To Head off Kim Committee, UH Regents establish task group on accountability
Why I'm Running: Stop Illegal Dumping on the Leeward Coast
Regents approve UH West O'ahu loan
$16T Debt Enabled by Hirono
Thirteen Candidates Fail to Report Campaign Spending
VIDEO: Democrats Boo, Jeer as 'God' and 'Jerusalem' Rammed Back Into Platform
UPDATE: Mizuno Demands Criminal Investigation of Reporter, Denies Gun Control Plot
Ewa Democrats: Manabat is Felon, Liar, Should not be on ballot
CB: Party Chair Dante Carpenter filed a similar complaint with the [Hawaii Elections Office][ saying that House candidate Chris Manabat should not have been allowed to run as a Democrat, either.
A spokesperson for the elections office confirmed the June complaint….
the candidate who finished second to Manabat in the District 40 race (Ewa, Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point, Gentry) told Civil Beat that Carpenter told her the party would file a lawsuit regarding Manabat's candidacy.
The candidate, Rose Martinez, is also considering her own legal challenge, alleging that Manabat submitted falsified documents to the elections office and so should not have been on the primary ballot.
"This is a serious issue for candidates who meet the party's internal eligibility requirement and the party itself who should have a say in who runs as Democrats in future elections," Martinez said in a press release Wednesday….
Martinez filed her own complaint with the elections office Aug. 20 and a complaint with the Democratic Party Aug. 27.
In her letter to the elections office, Martinez says that Manabat "lied and falsified his nomination papers at the time of filing. ... I believe that Mr. Manabat committed a class C felony and he shall be punished to the fullest extent of the law."
Her letter to the party, meanwhile, Martinez argues that Manabat "has never been a resident of Ewa Beach" and that his decision to run was influenced by his mother, state Rep. Rida Cabanilla, the Democrat incumbent in District 41 (Ewa Beach-West Loch Estates) next door.
Martinez adds that Manabat "misled the community by distributing brochures featuring his photograph with a known Republican lawmaker namely Representative Kimberly Pine." She also raises concerns of nepotism because Manabat works in Cabanilla's legislative office.
On Aug. 29, Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago forwarded the Martinez complaint to Attorney General David Louie because "criminal matters are outside our jurisdiction." Nago's office took no position on the allegations.
Besides Martinez and Carpenter, the Hawaii Republican Party has also raised concerns about Manabat's candidacy.
Several days after the primary, the party issued a statement arguing that Manabat has been "dishonest" with voters about his having worked for his mother and suggested it represented nepotism. Cabanilla responded that her son's employment violated no House policy.
read … Hawaii Democrats Question Another Candidate's Standing
UHM Vice Chancellor Secretly Fired Six Weeks Ago
HNN: After two critical audits, the man in charge of maintaining the University of Hawaii campus was fired last month, sources said.
David T. Hafner Jr., had been assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities and Grounds for the last six and a half years, overseeing more than 300 employees.
His last day in his $154,000-a-year job was July 13, a UH Manoa spokeswoman said.
"Today, campus buildings and the landscape areas are general shabby. There is a sense of neglect across the campus," said Virginia-based educational facilities consultant APPA, in a report filed for UH in October of 2011. The APPA's study of UH facilities and its 88-page report cost $43,400…
UH Vice Chancellor for Administration, Finance and Operation Kathy Cutshaw has assumed Hafner's duties temporarily, a UH Manoa spokeswoman said.
The UH Office of Facilities and Grounds is completing a strategic planning process. After that is complete, a search will begin for a new vice chancellor for facilities and grounds, with the position filled no later than June 2013, a UH Manoa spokeswoman said.
read … $154K
Senate UH hearing set as regents create oversight panel
HNN: The Senate's Special Committee on Accountability has set its hearing for Monday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. at the State Capitol. Committee Chair State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (D-Moanalua, Aiea, Halawa Valley) plans to call UH President M.R.C. Greenwood, UH Regents Chair Eric Martinson and other officials to testify.
During a meeting Wednesday at Windward Community College, the Board of Regents approved the formation of a special committee to evaluate the university's operational and financial controls and oversight practices, in reaction to the failed athletics fundraising concert and its aftermath.
The Operational and Financial Controls Improvement Advisory Task Group consists of five regents and four professionals in the field of business, audit and accounting. The task group intends to have a report by the Oct. 18 regents' meeting.
The decision is a continuation of the board's August meeting during which the board spent five hours in closed-door executive session discussing findings of the University's internal investigation into the canceled concert benefit for the Athletics Department.
The regents approved a motion to make the task group report public at the same time it is presented to the board, and to establish clear procedures on individual responsibility and accountability.
Lawmakers said the canceled concert and UH officials' handling of the aftermath created a lack of confidence in the school's leadership.
The UH faculty union also said the fiasco created a "loss of confidence and respect" for UH and its leaders.
read … Panic Sets In
Eager to Escape Accountability, State will seek No Child waiver
SA: The state plans to file an application today for a waiver from key provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind law in a bid to overhaul its accountability system for schools and focus more on academic growth and less on the results of a single annual test. (Which is hard to cheat on.)
Under the proposed system, schools would be evaluated based on multiple measures, including student proficiency and growth, chronic absenteeism rates and, for high schools, graduation rates. (Easier to cheat on.)
Hawaii DoE Cheating Scandal: Teachers blocked from Prompting Answers, Proficiency drops from 62% to 4%
read … Quick Before Obama is Gone
DoE Response to School Bus Audit Not Good Enough
SA: In a two-page response attached to the auditor's report, DOE Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi … found fault with some of the audit's findings and made no specific promises to follow its recommendations. Rather, she said, a consultant hired by the DOE would "review the corrective measures that the auditor's report outlines."
In the meantime, the DOE would "work with the consultant" to implement its own measures to better monitor the fleet and encourage more competition for bus contracts, including redesigning its contract model to allow non-school-bus entities to enter the market.
That won't be good enough. The state Board of Education, at a meeting Tuesday, prudently directed the DOE to respond to each of the audit's specific recommendations, which number more than a dozen. The Legislature, too, should take note of how the DOE responds. In the past session, the Legislature, mindful that real reform was needed but not offered, declined to come up with an additional $17 million the DOE wanted to maintain current levels of service. The result was sharp cuts in service and angry parents and students left high and dry.
DOE Assistant Superintendent Ray L'Heureux told the BOE that the DOE hopes to develop with a long-term strategy to get student transportation costs under control. No doubt he means it. But we've heard such talk before.
read … DoE Not Good Enough
Honolulu to Supreme Court: Let Us Keep Building Rail
CB: In paperwork filed this week, the city and its attorneys say the high court should reconsider its determination that archaeological survey work was supposed to have been completed for the entire project before construction work began….
SHPD had told the city that as long as the survey work was done in one phase of the project — and subsequently approved by the agency — construction could proceed in that section.
But now city officials are saying there aren’t any statutes or rules that would prohibit a project from being phased.
They also contend that the word “project” is a broad term, and that “the Court did not conclude that SHPD exceeded its authority in determining that a construction phase could be a ‘project.’”
And in an argument that was heard during a separate federal court case involving rail, the city says that by doing the archeological surveys in phases actually protects Native Hawaiian burial sites.
“The phased approach approved in the (programmatic agreement) was intended to and does in fact afford iwi kupuna greater protection by focusing invasive sub-surface testing in Phase 4 (in Honolulu’s downtown core) to only those areas where actual ground disturbing construction would occur, and avoiding unnecessary disturbance to burials that may exist in areas that would not otherwise be disturbed through construction.”
TAP: Oahu Rail Construction Halted
read … Honolulu to Supreme Court: Let Us Keep Building Rail
Building of cars continues as city stops work on rail system
PBN: The building of cars for the City and County of Honolulu’s rail mass-transit system will continue despite the halting of work on the $5.16 billion project’s right-of-way.
Also, the prime contractor for the right-of-way construction said the work stoppage will not result in immediate layoffs.
PBN Survey: What's the biggest threat to the Honolulu rail project right now?
read … Burning Money as Fast as they Can
Tenticles: Omidyar Buys 15 Cronies
CB: The inaugural class of Omidyar Fellows has been named. This is a new initiative by philanthropist and eBay founder Pierre Omidyar to “inspire and equip emerging leaders with the skills needed to effect positive, lasting change,” buy influence.
Here is the list:
- Robert Bruhl is the vice president for development at D.R. Horton - Schuler Division.
- Jodi Endo Chai is the senior advisor for the Hawai’i Government Employees Association.
- Colton Ching is the vice president of system operation and planning at Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc
- Donalyn Dela Cruz is the deputy director of communications for the State of Hawai’i, Office of the Governor (Screaming conflict of interest!)
- Forest Frizzell is the deputy director of information technology for the City and County of Honolulu (Screaming conflict of interest!)
- Jason Fujimoto is the senior vice president and chief financial officer for HPM Building Supply
- Noelani Kalipi is the president of the Ti Leaf Group, Inc.,
- Kaiu Kimura is the executive director at the Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai’i
- Karen C. Lee is an associate vice president at the University of Hawai’i and the executive director of Hawai’i P-20 Partnerships for Education.
- Marissa Sandblom is the vice president of Grove Farm Company, Inc
- Jerrod Schreck is the president of Hoku Solar (LOL!)
- Kaiulani Sodaro is the director of enterprise planning and sustainability and interim director of the facilities development and support division at Kamehameha Schools
- Joshua Wisch is the special assistant to the attorney general in the State of Hawai’i, Department of the Attorney General. (Screaming conflict of interest!)
read … Carefully Selected to Maximize Influence
Democrat Platform Strikes God Down, Keeps Akaka Tribe
PR: …in the party platform, the section of particular interest to the Hawaii delegation was left untouched.
That section falls in two paragraphs on Page 50 of the 70-page national party platform, entitled “Moving America Forward,” and states that the party supports efforts for “self-determination and sovereignty” of native Hawaiians.
The section on tribal sovereignty in the Democratic Party platform reads:
Tribal Sovereignty. American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are sovereign self-governing communities, with a unique government-to-government relationship with the United States. President Obama and Democrats in Congress, working with tribes, have taken unprecedented steps to resolve long-standing conflicts, finally coming to a resolution on litigation – some dating back nearly 100 years – related to management of Indian trust resources, administration of loan programs, and water rights.
The President worked with Democrats to pass the HEARTH Act to promote greater tribal self-determination and create jobs in Indian Country. The Affordable Care Act permanently reauthorized the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to improve care for Native Americans. Democrats enacted the Tribal Law and Order Act, support expansion of the Violence Against Women Act to include greater protection for women on tribal lands, and oppose versions of the Violence Against Women Act that do not include these critical provisions. We will continue to honor our treaty and trust obligations and respect cultural rights, including greater support for American Indian and Alaska Native languages. Democrats support maximizing tribal self-governance, including efforts for self-determination and sovereignty of Native Hawaiians.
Dante Carpenter, Hawaii Democratic Party chairman, said the language was put forth by the state delegation through the platform committee meetings leading up to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
ILind: List of Delegates, Coverage Highlights
read … Akaka Tribe
How Many Votes Can Campaign Money Buy?
| Candidate Name |
Money Spent Through Aug. 11 |
Votes received |
$ / Vote |
| Caldwell, Kirk |
$918,305 |
59,963 |
$15.31 |
| Carlisle, Peter |
$773,050 |
51,101 |
$15.13 |
| Cayetano, Ben |
$887,074 |
90,956 |
$9.75 |
read … How Many Votes Can Campaign Money Buy?
Act 55: WHAT CAN A CITIZEN DO?
CB: Submit written testimony for the record. DEADLINE for WRITTEN TESTIMONY on PLDC Administrative Rules Draft is SEPTEMBER 14, 2012. Please email your comments to: joy.y.kimura@hawaii.gov, randal.y.ikeda@hawaii.gov.
PLDC only wants to focus on administrative rules. One could begin by stating objections to HAR 13 – 301, Chapter 13-302, Chapter 13-303
Thereafter, state your manao for the record. Demand PLDC not to enter into any contracts or obligations before the people complete the Repeal of Act 55.
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Collect signatures!
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Ask your legislators and candidates: WILL YOU REPEAL ACT 55?
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Register and Vote.. The 2012 General Election Voter Registration Deadline is Oct. 8, 2012.
read … Public Land Development Corp.’s Public Hearings Pau, Now What?
Kos: Michelle Obama to Run for Senate from Hawaii
Daily Kos: Michelle's not the Obama from Hawaii, but given the Hawaiian she's married to, might Hawaiians would find her acceptably Hawaiian? I don't know how much Hawaiians care about how long a candidate has been in the state (though New York doesn't care, some places insist that you're not just born there, but several generations were born there), but I notice Sen. Daniel Inouye will be 92 when he's up for reelection in 2016. He might run again, or maybe Michelle ought to go house hunting in Honolulu. (Remember: Progressives are smarter than you are. Don’t forget.)
Hillary Buzz: Clinton Supporters Spread Rumor Obama Planning Post-Defeat Move to Kailua, Oahu
read … Dan Inouye’s Days Numbered After they move here?
Nepotism, Illegal Lobbying, Conflict of Interest: Secret AG’s Report Nails Profitable Non-Profit
MN: A former Wailuku Main Street Association board chairman said he felt "vindicated" Wednesday after the release of a scathing state attorney general's report confirmed the organization had failed to produce pertinent information to its directors, as he originally alleged.
Former board Chairman Sam Clark said he and former board member Bryan Sarasin have been vindicated after being "chastised" by current nonprofit board Chairman Tom Cannon and Executive Director Jocelyn Perreira for allegedly working against the organization, after he and Sarasin complained publicly that key operations and finance information had been withheld from board members.
"We were trying to do our legal obligation of a board to do the oversight required, and we weren't allowed to do that. It was very frustrating," Clark said Wednesday.
The report cited nepotism in hiring, lobbying in violation of its county grant contract, conflicts of interest, little evidence of program services, the board having little control over its executive director and a "terribly confused" structure of governance.
Wailuku Main Street Association has received more than $2.2 million in grants from the county since 2002.
The Maui News, through a Freedom of Information Act Request, obtained the state attorney general's report on WMSA from the Maui County Planning Department on Tuesday.
read … About One of Many
Kauai Council adds $20K for Police Commission to fight Carvalho
KGI: The Kaua‘i County Council approved a request for the Kaua‘i Police Commission for an additional $20,000 to be used in special counsel in a 5th Circuit Court complaint against Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
The money approved Wednesday adds to the $10,000 previously approved by the council for each party to spend in private attorneys’ fees. In March, the council approved $10,000 for the commission, and in July, it was the administration’s turn to receive $10,000.
On Feb. 2, Carvalho suspended Kaua‘i Police Department Chief Darryl Perry for seven days, and then put the Perry on administrative leave. The commission unanimously voted to put Perry back on his post by Feb. 22. But Carvalho refused to reinstate Perry, and told that the chief was still on administrative leave, according to civil complaint No. 12-1-0229.
In the complaint filed June 27, by Honolulu-based attorneys Corlis Chang, Edmund Saffery and Marissa Owens, the commission seeks:
1. A declaratory judgment that the Police Commission has the sole authority to suspend and/or otherwise discipline the Chief of Police….
read … Defending Perry
Why is a Hawaiian 'superferry' docked at the Philadelphia Navy Yard?
NW: "High-speed transport Puerto Rico is currently berthed at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard under caretaker status," says Meghan Patrick, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. The Navy is parking the boat up the Delaware to keep it safe during hurricane season. It's being looked after by Rhoads Marine Industries.
And it may be here for a while.
"HST Puerto Rico will remain berthed at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for the indefinite future," emails Patrick. "The future mission of HST Puerto Rico is still being evaluated by the Navy."
Not so for its sister ship. The USNS Guam (formerly the Huakai) will soon be used to transport troops and cargo from Okinawa, Japan to other training sites in the U.S. Pacific Command.
read … Thank the Maui Co & Kauai Co Democratic Party
Council Tries to Bring Down Cost of Power
BIN: The concept of avoided cost was established by the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 as an incentive for development of sources of renewable energy. The federal law contained a provision that states could opt out of the program, which Hawaii did in 2006.
Currently, only 13 megawatts of the renewable-source electricity HELCO buys is not tied to avoided cost. That includes a contract recently established for an 8-megawatt expansion of Puna Geothermal Venture and a renegotiated price for 5 megawatts of the 30 megawatts already being provided by PGV.
read … Council Tries to Bring Down Cost of Power
Gay Murder Case Heads to Trial
HNN: In July of 1996, Jason Lee McCormick went to the Waikiki hotel room of doctor Robert Henderson.
A few days later Henderson was found dead, his neck broken and his nude body had writing on it.
The murder became a cold case. Prosecutors say in 2008 McCormick called police to confess to the crime.
"Seemed to be that writing what he did 'now you can no longer rape little babies', was a justification for the killing," said Darrell Wong, Deputy Prosecutor.
read … Gay Murder
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