Lingle Wraps Up Chamber Endorsement Tour, Launches Tourism Spot
64% of Itemized Hirono Donors from Mainland
Sierra Club Rail Position: Incompetent, Disturbing
DoE “Zones of Innovation” experiment gets uneven outcome
SA: In 2010 the state Department of Education formed two "zones of school innovation," one on the Leeward Coast of Oahu and the other in the Kau-Pahoa region of Hawaii island, in hopes of providing the state's lowest-performing schools with intensive help.
Two years later the latest round of test scores shows some schools in those zones are celebrating big improvements, others are making smaller gains while a few declined in student proficiency in reading and math….
The zones are a centerpiece of the state's Race to the Top grant efforts.
Chart: CLICK HERE
read … Usual DoE Stuff
Marriage: Jackson v Abercrombie Hearing Tomorrow
WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt and allied attorney James Hochberg
WHAT: Schowengerdt’s oral argument in favor of a motion for summary judgment in Jackson v. Abercrombie, a legal attack on Hawaii’s marriage laws
WHEN: hearing begins at 10 a.m. HST, Tuesday, July 24
Push Poll Targets Hannemann
HR: Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who is a candidate for Congress District 1, is the target of an ongoing "push poll" campaign, his campaign team said in an email today.
"You or family members may have received a phone call in recent days, from seemingly objective survey companies, asking your opinions about Mufi and the August 11 primary election. Be careful. These polls are being conducted either through pre-recorded, randomly-dialed phone calls, or from supposedly legitimate firms (one pollster identified himself as calling on behalf of MR Survey of Las Vegas)," the email said.
"Whatever their origins, they have one objective in mind: pose a negative question about a candidate, in this case Mufi, and ask you to agree or disagree….
Residents who received calls about Hannemann were asked basic questions about their voting status, and then the poller asked "Is Mufi too much of an ambitious politician?" "Does Mufi promise anything to get elected?" "Would it affect your decision if Mufi took too much credit for saving the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, which was due to Senator Inouye and not Mufi?"
read … Bullying Mufi?
Pushback #1--Watada: Cayetano’s Act 10 Broke up Pay to Play System
SA: In 1995, Gov. Ben Cayetano, along with Sens. Rey Graulty and Les Ihara, led the charge to stop campaign finance corruption by signing into law Act 10 (Special Session SLH 1995), a far-reaching, 62-page bill that empowered an independent, nonpartisan commission to end many of the system's rampant problems.
The campaign spending law, at that time, was largely unenforceable. There was no transparency for the public and no accountability for politicians or donors. Political corruption and "quid pro quo" was the norm with businesses bidding on government contracts, especially at the county level, and donating to politicians to secure contracts and permits.
These were the "pen and paper" days of the state Campaign Spending Commission, when politicians frequently submitted illegible handwritten reports that were stuffed into cabinets or stored in dark, mice-ridden rooms, never to see the light of day. Previously, political action committees, donors and other organizations were bound by almost no detailed reporting requirements.
Act 10 required politicians for major offices to file their reports electronically….
Because of Act 10, signed by then-Gov. Cayetano, numerous politicians went to prison and more than 100 contractors were fined for making excessive contributions. Today, state contractors are prohibited from giving donations to any candidate committees….
read … Bob Watada
Pushback #2 -- PRP Chief Passed out Cash in Final Days of Campaign, Now Target Of Campaign Probe
CB: The man who has injected decade-old campaign finance issues and pay-to-play corruption allegations into the heart of the heated Honolulu mayoral race is now the subject of a probe into how more than $20,000 was spent during his unsuccessful run for Honolulu City Council two years ago.
Pacific Resource Partnership Executive Director John White took money out of his campaign in the final days of his tight race against Ernie Martin. The Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission has asked White for documentation to back up his contention that the cash was used to pay phone-bankers, door-to-door canvassers and sign-wavers as part of a final get-out-the-vote push.
"They would have to have paperwork for that. They would have to show receipts. I don't know how else they would show it. We would need some proof that that money was given to a person for services for the campaign. The commission requires the proof of the expenditure," Spending Commission General Counsel Gary Kam told Civil Beat.
"This is the kind of stuff, when it comes to payments to candidates themselves, when they write checks to cash, that's the kind of things that catch my attention,” (if there is a political reason to notice)….
"Because it was such a short period of time, and because it was my understanding that if you pay someone less than $600, you don't need to do a 1099 form ... sometimes we used cash as a way to pay for it." – Bob White …
Kane said he was the guy in charge of actually paying the campaign workers — $100 per day for the first five days of the get-out-the-vote push and either $125 or $150 per day for the final two days. Each day, he gave White the tally of how many folks had worked, and White gave him cash to distribute to the workers. Kane said he maintained a list of who worked each day, along with their contact information.
read … He Opened Pandora’s Box
Star-Adv Makes Endorsements in Contested Senate Primary Races
SA: With all 25 Senate seats up for grabs, and Republicans vying in many of them, there's a better chance now than in most years to reconstitute the party mix. Add the fact that reapportionment is forcing some veteran incumbents to run against one another, and voters have some tough choices come Aug. 11 — or as early as this week, if voting by mail-in absentee ballot.
Five incumbents are running unopposed so are assured returns: Senate President Shan Tsutsui (D-Wailuku-Kahului), Suzanne Chun-Oakland (D-Nuuanu-Liliha), Donna Mercado Kim (D-Moanalua-Halawa), Glenn Wakai (D-Kalihi-Salt Lake) and Jill Tokuda (D-Kailua-Kaneohe).
But on Oahu, five districts have contested Democratic primaries, some pitting veteran politicians against each other. Here are our endorsements in those races:
read .. Oahu Only
Caldwell: Vote for Me I Was Born in Waipahu
SA: with Kirk Caldwell and you're likely to hear those words. "I'm not saying that because I think I'm better or more special than someone else born in Aiea or born in Lihue," he says. "For me I think it defines who I am.
CB: Incumbency No Help for Honolulu's Current Mayor
read … And lived in Hilo, see
Disclosure deadlines haven’t adjusted to new extended election process
ILind: …our election system still hasn’t adjusted, as certain legally required disclosures designed to allow the public to fully evaluate the candidates and the nature of their political support have yet to be filed.
For example, candidates for state office have to file personal financial disclosures with the State Ethics Commission. And when are those due? Today, July 23.
read … Disclosure Deadline
Candidates start to receive matching funds
MN: Seven Maui candidates running for state legislative seats have also opted in the program (none are incumbents).
So far, only Guzman, Ing and a candidate for a Big Island state House seat have received checks.
Incumbent Maui County Council member Mike Victorino is expected to receive a check soon. He's reported collecting about $9,900 in qualifying contributions.
www.hawaii.gov/campaign/public-financing/campaign-finance-statistics
read … Matching
It's Time For a 'Save Hawaii' Coalition
CB: The Hawaiian Islands are rooted to the ocean floor, yet Hawaii today is politically adrift. Our state government is mindlessly obliterating the last vestiges of Hawaiian culture and unspoiled landscape, which is the very thing many tourists come here to discover. Without a major change of direction, all of Hawaii will soon look like Kihei — indistinguishable from a thousand examples of mainland urban sprawl. And to power this sprawl, Hawaii's hillsides, farmlands and fisheries are being trashed with the industrial blight of inefficient “wind farms.”
Where are the spokesmen for the tourist industry? Don't they understand that once Hawaii looks and feels like all the places tourists come here to escape, they will mostly stop coming? ….
Where there is no vision, there is usually an excuse. The big excuse for mindless drift in Hawaii today is “clean energy.” (Never mind that this is an oxymoron, since all power production is “dirty” in some way.) “Clean energy” is one of those big, dumb platitudes, like “national security,” that we use to conceal our lack of imagination, foresight or courage. In the name of clean energy, Hawaii's political leaders are conducting a fire sale of unspoiled landscape, essential farmland and historic sites. In order to reduce our “carbon footprint” they are inviting dinosaur wind developers to bulldoze giant footprints all over the land. No one is in charge of this development; no one has thought it through; and there will be no one to blame when we finally realize what we have done.
read … Save Hawaii Coalition
Good News: Hawaii Climate Change Policy is Just a Bunch of Feel Good Talk, No Action
CB: …the 10 "priority guidelines" signed into law last week are at best just a step in the right direction. At worst, they're a lot of feel-good language that compared to other states covers up a missed opportunity to take significant action to prepare for the inevitable.
The latest science hype predicts devastating effects on coastal communities and forest ecosystems alike. Rising sea levels could force beach developments to be abandoned (and space aliens may land and wipe us all out) . Less rainfall could mean less fresh water for Hawaii's population (and more rainfall would mean more water).
This reality delusional mentality provided the impetus for the climate change adaptation policy, a concept increasing in popularity nationwide as states realize mitigation-only strategies won't suffice eco-faddists become even more detached from reality.
But while other states, such as California and Washington, have already gone from policy to comprehensive strategy, Hawaii is only now laying the groundwork. (Thank God for inefficient Hawaii government!) California, for instance, has a 200-page strategic plan full of specifics like considering the effect of sea level rise on recreational shellfish harvesting.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has said Hawaii's measure creates the framework to take action so the natural and built environments Hawaii depends upon are available for future generations.
"By adding climate adaptation to Hawaii's planning system, we ensure that this issue will be considered in state and county budgetary, land use, and other decision-making processes," he said in a statement earlier this month.
But Hawaii's law doesn't mandate the creation of a statewide strategy; it just urges planners to explore one. And there's no apparent penalty for failing to follow any or all of the guidelines. (Good!)
Reality: "95% water vapour" Global warming debunked by New Zealand Meteorologist
read … Good News
Waikiki Retailers; Sales Squeezed by Rising Room Rates
PBN: In my blog a week ago, I noted that Oahu hotels are about 90 percent full despite room rates that are running about 15 percent higher than in the summer of 2011. That prompted a response from a Waikiki merchant who suggested that those higher room rates are hurting his business.
“Yes, people are coming — great,” said the merchant, who asked for anonymity for fear of irritating his hotel neighbors. “Yes, people are strolling Waikiki in better numbers.”
But take a closer look, he says. They may be strolling, but they’re not eating, drinking and shopping.
read … And Higher TAT
Bag Fees Keep Hawaiian Profitable
SA: Bag fees enabled Hawaiian to report a first-quarter profit of $7.3 million and represented 3.7 percent of the airline's $435.5 million in revenue.
Hawaiian is now well on its way to eclipsing the company-record $56.6 million in fees it collected in 2011.
The airline's first-quarter bag fee collections were up 19.4 percent from $13.5 million in the year-earlier period. The $16.1 million was a record for Hawaiian for one quarter, surpassing the $15.1 million collected in the third quarter of 2010.
Hawaiian also generated $4.6 million in the first quarter from reservation cancellation and change fees, up 3 percent from $4.5 million in the year-earlier period.
read … Baggage and Cancellation
Horizon: Hawaii Routes Not Affected by New EPA Rules
FNM: Jim Storey, spokesman for another major shipper, Horizon Lines, said the company, in response to the new rules, has already filed with the Surface Transportation Board to increase its fuel surcharge in the Alaska trade lane. He said Horizon vessels in Hawaii and Puerto Rico won't be affected because the company operates steamships in those trade lanes.
EPA also has released guidance, allowing for vessel owners or operators who cannot obtain the required low-sulfur fuel to make a "non-availability" claim. That means, if they cannot find the fuel, or the fuel doesn't work with their ships, they don't have to use the fuel - but all that must be documented and the Coast Guard must be notified before the vessel reaches port.
Oge said the only areas where EPA is hearing about potential availability problems are Washington state and Alaska.
Seth Beausang, an assistant state attorney general, said the state is aware of that guidance but it doesn't change the fact the Emission Control Area - the term given to the area in which the fuel standards apply - "doesn't even belong up in Alaska."
The state contends EPA lacks the scientific basis and legal authority to extend the control area to Alaska. The state claims EPA relied on flawed or incomplete data, including a statement from a state employee that the state said attempted to draw a connection between purported lichen damage in Juneau and threats to a caribou herd located 1,000 miles away.
read … Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Alaska sues over new fuel standard for ships
BoH Earns $0.90 per Share
News Release: Bank of Hawaii Corporation today reported diluted earnings per share of $0.90 for the second quarter of 2012, down from $0.95 in the previous quarter, and up from $0.74 in the same quarter last year. Net income for the second quarter of 2012 was $40.7 million, a decrease of $3.1 million or 7.0 percent compared with net income of $43.8 million in the first quarter of 2012, and up $5.6 million or 15.9 percent from net income of $35.1 million in the second quarter of 2011.
Loan and lease balances increased to $5.7 billion during the second quarter of 2012, up 1.3 percent compared with the end of the first quarter of 2012 and up 6.0 percent compared with the end of the same quarter last year. Deposit growth continued, increasing to $11.5 billion at June 30, 2012. The allowance for loan and lease losses declined to $132.4 million and currently represents 2.34 percent of outstanding loans and leases.
read … Declares $0.45 dividend
Nominations sought for Hawaii County ag advisory committee
News Release: Farmers and ranchers who serve on county committees help with key decisions on programs in their counties and work to ensure FSA agricultural programs serve the needs of local producers.
For more information, call 933-8340.
read … Ag Advisors
Suspect finances halt Maui nonprofit
SA: "As a result of our inquiry, they voluntarily agreed to dissolve and shut down their operations," Hugh Jones, supervising deputy attorney general, said last week.
Jones said there were "what we thought were inappropriate expenditures," but didn't have details as to what those expenditures were. Stay Strong Nation dissolved as a corporation March 1, Jones said.
Kathryn Kanemori, another Hawaii deputy attorney general who worked on the case, said, "It had to do with mainly I think their campaigning — there were a lot of travel expenses."
There were questionable expenditures for meals and lodging, she said.
"But I think overall, the main reason why we felt that the business model wasn't going to work was because so much of the money that had been put into the organization to get it started was loans from themselves," Kanemori said.
read … Stupidity
Brain Injury Victim Takes on Big Island Country Club
CN: …The complaint states: "On January 13, 2012, Reimer's TBI manifested itself when he was having a conversation with his therapist, Ms. Hoyle, at the club. Reimer made and off-hand comment while conversing with Ms. Hoyle. Reimer's comment during his conversation with Ms. Hoyle was not directed at or to anyone at the Club, including Aiona."
Aiona had been involved in a lawsuit and arbitration involving a former club employee, Van Calcar, Reimer says. He claims that "neither the club nor Kuki'o Corp has disseminated the confidential settlement [of the employment case] to the club's equity members."
He claims that after his offhand comment, "Aiona complained to the club's management that Reimer had verbally assaulted her when Reimer was speaking to Ms. Hoyle, even though Reimer never talked to, or engaged in a conversation with, Aiona during the timeframe of [the] alleged incident.
"Upon information and belief, Aiona assumed herself a victim because of her recent involvement in the Van Calcar arbitration.
"Upon information and belief, Aiona's involvement in the Val Calcar arbitration has caused her to have unreasonable and unjustified sensitivities to statements she overhears from club members and guests. Specifically, it is believed that Aiona unreasonably and unjustifiably believe that negative comments she overhears are about her because of the allegations against her arising from the Van Calcar arbitration and her role in Ms. Van Calcar's dismissal."
Two days after he made his "offhand comment," Reimer says, the club sent him a letter "stating that Aiona had suffered from 'severe distress'" because of what he'd said, and suspending him immediately….
The club responded by demanding that Reimer be supervised while on its premises because of his disability, and told him to apologize again, Reimer says. He says club employees have taken to defaming him and his family, and that the club violated its own rules to punish him.
He demands damages for breach of contract, Americans With Disabilities Act violations, breach of faith, defamation, and intentional and negligent misrepresentation.
PDF: Lawsuit
read … Retaliation, upon retaliation, upon retaliation
Kam Schools Donates Modular Buildings
KGI: Kamehameha Schools presented keys to five Hawaiian-focused and conversion charter schools recently who will receive their share of 24 modular buildings donated by Kamehameha Schools totaling $4.8 million, a news release states.
The modular buildings were recently located on Kapalama campus, serving as temporary classrooms during the recent redevelopment of its middle school campus and athletic facilities.
Kamaile Academy, Halau Ku Mana and Samuel M. Kamakau on O‘ahu, and Kanuikapono and Kawaikini on Kaua‘i will have their modulars assembled and ready to go by the end of the calendar year.
Each of the 24 modular buildings is valued at $200,000 and includes general, science, athletic, health classrooms, restrooms and storage space.
The buildings are approximately 1,536 square feet each and are equipped with air conditioning and are Wi-Fi ready.
Read … Kam Schools
Fire destroys HSTA President's family home in Waianae
KHON: Fire officials are investigating where the fire started, but Okabe believes it started in one of the four bedrooms.
read … Okabe House