Shame on HGEA, Politicians for Rejecting Banner Health
HB622: A Sieve Law Not a Shield Law
Lack of Understanding of General Excise Tax Creates Confusion
Hawaii Senate Race Stokes Obama, Clinton Rift
Full Text: Honolulu Council Challenges School Lands Bill
As CEO Pay Hits $5.8M, Hawaiian Electric Flunks Executive Compensation Scorecard
Two Marijuana Bills Pass Conference Committee
Caldwell Announces Town Hall Meeting Schedule
VOG: Hawaii County Air Flunks
Army Completes EIS for Pōhakuloa Battle Course
Locking down Dem primary will Create a Two-Party System
SA: The Democratic Party wants to close Hawaii’s open primary system; the result could be even fewer voters (What they mean is that old-boy voters would have nobody to vote for on the pure progressive Democratic Ballot. The result would be more two-party competition, which would bring more voters, not less.)
For the past 30 years, voters in Hawaii's primary elections have been able to vote for candidates they prefer without being registered with any political party — but the Democratic Party here wants to challenge that system in court.... (Inconvenient Truth: 30 Years Ago, turnout was much higher.)
David Chang, the state's Republican Party chairman, acknowledges that many GOP supporters cross the lines, even though "I encourage my voters to not switch over, to vote in the Republican Party so we could show the strength of our party through the primary system. I really do not believe that's a significant difference in how the election plays out."
"I think having an open opportunity for all of Hawaii's citizens is much better than having a closed primary," Chang said. "If we're trying to limit the people's ability to choose good candidates, I think it goes against our democratic values."
(Better Answer: To all people being thrown out of the Democratic Party we say, 'You still have a political future. Join the GOP.' If Democrats are going to lock voters and candidates out of their party, the GOP will be the Party which remains open to their participation. Closing the Democratic Primary will enhance two-party competition and thus increase voter turnout in the General Election. We in the Republican Party will maintain our Open Primary system and voters who are Registered Independent, Democrat, Republican, and Other will be welcome to participate in Republican Primaries to select the candidate who will face the Democrat nominee. The Republican Party will be the path forward for those excluded by the Democrats.)
The 1978 state constitutional convention authorized the open primary to replace the prior closed system, which had been in place for 10 years. Prior to that, Hawaii's election system was what Gill described as "functionally identical" to the present system, and benefited "the Republican oligarchy" from 1900 to 1968. The essentially closed primary election in 1978 resulted in a voter turnout 74.6 percent of eligible voters. Since then, the primary turnout has fallen to 42 percent....
Milner said "There have been a lot of other changes since that time." One of those, he pointed out, "is the Republican Party as a competitive party pretty much disappeared, so that you have fewer competitive elections since 1978 than you do now....
How voters will respond to the Democratic position on the issue remains to be seen in a political atmosphere where voters don't identify with a party.
"The growing group in politics in the state and nationally is the independent group," Boylan said. "Both parties are fighting apathy in this state and lack of interest in politics and political activity. That's bad for both of them. So if you suddenly limit who can participate in your primary elections, then you're, I think, making a huge, huge mistake." (And this is exactly why closing the Democrat Primary will help establish a two-party system in Hawaii.)
"It could be a public relations mistake," Gill acknowledged. "It's just that eventually we have to honor what we say we believe in." (Ideologues purging the impure will drive them into the GOP and create a two-pay system.)
read ... Old Boys are Scared They'll be Locked Out
Senate Race: Brief Opportunity for Voters to Determine Outcomes 'Before Cement Hardens Again'
SA Editorial: Hawaii statewide politics has never been this exciting — or exhausting, depending on your point of view.
After decades in which election to Capitol Hill, for all practical purposes, was treated as a lifetime appointment, there's been nothing but churn in recent years. This is unquestionably a positive development, but voters should expect the window for electoral change to be open only briefly.
In reality, there's little chance that either will be given a high-profile opportunity to outshine the other, as Congress and the Obama administration continue struggling with fiscal constraints.
Sequestration, that automatic, across-the-board slice from federal spending, means there will be fewer goodies to rack up on any score sheets....
Really, though, the best outcome for voters in a state long dominated by an elite political class would be a choice between seasoned veterans and talented, up-to-the-challenge newcomers.
Change can be good, so let's hope Hawaii gets the chance to make some — before the political cement hardens again.
read ... Senate race is crossroads for Democrats
Democrats: CD1 is 'Strange', Elects Republicans, Hippies
Democrat Borreca: This is one strange district. The urban Honolulu district runs from Hawaii Kai to Kapolei and touches both Democratic and Republican strongholds....
Political scientists and sociologists could have a field day parsing the trends and different groups within CD1.
By including both sides of Honolulu's economic divide, the urban Honolulu District is decidedly difficult to categorize.
In other words, appealing to voters along Kalihi's Eluwene Street will not call for the same message given to voters on Hunakai Street in Kahala.
It is the only district in Hawaii that elected a Republican. The first was Pat Saiki in 1987 and then Charles Djou for seven months in 2010-11.
It is also the only district to elect Neil Abercrombie twice. He won a special election seat from Sept 20, 1986, to Jan. 3, 1987, to fill the vacancy left when the late former Rep. Cecil Heftel ran for governor. Abercrombie lost the election for the full two-year term, but returned to serve from 1991 to 2011.
read ... Democrats Scared
Thanks to Obamacare, New Hawaii Nurses wait for jobs
SA: The difficulty of finding RN jobs is likely to worsen in the near term with the rollout of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, as providers, uncertain of how the law will affect payments for medical services, restructure and slim down their organizations.
"There's certainly a bottleneck right now as people hold on to see what's going to happen with the ACA," said Deborah Gardner, executive director of the Hawaii State Center for Nursing. "These couple of years are going to be tough. Sometimes supply and demand are not strictly in alignment, especially when you have a health care transition of a historical degree like this one. It's really going to reshape how we deliver care. "
...The job market shrunk further when the Hawaii Medical Centers in Ewa and Liliha closed in December 2011 and January 2012, respectively.
Hawaii has 20,000 registered nurses, but only 84.6 percent are working as registered nurses, according to the Hawaii State Center for Nursing, a state agency that collects information on the nursing profession. About 650 students graduate each year from Hawaii nursing schools, including the University of Hawaii, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific University.
New graduates often end up taking odd jobs or lower-paying positions as nurse aides or ward clerks while waiting for an RN opening. The average RN earns about $50 an hour, while a nurse aide makes about $18, according to Hawaii Pacific Health, which employs roughly 1,750 nurses.
About 150 new grads are working in non-RN roles while waiting for a position to open at Hawaii Pacific Health, parent company of Straub Clinic & Hospital, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pali Momi Medical Center and Wilcox Health on Kauai, said Carl Hinson, director of workforce development.
"Between 70 and 100 a year are moving into RN positions, but it's taking them one, two, three years," he said. "We still have an oversupply of new grads. We still need experienced nurses — that's where our shortage is."
read ... We Told You So
City workers' raises to cost $26M
SA: ...both Mayor Kirk Caldwell and City Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said they expect the pay increases to be incorporated into the upcoming $2.09 billion 2014 operating budget without disruption to public services or other government operations.
Three of four units of the Hawaii Government Employees Association that make up most of the city's white-collar civil servants have already ratified their contracts, while a fourth HGEA unit will be in ratification mode through Tuesday. They are receiving roughly 4 percent annual pay raises in each of two years. Workers would pay a 40 percent share of their health insurance premiums, down from 50 percent.
For the United Public Workers union, leaders of the Unit 1 blue-collar workers have, meanwhile, reached a four-year deal that will give its members roughly 4 percent increases annually through 2017. That unit has ratified the contract. Members of Unit 10 are still in negotiations.
The state and counties are still in arbitration proceedings with the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers and the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association. Both are expected to be done soon.
It's not known what those arbitrated settlements will cost the city, but given the recent HGEA and UPW contracts the Caldwell administration is projecting similar multiyear, 4 percent increases.
read ... Another $26M
Hawaii Legislative Preview: Last week of session
AP: Lawmakers are in recess on Monday and Wednesday, but plan marathon sessions on Tuesday and Thursday to fully vote on all bills left....On Thursday, the 2013 session ends.
Lawmakers will also vote on, among other bills:
— Whether to give more than $7 million over the next two years to a new school readiness program to replace a junior kindergarten program that expires in 2015.
— A pilot project to develop school lands to raise money for school infrastructure repairs.
— Whether to extend and change Hawaii's shield law, which expires at the end of June. The shield law outlines protections for journalists from being compelled by courts to reveal confidential sources except in certain cases.
read ... Preview
It's amazing how quickly an upcoming election can open the state vault
Shapiro: » Gov. Neil Abercrombie dodged a bullet when the formidable Hanabusa decided to run against Schatz and not him, leaving him no announced opposition for re-election. I don't know what's of more concern: the job Abercrombie has done or that nobody thinks they can do better.
» After battling public-worker unions his entire term, the governor hastily settled contracts giving hefty pay raises and better medical deals to teachers, blue-collar workers and administrative employees. It's amazing how quickly an upcoming election can open the state vault.
» House and Senate budget negotiators agreed on a two-year, $23.8 billion state budget three days ahead of schedule and without the usual drama. The arithmetic became pretty simple once Abercrombie gave all the money to public workers....
And the quote of the week … from Senate Ways and Means Chairman David Ige on public-worker contracts: "It does appear that the actual agreements are coming in higher than we anticipated, so we're just reworking the numbers and trying to see, and make sure, that we can afford it." And if we can't afford it, they'll pay it anyway.
read ... Political drama shifts from contract talks to campaigns
“The monster is dead” but the process raises a question of legislative ethics
DN: “Several sources said [Senator Malama] Solomon would kill about a half-dozen measures that she had control over if the House did not agree to HB 252”
The bad news is the undemocratic nature of Hawaii’s state legislative process that that the article reveals. The half-dozen measures that Sen. Solomon would kill, apparently motivated by revenge against the House conferees, were not identified, but presumably they advanced through the usual process of committee hearings, testimony, and votes. They should live or die depending on their merits, not as sacrifices to Sen. Solomon’s anger.
The fact that she felt she could make such a threat also reflects on Senate leadership. Or has “leadership” lost its meaning in the current session? Can one senator be granted enough leeway to arbitrarily kill a half-dozen bills without suffering negotiable consequences?
There are standards of ethical conduct that are not codified into law, and threatening unrelated bills is arguably a disservice greater than creating a “Frankenbill” in the first place.
read ... Question of legislative ethics
Abercrombie Claims Victory After Legislature Guts Preschool Scheme
FB: Gov. Neil Abercrombie today released a statement regarding the Hawaii State Legislature passing SB 1093 CD1, which establishes the school readiness program within the Early Learning System. This legislation builds upon the existing Preschool Open Doors, a Department of Human Services program that already provides some services for our young children.
Gov. Abercrombie stated:
“This is a great start. I am very pleased that Senate Bill 1093 has passed and I’m grateful to our legislators for recognizing this important step for the future of our keiki.
“The State of Hawaii can now demonstrate its commitment to preparing our youth by ensuring that high quality childcare and early education will be available, accessible and affordable.
“The priority will be to serve the low-income and some middle income families. We are pleased that the amount provided by the Legislature will allow us to serve the children with the highest need, those most at risk of not attending a preschool program."
KHON: "Take the money and go to any preschool you want to put your child in and it was a tuition waiver”
KITV: Measure expands state-run child care program
read ... Claiming Victory
EHR: Impractical, Costly, Discouraging
SA: Staff turnover is almost inevitable during an EHR transition...
Opportunity costs dwarf system costs: The hard costs of the electronic health record system are dwarfed by the need to see fewer patients during the switch combined with staff time involved in making the change. The full transition takes one year....
It is impractical to scan all of the old records so they become readable on EHR. The time and cost are great, and the result can be impractical. Scrolling through old paper charts is much harder than thumbing through an actual paper record....
Incentives paid by insurance, including Medicare, don't come close to covering the total cost of the capital expense, process re-engineering, downtime, opportunity costs and ongoing administrative resources required to maintain compliance with new requirements as set forth by payers.
Postponing "paperwork" until the weekend or making multiple patient calls into the evening can be draining and discouraging....
read ... Shift to electronic records
High schools on Oahu, Maui are among nation's most challenging
SA: Six Hawaii high schools have earned spots on a list of the nation's most challenging public secondary schools.
Kaiser, Kalani, Mililani, Campbell and Kalaheo high schools on Oahu and King Kekaulike on Maui made the cut this year, along with 1,900 other schools representing the top 9 percent of U.S. public high schools.
The rankings are "designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests," according to Jay Mathews, a Washington Post education columnist who has compiled the so-called Challenge Index since 1998. The list, which previously rated only D.C.-area public high schools, was expanded in 2011 to include schools across the country.
The same Hawaii schools, except for Kaiser, made last year's list.
WaPo: America's most challenging high schools
read ... Challenge Index
Homeless Guy Arrested after Mass Shooting at Maui Golf Course
MN: Maui police on Saturday arrested a 59-year-old man who was indicted on 20 charges by a Maui County grand jury on Friday for his alleged involvement in shooting golfers and a police officer with a pellet rifle last week at the Maui Country Club in Spreckelsville, police said Saturday.
Alan Engling, who has no local address, was charged with 11 counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, seven counts of second-degree assault and one count each of first-degree assault on a police officer and resisting arrest, police said. He was being held at the Wailuku Police Station on Saturday afternoon on $110,000 bail.
As Explained: Connecticut Shooting: Failure of Mental Health System
read ... With a Pellet Gun
Hawaii County Task force would weigh property tax increase
HTH: Just a few weeks after Mayor Billy Kenoi warned County Council members he was considering a property tax increase, the council will vote on forming a task force to consider the county’s real property tax rates and rules.
Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille introduced the resolution to form the task force in December. Council members postponed making a decision until this month to allow Wille to work with county administrators to select task force members. The council’s Finance Committee will take the measure back up during its meeting 1 p.m. Tuesday at the West Hawaii Civic Center.
Two council members — Hilo’s Dennis Onishi and Hamakua’s Valerie Poindexter — along with four administration members — Finance Director Nancy Crawford, Real Property Tax Administrator Stanley Sitko, Real Property Tax Administrator Lisa Nahoopii and Deputy Corporation Counsel Ryan Kanakaole — and three members of the public — Jeanne Sunderland, Bob Price and Stewart Hussey — will comprise the panel. Wille said the group will report regularly to the council and their term will expire with the current council at the end of 2014....
The Finance Committee will also discuss Kenoi’s full budget proposal. Committee hearings begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Council convenes at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
read ... Weighing whether they can get away with it
Kauai Politicians Use Busses as Latest Excuse to Propose Tax Increases
KGI: Former bus driver Debra Kekaualua, of Wailua, criticized the bill, and said that on the Big Island, bus services were free and now charge $1 per trip. Fares on Kaua‘i are $2 per trip or 50 cents for neighborhood shuttles, though bus passes lower the cost significantly for regular users....
Currently, drivers pay a 13-cent fee for each gallon of liquid fuel, and nothing for biodiesel. (Here's an idea. Eliminate fuel taxes for Kauai Bus fuel.)
Bill 2484 proposes an increase of 3 cents per gallon starting July 1 for all liquid fuels. A year later, on July 1, 2014, an additional 1 cent per gallon would be charged. A third increase, on July 1, 2015, would add 2 cents per gallon to the liquid fuel tax....
Kapa‘a resident Glenn Mickens was against raising taxes to add buses to the roads.
“We have to prioritize our limited funds, and since 98 percent of our population uses their vehicles for transportation, let’s get alternative roads built on Kaua‘i and help alleviate the traffic problems,” he said.
But (And) it is exactly this high percentage of vehicle users that the council, specially Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, want to reduce by expanding bus services. (Taxes for social engineering.)
read ... Higher tax, more buses
HTH Reporters Still Not Paid
ILind: Stephens Media, the union-busting owner of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, is back at it again. In the latest chapter of a long running saga of labor law violations, the Tribune-Herald is stalling payments to two journalists previously ordered by the National Labor Relations Board, according to a release from the Pacific Media Workers Guild, which now includes Newspaper Guild members in Hawaii.
read ... Stephens Media
Dramatic changes confront the state as people increasingly favor living on the neighbor islands
SA: By 2030, more than a third of Hawaii residents will be neighbor islanders, a reality that observers predict will almost certainly have repercussions big and small for everything from the state’s economy to its politics.
The migration of people to the neighbor islands has been increasing at a rapid clip for the past two decades, spurring questions about infrastructure, overdevelopment and preserving a sense of place.
read ... Dramatic changes
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