Full Text: Hawaii Salary Commission Pushes Legislators’ Pay Hike

Want a Fine Electric Car? Not in Hawaii

Charter School Network 2nd Annual Awards Dinner

Full Text: Mayor Caldwell’s State of the City Speech

Abercrombie: I’d Be Happy to Use Preschool to Demand Tax Increases in 2016

PR: State Rep. Bertrand Kobayashi on Tuesday tried to pin Gov. Neil Abercrombie down on whether the governor would seek new sources of revenue for his early childhood education initiative when it could potentially expand after fiscal year 2016.

The governor's plan, cautiously advanced by the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, would establish a school readiness program in the 2014-2015 school year for 3,500 4-year-olds no longer eligible for junior kindergarten, which is ending. If voters approve a constitutional amendment in 2014 allowing public money to be used for private preschool, an early childhood education program would be created that could eventually expand to cover all 18,000 4-year-olds statewide.

Abercrombie has said that it would be up to the Legislature whether to expand state-funded preschool. But Kobayashi pressed the governor on whether or not he would propose new revenue sources to cover the higher cost.

“Well if I could be assured that I’d be here in 2016, I suppose I’d be happy to do that," Abercrombie, who is up for re-election next year, said finally.

SA: Finance panel OKs preschool legislation

read … More Tax Increases

List of People Who Gave More than $10,000 in State Races

ILind: The top donors are overwhelmingly male, and most are clearly associated with special economic interests. A list of all those who contributed a total of $10,000 or more can be found here.

Neal Milner, emeritus professor of political science at UH Manoa, was surprised by the size of the reported contribution totals.

“I’m not surprised that two of the best known lobbyists in the state gave more money,” Milner said yesterday. “It’s how much more they gave, and how different they are from other lobbyists, that’s the startling thing.”

“It not just that they’re heavy hitters, they appear to hit in ways that may be different from other lobbyists,” Milner said.

Of course, these individual contributions are only the tip of the influence iceberg, since major contributors typically leverage their own money with other people’s money to amass political capital. In addition to their individual contributions, major political players can influence contributions by their businesses or other associated companies, along with those of other officers and employees. The more money, the more clout the contributors hope to wield.

For example, two executives of Mitsunaga & Associates made the list of top donors — Dennis Mitsunaga, president, and Chan Ok Mitsunaga, vice president. The two combined to give $64,600.

But 11 other officers and employees brought the total of Mitunaga-related contributions to $169,950.

Similarly, Alexander & Baldwin CEO Stanley Kuriyama made the list with $28,350 in personal political contributions. But corporate contributions by A&B, its affiliated political action committee, and several other executives boosted the corporation’s total contributions to $105,850.

Patrick Kobayashi, president of the Kobayashi Group, was in fifth place on the top donor list with $39,850 in personal contributions. When combined with contributions from other Kobayashi Group executives and employees, the total rises to $78,375….

The data show the major influence of large contributions. In the 2011-2012 election cycle, less than one-quarter of all contributions to candidates were $1,000 or more, but they accounted for two-thirds of all money raised.

Fewer than 4 percent of contributions were for $2,500 or more, but they accounted for 27 percent of all funds raised.

ILind: Lobbyists’ clout increases if clients contributions are counted

ILind: Following the money–Where did it go?

read … Contributions

Hawaii doesn't need Election Day voter registration

Miriam Hellreich: As House Bill 321, a bill allowing voter registration up to and on election day, hastily moves through the state Legislature, our elected officials are forgetting the dire state of our Office of Elections.

Just a few months ago, 21 polling stations ran out of ballots in the middle of the day and disenfranchised voters not willing to stand in line for hours until the necessary ballots could be delivered. Others, who had planned to vote at the end of the day, took a "why bother" attitude when they heard of the long lines and no ballots. That is real voter suppression.

It is somewhat odd that our lawmakers have apparently not checked in with the eight other states that currently have this system. If they did, they would learn that "Election Day Voter Registration" has been chaotic and an invitation for voter fraud.

One state, Iowa, has a secretary of state who has made it his mission to rid the state of this particular law because of its implications for ballot security.

read … Fraud Enabling

Star-Adv: Transfer Future UH Contracting Work from Kobayahsi to Mitsunaga

SA: Today the state Senate Ways and Means Committee is due to make its call on House Bill 115, which should be advanced to a vote on the Senate floor and then to conference committee, where differences in the House and Senate versions could be ironed out.

The bill creates a "major repair and replacement special fund" as well as a panel to oversee the catch-up campaign.

On a separate track, Ways and Means has approved an amended House Bill 114, which essentially would strip UH of its procurement responsibilities, at least temporarily, over new projects begun after the bill takes effect.

Most of the duties would be transferred to the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS), the agency that handles much of the state's contracting work.

All this is:  Mitsunaga Names Names, Slams UH for Favoritism Towards Kobayashi

read … UH repair backlog needs fixing

UH violated open records law in Stevie Wonder investigation, OIP rules

HNN: That firm produced a report which UH released to the media and the public, but redacted or kept secret the names of any non-UH employee, leaving white blanks where their names had been.

In a March 28 opinion, the State Office of Information Practices said all but one of those names should have been disclosed.

"They [UH] consistently withhold information even from the legislature," said State Senate President Donna Kim. "I know they do it regularly to the media, but they withhold information from to the legislature and to the public and this needs to change. They think they're above the law."

Kim asked for the opinion after Hawaii News Now requested a full copy of the report last fall with names included.

For instance, the OIP opinion said the redaction of former UH Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw's name was not only ineffective because her title remained in the document, but contrary to state law, since she was a public employee.

And the OIP also said redactions should have been made in black instead of white so it was clear where the information had been redacted.

UH paid law firm of Torkildson, Katz, $65,000 to handle the redactions, services that ended up being incorrect and unlawful legal advice, according to the OIP opinion….

"If there is no question that it was not done correctly, then I would question why we would pay that bill," said Eugene Bal, an (Abercrombie) nominee to represent the island of Maui on the 15-member volunteer UH Board of Regents. 

(Abercrombie’s people going after the law firm that dared to work for the Inouye faction.)

SA: UH regents receive an earful before appointees gain Senate panel's backing

SA: Opinion criticizes redacted report

read … OIP Ruling

DoE: ‘Professional Development Days’ Behind Teacher Absenteeism Numbers

In February, a U.S. Department of Education study ranked Hawaii second worst in the nation for teacher sick days. It said on average, isle teachers miss 17 days during the school year.

"The original study inferred that there was abuse in the way of sick leave utilization by our teachers," said Diana Niles-Hansen, DOE senior director of human resources.

On Tuesday, she told the Board of Education's Human Resource Committee she crunched the department's own numbers, and Hawaii's teachers average far fewer sick days that what the national study showed -- 7 not 17.

"So it looked like there was no pattern of abuse, at least not that the data indicated. So much different than what was reported," she said.

She said the national numbers included teacher personal days and professional development days, and that skewed the findings.  Translation: We at the DoE are pulling teachers out of class and that makes it OK.)

Hawaii public school teachers get 18 sick days a year, that includes time for illness, family leave, and personal and professional leave.

"That report that was presented today showed that about 1,700 teachers don't take any sick leave. And I think that story needs to be told," BOE committee chairman Jim Williams said.

(The untold story is the abuse of DoE contracting to pay for useless training programs which enrich DoE insiders and require teachers to be taken out of class to participate in the useless training.)

Background: Hawaii Teacher Absenteeism 2nd-Worst in USA

More background: Hawaii Teacher Absenteeism: How Did Your School Do?

read … DOE refutes study on teacher sick days

DoE: We Keep Teachers out of Class 5 Days

CB: Williams underlined that an average of about five of a teacher’s 17 absences last year were devoted to DOE-sponsored activities, which include workshops and on-site training.

read … DoE Abusing Teachers, Teachers Not Abusing Sick Leave

AP: Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie's proposed preschool program is facing pushback from religious institutions that take issue with the current version of the bill.

Faith-based groups testified before the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, saying a recent amendment to the bill gives secular institutions an unfair advantage.

The Hawaii Catholic Conference says parents should have a choice as to where to educate their children.

The Hawaii Baptist Early Education Association says faith-based institutions provide 50 percent of preschool education in Hawaii.

Read … KSBE Money Grab

Arizona Transgender Intends to Use Suit to ‘Legitimize’ Hawaii Transsexual marriage

AP: The ruling saves Thomas Beatie from paying alimony to Nancy, but Thomas said he (sic) was willing to take on that financial obligation because he (sic) wanted a court to recognize his (sic) marriage. (Uh-huh)

He (sic) said moving back to Hawaii to start divorce proceedings there was impractical. It would likely separate him (sic) from his (sic) children, lead to heavier living expenses and require him (sic) to find new employment.

Michael Cantor, one of Thomas Beatie's attorneys, said Beatie could remarry in Arizona, but he (sic) could create conflicts in Hawaii, where Beatie's first marriage was viewed as valid and where he (sic) could later be accused of polygamy.

David Higgins, Nancy's attorney, said his (sic) client will likely join Thomas Beatie in his (sic) planned appeal of Gerlach's decision. "She recognizes Thomas as a male and recognizes that her marriage is valid," Higgins said.

read … Freak Show

State nurses awarded 8% pay raise

SA: The nearly 1,700 state government registered professional nurses will get pay raises for the final six months of a two-year contract, retroactive to Jan. 1.

"I'm so happy for all the nurses that they're going to get some raise," said Sue Kaulu­ku­kui, director of the Hawaii state government nurses. "This should really help us retain our nurses with 8 percent."

A three-member arbitration panel awarded the retroactive 4 percent raise and a second 4 percent increase from April 1 for Unit 9 of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the state's largest public-sector labor union.

The nurses who haven't reached the top of the pay scale will be allowed to move up a pay step. Such movement on the scale had been frozen in the previous contract.

In April 2011, Unit 9 was the only one of seven HGEA bargaining units to reject a two-year contract, from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2013.

The remainder of the 28,124-member union ratified the agreement, which meant a 5 percent pay cut, an increase in health care premium payments and an increase in time off. It also meant an end to twice-a-month Furlough Fridays.

The furloughs, instituted during the 2009-11 contract, were equivalent to 10 percent pay cuts, said HGEA spokes­woman Jodi Endo Chai.

When the 2009-11 nurses' contract expired, their salaries reverted back to 2007-2009 salary rates, which kept the pay the same without Furlough Fridays.

read … Another 8%

Community Anti-Obesity Effort:  Hawaii Hospitals Faking It

SA: The new ACA "community building and community benefit requirements" strengthen current provisions by requiring that all nonprofit hospitals develop strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality rates from the leading underlying causes of death: tobacco use and obesity.

The ACA revises the Internal Revenue Service code to establish expanded community benefit responsibilities in order for nonprofit hospitals to retain federal tax-exempt status. The potential reach of these amendments is enormous.

However, these new requirements were not met by Hawaii's hospitals. Wilcox Hospital on Kauai was the only one that conducted an intensive CHNA process with the public and community leaders, including islandwide focus groups. Such a labor-intensive process has not been done elsewhere in Hawaii, beyond perfunctory and cosmetic Internet surveys. This inch-deep approach is appalling and shortchanges the process; legislative action might be the only recourse to ensure the law is followed.

Wilcox Hospital, its CEO and president Kathy Clark and the Hawaii Pacific Health System's leadership are to be congratulated for doing it right. Their wisdom in following the law will result in Wilcox Hospital demonstrating that the new requirements can be met.

Hawaii's other hospitals are doing one statewide CHNA process. To assert that five island communities separated from Oahu by hundreds of ocean miles can be categorized as one "community" strains credulity and compliance. In fact, while multi-facility collaborations between hospitals in a given geographic area are desirable, doing this in a centralized Oahu-centric process could raise antitrust concerns.

"Community benefits" include improvement services and operations, and cash or in-kind contributions for community benefit. The broader "community building" strategies include upstream activities whose express purpose is to improve community health; these cannot generate patient bills nor be marketing designed to attract paying customers.

read … ACA Community Building

Hawaii Advances Public Financing Bill

AP: The legislation, H.B. 1481, would increase the amount available to candidates running for the state House of Representatives and require those participating in elections to raise more money from smaller donors to qualify.

Under Hawaii's legislation, candidates would be required under to collect signatures, along with contributions of $5, from 250 registered voters within their districts in order to qualify for public funds. That financing would be determined through a formula that uses the average amount raised by House candidates in the previous election, excluding the three most expensive and three least expensive races -- somewhere between $30,400 and $30,500 based on 2012 numbers.

The new scheme would cost the state a maximum of approximately $3 million, if two candidates used the system in every single House district.

read … Hawaii Advances Public Financing Bill To Fix Outdated System

Hawaii Senate committee to vote on shield law

AP: The law currently protects reporters and non-traditional journalists from subpoenas, with exceptions. One exception is if sources and notes are needed in felony or defamation cases.

But Hawaii Attorney General David Louie said the law is unclear and too broad.

The House has already agreed to make reporters' information vulnerable to subpoenas in civil cases, potential felonies and cases involving unlawful injuries to people or animals.

Senators in the judiciary committee will vote Wednesday on whether to accept those changes. The senators may also choose to limit the law's scope even further.

The attorney general is asking senators to remove protections for non-traditional reporters such as bloggers. He wants the law to apply only to professional journalists and told lawmakers that the inclusion of non-traditional journalists goes "well beyond any statutory journalists' shield enacted in any state."

Read … Shield Law

Hawaii Bankers Assn Backs Gambling Bill

AP: Hawaii lawmakers are debating amending the state’s anti-gambling law to clarify that it’s illegal to sell goods or services that entitle people to play gambling machines.

The Senate judiciary committee met today to debate the bill and plans to vote Wednesday. 

The committee is considering revising the bill to exempt bona fide business game promotions.

The Hawaii Bankers Association supports the exemption, saying it’s common for banks to hold promotional contests.

But organizations such as the Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling oppose the exemption.

read … Bankers for Gambling

PLDC: Police investigate So-Called ‘threats’ to Solomon, DelaCruz

KHON: Honolulu Police have opened an investigation and a veteran lawmaker is considering filing for a temporary restraining order.

The email's subject line was addressed to Senators Donovan Dela Cruz and Malama Solomon -- two lawmakers heavily involved with the controversial Public Land Development Corporation.

The email is believed to have been sent from a Hilo resident who strongly urges lawmakers to repeal the state Public Land Development Corporation, which was set up to develop state land through private-public partnerships.

"It's just sad and unfortunate. It was addressed to all senators and some of the cursing in there clearly cross the line of just a manner in which you try to advocate for a position," said Sen. Ron Kouchi (D), Kauai, Niihau.

The email states, "Times are hard. People are fed up and ready for action -- more than you might expect. Doing the right thing will, in the long run, prevent a bunch of trouble."

read … Threats

Officials' proposals at odds but all tackle homelessness

Shapiro: The Caldwell administration's planning focuses on placing homeless people in traditional housing rather than shelters, then dealing with mental and physical health, substance abuse, education and employment.

But City Councilman Stanley Chang is pushing less traditional approaches to address "a five-alarm fire right now in Waikiki" that threatens tourism with unsightly homeless camps such as the one across from the $350 million Hawai‘i Convention Center.

Chang wants to spend $77 million from the sale of city affordable housing projects to finance places of refuge — tent cities with round-the-clock security for Oahu homeless who don't fit into traditional shelters.

He says we need a "game-changer," arguing that years of standard approaches haven't worked and that if we keep doing what we're doing, we'll keep getting what we're getting.

(No.  A tent city IS what we’re already getting.  The first tent city at the convention center is being used to leverage the second and so on.)

No they don’t: Homeless tent cities: Seattle’s decade-long nightmare coming to Honolulu?

SA: Mayor's talk will involve buses, roads and homeless

read … Officials' proposals at odds but all tackle homelessness

US to move Missile Defense System to Guam after North Korea threats

BBC: The US is moving an advanced missile system to the Pacific island of Guam as a precaution following threats by North Korea, the Pentagon has said.

The Department of Defence said it would deploy the ballistic Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (Thaad) in the coming weeks….

The Thaad system includes a truck-mounted launcher, interceptor missiles, and AN/TPY-2 tracking radar, together with an integrated fire control system.

The Pentagon said in a statement the missile system would be moved to Guam as a "precautionary move to strengthen our regional defence posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat".

"The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and stands ready to defend US territory, our allies, and our national interests," the statement added.

In recent weeks, North Korea has mentioned military bases in the US territory of Guam and the US state of Hawaii as possible targets.

read … Guam

Grassroot Board Split Over New President

From Sen Sam Slom: Akina Heads Grassroot. In a surprise move, President & co-founder of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Dick Rowland, stepped down in March and named his successor, Ke'ali Akina, PhD. The GRIH 6-member board had previously split 3-3 on Rowland's decision, and three members resigned after the announcement. GRIH is Hawaii's first and oldest free market think tank and member of the State Policy Network.

(Editor’s Note: The three who resigned are Malia Zimmerman, Jack Schneider, and Cliff Slater.)

Background: Kelii Akina Named President of Grassroot Institute

read … SBH News

Workforce housing tower proposed in Kakaako

SA: MJF Development Corp. led by Franco Mola submitted a development application for the project with the Hawaii Community Development Authority last month.

The agency, which oversees development in Kakaako, has scheduled two public hearings on the plan.

The first meeting is slated for 9 a.m. on May 1, and is slated to include a presentation by MJF. The agency will host a second public hearing on June 5, after which a decision on the application is expected by the agency's board.

The property borders Kawaiahao Street and the ewa end of Waimanu Street between the Imperial Plaza tower and a self-storage facility.

Mola, though companies including Coastal Rim Properties Inc., has been involved in development mainly in California and Hawaii, including the 176-unit affordable senior apartment building Kulana Hale in Honolulu….

Action Development LLC, managed by Francine Summers and Byron Ho, is listed as the property's owner. That firm bought the parcels in 2007 for $3.9 million….

read … more rentals?

Global Cooling Alert: Hawaii Hits Record Low Temps

AP: Winds from north push Honolulu temperature to record low of 61 degrees; Hilo Airport hits 58

read …  Global Cooling

Hawaiian Electric can recoup costs of Big Wind studies from customers

PBN: Hawaiian Electric Co. can now recover $3.9 million from its customers to pay for studies related to the so-called “Big Wind” projects on Lanai and Molokai that would pump electricity to Oahu via an undersea cable.

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission ruled on Tuesday that Hawaiian Electric, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE), may recover the cost of the studies through a surcharge over a three-year period beginning on Tuesday at 1.75 percent.

read … Expensive Just to Think About

Big Rooftop Solar Panels Make Sense in Hawaii - Without Any Subsidies!

Panos: Question: Does $150,000 installed cost for approximately 45 MW make sense?

Answer: Yes, but only in Honolulu.

read … Panos

Greek Shipowner Moves LNG Tankers to USA

Bloomberg: While the U.S. is producing the most crude in two decades, the government only allows exports of refined products, boosting demand for vessels hauling everything from gasoline to butane to propane. The nation’s LPG shipments rose 33 percent in 2012, Energy Department data show. StealthGas tankers pressurize gas into liquid form for shipping and the U.S. Coast Guard ruled such vessels safe for domestic ports in June, Vafias said.

“A huge new market just opened up for us,” he said in a March 27 interview. “Until June last year, the U.S. wasn’t even in our math, and all of a sudden that changed. In and around the U.S., there are no pressure ships available.”

read … LNG Tankers

UH Manoa Cracks Down on Bums

HNN: The University of Hawaii at Manoa isn't immune to crime and the campus security has implemented a new policy to crackdown on homeless people caught on campus.

Acting Campus Security Chief Alberta Pukahi says she sent out a directive Monday to question everyone found in buildings after hours, including weekends and holidays. But at least one campus security officer tells us the order was to cite homeless people for trespassing no questions asked.

"We are working with our campus partners and will be requesting assistance from external resources to address homeless dwellers on property. It has been brought to our attention by the homeless themselves that they feel safe here and continue to return to sleep in our buildings, hallways and lawn, regardless of the number of times they are trespassed," said Alberta Pukahi, Campus Security Acting Chief, in a written statement. "For 2013, 34 trespass warnings were issued, with five of them resulting in arrest. Of those 34 trespass warnings, 22 reports were called in by staff, faculty or students."

"I personally think it is a good idea. I am actually a resident assistant at one of the dorms so being able to have a safe campus and safe housing is really important," said Megan Owens, UH Manoa Kinesiology Student. "This is just supposed to be an educational environment and having to worry about who maybe around the corner and you're not sure if you're by yourself especially if you're a girl it's kind of scary."

read … UH Campus Security trying to address homeless problem

• Allegiant to stop service to Hawaii
• Ending the War on Ferrets
• Marijuana driving limits up for vote in Colorado
• Police: GLBT Conference Rape Faked
• Hypesters with Fake Study begin Screaming about non-existent Cancer spike following Fukushima
• Omidyar Seeks Next Slug of Development Pitchmen
• District 9: Share of bad roads is isle's highest
• 75,000 Hawaiian Electric customers lose power
• Pothole Repair Scheduled During Morning Rush Hour
• Kauai Council hears budget proposal for Public Works
• Activists stage ‘grow-in’ on state land
• Kenoi rolls out agenda