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Saturday, September 1, 2012
September 1, 2012 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:13 PM :: 6724 Views

16 Candidates File to Run in Honolulu Council Special Election

Audit: DoE School Bus Failures Waste Millions, Endanger Students

DoE Procurement: "Fraudulent Unethical Behavior" Rewarded with More Autonomy, Less Oversight

Audits Ignored? Two Years Later Less than 50% of Recommendations Implemented

Impact Aid federal survey cards to go home with students

3 Day Fugitive Task Force Mission Leads to 67 arrests

U.S. Pacific Islands Collaboration Sets Framework for Regional Ocean Partnership

Does Hawaii Need An "Environmental Court?" - Doesn't It Already Have One?

New Complaint Challenging Kauai's Limit On Visitor Units

Honolulu Rail Cost Escalation

Coaches ‘Pressured’, Effort ‘Orchestrated’ to Make Rockne ‘Broken Trust’ Freitas AD

HNN: Some members of a committee that will help choose the University of Hawaii's next athletics director want three coaches removed from the panel because they endorsed a candidate before the search process has even begun.

Most of the UH head coaches and many of their assistants, 44 in all, have signed a petition asking that acting athletics director Rockne Freitas (Lokelani Lindsey’s Broken Trust ‘enforcer’) be immediately appointed to the permanent AD post.

Three of those coaches serve on the search advisory committee for the AD job, including Warriors head football coach Norm Chow, who's the co-chair of the 14-member search panel. The other two coaches who've backed Freitas and were also appointed to the search committee are women's volleyball head coach Dave Shoji and women's basketball coach Laura Beeman.

At least a half dozen of the coaches who signed the petition have told people they felt "pressured" to sign the document by other UH coaches, sources said. (No kidding? What a surprise!)

Bonnyjean Manini, the head of the UH Manoa faculty senate who also serves on the search panel, said the process already looks and smells unfair.

"There is a foul on the play and it is foul-smelling as well," said Manini…

"I think the chancellor needs to ask those that have spoken publicly about endorsing a particular individual to resign or to remove them so that we can have a fair process," Manini said. "We need to send a message that we're not going into this process already knowing the outcome of the process. If that is what we're doing, there's no sense in going through the process."

Another member of the 14-member search committee who asked for anonymity said, "What the hell is going on? What is this?"

Freitas has applied twice before for AD and never got the job. Freitas previously said he wasn't interested in the permanent AD post, but there are those on the UH campus who wonder if this whole effort isn't being orchestrated to allow Freitas to get the job quickly without a full search and interview process. (They do have a gift for the obvious.)

Asked Friday afternoon if he's now interested in being AD on a permanent basis, Freitas said, "I haven't thought about it because I'm too busy" carrying out the two jobs at the same time. (Quick IQ test: Do you believe him?)

Related: Greenwood Mafia grabs two power positions in UH system

Future: City Drops Cocaine Charge Against Former University of Hawaii Quarterback Colt Brennan, Brennan is charged in DUI case

read … Freitas Power Play Foul Smelling

SA Endorses Broken Trust Freitas for Athletic Director

Star-Advertiser Editorial: Reeling from losing $200,000 for a scam Stevie Wonder concert and buying out Jim Donovan from his previous job as athletic director to avoid a lawsuit, the University of Hawaii has decided to conduct a nationwide search for the position — but there's concern that this will be yet another wasteful move since top officials seem to be in serious disarray over what they're seeking. Increasingly, it seems the choice for athletic director for the near-term should be Rockne Freitas, and UH should waste no time or money in searching further ….

Nearly all of the university's coaches for its 21 teams have signed a letter to the UH leaders recommending that UH "consider immediately" hiring Freitas as the athletic director. …

Until some much-needed transparency — Greenwood's word — and clearer thinking emerges, installing Freitas as athletic director for some much-needed stability (has been made to) sounds increasingly reasonable.

read … Mafia can bring stability

Nepotism? Mizuno’s Wife is Chief of Staff

KHON: Among those filing papers Friday, Chu Lan Schubert Kwock.

She has been working for years to improve Chinatown as co-founder of the Chinatown Business and Community Association.

Also entering the race Friday, May Mizuno. she's the wife and chief of staff of state representative John Mizuno.

Related: Anti-Rail Candidate Sam Aiona Running for Honolulu Council Dist 6

Related: Mama's Boy: Cabanilla, Manabat Accused of Nepotism

read … Nepotism?

Cayetano Pinched Pennies Before Primary

CB: The Honolulu mayoral candidate had said he planned to spend almost his entire bank account before the Aug. 11 primary. It was part of his attempt to capture more than 50 percent of the vote and avoid a Nov. 6 runoff.

He didn’t spend the money and he didn’t win the election outright. He did come close, however, when it came to the spending.

According to the most recent campaign finance reports, the former governor raised nearly $1 million between Jan. 1 and Aug. 11. He spent about $900,000.

The reports also show Cayetano had just over $108,000 left in his bank account the day of the primary, which is more than four times that of his general election opponent, Kirk Caldwell.

CB: Rail Protesters at Honolulu Hale: Bus Mo Bettah

read … Cayetano Pinched Pennies Before Primary

Audit: Hawaii Sheriff’s Division keeping $383,000 of equipment off-inventory

DN: Each year, Hawaii is required to contract with an independent auditor to review financial statements of any government organization that expends more than $500,000 in federal funds. This is called the Single Audit. In Hawaii, this job seems to go to Deliotte & Touch LLC. If you have the patience, wading through these can reveal tiny nuggets of gold, but like panning for gold, it’s quite a bit of work….

Today I started on the 2010 Hawaii Single Audit. As an example of what can be discovered, check this out (page 225). Where else could we learn that the Sheriff’s department has been stockpiling equipment off the books?

read … Audit: Hawaii Sheriff’s Division keeping $383,000 of equipment off-inventory

Public hearings set on state's renewable energy plan

SA: The U.S. Department of Energy has scheduled a series of public hearings in September around the state to solicit comment for a “programmatic environmental impact statement” for planned renewable energy projects on different islands and undersea transmission cable to connect them.

A list of the hearing dates and locations can be found at: http://hawaiicleanenergypeis.com/.

The DOE broadened the scope of the analysis to include all forms of renewable energy, energy efficiency, alternative transportation fuels and electrical transportation and distribution. The analysis previously was focused on wind energy projects proposed for Molokai, Lanai and Maui.

LINK: http://hawaiicleanenergypeis.com/

The meetings will be held:

  • » Sept. 11 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at McKinley High School in Honolulu.
  • » Sept. 12 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihue.
  • » Sept. 13 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona.
  • » Sept. 14 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Hilo High School.
  • » Sept. 17 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Pomaikai Elementary School in Kahului.
  • » Sept. 18 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Lanai High & Elementary School in Lanai City.
  • » Sept. 19 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Mitchell Pauole Community Center in Kaunakakai.
  • » Sept. 20 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at James B. Castle High School in Kaneohe.

read … Learn about, comment on plan for programmatic EIS

Hawaiian Homestead case scheduled to resume Friday in Circuit Court

DN: The Kalima v. State of Hawaii class action suit was filed on behalf of the 2,700 people who filed claims with the Native Hawaiian Claims Panel between 1991 and 1995. Native Hawaiian plaintiffs sought relief of breach of trust by the state in the administration of the Hawaiian Homelands program.

It was filed by public interest attorneys Thomas Grande and Carl M. Varady in 1999 in Circuit Court and argued all the way to the state Supreme Court and back. Background and history for this case can be found here.

read … Hawaiian Homestead case scheduled to resume Friday in Circuit Court

NELHA Abandons Pipes Underwater, Destroys Coral

KITV: "Those structures are going to fall apart and do incredible damage," said spear fisherman Mark Barville, talking about a deteriorating underwater pipe system.

Barville said he's not the only one who knows about the pipes, but recently he started to take a closer look -- only to wish he'd done so sooner.

"I know what I see. It's not good. It's a junkyard, and not only is it a junkyard, it's a junkyard that's mobile," he told KITV reporter Lara Yamada by phone from the Big Island.

The old pipes sit in waters not far off Keahole Point on the north side of the Big Island -- waters used by The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority or NELHA.

"This is something that happened 20 years ago," began NELHA Executive Director Greg Barbour.

He said a company called Ocean Farms of Hawaii, one of NELHA's first big tenants in the 1980s, went bankrupt and abandoned the pipe system.

Read … Old Pork Projects

The Economics of Recycling in Hawaii

HB: …the economics of recycling has many other layers: Paper, metal, plant clippings, plastic and many more items are recycled in Hawaii and each has a dollar value. Hawaii Business asked sustainability expert Scott Cooney to look deeper into the economics of recycling. He is an adjunct professor of sustainability at UH-Manoa’s Shidler College of Business, author of “Build a Green Small Business” and principal of the GBO Group, which advises companies on sustainability strategies.

read … the report

LA Bus Riders Union says rail hurts those of lower incomes:

Thanks to our correspondent Barry Klein, we learn that Eric Mann of the L.A. Bus Riders Union wrote last week in "Yes" magazine of the impact of rail lines on inner city folk and how it ruins their bus system. Here are three paragraphs from the article:

"In big sprawling cities like Los Angeles, transportation is key. Without it, you can’t get to work, to the grocery store, or anywhere else you might need to go. For the middle class and the wealthy, the answer is the car. For everyone else, especially poor people of color, the answer has always been the bus.

"And yet, the city of Los Angeles seems intent on dismantling its bus system. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has cut more than 1 million hours of bus service, using the money to fund its ambitious new system of rails. Rail funding already receives the lion’s share of the MTA's $4 billion yearly budget, but the agency also uses bus money to pay for cost overruns on their rail projects."

The final paragraph of the complete article, which you should read, is:

"What’s more, new developments in technology are making buses faster and more reliable around the world. Simple improvements include signal synchronization, or traffic lights timed for rapid movement; freeway buses that run on protected rapid lanes; systems of bus-only lanes, and 24/7 service. More cutting-edge is Bus Rapid Transit, a unified system that involves physically separated bus lanes, pre-boarding fare payments, and a control center that manages the system. It’s working great in Curitiba, Brazil, and Bogotá, Colombia. This is our vision for the future of transportation in Los Angeles."

read … Honolulu Traffic

Hawaii's Youngest Sex Trafficking Victims 'Get Out' When Rescued by First Responders

HR: When Dee Dee was just 16 years old, a pimp forced her to work on the streets of Chinatown and Waikiki as a prostitute. She remembers the first time she was forced to have sex for money, and how scared and humilliated she felt.

After being beaten and raped repeatedly and threatened by her pimp during her "breaking in period ," she saw no way to escape.

HR: Elegant Fundraising Event to establish a Hawaii home for child victims of sex trafficking

read … Rescued by First Responders

Kauai County workers alter lighting to protect seabirds

SA: Kauai County workers are disconnecting nonshielded exterior lights at all county facilities to prepare for the Newell’s shearwater three-month fledgling season that begins Sept. 15.

Over the last year, the Department of Public Works has shielded hundreds of exterior lights as part of a plea agreement between the county and the U.S. Department of Justice to protect Hawaii’s threatened and endangered seabirds….

Under the agreement, Kauai Interscholastic Football games are limited to hold up to four evening games during the fledgling season.

read … Dim Bulbs

Hawaii foreclosure sales down 44% in the second quarter

PBN: Second-quarter foreclosure sales in Hawaii fell 44 percent when compared to the same period in 2011, with declines seen in three of the state’s four major counties, according to RealtyTrac.

There were a total of 364 foreclosure sales during the second quarter, which was 43.74 percent fewer than the number of sales during the second quarter of 2011.

Sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank-owned accounted for 9.23 percent of all home sales statewide during the second quarter, compared to 19 percent during the same quarter last year, according to the report by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

Nationally, foreclosures accounted for 23 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the quarter, compared to 19 percent of all sales during the second quarter of 2011.

There were 132 foreclosure sales on Oahu, which was 5 percent of all residential sales and 47 percent fewer than the second quarter of 2011.

Maui County had 110 foreclosure sales, which was 17 percent of all sales and 44 percent fewer than last year.

The Big Island had 82 foreclosure sales, which was 14 percent of all sales and 50 percent fewer than last year.

The 40 foreclosure sales on Kauai were 16 percent of all sales

read … Hawaii foreclosure sales down 44% in the second quarter

Clinton in Cook Islands: U.S. committed to security in Asia-Pacific

SA: Speaking at a meeting of leaders of South Pacific island nations, Clinton said the United States would not abandon its long history of protecting maritime commerce in the region and serving as a counterbalance to domination by any single world power….

Clinton is the first secretary of state to participate in the Pacific Island Forum and the first to visit the sprawling but sparsely populated Cook Islands.

Her visit to the main island, population 10,000, in the remote Cook chain has created a buzz of excitement and she was welcomed on arrival by dozens of colorfully clad local traditional dancers and dignitaries amid lots of drumming.

Signs of greeting dotted the main street of Rarotonga, which runs around the 16-mile circumference of the island. And well-wishers waved American flags outside the beachfront restaurant where Clinton ate breakfast with other leaders before the meeting that was held in the partly enclosed National Auditorium that doubles as a basketball court.

Her speech, as well as those of other participants, was occasionally punctuated by the crows of roosters, which run freely through the island's small communities and main town.

Clinton also announced a new contribution of more than $32 million for programs throughout the region aimed at boosting economic development while protecting biodiversity in the face of rising waters attributed to climate change. The U.S. already spends $330 million a year on development in the Asia-Pacific.

Clinton is on the first leg of an 11-day, six-nation tour that keep her half a world away from U.S. politics at the height of the presidential conventions but put her at the center of maritime disputes between China and its neighbors.

 

read … Cook Islands--As far as possible from Charlotte, NC!

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