Bombs Explode at Boston Marathon: Two Dead, Dozens Injured
Emergency Services Briefing: Lack of Emergency Rooms in West Oahu
Abercrombie Anger Management Tour Hits Kakaako
CB: Technically, Abercrombie himself hasn't formally announced his re-election. Sunday's event was billed "a brunch with the governor," with suggested donations of $10.
Campaign manager Bill Kaneko downplayed the event, saying it didn't constitute a soft campaign launch or kickoff. He made no prediction as to who Abercrombie's opponent would be and said the focus for now is on "grassroots."
"It's not too early to start at all," he told Civil Beat.
Abercrombie has started. So has Schatz, whose wife attended Sunday's brunch....
Nearly everyone in the administration was on hand for Sunday's event, so many so that he might as well have called it a "Cabinet In Your Community" meeting, like the one on Maui Wednesday....
It's been a good couple of months for the governor. At 74, he is in his last campaign for political office....
State teachers appear poised to approve a labor agreement. His early-childhood plans are moving through the Legislature. Lawmakers are heeding his call to deal with unfunded liabilities. The economic picture is brightening. Public-sector unions are going to get more money. And he has not made a huge public-relations gaffe in quite a while.
Meanwhile, a bill repealing the Public Land Development Corporation is soon to land on his desk. Expect a nice little bill-signing ceremony for that one, with all the news folks covering it — more good press.
A couple of red flags: Besides Sens. Brickwood Galuteria and Clarence Nishihara, there appeared to be few other elected officials in attendance at Kakaako. I didn't see many folks representing big labor, either.
SA: 'Hard choices' put state on improved fiscal path, Gov. Abercrombie says
read ... Abercrombie Campaign Begins
Slush Fund: Council Aims to De-Fund Vacant Positions
SA: Key members of the City Council are taking steps to tighten the rules for filling vacant job positions so that city agencies cannot spend the money on other purposes.
Too much is being diverted to pay for such things as mileage expenses and cashing out unused vacation pay for retiring employees, says Councilman Ikaika Anderson. The practice, while allowed, goes against the intended purpose of the appropriations, he said.
"I would say that prior administrations have treated funding from vacant positions as though the fund was a slush fund," Anderson said.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell opposes the move, arguing that department heads need the flexibility to be able to manage their budgets.
It's among the bigger disagreements unfolding between Caldwell and the Council, along with the mayor's failed plan to increase the fuel tax to help pay for road improvements, a month into deliberations over the city's $2.09 billion operating budget for fiscal 2014.
The Council is taking the second of three votes on the budget at its meeting Wednesday at Kapolei Hale.
read ... Cut to the bone, oh yeah
LUC: IAL Tax Credits are only for Landed Aristocracy
SA: Several of Hawaii's biggest companies and landowners have qualified to claim tax credits and other benefits for preserving agricultural land in perpetuity. But a hui of small farmers couldn't convince a state commission earlier this month that they deserve the same.
A farm cooperative that owns 854 acres in Kunia once largely planted in pineapple and sugar cane sought to have its land designated as "important agricultural land" under a state program so small farmers who bought 5-acre plots can tap tax credits for farm investments.
But the program's gatekeeper, the state Land Use Commission, was divided on whether the land is appropriate for the designation.
Commission members were split 3-3 (with three members absent) over approving or denying the petition by Kunia Loa Ridge Farmlands at a meeting April 5.
The divided vote sets the stage for a more comprehensive contested-case hearing before the LUC in which it would take six votes to approve Kunia Loa's petition and five votes to deny it.
read ... Tax Credits are only for Big Guys
Officials: Hawaii Courts Not Clogged With Pot Cases
CB: Goto directed us to the state's 2011 review of uniform crime reports — specifically, page 105.
In 2011, according to the report, there were 801 arrests for possessing marijuana and 130 for manufacturing or selling it. Total arrests for adults that year exceeded 40,000, about 6,400 of them for DUIs.
(Of note: On page 106 of the report, juvenile arrests for 2011 are detailed. Of the 7,500 offenses that year, more than 500 were for possessing pot.)
read ... Not Clogged
Star-Adv: Cut Retirement Benefits Next Time
SA: Paying down unfunded liability is crucial, of course, but so is reforming too-generous benefits, particularly for future government hires and their spouses. These need to be addressed more firmly in the next legislative session. (Uh-huh. Yep, we'll get right on it boss.)
A recent consultant report predicted that Hawaii will need to contribute $520 million annually for 30 years to eliminate the full liability. That amounts to the equivalent of 8.5 percent of the state's proposed $6.1 billion general fund budget for fiscal 2014.
"This is a problem that has existed for decades … and because it's decades in the making, the resources that it would take to address this problem now is significant," Young has warned. Paying $100 million now is "prudent financially," he added. A proposal floated in the Legislature would require the state to gradually increase the contributions over five years, at which point it would reach $520 million in annual payments.
With a general commitment to address the health fund problem, the Abercrombie administration has urged legislators to go forward with its other priorities: early-childhood education, information technology improvements and incentives to encourage entrepreneurs.
The Legislature has rightly given priority to catching up on long-neglected programs necessary for the future health and stability of the state. Installing a 21st-century IT system is one of them. So is the health benefits trust fund.
Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, has expressed concern that a $100 million payment is "more symbolic than it is substantive." He is right. Legislators must go forward in future years gradually but relentlessly to eliminate the full liability. The alternative would be disastrous.
read ... Next Time, Sure
The Future of Good Journalism In Hawaii Is In Peril
CB: I remember a time when there was tough-minded reporting by the likes of Honolulu Advertiser reporter Gene Hunter who did exposes on organized crime in Hawaii. And investigative reports by the likes of Jim Dooley and Matt Levi gave meaning to “watchdog journalism.” We don’t have enough of that kind of reporting. In some ways, we’re afraid of it because it can be time-consuming, costly and may lead to litigation. But, as sociologist Paul Starr says, studies have shown “corruption flourishes where journalism does not.” Hee and Attorney General David Louie clearly aren’t interested in journalism flourishing beyond reports of traffic and weather.
They say that the shield law now goes too far by including those the Attorney General paints with a broad brush as “bloggers.” After all, they say, no other state protects “bloggers.” Even though most other state laws were written before there were such pesky technology as the Internet or social media. So Hee is embracing the Attorney General’s position that you’re only a journalist if you’re a corporate journalist. That’s shortsighted.
read ... Shield Law
Emails Show Abercrombie Admin Coordination of OIP Response
CB ...we were delighted to hear from a number of other agency officials who assured us the state was taking our request seriously. They even slipped us copies of emails and memos that hit their inboxes within a day of our request last week.
"As some of you already know, Nick Grube at Civil Beat is submitting a (Uniform Information Practices Act) request to each department for information about employee misconduct," Abercrombie communications director Louise Kim McCoy wrote in a mass email. "Please note that (the Department of Human Resources Development) is checking with the (Office of Information Practices) for guidance and will inform all departments so we can respond accordingly and in similar fashion. Your respective Deputy Attorney General should be informed of this request."
Of course, Nick Grube had already called the human resources folks, thinking they might have records on all suspended or discharged employees as part of tracking personnel and payroll issues, kind of one-stop shopping for us. One DHRD official told him the department does not keep that information and that he'd have to ask each agency individually.
So it did raise our eyebrows a bit when we were copied on this email from Barbara Krieg, the director of human resources, to all state agencies. It said, in part:
We are generating and will forward by tomorrow reports of all employees whose records in HRMS reflect, since December 1, 2010, either (1) suspension or (2) various categories of discharge. The reports should hopefully provide a starting point in terms of employees who may fall within the information requested. We emphasize, however, that not all employees on the HRMS lists will necessarily be within the group requested (and you may be aware of other employees who are not reflected on the HRMS lists).
read ... Coordination
Lege May Help Fledgling paipai industry by Cutting Red Tape
HTH: Since his business, Mana Ai, is based on traditional methods, it doesn’t meet state Department of Health guidelines. He’s allowed to operate with a two-year variance that cost him $200, and he is currently the only authorized paiai maker in the state.
But that soon could change.
Following a mandate from the state Legislature, Health officials have included an exemption for paiai makers in the proposed changes to the department’s administrative rules. (Imagine that, cut regulations and business thrives. Amazing!)
Public hearings on the draft rule changes may be held this summer, and adoption could come shortly afterward, most likely before Anthony’s variance expires in November, said Peter Oshiro, DOH’s sanitation program manager.
Emily Kandagawa, the coordinator for the Taro Security and Purity Task Force, said the permits could allow more paiai makers to go into business and provide more diversity of taro products for consumers.
“It’s a big momentum gainer,” she said.
Anthony said the new rules would be good not just for his business but for taro growers in general.
read ... And its not Tax Credits!
TMT work may start in year
HTH: Construction on the $1.3 billion Thirty Meter Telescope could begin atop Mauna Kea within a year, project managers said this weekend, following Friday’s approval of a permit for the plans by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
“Of course, this is Hawaii, so I wouldn’t say it will be smooth sailing ahead for sure, but it should be clearer,” said Sandra Dawson, the TMT manager of Hawaii community affairs.
read ... Not Smooth Sailing
OHA: Archaeological inventory surveys should be done upfront
SA: The Legislature is moving a bill — Senate Bill 1171 — that attempts to streamline development by allowing construction to begin before a project site has been properly surveyed for archaeological sites and Native Hawaiian burials.
History has shown that this is a bad idea that turns sound planning on its head and will ultimately lead to costly delays and irreparable harm to cherished cultural sites, especially iwi kupuna, the remains of our beloved ancestors.
In 1976, the Hawaii Legislature established the state's commitment to Hawaii's historic sites, declaring in Hawaii Revised Statues, Section 6E-1 that:
"(T)he historic and cultural heritage of the state is among its important assets and that the rapid social and economic developments of contemporary society threaten to destroy the remaining vestiges of this heritage. … The Legislature further declares that it shall be the public policy of this state to provide leadership in preserving, restoring, and maintaining historic and cultural property … in a spirit of stewardship and trusteeship for future generations."
To fulfill this noble vision, a key process was set in place that requires all developers to conduct an archaeological inven- tory survey (AIS) of a project area before permits are issued and before construction begins.
For well over three decades, this process has worked
read ... Crabbe
HB115 tells UH More for Mitsunaga, Less for Kobayashi
SA: House Bill 115 is a long overdue and much-needed initiative by the Legislature to require the University of Hawaii to comprehensively address its decaying physical plant.
The bill's current version proposes to establish a special purpose fund that sets aside 5 percent of UH's $1.5 billion gross institutional revenues to fund reduction of the university's maintenance backlog; this would create an ongoing revenue stream of about $75 million yearly. It further proposes to sweep 10 percent of unspent balances from other special funds in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.
UH has a reported maintenance backlog of $461 million, with future needs estimated at $512 million. Over the next 10 years, it will need to spend nearly $1 billion on capital repairs — a low estimate. In 2011, consultants for the Manoa Facilities Management Office (MFMO) concluded that the backlog and future requirements were understated by at least 20 percent, suggesting that costs are much higher than addressed by HB 115.
UH faces a need for more than $1 billion over the next decade to maintain its physical plant without a firm funding plan. How did we get here? State Rep. Issac Choy was right on the mark when he said, "They really dug themselves a hole."
The fact that the UH president and Board of Regents continued to "dig themselves a hole" with new (Kobayashi) construction, despite not being able to pay for upkeep of existing buildings (by Mitsunaga), is a key reason passage of HB 115 is so important.
read ... Mitsunaga Pitch
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