Medicare Administration Exposes Substandard Hawaii Hospitals, Nursing Homes
Why fish raised in strange metal pods could be better for us
State of Hawai‘i Data Book 2011 Now Available on the Internet
Hawaii Co Elections: Jamae Kawauchi to Address Kona TEA Party
New Solar Scam: Hawaii Tax Money to Be Exported to China
Lingle Campaign Launches 'Voices of Hawaii' Radio Ad
Three Hawaii Marines killed by Muslims in Afghanistan
SA: Three Hawaii Marines were killed Friday in southern Afghanistan on a day when six U.S. Marines apparently were killed by Afghan allies as the number of so-called “green-on-blue” attacks continue to rise.
The Marines were assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force at Kaneohe Bay, officials said.
They were deployed with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.
read … Obama's War
Stop Rail Lawsuit to be Heard Next Week
PBN: U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye has said it would take World War III to stop rail, but it really could take much less than that.
Cayetano and his anti-rail allies/co-plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit — including University of Hawaii law professor Randy Roth and Cliff Slater — are scheduled to get their day in court next week to challenge the $5.16 billion project from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.
So, if a federal judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs, it may not be the election that decides the issue. And Carlisle told me recently it’s unclear what the city would do if it loses in court.
Slater said the court hearing could only last a matter of hours.
The defendants include the City and County of Honolulu and Federal Transit Administration, which could give the city $1.55 billion for the project.
From all my coverage of the project, the only thing I’ve heard is that the city has assured the plaintiffs it would stop construction if it loses in court and would remove the pillars for the elevated track that have already been built.
read … Honolulu rail transit future murky following primary election
Except Inouye, Everybody Who Touches Rail Gets Burned
HR: Except for U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, “everyone who touches the rail project gets burned.”
That was the observation from University of Hawaii Engineering Professor Panos Prevedouros about the outcome of Hawaii’s August 11 primary election and the impact the city’s controversial $5.2 billion elevated steel on steel rail project had on its outcome.
That happened with former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, a candidate for Congressional District 2, and Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle, who sought re-election, “for sure”, Prevedouros said.
read … Third Rail
Borreca: Case, Hannemann Finished Politically
Borreca: …something should be said about the careers of Democrats Ed Case and Mufi Hannemann.
Both answered the bell this year after losing two years ago and not thinking enough about why they lost.
Sadly, both men are talented, hard-working and smart. Both would be good for Hawaii, but, after their losses, it is doubtful either can run again or should….
Hannemann lost because people didn't like the way he ran City Hall and he rammed through a not-much-liked heavy-rail plan and tax increase. Case lost because he tried to take out a venerated and much-loved political icon, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka.
Second, neither apologized and asked for help in moving on….
Before he was president, Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, a job he won, lost and then won back. After losing, Clinton biographers write that he obsessively spent a week calling up all his supporters apologizing and asking what they thought he did wrong and how he could fix it.
If he blamed his supporters, complained that everyone else ran a negative campaign, that he was outspent or that the machine was out to get him, it is not noted.
The public waited to hear both Case and Hannemann say, "I made big mistakes, pride got the best of me and I apologize." Failing to hear that, the public moved on without them.
read … Finished
SA Hawaii Democrats Should Use Ryan to Destroy Lingle, Djou
SA Editorial: Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, named as his running mate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan. The congressman is primarily known for his conservative ideology on budget issues, particularly social services and tax cuts for the wealthy. This certainly will reframe the campaign encounters with President Barack Obama, who favors a mix of cuts with increased revenues.
The question is: How will it affect the debate locally among the principal candidates for the Hawaii seats? Tulsi Gabbard, the Democrat who won the District 2 primary for Congress, has far more resources than her Republican opponent, Kawika Crowley, but their contest still should occasion a discussion about the fiscal and social policies of their respective parties. The other House contenders, Democrat Colleen Hanabusa and the GOP's Charles Djou, and senatorial rivals Mazie Hirono and Linda Lingle, have higher profiles but need to deliver detailed prescriptions rather than their usual talking-point generalities in the weeks ahead.
For example: Ryan's budget proposals include the ideas of converting the defined benefit of Medicare to a "premium support" and reining in the broad reach of the Medicaid plan for the poor by making it a more limited block-grant program for the states. How do Hawaii's candidates respond to that, and how would they propose attacking government's skyrocketing health care expenses? How would they resolve the looming shortfalls in Social Security funding? What about proposals to curb defense spending, another mammoth federal cost item?
On social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, the differences between parties similarly have become stark. In congressional races around the country, particularly those in swing districts, contenders are discovering that their own positions on such matters could be consequential, too.
In this election cycle, these things matters even more than usual. Particularly in the Senate, the party that holds the majority will do so with a thin margin. In the House, it seems likely that individual votes will matter more with the convening of the next Congress than they have in many previous sessions. And that individual member of Congress could have a real bargaining chip to play when legislation on both fiscal and social issues come up. It would be useful to know what chips our representatives will lay down.
Ryan's selection should push the campaign into a debate of foundational issues related to budgets and the role of government. That's a good thing, a vast improvement over the arm-wrestling match that has been waged in recent accusatory ads from either side.
But that debate needs to resonate in the 50th state as well. Bromides about working in a bipartisan fashion — the usual fodder for campaign ads — won't do.
HuffPo: Linda Lingle, Running For Senate In Hawaii, Promotes Herself Using Obama Photo
read … Marching Orders
Joe Trippi Handled Gabbard Communications
CB: Trippi emailed supporters following Saturday’s primary victory, saying in part, “Tulsi is one of the best candidates and communicators we have worked for, and her team was as hard working and disciplined as Tulsi.”
read … Stage Managed Limited Hangout
Molokai: IAM Slams ‘Sellout’ Ritte
CB: There are two important points in this article for Molokai residents. The first is that Castle and Cooke can no longer put all the windmills on Lanai. If Mr. Murdock didn't reserve enough land for a 400MW wind farm, and if, as seems likely, Mr. Ellison has smarter plans for his new island, then the full project will be pushed back onto Molokai. This will mean not only the devastation of the entire West End, it could also mean big windmills above Kaunakakai, perhaps even on the lush and unspoiled East End. Part of the wind developer game has always been pitting Molokai and Lanai against each other. But no matter which direction the promoters lean, I am confident that IAM, IAM West, Friends of Lanai, and Ka'apu'u no Lanai will remain united against these foolish projects.
The second point concerns not just the corporations who are lining up to destroy Molokai, but also the strange, sad folks who are jostling for the chance to sell us out. There's a mystery here, because most of these people know perfectly well that the ratepayers will end up paying for all “benefits,” and that no benefits package can possibly be worth industrializing half of Molokai and opening the rest to mass tourism. They can't possibly believe there is any way to “mitigate” the death of the 'aina, the resources and the ancient ways of life. Yet here they are, auditioning to bless the bulldozers in the name of the Hawaiian people. This is terrible. It's also embarrassing. What are they thinking? How can they betray the people and culture they claim to defend? To me, it's a mystery.
The real problem, however, is not the motives of individuals, but the constant auditioning to represent the island. In a sense, all community leaders on Molokai have to be “self-appointed,” simply because we have no official local government, no city council, no island council, only two remote and preoccupied state legislators. Despite the fact that 93 percent or 95 percent or 99 percent of Molokai residents oppose the wind turbines, there remains an open opportunity for promoters to buy “community leaders” to spin it their way. If the community could speak with one official voice, then the auditions would stop and the opportunities for selling out would dry up.
Luckily, most people on Molokai and Lanai (and a growing majority around the state) can no longer be fooled. They see the problem, and oppose these big destructive projects. As Senator English made crystal clear in a recent forum, big wind is not appropriate for Molokai: “Full stop. No wind on Molokai.”
Related:
read … What Are They Thinking On Molokai?
Broken Trust Spokesperson Elisa Yadao Jumps into Hawaii County Election Snafu
WHT: It’s still not known how many polling places opened late. County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi said Monday afternoon that she was still investigating and didn’t yet know….
Kawauchi isn’t the only one who’s looking into the election problems. The state Office of Elections will also have questions when it conducts its routine post-election debriefing of county clerks, possibly as early as today.
“We all at the administrative level debrief the county clerks,” said Quidilla, “and kind of put our heads together and overall evaluate the performance of the election. This is a normal part of the process.”
Quidilla said that office also doesn’t have an accurate count of how many polling places opened late. He said Kawauchi first reported there were three and later she reported 11 had opened late. He said information from “external sources” estimated it could have been as many as 25 of the county’s 43 precincts.
‘That just tells me we don’t know the answer,” Quidilla said….
Unlike some other states, candidates in Hawaii have no choice other than to petition the Supreme Court for a recount. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have automatic recounts if the difference between the winner and loser is within a certain amount, according to a National Conference of State Legislatures 2010 report.
“Definitely I’m headed that way,” Inouye said, noting that she has until Friday to file her petition with the court. “The election process has been faulty that triggered flaws not only throughout the month before the election, but up to the day of the election.”
Inouye said after the printout from the state Elections Office showed that 13 of 13 precincts had been counted, a truck arrived at the county elections control center carrying more ballots from Waimea. The 10:49 p.m. printout showed Solomon with 3,866 votes to Inouye’s 3,788 votes. The final summary report printed at 3:12 a.m. Sunday showed Solomon with 4,068 votes to Inouye’s 3,999. Both reports indicated 13 of 13 precincts counted.
“I have to challenge,” Inouye said. “If in fact I don’t prevail, at least I was there as a cause for the people and their right to vote.”
Kalei Akaka, a candidate in the Democratic primary for state House District 6, is also contemplating a challenge, said family friend Elisa Yadao, who works on a number of campaigns for major candidates. Akaka had 45 fewer votes than the winner, Nicole Lowen.
HTH: Election officials meeting on isle
read … Yadao Involved Now
County Council to meet over voting problems
HNN: Council member Angel Pilago, said members could recommend that the county take drastic action, which could include a call for Kawauchi's termination
"I'm not one for information," said Pilago.
"I'm here for intervention and corrective action."
Election delays on the Big Island has been major embarrassment for county officials. As many as 25 of 40 polling did not open on time, prompting Gov. Neil Abercrombie to extend the Big Island's voting deadline by more than one-and-a-half hours.
A video shot by a big island video new shows just how confusing the situation was. Poll workers who showed up at four o'clock in the morning were given no direction and managers from the county clerk's office were nowhere to be found.
Here's how one volunteer expressed his frustration that morning:
"The last time we knew what were going to do. But now there was no briefing," he said
Fortunately, an official with the state elections office who had flown in from Oahu was able to step in.
The official Lori Tomczyk wearing the red shirt directed volunteers where to go and how to set up their equipment.
read … Voting Problems
Kim, Yagong Supporters Must Unite to Crush Kenoi
HTH: A precinct-by-precinct look of where the votes went in Saturday’s primary election show that while each of the major candidates have supporters spread around the island, Kenoi won the most votes in every precinct in West Hawaii, Kohala, Ka‘u, Hilo town and the rural Hilo coast.
Final vote tallies show that Kenoi earned 18,390 votes, Kim had 14,801 votes and Yagong had 8,352 votes. The other three candidates combined earned 1,074 votes.
Yagong received the highest percentage of the vote in his native Hamakua districts, including the precincts that cover Waipio Bay, Kukuihaele, Honokaa, Ahualoa and Paauilo.
And Kim won the most votes in the fast-growing district of Puna, topping all challengers in the precincts that include Kapoho, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Pahoa, Leilani Estates, Kurtistown, Mountain View, Glenwood, and Volcano….
In every other district — Ka‘u, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua and Hilo — voters showed they prefer Kenoi over Kim. Yagong was strongest in areas where Kim was weakest, and vice versa, suggesting that the two candidates split the votes of people who are opposed to Kenoi.
Even in the precincts where Kenoi did not get the most votes, the incumbent never finished worse than second place.
While Kenoi did well across the board, a third of his votes came from Hilo, in the area including Piihonua, Kaumana, Keaukaha and Waiakea Uka. Together, those precincts delivered 6,335 votes to Kenoi, compared to 5,038 for Kim and just 1,474 votes for Yagong.
Totally Related: Malu Motta: “I need one governor so he can pardon me.”
read … How to Beat Kenoi
HPD Finally Fires Marijuana Growing Cop
KITV: The last day at HPD for Michael Steven Chu was last Thursday.
Chu and Athena Sui Lee pleaded guilty to conspiring to cultivate and distribute 48 marijuana plants and 49 pounds of marijuana after a police raid on their Honolulu apartment.
Chu could face up to five years in prison and $250,000 at his sentencing in December.
Read … Marijuana Cop
Overtime Scam Blows 200 DUI Prosecutions: 7 ex-HPD Officers make deal on false-report counts
SA: Circuit Judge Edward Kubo granted all four officers deferrals of their pleas. If they stay out of trouble for the length of their deferral periods, Kubo will drop the charges, and the officers can have them erased from their records. The deferral period is six months for Zoller and Bernal, and three months for the Bugarin brothers.
Kubo also fined Zoller and Bernal $800 each and fined the Bugarin brothers $500 each.
Two other former officers of the unit, Leighton Kato and Michael R. Krekel, were found not guilty in separate trials in May 2011.
A seventh former member of the unit, Brian Morris, pleaded guilty to one tampering charge in March 2011 and agreed to cooperate with the state in exchange for the prosecutor's promise to drop a second charge. However, he withdrew from his cooperation agreement in March 2012 and pleaded no contest to the second charge….
The seven officers were accused of a practice known as "piggybacking," putting the names of as many officers on an arrest report as possible to increase the likelihood that all would be subpoenaed should the defendant challenge his arrest and charge. If they were called to court, they would be on overtime.
The city prosecutor's office said it was forced to dismiss more than 200 DUI cases because of the allegations that the officers falsified reports.
read … 200 DUIs
Hawaii county elections under state and council review, court likely
KHON: State Office of Elections officials, meanwhile, say they're heading to Hilo on Tuesday afternoon for a debriefing with the clerk….
State Office of Elections officials, meanwhile, say they're heading to Hilo on Tuesday afternoon for a debriefing with the clerk.
Senate District 4 Candidate Lorraine Inouye says she will file for a recount, and also possibly a challenge over alleged irregularities, which she declined to detail. Inouye came up 69 votes short of Sen. Malama Solomon.
Candidates, political parties or 30 voters in any election district can file Supreme Court election complaints called "contests for cause." In primary challenges over who won, the court decides. In general or special election challenges, the court can go so far as ordering a new election.
“Because of this possible challenge,” Yagong said, “I think (the meeting) is important because of a lot of her concerns are related to what happened at some of the polling places, so very legitimate questions are being asked."
Counties have election management oversight, whereas up to the mid-1990s, clerks were still hired by the counties but the buck stopped at the lieutenant governor's office.
"We just don't have anything to do with it anymore,” Abercrombie said. “The legislature I think needs to take up the question of how we want to run elections."
read … Lingle Was Right
Hanabusa’s Fault: Hawaii ERS Shortfall Now Exceeds $8.3B
SA: ERS Administrator Wes Machida said the fund's unfunded liability will increase from the $8.2 billion level it was at on June 30, 2011. The actuary's report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, will be released in December. The unfunded liability is the difference between the estimated pension liabilities and the assets of the pension fund.
The unfunded liability will go up in part because the fund managers did not meet the investment return goal of 8 percent for fiscal 2012, Machida said.
In the recently ended Legislative session, the goal was lowered for fiscal 2013 to 7.75 percent.
The fund had posted two straight positive quarters and 10 gains in the previous 12 quarters until slipping in the final three months of the fiscal year. But the tone for the fiscal year was cast in the fiscal first quarter (July 1-Sept. 30, 2011) when the fund lost 11.2 percent. Despite gains of 5.5 percent and 8.3 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively, they weren't enough to overcome the double-digit percentage loss in the fiscal first quarter.
"There is a boatload of old news in the fiscal first quarter, and it's a disappointing number for the fiscal year," said Neil Rue, managing director of Portland, Ore.-based Pension Consulting. "The results of the first fiscal quarter have affected the entire fiscal year."
Rue said that some of the ERS fund's portfolio managers "didn't do what they were supposed to do" during the first quarter when the market was tanking due to problems with the U.S. debt ceiling and the election in Greece. Subsequently, Rue said, two large-cap growth managers and two emerging market managers were fired.
Chart: ERS Assets
Don’t Look at the Source: Act 100: How Hanabusa and Cayetano launched Hawaii Pension crisis
read … More than $8.3B in Debt
Mother and Son in Hawaii House of Representatives?
CB: That will be the case if Democrat Chris (Kalani) Manabat can defeat Republican Bob McDermott, a former legislator, in the District 40 House race this fall.
Manabat, who turned 28 Tuesday (Aug. 14 — today), is the son of Rep. Rida Cabanilla, 59, who won the District 41 seat (Ewa Beach-West Loch Estates) Democratic primary Saturday. She now faces Republican Adam Reeder.
Manabat finished first in a field of six for the Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point seat. He is a former legislative aide and office manager for his mom…. (Nepotism)
In other familial matters, Democrat Rep. Ryan Yamane won his primary race but his father, Brian Yamane, a former legislator, lost his.
Cabanilla’s Previous Office Manager: 2010: Child molester back at work at Hawaii Legislature
read … Crime Families
Berg taken off 2 committees after outburst
KITV: Honolulu City Councilman Tom Berg has been taken off the Transportation Committee and the Committee on Public Works and Sustainability after an outburst during a committee meeting on July 26, according to Council Chair Ernie Martin.
Berg released the following statement: "When I tried to ask questions in Budget Committee regarding why property acquisition for the rail has gone way over budget and why HART is acting in secrecy, I was interrupted by Councilman Breene Harimoto in that Budget Committee who stated I can ask all my questions the next day in his Transportation Committee. When I tried to do just that, I was shut down, called out of order, and it wasn't me that was stymied, but the good people of Oahu who have been duped and lied to about this runaway train."
Police were called to a Transportation Committee meeting when Berg apparently became disruptive. Some people in the room, including some councilmembers, say Berg made them afraid and uncomfortable.
Pine: Berg a “Failure” and “Embarrassment” -- Should Resign
read … Manufactured Kerfluffle
Daryl Smith Plans for SD2 Showdown
HTH: In a phone interview Monday afternoon, Smith said he likes his chances as a Republican in East Hawaii.
“I think this is the first time that a Republican in this district does have a chance,” he said. “I put Russell and I at 50-50 right now. Everyone I talk to right now, it’s really encouraging what they’re saying. Usually there’s a line of people that want to ask me questions at events, and nobody waiting to talk to the others (candidates).”
Smith said that Ruderman’s upset came as a big surprise to his campaign.
“To be absolutely honest, it throws me for a little loop, because I was preparing for Bob,” he said. “… In fact, I went to bed (Saturday night) thinking Bob had won. We haven’t made a plan yet.”
Regardless, Smith said he expects his message to resonate with voters. First and foremost, that message involves the state of education in Hawaii.
“My first priority has always been the same — the way the (Department of Education) spends money. We either spend more money (per pupil) than all the other states, or we’re in the top 1 or 2 percent. But it’s obviously not being spent correctly, or we’d have better results,” he said.
Smith advocates a new way of auditing the department, to see not just how much is being spent, but the quality of those expenditures.
“I think we’re ripping the kids off. It’s not going to the children,” he said.
Smith added that he would also like to pursue alternatives to addressing traffic on Highway 130 in Puna, including the addition of a switchable lane, in which vehicles would run toward Hilo during the morning commute, and run the opposite direction during the evening hours.
read … Puna Senate Race
After Poisoning the Sacred Aina, First Wind Plans to Re-install Lead Batteries at Kahuku
PBN: First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor says that it is currently working with battery manufacturer Xtreme Power to get its 30-megawatt Kahuku Wind Farm back online, after a fire destroyed a 10,000 square-foot battery warehouse there earlier this month.
Gaynor, a panelist at the 2012 Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo, which kicked off Monday morning at the Hawaii Convention Center, told the audience that he doesn’t see a scenario where the 15-megawatt battery energy storage system isn’t built and returned to service. But he says it could take months before the wind farm can be turned back on.
“We’re extremely confident we will get it back online,” said Gaynor, who noted that there are between 25 and 30 people from Hawaiian Electric Co., Xtreme Power and his Boston-based company, that are working on the project.
read … More Lead for Kahuku
First Wind Takes Aim at Protest-Free Maui
CB: First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor said that Maui was a better location for tapping renewable energy sources that can be transported to Oahu via undersea cables than “other” locations in Maui County - ie. Lanai and Molokai.
He noted the opposition to wind farms on those islands and stressed the success that First Wind has had in developing wind farms on Maui, absent community protests.
Gaynor told Civil Beat that the company was planning to place a bid for a project containing 200 mw to 300 mw of wind and solar energy on Maui when HECO releases its upcoming RFP for energy that can be brought to Oahu via undersea cables - or sited on Oahu itself.
Solar Scammers: Intermittency Might not be a Big Deal
read … Lead is delicious
Sempra scraps plans for 300-MW solar farm near Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor
PBN: Sempra U.S. Gas & Power has taken off the table its plan to build a $1 billion, 300-megawatt solar farm on Navy land near Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor.
Vice President of Development Joe Rowley, who oversees development of San Diego-based Sempra’s renewable energy and natural gas projects, told PBN the news after speaking on a panel at the 2012 Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo, which began Monday and runs through Wednesday at the Hawaii Convention Center.
Sempra’s photovoltaic project, which would’ve been one of the biggest solar farms in the country, was announced at last year’s conference.
Abercrombie: “We try to work swiftly with partners”
read … Good Riddance
When US at Brink of Default, Hirono was not a Leader
CB: Just over a year ago, members of Congress pushed the country to the brink of default in an epic stalemate over whether and how to raise the debt ceiling.
In a dramatic last-minute compromise, they reached a long-delayed deal. Fast forward to today: U.S. Senate candidates Mazie Hirono and Linda Lingle are sparring over Hirono's vote last August. Here's an excerpt from an email that campaign staffer Kinsey Kiriakos sent out on behalf of the Hirono campaign on Monday:
Earlier this morning, Lingle suggested that Hirono was unwilling to compromise and had no interest in reducing the deficit. The truth is that Mazie Hirono strongly supported the Budget Control Act of 2011, which was a compromise between Democrats and Republicans to reduce the deficit.
Yes, Hirono voted to help pass the Budget Control Act. But did she really strongly support it?
Not exactly.
Officials on both sides of the aisle were unhappy with the act, but Democrats ultimately gave up more ground than Republicans did. All four Hawaii delegates grudgingly voted to move the bill forward. None seemed thrilled about it.
read … Hirono Desperate, Grasping at Straws
State Rep. Takai calls for Donovan's reinstatement
SA: State Rep. K. Mark Takai said he was "upset to learn about the resassignment" of University of Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan and said in a statement today that "Donovan should be reinstated as AD." ….
"Jim Donovan has done a great job as UH Athletic Director," said Takai, a former UH swimmer who also heads the UH Letterwinners Club.
"Jim has brought reinvigorated UH athletics and has dedicated his life to his alma mater. We can't afford to lose Jim's passion and expertise at this important time of transitions for our athletic program," Takai said.
read … Push Back Against Freitas
UH chancellor defends athletic program's red ink
SA: Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple said it "isn't realistic" to expect the financially struggling University of Hawaii athletic program to balance its books, and questioned whether the state is "willing to pay the price" to be successful.
UH finished $2.34 million in the red for the fiscal year that concluded June 30 and has an accumulated net deficit of $11.44 million run up since 2002, according to the latest unaudited figures.
At a campus press conference Monday to discuss the return of athletic director Jim Donovan and arena manager Rich Sheriff after they were cleared of wrongdoing in an investigation of the Stevie Wonder concert debacle, Apple veered from the apparent talking points.
"Everybody is going to tell me not to do this and go off the cuff, but almost all athletic programs run at a deficit," Apple said. "I think there's 12 across the country, maybe the number is nine or 15 — your Ohio State and your Texas and so on — run in the positive."
UH has finished in the black twice in 11 years, one of them the Sugar Bowl season of 2008. The most recent was 2011.
ILind: UH: Athletic tail wagging the academic dog
read … Stray from Talking Points
Justice 'Reinvestment' -- POHAKU Investigation Tabled
KGI: The Board of Ethics on Friday morning shelved without action a request from the Kaua‘i County Council for an investigation of potential ethics violations associated with POHAKU, a diversion program offered by the county Office of Prosecuting Attorney.
The reason behind the board’s motion to receive the council’s request (a motion to receive means no further action will be taken) is unclear, as board members did not say if there was an investigation already ongoing. All board member Mark Hubbard said was that “there is no investigation on POHAKU that has been initiated upon request of the County Council.”
Deputy County Prosecutor Jake Delaplane, however, said County Attorney Al Castillo has made public statements that there is already an ongoing investigation on OPA’s diversion program.
POHAKU, which stands for Productive Optimism Helps All Kaua‘i, was contracted out verbally with a Mainland-based company and apparently without a procurement process. But OPA has said that this is common practice in most diversion programs, including those run by YWCA.
Delaplane said if the board went ahead with an investigation it would be a duplication of efforts…
Saying the POHAKU matter has many earmarks of “an election year vendetta for the purpose of impugning the repudiation of a political candidate” (referring to County Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho), Lewis in his testimony asked the board to suspend the investigation on POHAKU, unless and until the council provides the board with a document that clearly meets the legal standards of a complaint.
read … POHAKU Investigation Vanishes
Hawaii joins states backing racial preferences in college admissions
AP: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, on behalf of 14 states including Hawaii, is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold racial preferences in college admissions.
The court is scheduled to hear arguments Oct. 10 in a lawsuit by Abigail Fisher, a white student who was not admitted to the University of Texas in 2008. Fisher is challenging the university's admissions policy as a violation of her civil and constitutional rights.
The court's ruling will be its first on affirmative action in higher education since 2003.
read … Diversity Cred for the Enlightened, Conscious and Progressive Elite
TSA Agents Probed for Catching too Many Drug Smugglers, Illegals
USA Today: The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that the department's inspector general will examine the complaints that Middle Easterners, Hispanics and blacks have been targeted in the program. The New York Times reported Sunday that 32 TSA officers at Logan made the complaints.
The chat-down program at Boston and Detroit airports is at the fore of TSA's effort to focus security on the riskiest passengers, rather than treating all travelers the same.
Under the year-old program, officers pose casual questions to all passengers before they screen their carry-on bags to look for deception or hostility that could lead to more interrogation.
The Times reported that officers say their co-workers were targeting minorities, thinking that the stops would lead to the discovery of drugs, outstanding arrest warrants and immigration problems in response to pressure from managers.
Background: Honolulu TSA Screeners Investigated for catching Too Many Illegals and Drug Smugglers
read … Its Racist to Catch Drug Smugglers, Illegals, Terrorists
Iran’s Voice in Honolulu Pipes Up
IPS: Farideh Farhi is an Independent Scholar and Affiliate Graduate Faculty at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She has taught comparative politics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, University of Hawai’i, University of Tehran, and Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran.
Related: Tied to Iranian regime, UH Manoa Prof. defends accused Buenos Aires bomber, ducks debate
read … What to Make of the Latest Iranian-Turkish Row
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