Name and Shame? Obama May Go Public with Inouye’s Funding Requests
Occupy Honolulu: Waikiki Shooting was “Round One”
UHPA Endorses Occupy Wall Street
David Chang Elected Hawaii Republican Chair
HPD Releases APEC Road Closure Schedule
Knife Recovered from Scene of Waikiki Shooting
Witnesses say that Elderts had been yelling racial slurs, before getting into an altercation with Deedy.
Police say Deedy fired three shots.
"I heard a pow and then a few seconds later I heard pow pow pow," said Connie Reinking, who was across the street at the time.
Police say one of the bullets hit Elderts in the chest, killing him.
Another bullet ended up in the wall and a third ended up in the ceiling.
Police also recovered a knife at the scene and got a copy of the surveillance video.
Investigators don't believe Elderts and Deedy met prior to the incident inside McDonalds.
"It's kinda weird because we don't really have that much other than the fights," said Robert Hackney, owner of A Tiki Tatto which is next door to the McDonald's. "shootings - that's pretty unusual."
read … So why is he being charged?
Hawaii Should Lose Race to the Top Funds Because of HSTA Sabotage
Some, like Kate Walsh of the National Center for Teaching Quality, are dubious that the 50th State will make good on its pledge to link teacher evaluations with student performance. If Hawaii doesn't lose its Race to the Top money for teacher evaluation failures," Walsh told Education Week, "something is wrong."
To their face we'd say, "Hey, you doubters, eat our dust!" Behind our backs we have crossed fingers:
read … Reality Bites
DoE Worker gets 10 years for electronic enticement
State prosecutors say the 46-year-old sent sexually-explicit cell phone text messages to a 13-year-old girl and arranged to meet her in person at a fast-food restaurant in Kaneohe.
read … Just another day in the DoE
Hawaii Electricity Rates in the Nation—Urban Honolulu is 150% of Rural Alaska Rates
Last month, prices on Oahu hit a record high of 33 cents a kilowatt hour. And Oahu’s electricity rates are lower than on the neighbor islands.
In October, on Lanai, residential rates were 44 cents a kwh; on Molokai and Kauai, 42 cents a kwh; on the Big Island, 40 cents a kwh; and on Maui, 35 cents a kwh, according to electric company data.
We found that generally, Hawaii’s rates were more than double the national average – 27.8 cents per kilowatt hour on average versus 11.5 cents per kilowatt hour for the rest of the country in 2010, according to Electric Choice, a Texas-based energy consulting firm. That means a typical Hawaii resident using 600 kilowatt hours of electricity a month would be paying about $168. By comparison, people paying the national average of 11.5 cents per kilowatt hour would pay $69 a month.
New York had the second highest average rate at 18.6 cents per kwh, followed by Alaska at 16.6 cents a kwh. Washington and North Dakota tied for the lowest rate at 8 cents a kwh.
(Oh, but this is a Civil Beat Fact Check and it turns out that it is only “mostly true” that Hawaii is the most expensive electricity in the nation. Why? Because of Lime, AK….)
In Alaska’s remote Lime Village — population 29 — the rate is 94 cents a kwh, according to May 2011 data. This is because diesel fuel has to be flown into the village about 190 miles west of Anchorage in individual barrels, according to David Parrish, an analyst at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
While Parrish said that Lime Village was an “outlier,” other rural areas in Alaska also have very high rates.
In the Interior, rates in some places are currently 70 cents to 80 cents a kwh, said Meera Kohler, CEO of the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative. The state subsidizes residential rates in rural areas, bringing the rate down to 22 cents a kwh. If residents' usage goes beyond a certain point however, which often happens in the winter, they pay the higher rate.
By comparison, in the Alaska cities of Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks, the average cost is currently 14 cents a kwh, said Kohler.
(So, Hawaii. Thanks to HECO and its pet PUC and pet Legislature your urban Honolulu electric bill 33 cents/kwh is 150% of the 22 cents/kwh rate that people in the Alaskan wilderness pay.)
read … Civil Beats does it again
APEC Makeover Before and After Shots
Thinking about public policy and Waikiki violence
Editor: The bars at the center of this problem are The Shack, Zanzibar and Black Diamond. Zanzibar is owned by Abercrombie's communications director and a bunch of other big shots and The Shack is owned by a bunch of politically connected thugs who are now facing trial.
read … Waikiki
Berg: West Oahu Should Secede From Honolulu
After years of hosting landfills and power plants and not receiving a fair share of infrastructure expenditures, it's time for a drastic step in Leeward Oahu.
It's time to leave.
That's the plan, according to District 1 Honolulu City Council member Tom Berg. He said he's been working for months on a resolution that would place a question on the ballot asking voters if Leeward Oahu should secede from the county and form its own government.
"I got a resolution in the making to have West Oahu secede from the county," Berg said ….
read … New County
Rep Kym Pine backs Recreational Lagoon at Oneula
Some Ewa Beach residents and an elected official threw their support Sunday behind plans to convert an undeveloped marina into a public recreational lagoon aimed at families.
"I see a whole new generation of people growing up with the largest enclosed water feature in our community," said Rep. Kymberly Marcos Pine (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point). "This will help bring a whole new health culture in Ewa Beach."
Pine trains for triathlons at Ala Moana Beach Park but would prefer to do her swimming workouts in the enclosed, 54-acre brackish-water lagoon — bounded by White Plains Beach and Oneula Beach Park — that was carved out of coral and originally planed as a marina that never materialized.
"I see triathletes wanting to come out here for their races," Pine said. "And there will be lots of families, too. Ewa Beach families are very large and close-knit and like to do everything together. With this lagoon we'll never leave our community."
The enclosed coral lagoon is a half-mile across and 1,000 feet wide and sits about 19 to 20 feet deep, depending on the tide, said Sharene Saito Tam, vice president of Haseko Development Inc.
Haseko had planned to include the marina as the focal point of its planned $1.4 billion waterfront community, the 1,100-acre Ocean Pointe and Hoakalei Resort in Ewa Beach.
read … Marina
Former Council Member Rod Tam's Ability to Collect Unemployment Shows Government Protects Its Own
Rod Tam's ability to collect unemployment for at least a year after being termed out of office in the Honolulu City Council in 2010 and losing the 2010 mayoral election is a great example of government action ….
read … Rod Tam
Premium rate hikes need tough scrutiny
The cost of health insurance in Hawaii is comparable to that in most other states, but the continuing increases are enough to cast doubts about whether the medical treatment is worth the price. Both of the state's major health insurers again this year are calling for price increases, and the public is entrusting to the state Insurance Division the increasingly important job of keeping premiums at justified rates.
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has filed a proposal to the state division that it increase premiums for about 162,000 members by an average of 8.8 percent on Jan. 1, following increases of 10.7 percent in 2010 and 12.6 percent this year. Kaiser posted a $2.8 million profit in the second quarter, reversing a $5.1 million year-earlier loss.
Hawaii Medical Service Association wants to raise premiums by an average of 3.6 percent for 84,000 members working at large companies after increasing them by 11.7 percent two years ago and 14.8 percent this year. HMSA posted a $5.8 million profit in the second quarter, reversing a $4.1 million year-earlier loss.
read … Insurance Rates
Should IBEW Emulate Occupy Wall Street?
In August of this year the Star Advertiser printed that Eric Yeaman the CEO and President of Hawaiian Telcom made $6.72 million in compensation for 2010. In the year before Yeaman made $1.32 million in compensation. That is by my calculations a 408 percent pay increase.
In Hawaiian Telcom’s final offer to the members of IBEW Local 1357 they gave them a one percent pay raise and a $500 bonus each year over the life of the contract. They also removed their retirement plan.
This is what I call “The Pie Theory” - Eric get’s more and the employee’s get less.
People wonder why we have “Occupy Wall Street” movements across the country? Hawaiian Telcom employees and the IBEW Local Union 1357 members should make a demonstration of their own.
read … IBEW 1357
Sovereignty Activists Hold Election—Only 106 Voters Participate Statewide
Members of the Reinstated Hawaiian Government re-elected Henry Noa to another term as prime minister Saturday.
Voters also seated Kaua‘i candidates to the House of Representatives and House of Nobles in the quadrennial National Election.
A low election turnout, just over 100 voters, was blamed on the bad weather at polling places around the island. Officials said the figure does not reflect the growing number of citizens state-wide who consider themselves part of the Reinstated Hawaiian Government.
Read … Only 106 Voters!
Trust Fund Babies, Hippies Occupy Kauai, Give Thanks for Smart Phones!
The event began with a circle, prayer, short statements, and the spiritual and culturally charged poems of Kapa‘a resident Kimie Sadoyama. She said humanity has replaced the television with the smart phone, making us actively engaged but lacking an interpersonal connection…
(So they are thanking Wall Street darling Steve Jobs for saving them from the Boob Tube? These people are incapable of observing their own contradictions.)
Read … Occupy Kauai?
WHT: Saying thanks to our nation's veterans
West Hawaii will host three services Friday in celebration of Veterans Day -- the day set aside annually to pay homage to those who served honorably in the U.S. military.
"This day is for all veterans. Everyone. Those that are living and those that have passed," said David Carlson, commander of the American Legion Kona Post 20, which assists with the annual West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery Veterans Day program. "It is the day set aside to commemorate the end of World War I and those who protected us during war and (during) times of peace."
At the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery, located north of Kailua-Kona, the public is invited to take part in the annual Veterans Day program, which is hosted this year by the Kona chapter of the Disabled American Veterans. The event starts at 11 a.m. and will feature a service, guest speaker and luncheon.
This year's guest speaker is Big Island native Curtis Tyler, a lifetime member of the chapter and former Hawaii County Councilman, said Boss Hanato, an Army veteran, chapter member and the event's coordinator. Tyler is a retired U.S. Navy veteran.
With the event expected to draw several hundred, attendees are asked to arrive a half-hour early, he said.
HTH: Veterans march in parade
read … Veterans
Term limits to shake up Hawaii Co council
Regardless of voters' preference, the County Council's makeup will change when a new term starts next December.
That's because two of the nine lawmakers will be barred from running for re-election in 2012, while others may choose to pursue a new office or career.
According to the Hawaii County Charter, council members may not serve more than eight consecutive years. However, those facing the term limit are allowed to return to public office after a hiatus, which resets the political "clock."
That four-term cap will affect both Hilo Councilman Donald Ikeda and Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann, who have served continuously since 2004.
read … Term Limits