Hawaii Physicians Endorse Lingle for Senate
Ten Candidates File to Run in Honolulu Council Special Election
Waiting for Mr Romney: HSTA Stalling RTTT Until Obama Gone
New ‘yardstick’ sizes up anti-bullying policies
UH Manoa Libraries Rated Among Nation's Worst
Did Abercrombie Punch a Teacher at Maui Airport?
MN: A Hawaiian Airlines flight arrived in Kahului on Aug. 12 with a "Who's Who" of Democratic winners in the previous day's primary on board.
It also bore the elite of Hawaii's ruling class - in short, the governor and lieutenant governor of the state.
They were on Maui to celebrate a day of party unity. Unfortunately, that day was shattered early when the governor was confronted at the airport by a Maui schoolteacher angry about the current status of the teachers' contract with the state.
A caller to The Maui News alleged that "the governor punched a schoolteacher" after the teacher had shouted to the governor: "Your mother would be ashamed of you." Gov. Neil Abercrombie's mother was a teacher in upstate New York….
Democratic congressional candidate Tulsi Gabbard, who acknowledged being at the airport that morning with the governor. She said she saw the governor talk to someone, but she witnessed no commotion, heard no shouting.
Donalyn Dela Cruz, the governor's deputy of communications, said … the governor was walking through the airport when the schoolteacher said "some words to the governor" regarding the HSTA contract. She said the governor asked the teacher to take up the current status of the contract with his union leadership. But she said the teacher "wasn't satisfied with that."….
When asked if there was any physical contact between the governor and the teacher, Dela Cruz said, no. "The governor did not do anything," she said. "The governor continued on his way."….
We understand there's a security videotape of the incident. We'd like to see it. That should settle the matter, once and for all.
We'd ask airport officials to call our city editor at 242-6343 to arrange that screening.
Related: VIDEO: Abercrombie squares off with Maui Nurses
read … Abercrombie Punch
Special Education: Federal Court Punishes DoE For Failure Again
SA: The state has agreed to pay $4.4 million to settle a landmark lawsuit filed by a couple who alleged the Department of Education failed to provide their daughters with appropriate autism-specific services during the girls' formative years in the 1990s.
Attorneys say the suit could have far-reaching implications for other cases filed on behalf of special-needs students who have not received a free, appropriate public education, as federal law requires.
"Clearly, school districts are on notice that a denial of meaningful access for kids can expose them to significant damages,"
said Susan Dorsey, lead attorney for the Levin Education Access Project, a nonprofit that assisted the family with the case.
"The rest of the country will be looking at this decision. It's a huge victory for children."….
If approved, the money will go into a trust for the two autistic sisters — Natalie and Michelle Horsley, now 20 and 21.
Their father, Mark, said his daughters can never live independently.
He called the settlement, after more than a decade of litigation, "surreal."
"It has just had a life of its own," he said. "We kind of knew we had to stick with it, but we didn't know we were going to be in it for this long."
Horsley said the lifetime care of his daughters "is one of those things that keeps you awake at night."
In the case, Horsley and his wife, Rie, alleged that their daughters were victims of "deliberate indifference" by the DOE, and that the department knew or should have known that the two were not receiving appropriate educational services….
There are about 19,000 special education students in Hawaii's public schools, and about 7 percent — or 1,300 — have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.
Related: DoE Spends $3M/yr Suing Disabled Children, Forces Closure of Loveland Academy
SA: Police standoff has Navy family facing eviction (autism related)
read … DoE Smacked down Again
Pressured by Abercrombie Health Exchange, HHSC Considers Privatization
PBN: The Hawaii Health Systems Corp. is exploring the possibility of a public-private partnership with the Arizona-based nonprofit hospital operator Banner Health to run the public hospitals on Maui and Lanai.
“Talks are very preliminary at this point,” Clay Sutherland, chairman of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp.’s Maui Regional System board of directors, said in a statement. “As we continue to gather more information, we will keep the community informed.” (Translation: Bye bye HGEA jobs)
The Hawaii Health Systems Corp.’s Maui Regional System operates Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku, the only full-service, acute-care hospital on the Valley Isle, as well as Kula Hospital & Clinic in Upcountry Maui and the Lanai Community Hospital.
Phoenix-based Banner Health operates 23 acute-care hospitals and health-care facilities in seven states, Sutherland noted.
The HHSC faces a number of financial challenges on the Neighbor Islands, including “a lack of scale that affects operations and the inability to keep up with health-care reform,” Wesley Lo, the HHSC’s Maui Regional CEO, said in a statement.
Related: Legislative Report: Convert HHSC to non-profit, dump civil service (full text)
read … HGEA vs Obamacare
UH loses supercomputer contract, its biggest ever worth tens of millions
HNN: The University of Hawaii has lost the biggest contract in the school's history, worth tens of millions of dollars, to run a supercomputer center on Maui.
The Maui High Performance Computing Center is one of six supercomputer centers in the country run by the Department of Defense for high-tech research. It's located at the Maui Research and Technology Park in Kihei.
Since October of 2001 the UH has operated and managed the facility under a contract worth as much as $181 million over the last decade, which was the largest contract in UH's history, according to a news release at the time.
UH was one of four bidders for the new contract. On Aug. 1, the Air Force announced it had awarded the new contract to mainland defense contractor SAIC, instead of UH.
SAIC is based in McLean, Virginia with 41,000 employees who work on contracts with the Department of Defense, U.S. Homeland Security department and other government agencies. The company had revenues of $11 billion in fiscal year 2011, according to its website.
UH has questioned the process and filed a bid protest with the federal government. A formal legal protest proceeding is now underway.
"This was a hard-fought full and open competition that began over two years ago and put UH head-to-head against major corporate defense contractors that compete for these contracts for a living," the UH said in a statement released to Hawaii News Now.
In its losing bid, UH partnered with defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which operates four other Defense Department supercomputer centers on the mainland. Hawaii-based defense contractors Pacific Defense Solutions and Referentia Systems, Inc. were also part of UH's bid team.
read … UH loses supercomputer contract, its biggest ever worth tens of millions
UWHO Chancellor Ran Campus Construction Project Under Research Grant?
ILind: In an interesting move, Awakuni turned to Facebook several hours before the story was broadcast with a warning about the expected report.
Awakuni’s Facebook post downplayed the budget issue, then said:
We wanted you to be aware of this news report and the actual details behind it, so that you would not be blindsided by what could be an imbalanced and negative report on UH West Oahu.
The chancellor, it seems, is overly sensitive to questions. He apparently doesn’t understand that such a reaction is unlikely to discourage critical reporting, but rather increase scrutiny in the future.
Back on the West Oahu website, though, Awakuni acknowledged the budget issues and also reports that “some” subcontractors have not been paid for their work due to the project’s financial issues.
UH West Oahu is aware of questions circulating in the community about construction costs and financing, and we understand there are some subcontractors who are unhappy with the speed of their payments.
We and RCUH (the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii) are in active communication with the general contractor and others and have recently met with the contractor to verify the timing and extent of outstanding costs. The Board of Regents has been made aware of this issue.
Then comes an interesting additional disclosure.
RCUH managed the project with Chancellor Gene Awakuni as Principal Investigator.
So the construction of the West Oahu campus has been shunted over into the University of Hawaii Research Corporation and somehow treated as a “research” project with Awakuni as Principal Investigator.
read … Que Bono?
Senate could take closer look at UH debacle
KHON: Late Tuesday afternoon, Senator Jill Tokuda, Senate President Shan Tsutsui and Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim walk into a closed-door meeting. That's after being flooded with questions and concerns from colleagues and the public about the recent UH debacle.
"And we do have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers, to the public, to make sure things are done properly," Sen. Tokuda said.
That's why the Hawaii State Senate is discussing the possibility of activating its "Committee on Accountability."
"Taking a look at how decisions are made, who really calls the shots when it comes to various decisions regarding financial situations, personnel," she said….
Senators could decide to activate that committee by the end of this week.
read … Senate could take closer look at UH debacle
Hawaii tourist arrivals and spending continue to soar in July
SA: Total visitor spending in July rose by 17.8 percent to $1.28 billion, according to statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. The $193.8 million gain from the same period in 2011 helped push spending during the first seven months of the year to $8.4 billion, an increase of 20.8 percent.
Higher daily spending and 7.8 percent growth in total arrivals were behind the increase. In July, the state welcomed 720,355 visitors. During the first seven months, arrivals rose 9.8 percent to 4,652,621 visitors.
read … About the only thing holding the economy together
Sen. Fukunaga, Co-sponsor of Rail Tax Hike, runs for city council
KITV: Fukunaga has been at the State Capitol for the past 20 years and has already represented a number of communities in the council district.
"Makiki, Tantalus and Punchbowl are part of District 6. Just about every issue in the senatorial district involves city and state solutions, so this is the next step in how I can continue serving the community," said Fukunaga….
Fukunaga lost her senate race in the Primary Election. In order to move to the city council, Fukunaga had to move to a condo in the heart of District 6.
So far, nine other candidates have filed to run for the council seat, including former councilman and newsman Jon Yoshimura.
The special election will take place on the same day as the General Election.
SA: Fukunaga to run for Council seat vacated by Tulsi Gabbard
Fukunaga 0.5% Rail Tax votes: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2005/status/HB1309.asp
Fukunaga 0.5% Rail Tax cosponsor: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2005/status/SB1731.asp
read … Another pro-rail candidate
Rail is the Next Walmart? Archaeological Survey is the Easy Part
Shapiro: Now the city seems to think resuming construction is a simple matter of accelerating the archaeological survey, scheduled for completion in March.
But the survey is the easy part; the thornier issue is reaching agreement with the burial council on how to deal with remains that are found.
Consider the burial disputes that have bedeviled the Kawaiahao Church expansion, the Keeaumoku Walmart and the abandoned Whole Foods Market at Ward — all in the vicinity of the rail line.
No money should have been spent on final design or construction until these issues were worked out.
This setback could threaten the city's application for $1.55 billion in federal funds, and problems could worsen if a federal judge upholds another lawsuit challenging the rail environmental impact statement.
The city signed the first $483 million rail construction contract in 2009, three years before groundbreaking would occur, despite warnings from the Federal Transit Administration that the city was putting itself in a "pickle" with "unrealistic dates."
Another FTA memo from 2006 was prescient: "We seem to be proceeding in the hallowed tradition of Honolulu rapid transit studies: never enough time to do it right, but lots of time to do it over."
It's fair to ask whether those who caused this costly mess and never seem to learn from their mistakes deserve a chance to do it over.
read … Self-serving city leaders steered rail off the tracks
June-July Rail pacts worth $75M
SA: The city awarded more than $75 million in new rail-related design and professional services contracts in the weeks before the rail project was halted by a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling, state procurement records show.
The new contracts were awarded in June and July, the largest a $43.94 million agreement with the Los Angeles-based AECOM Technical Services Inc. to design the "City Center" section of the rail guideway.
That portion of guideway is particularly sensitive because it includes the downtown and Kakaako areas where experts believe rail construction is most likely to encounter Hawaiian burials, or iwi kupuna….
Other rail-related contracts awarded in June and July include:
- » $1.6 million to ICxTransportation Group Inc. to provide rail-related traffic engineering and other services to the state Department of Transportation.
- » $12 million to SSFM International Inc. to provide architectural and engineering services to the state DOT including design and construction review, assistance with permit compliance and other services.
- » Another $10 million contract to AECOM to provide architectural and engineering services to assist the state DOT with design and construction review, facilitation of permits and compliance issues.
- » $7.789 million to the San Francisco-based URS Corp. to design rail stations serving East Kapolei, the new campus of University of Hawaii at West Oahu and Ho‘opili Station.
read … When the world is running down grab the best of what’s still around
Rail Chief: 75% Of Archeological Studies Unfinished
HR: Honolulu rapid transit chief Dan Grabauskas told the City Council two weeks ago that 75 per cent of necessary archeological surveys along the rail route remain to be done and won’t be completed until the end of this year.
The letter, dated August 13, has taken on new significance since Friday’s court decision that effectively shut down construction of the 20-mile, $5.3 billion rapid transit project pending completion of the surveys. Grabauskas letter
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART) has been following a staggered approach to the survey work along the rail route, beginning construction after surveys were completed on one end of the line but unfinished at the other end.
The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled Friday that the sequential approach violates state law. All the surveys, which are meant to locate and identify historic and culturally significant sites along the rail route, should have been completed before construction began, the court held.
In the aftermath of that decision, HART said yesterday that it was suspending rail construction until completion of the surveys. Grabauskas said he expected the survey work to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
It is not known much money the halt in construction will cost the city.
read … Rail Chief: 75% Of Archeological Studies Unfinished
Frantic: HART, Inouye Scramble to Save Federal Funding for Rail
KHON: The rail authority says federal funding is on track despite a halt to construction though it's not yet known how long the work stoppage will last or what effect it will have on the labor force.
Getting federal money requires certain impacts to be firmly known, and much of that is still being studied. The outlook for the main contractor's 250 workers is also up in the air.
Honolulu's application for full federal funding -- or an FFGA -- awaits agency, administration and congressional review. The FTA declined comment on Honolulu's post-court status specifically but according to their own fact sheets "Firm funding commitments, embodied in FFGAs... will not be made until... the project's development has progressed to the point where its scope, costs, benefits, and impacts are considered firm and final."
The state supreme court threw archaeological impacts into limbo by saying a full -- not phased -- study must be done first.
”It represents a fundamentally new starting point for how we do the historic review process," said David Frankel, plaintiff’s attorney.
A HART spokesman told KHON2 "The process for the Full Funding Grant Agreement remains on track."
Appropriations chairman and Senator Dan Inouye's spokesman said "The Senator will not comment until we know the extent of the work stoppage and whether the archaeological inventory survey can be expedited."…
The Project Management Oversight Contractor for the FTA recently called labor availability for the Honolulu project a significant problem and says the city: "...has incurred more expenses than originally planned because of the hiring and retention challenges," leading to heavier than expected spending on consultants and contract employees. (THEY ARE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING WORKERS WITH APPROPRIATE SKILLS—AND THIS IS YET ANOTHER ARGUMENT FOR CHANGE ORDERS)
Lance Wilhelm, Senior Vice President and Hawaii Area Manager, Kiewit Building Group said in a statement.
“We are awaiting further discussions with the City and HART on what type of work is allowed on the rail transit project in the interim before any employee decisions are made. We look forward to moving ahead with the project and will continue to assess construction plans and related activities.” (AND NOW THEY WILL HAVE TO LAY THEM OFF—BUT LOOT THE TREASURY ON THE WAY OUT THE DOOR)
read … On Track?
Honolulu rail lawsuit attorney alerts federal judge about Hawaii Supreme Court ruling
PBN: The attorney for the plaintiffs in the federal case filed what is called a “notice of supplemental authority,” which provides the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Hawaii with a copy of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s ruling. The federal case was heard last Tuesday in Honolulu.
The Hawaii Supreme Court decision may not accelerate federal judge A. Wallace Tashima’s ruling, but the plaintiffs hope that he looks at the ruling here and considers it, said Adams, a partner with San Francisco-based SNR Denton.
“We consider it a certain amount of validation that the city’s approach to this [rail project] was not a reasonable one,” Adams said about the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling.
Adams said he has kept in touch with the local attorneys from the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. about their case.
The federal case mirrors the state litigation in the concerns about the impact that building a rail system will have on Native Hawaiian burials, but the federal case also challenges the environmental impact statement for rail.
CN: Work Stops on Giant Oahu Rail Project
SA: Enough with our ‘amateur’ standing in Hawaii
read … Authority
Caldwell still supports rail, won't speculate on project's future
SA: “Whatever the Court decides, our traffic problems are not going to go away; I would really like to see a better option if there is one. In the meantime, there are many other city issues that a serious mayoral candidate should be addressing. I'm anxious to do so.”
read … Taking his pothead daughter to College
Council Majority Redoubles Effort to Silence Berg
KITV: "We members should behave, behave, behave. That is the bottom line. Any member who is not behaving properly compromises the integrity of the council," said Councilman Romy Cachola.
A resolution went before a council committee that would change the rules on order and decorum along with calling for harsher penalties.
"I don't think there is ever a situation where we can justify bad behavior, especially as elected officials," said Councilman Breene Harimoto.
According to the resolution, disorderly or contemptuous behavior could permit the council to suspend any Councilmember, without pay, for one month.
But some members questioned whether they should be the ones removing elected officials from office, even temporarily.
"I believe it is up to the electorate that elects each one of us to hold us accountable for our actions," said Councilman Ikaika Anderson.
Read … Election Season Propaganda
Henry Curtis: Sunshine Needed at the PLDC
CB: …what did Act 221 teach us? That throwing money at a problem without any controls simply wasted taxpayers money. We gave tax breaks for job creation, but hid the names of the companies receiving the tax breaks. Companies received taxpayer subsidies without having to show they actually created jobs….
In Hawai`i, both Legislators and commissioners on power regulatory boards (LUC, BLNR, PLDC, Water Commission, PUC) have to file annual financial disclosure statements. The public may only view the statements filed by Legislators. In fact, it is a crime for the public to review the public disclosure filings made by commissioners of powerful state boards and commissions. Clearly this situation can easily lead to hidden conflicts of interest and cozy relationships that are unhealthy in a democracy, and it must be changed if the public is to regain trust in state government boards and commissions.
Life of the Land has sought to overturn this policy over the last few Legislative sessions, but to no avail….
HEI lends employees to the legislature, to the PUC, to the university and to the military for a period of 6 months to a year. This lending practice is hidden from the public who doesn’t need to know that they, as ratepayers, they are financing entanglements between regulators, regulatees, policy makers and university educators….
BIVN: PLDC Balks at Further Filming, Relents
CB: KAHEA Calls for Repeal of PLDC
read … Sunshine Needed at the PLDC
Tiffany Au, daughter of Vietnam boat refugees runs for Hawaii House of Rep.
WT: Among the fortunate few who braved the rough seas and reached safety were Lily and Tien Au, barely married and in their early twenties. The Aus would make it as far as Singapore where they were spotted by jet skiers and rescued and taken to a refugee camp in Malaysia. After waiting a long year, the two were granted asylum in the United States and settled in Hawaii.
Today, just one generation later Tiffany Au, the youngest daughter of Lily and Tien Au is making waves in Hawaii as a rising community leader and the reigning local 2012 Narcissus Queen. Now running for office as a Republican candidate for state representative, Tiffany Au is perhaps one of the most amazing examples of the dynamic, ongoing miracle of the American Dream.
As a generational bridge between Asia and America, Tiffany Au has a special perspective on the past, present and future of Asia-Pacific policy. Curious about what she thought about the changing economies of Southeast Asia and China’s military buildup, I sought out Ms. Au for a few questions. Here is a transcript, with light edits for clarity.
read … Tiffany Au, daughter of Vietnam boat refugees runs for Hawaii House of Rep.
Pacific Islands Policy? Akaka Has Been a Complete Failure
CB: Bordallo said that Akaka consistently assisted her efforts to obtain war reparations for the people of Guam. Ambassador Hersey Kyota of Palau said that the senator has always been supportive of Palau’s needs.
Akaka co-sponsored a bill to restore Medicaid eligibility to migrants from the Freely Associated States. Their eligibility was removed in 1996 with the Welfare Reform Act.
He also cosponsored a bill to approve the U.S. treaty with the Republic of Palau.
But neither bill has been passed yet, and there is still more work to be done.
“[Hirono] has co-sponsored my legislation giving the Northern Marianas ownership of submerged lands around our islands, and other bills with an island or regional aspect,” Sablan said via email. (Also not passed)
That's not to say there haven't been moments of tension between Hawaii's congressional delegation and their Pacific island neighbors.
Last summer, the entire Hawaii congressional delegation signed a letter asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to address the lack of federal funding to help support the cost of health care for migrants from Compact of Free Association states. The letter included the controversial suggestion that migration be capped. (Which also hasn’t happened)
For more information on U.S. territory policy in the Pacific, read “U.S. Territorial Policy: Trends and Current Challenges,” by Stayman, published by the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii.
read … Complete Failure
Soft on Crime: Nanakuli Schools Locked Down by Standoff with Lifelong Criminal on Parole
SA: The 49-year-old Waipahu man who prompted the lockdown of three Nanakuli schools Tuesday afternoon was convicted of manslaughter in a traffic accident in 1984 and is on parole following a terroristic threatening conviction last year.
Hawaii Paroling Authority records shows that the suspect was convicted of manslaughter in the 1984 accident and served six years of a 10 year sentence. He completed his parole in 1994.
In addition, he was convicted last year of terroristic threatening, a class C felony, and is serving five years probation. He was convicted three times for misdemeanor abuse of a family or household member, twice last year and previously in 1995.
The suspect was arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of kidnapping and abuse of a family or household member.
read … Justice Reinvestment
Honolulu's Most Dangerous Intersections
CB: …most of them are in the heart of Honolulu and near Ala Moana, according to data compiled by the Hawaii Department of Transportation. There were other problem spots across the island, too: Kaimuki, Pearl City, Kaneohe, to name a few.
The DOT’s statistics, acquired from Honolulu’s transportation department, are based on the total number of reported car crashes during a recent three-year span.
The junction between Beretania Street and Ward Avenue between 2007 and 2009 experienced more accidents than any other Honolulu County intersection. During that time, the location saw 23 reported accidents, according to the DOT data. That's on top of fender benders and other accidents that go unreported
read … Honolulu's Most Dangerous Intersections
CB: HPD Officers Rack up Overtime Protecting ‘Communist Propaganda Chief’, Obama
| U.S. Attorney Eric Holder |
July 10-16, 2011 |
25 |
$10,581.74 |
| Vice President Joe Biden |
July 24-25, 2011 |
23 |
$26,299.76 |
| President Barack Obama |
Nov. 14-15, 2011 |
46 |
$18,481.35 |
| President Barack Obama and family |
Dec. 16, 2011-Jan. 2, 2012 |
47 |
$130,960.73 |
| First Lady Laura Bush |
Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2012 |
4 |
$2,044.88 |
| Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta |
March 8-9, 2012 |
9 |
$781.09 |
| His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama |
April 13-April 17, 2012 |
15 |
$14,252.31 |
| His Excellency Li Changchun, propaganda chief of the Communist Party of China |
April 24-April 25, 2012 |
27 |
$11,585.42 |
read … I’ll Protect Anybody as Long as I get Paid
Paramedics help sex trafficking victims
HNN: For the past several months, the city has required all of its paramedics to attend this 90-minute course so that they can better recognize the tell-tale signs of trafficking abuse, a problem experts say is more widespread than many people think.
"We've learned that they are so afraid of being caught by their pimps and by the law that they are not very responsive to our help, and turned us away more often than not," said Kelly Yamamoto, a district chief with the City & County of Honolulu's Emergency Medical Services.
The training sessions were conducted by Kathryn Xian, who is executive director of the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery. Xian said that when compared to Mainland cities, Honolulu has a higher proportion of women at risk of being forced into sex trafficking.
She said the average age of entry is 13 and most of the girls are physically coerced.
"Human trafficking, because it is an underground industry, is highly ignored, and yet the problem of both sex and labor trafficking in Hawaii is quite significant," Xian said.
Emergency workers put this training to good use over the past weekend, when they rescued a 20 year-old woman who was beaten in Makiki. The woman was placed in a shelter before she could be discovered by pimps.
read … Paramedics help sex trafficking victims
Appeals Court Sides with Lanaians for Sensible Growth
EH: The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation has won again.
On August 24, the Intermediate Court of Appeals found that the citizens’ group Lanaians for Sensible Growth (LSG) -- a client of the NHLC -- can appeal a 2010 Land Use Commission decision that allows Castle & Cooke Resorts (CCR) to irrigate its Manele Bay golf course with water drawn from a high-level aquifer on the island.
The case goes back to 1989, when the LUC placed a condition (Condition No. 10) on the redistricting 139 acres at Manele. Condition 10 prohibited the use of potable water from the high-level aquifer for irrigation. Concerned that CCR was violating that condition, the LUC in 1993 ordered CCR to show why the land should not revert to the Rural and Agricultural districts.
read … Squeezing Ellison
Bidding process closing for what will be Hawaii’s tallest building
PBN: The state agency told PBN that 690 Pohukaina, in Honolulu’s Kakaako neighborhood, has garnered solid bids from at least four developers, who are from Hawaii and China.
According to the request for proposals, the HCDA is likely to choose a developer by the end of this year after holding several public hearings.
read … Abercrombie Tower
Hawaii to License Online Teachers?
EW: Now that 40 states have virtual schools or initiatives in the works to open them, more attention is going to the skills particularly required of online teachers. Such teachers need to rely especially heavily on written communication, ensure academic integrity from afar, and not only be able to understand how new technological tools function, but also to use them in pedagogically sound ways.
But how should state education officials ensure that online teachers have those skills?...
The Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, during the 2012-13 school year, will consider adding online teaching either as a stand-alone licensing field or an endorsement. Although based in Honolulu, the board understands the benefits of online teaching in a state with many rural, hard-to-reach areas, Executive Director Lynn Hammonds said.
read … Virtual Ed. Addresses Teacher-Certification Questions
Progressives Campaign for Control of Kauai Prosecutor’s Office
CB: In one case, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined there was reasonable cause to believe a white woman working as a deputy prosecutor was subjected to race-based harassment. The EEOC investigation and subsequent determination resulted in a six-figure settlement between the county and employee.
In another case, a white woman working as a victim witness counselor said she was fired because of her race and was subjected to offensive posters in the workplace. The EEOC did not issue a determination of reasonable cause in that instance, but she did receive a settlement check from the county based on her claims.
In all, Kauai taxpayers have paid $223,000 to settle four complaints filed with the EEOC since December 2008, all concerning the prosecutor's office, according to a county official.
read … So the Progressives Will Now Take over from the Locals
Flags to Fly at Half-Staff Friday, August 31, in Honor of Neil Armstrong
News Release from www.Hawaii.gov/gov August 28, 2012
HONOLULU – Governor Neil Abercrombie has ordered that all national and Hawai'i flags at state offices and agencies as well as the Hawai'i National Guard are to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Friday, August 31, 2012, in memory of astronaut Neil Armstrong, as directed by President Barack Obama.
Mr. Obama made the Presidential Proclamation as a mark of respect for the memory of Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon, on the day of his interment.
“Neil Armstrong’s legacy will endure as an inspiring example of what a nation can achieve when united in a single purpose,”said Governor Abercrombie. “Through iconic words and actions, Mr. Armstrong demonstrated that the greatest of human achievements are so often the culmination of the many small steps of dedicated individuals.”
To view the Presidential Proclamation, visit: LINK
Honolulu Civil Beat hires Jayson Harper as GM
PBN: Harper, who was most recently publisher of Pacific Basin Communications’ Travel Group, which includes Hawaii Magazine, will be responsible for operations and business development, and will work with Editor Patti Epler, who succeeded John Temple earlier this year after he left to work for the Washington Post….
Civil Beat also said that Honolulu reporter Michael Levine has relocated to Washington, D.C., to manage its news bureau there.
CB: The Story Of Us: Civil Beat Is Growing
read … Money & Message
New show follows Hawaii Life Flight crews
WHT: Nurse Lori Cannon looks at her patient, a 21-year-old man whose neck was broken in several places in a car crash, then explains calmly and clearly some of the injuries he has, reminding him he’s no longer in a parking lot, but in an airplane headed to Honolulu.
Cannon, who works with Hawaii Life Flight, maintains that steady tone as she asks the man if he wants her to call his mother in Pennsylvania. He does, and after delivering the man to an ambulance that will take him to The Queen’s Medical Center, she makes the call.
It’s one of many such emergencies Cannon has worked, and one of the first two stories told by production company Zero Point Zero in The Weather Channel’s new series “Hawaii Air Rescue.” The show premieres Sept. 12.
read … New show follows Hawaii Life Flight crews
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