’s public records law, since partially lifted.

Brian Black, executive director of the Civil Beat Law Center, called suspension of the public records law during an emergency “unnecessary because the rules that govern record requests already provide flexibility for agencies to address other priorities.” He added the public records law “serves a fundamental role even in emergencies.”

Sandy Ma, executive director of Common Cause, said the ability to request public records and receive them in a timely manner is “necessary for a functioning democracy.”

Randy Perreira, executive director of HGEA, a public employee union, called it “contrary to our democracy for any one individual to have unilateral authority to suspend laws indefinitely without a mechanism for public input and review.”…

HB103: Text, Status

read … Bill that would give legislators more oversight of governor’s emergency orders advances

Rail: Hawaii politicos doing nothing might actually pay off for long-suffering taxpayers

Borreca: … U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz may be Hawaii’s senior senator and an up-and-coming member of the Democratic majority, but all that may not be enough to save Honolulu’s imperiled train. In a report last week, Schatz said the time for “magical thinking” is over. Billions of dollars will not “fall out of the sky from Washington.”

Schatz was reacting to Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s written request to the four-person congressional delegation asking for $800 million more in federal aid for the rail project.

“The expectation should be that as long as local agencies can provide a path forward for completing the rail, that all of the federal funding previously committed will be made available, but not a penny more,” Schatz said.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s interim CEO Lori Kahikina said in March that “what we’re looking at is about a $3 billion shortfall.” She added that the project, which was supposed to finish in 2020, is now estimated to be completed in 2031, so even $800 million isn’t going to save this continuing disaster….

April 14, 2021: Another $800M For Rail? Don’t Count On It, Schatz Says

read … Finally, Hawaii politicos doing nothing might actually pay off for long-suffering taxpayers

Search begins for next Honolulu Police Department chief

SA: … amid “rumors” and political finger-pointing.  The (so-called) ‘nationwide’ search for Honolulu’s 12th chief will be steered by civilian police commissioners who boast a diverse array of professional and public service experience (are the usual insiders) but have never selected a police chief.

The process will play out under scrutiny from newly elected Mayor Rick Blangiardi and a City Council majority of five first-term members. Honolulu’s charter leaves the responsibility of selecting and dismissing the police chief to the Honolulu Police Commission, a seven-member panel appointed by the mayor. But that has never stopped elected officials and anyone with a voice from weighing in and attempting to influence the pick….

“While the search for Honolulu’s next chief of police may involve a search firm to assist with the process, the commission will be readily involved in the process and will ultimately select the next chief of police,” Alivado said.

The Police Commission is scheduled to meet Monday and again on Wednesday to undertake the first steps toward conducting a nationwide search….

The Police Commission’s (so-called) ‘nationwide’ search to replace Kealoha with Ballard took nearly a year….

Background: Say 'Uncle' -- What Connects Miske to Kealoha?

read … Search begins for next Honolulu Police Department chief

As state hopes to implement vaccine passports, some raise concerns over privacy

HNN: … In Hawaii, the state said proof of vaccines would allow travelers to avoid COVID testing or quarantine.

If you don’t want to get vaccinated, travelers have the option to get a pre-test.

“I would wait until the vaccine was no longer under emergency with authorization to even begin considering a policy like this,” said Joe Glenn, a volunteer of Aloha Freedom Coalition.

Glenn sees the vaccine passports as a form of coercion.

He’s concerned about the privacy issues and what could come next.

“It’s an entryway into the government, first of all, to segregate citizens,” said Glenn. “But second of all, really opens up a Pandora’s box -- all the information they can get about us.”

“We have privacy rights. When you have to disclose your medical information, to go to something, you know, a restaurant, get on an airplane, whatever, that’s a privacy issue,” said Hochberg.

In an article by the ACLU, they point our several factors to consider on vaccine passports.

“We don’t oppose in principle the idea of a requiring proof of vaccination in certain contexts, but given the enormous difficulty of creating a digital passport system, and the compromises and failures that are likely to happen along the way, we are wary about the side effects and long-term consequences it could have. We will be closely watching developments in this area.” …

read … As state hopes to implement vaccine passports, some raise concerns over privacy

Hawaii Sees Spike In School Absenteeism

CB: … new statewide data showing 20% of Hawaii’s students are at “high risk” for chronic absenteeism….

Naalehu Elementary, a rural school near the southern tip of Hawaii island, has long struggled with chronic absenteeism, with as many as 40% of its students missing 15 or more days out of the school year in recent years.

That rate has spiked to 53% this year after the pandemic forced schools to go online and educators have struggled to reach students, especially in remote areas, due to scant broadband internet access, limited technology and other hurdles.

The Hawaii Department of Education defines chronic absenteeism as 15 or more days missed out of the school year. Officials are currently pegging students as “high risk” for chronic absenteeism based on the percent of school days missed so far in the 171-day instructional calendar year: 8.3% is their threshold….

Naalehu, which serves roughly 380 students in grades pre-K-6, is not alone. At Keonepoko Elementary, which is within the same Kau-Keaau-Pahoa complex area, 314 students, or 60%, were pegged as high risk for chronic absenteeism. At Keaau Middle, it was 441 students, or 63%.

Statewide, 31,795 students — or 20% of all attending public schools — were at high risk for chronic absenteeism as of late February. It’s an increase from a statewide average of 15% in recent years, according to the state Department of Education.

The percentage was even higher for non-native English speakers at 31% and economically disadvantaged students at 29%….

read … Hawaii Sees Spike In School Absenteeism

Windmills and wildlife: Clean-energy projects slaughtering bats statewide

SA: … When the Kawailoa Wind Project in Haleiwa negotiated its Habitat Conservation Plan in 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted the project an incidental take permit, allowing the farm to kill 60 of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bats over a 20-year period.

By 2018, Kawailoa had killed 62 bats, thus exceeding its allowed incidental take. Likely fearing the lofty legal and financial penalties associated with violating the Endangered Species Act, the project began amending its Habitat Conservation Plan, and is now requesting a fourfold increase in its original allowed incidental take.

Kawailoa is not alone. Wind farms across the state are similarly requesting increases in their allowed incidental take of this endangered bat….

read … Windmills and wildlife: Clean-energy projects and endangered species

The Dim Bulb Behind Hawaii Carbon Tax Legislation

CB: …I’m sort of a paranoid guy, so I have been thinking about it for a while….I was still in D.C. when I started learning about it. Of course, there was a woman I was interested in. She was a climate scientist and — this was around 1990 — I was asking her, “So what do we do?” And she said, “We’ve got to reduce carbon emissions.”…

(Here’s what Karl Rhoades was really doing in the 1990s: Federal Court ruling: Rep. Karl Rhoads participated in Honolulu County Council Kickback scheme)

I was looking at a carbon tax. I think 162 Nobel laureate economists from all points of the spectrum say a carbon tax would work. So I was like, well, if no one else is going to do it, I’m going to throw in a carbon bill because this is a crisis….

(CLUE: There aren’t "162 Nobel laureate economists” alive on Earth.)

Here’s what ONE Nobel laureate in Economics says about global warming: “In a January 2020 interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung, William Nordhaus claimed that achieving the 2°C goal of the Paris agreement was "impossible", stating that "even if we make the fastest possible turn towards zero emissions, CO2 will continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, because we cannot simply shut down our economy". He asserted that he was not alone in making this assessment, claiming that half of the simulation arrived at the same conclusion. He also remarked that the two-degree target was set without asking about the cost of meeting it.”

read .. Tax Hike Coming

What Slow Recovery To Tourism?

Cataluna: … No marketing campaign was needed. Tourists are practically beating down the door to get here….

read … What Slow Recovery To Tourism?

Long Criminal Record of 16-yr old shot by police shows failure of soft-on crime approach

CB: … Sykap’s death and subsequent media coverage ignited an outpouring of grief among many in Hawaii’s Micronesian community, with some questioning why death was the consequence for his alleged crimes….

(Good question.  Too bad we didn’t put him in jail instead.)

According to the Honolulu Police Department, Sykap was driving the car, which had been reported stolen from Kailua and had been linked to a series of crimes including another car theft in Kaimuki, a purse snatching in Waikiki and an armed robbery in Moiliili just 20 minutes before the shooting.

Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard told reporters hours later that it appeared the vehicle had rammed two marked police cars before driving through a chainlink fence and crashing into the Kalakaua canal. “During this time, officers fired multiple shots at the vehicle,” she said at the televised press conference.….

He grew up largely in Kamehameha IV housing until the family was evicted for having more than one dog, Hansen said….

The night before his fifth-grade promotion, he called her crying — he wasn’t allowed to attend the ceremony because he had assaulted two classmates. At age 11, he went into juvenile detention for several months….

Faller kicked Sykap out of KVIBE — Faller can’t remember exactly what prompted it, but recalls telling Sykap he had to go. The next morning, the KVIBE mural was tagged with profanity. Faller knew it was Sykap….

HPD hasn’t released the names of the other juveniles ages 14, 16 and 17 who were involved but said the 22-year-old, Kealii Fernandez, had prior convictions for vehicle break-ins, theft and harassment….

one of Sykap’s brothers told a local TV station that Iremamber was doing what he needed to do to survive…

media outlets including Hawaii News Now cited anonymous police sources last week saying that Iremamber Sykap had multiple prior arrests.

Police reform advocates decried the release of confidential information as an attempt to justify the shooting….

(Prison reform advocates are trying to cover up their own failure. If he had been locked up he would be alive today.)

read … Police Killing Of Micronesian Teen In Hawaii Prompts Grief And Questions

Why can’t the taxman cometh a little later just this once?

Shapiro: … you have until Tuesday to figure it out….

read … Why can’t the taxman cometh a little later just this once?

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