Dozens of Republicans Enter Neighborhood Board Elections
HCR165: State Child Welfare Services “Unauditable”
Harvard: HOPE Probation Among Top 25 Innovations in Government
24% of DoE Grads Ready for College Math
Video: Slom, Kato, Morita Discuss Shield Law
Hawaii--How Safe is Your Hospital?
Kim: Airport Division Audit Among Priorities for 2014
PR: In a memo sent Monday, Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-Moanalua-Halawa) asked the committee heads to identify at least one issue under their purview that their committee could work on during the interim.
As stated in the memo:
Here are some suggested topics/issues: Office of Elections Procedures; University of Hawaii-Procurement, Solar and PV Panel disposal; Geothermal Policies; (Genetically-Modified Organisms), (Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii); Agriculture Sustainability; or the poor conditions of our roads and highways. These are only suggestions, you may have your own ideas or issues about what your committee may want to review.
In addition, the Auditor may have issued a report that falls within the purview of your committee. In our move toward greater transparency with the public, I suggest that you hold an informational briefing on the Auditor's reports and findings. The recent Auditor's report on the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' Homestead Services Division** or the soon to be released report on the Department of Transportation's Airports Division are examples where concerns are raised and the public should be made aware of those concerns.
She has asked the committee chairmen and chairwomen to inform her office by June 3, of what project they would like to undertake this summer.
read ... Priorities for 2014
Masagatani: Abercrombie is With me Against Schatz, Danner
SA: This year, for the first time, Gov. Neil Abercrombie's budget included a request for $14.7 million in general funding for DHHL's administrative expenses, in response to the Nelson v. Hawaiian Homes Commission lawsuit, and the Legislature engaged in a discussion regarding what is "sufficient" to fund the operations and administration of DHHL.
The outcome? We received $9.6 million in general funding for operations for DHHL, more than has ever been provided in DHHL's history. It's a good beginning, but a dialogue that is far from over....
We are extremely grateful for the unwavering support of Gov. Abercrombie and the assistance of key Cabinet officials who have pledged their support in helping us achieve the improvements we desire.
What this is about: Akaka Tribe: Schatz, Danner Conspire to Federalize DHHL
February 20, 2013: Schatz: Obama Administration May Recognize Akaka Tribe via Dep’t of Interior Without Congress
read ... Masagatani
Appeal Planned After Suit Challenging planned Ho'opili community is dismissed
SA: Nishimura concluded that the environmental group and senator failed to show that the developer's experts were not credible or that their testimony was clearly outweighed by opposing evidence. The judge also ruled that the LUC didn't violate the Constitution or otherwise render its decision improperly.
Eric Seitz, an attorney representing the Sierra Club and Hee, said he intends to further appeal the case to Hawaii's Intermediate Court of Appeals or directly to the state Supreme Court if accepted....
Where They're Headed: Enviros win 90% in Hawaii Supreme Court
read ... Dismissed
HMSA Chief Predicts Obamacare 'Rate Shock' for Hawaii
MN: If Hawaii consumers think health care reform will lower costs, especially in the short term, then they should brace themselves for "rate shock," said Michael Gold, president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Medical Service Association.
His comments came Wednesday, about a week after the Hawaii state insurance commissioner approved a rate increase of 6.8 percent for HMSA....
"Across the country, people are talking about what they're calling 'rate shock,' '' Gold said. "The idea behind 'rate shock' is that it will be a shock to everybody when rates actually go up instead of coming down once health care reform is implemented....
While it's a "good thing" to extend health coverage to more people, "the money has to come from someplace," Gold said. "It's going to come from, in a sense, all of us who've been paying up until now."
Insurance rates will go up to pay for federal levies assessed on health plans, he said, "and the health plans are going to build those into their rates because they don't have any extra money."...
Last month, HMSA came under fire in a class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. The federal lawsuit alleges that HMSA has used anti-competitive practices to maintain a monopoly that has led to rapidly rising health insurance premiums for Hawaii residents....
HMSA built into its most recent rate increase the 2 percent to 4 percent it will pay for fees associated with health care reform. The revamped system arises from the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," enacted in March 2010....
Although the federal government has provided $200 million to start Hawaii's online health insurance exchange, there will be costs going forward that everyone will pay, Gold said.
After the $200 million is spent establishing the exchange, "then it becomes our baby, and we're going to have to pay for it in some way," he said, adding that HMSA may need to seek another 2 percent premium increase to cover the cost.
Gold was critical of the insurance exchange, which he called a "quasi-governmental, quasi-public entity" aimed at "finding a plan for everybody, eventually."
Employers and individuals already can shop for health insurance plans in Hawaii, he pointed out.
With the insurance exchange, "we're putting another level of infrastructure or bureaucracy on top of what already exists here now," he said.
It's conceivable that multiple insurance carriers could come to Hawaii to put their offerings on the exchange for employers with fewer than 50 workers and for individuals, and they would get a broader choice of health plans, he said.
But, "that's not going to happen," Gold said. (Visualize Don Corleone) "If it happens, people in Hawaii are not going to join (the outside health plans).
"There isn't a large uninsured population in Hawaii compared with other places in the country," he said.
Nevertheless, the bill for establishing and running the exchange will come due. "Everybody is going to have to pay for the exchange, essentially," Gold said. Consumers will pay the added cost through higher health plan premiums.
Health care reform's promise of lower costs will take years to realize, he said.
"It's not in how people buy insurance," Gold said. "The real issue is how health care is delivered, and can it be delivered in a more cost-effective way that produces outcomes that lower the cost and improve the quality and everything else."
read ... We Told You So
Hospital charges vary widely within Hawaii
SA: Treating a patient with a brain hemorrhage at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii cost $30,000. The price for the same procedure seven miles away at Straub Clinic & Hospital is 80 percent higher at $54,000.
read ... Hospital charges vary widely within Hawaii
Honolulu Homeless Solution to be based on 'Housing First' Plan
SA: ...the mayor and his top aides have said that it will draw heavily from the principles of New York City's "housing first" concept, which focuses immediately on providing permanent shelter. Other issues — including mental illness, drug abuse and joblessness — are addressed later.
Many current programs require someone with substance abuse problems to seek treatment in exchange for housing.
Jun Yang, Caldwell's executive director on housing, said at a town hall meeting last week that "many times treatment can actually be the barrier that stops a homeless person from getting into housing."
Instead, "re-housing should be the central goal of working with our homeless," he said.
The housing-first philosophy gives first priority to those with the most severe disabilities and others who are most vulnerable, he said. Shelters are offered without any requirement to participate in support services, although such services are offered "without coercion."
read ... Housing First
Hee Single-Handedly Kills Ethics Reforms
CB: As far as the Ethics Commission is concerned, those interviewed for this story said Hee doesn’t like the current executive director, Les Kondo. As a result, they believe Hee endeavors to kill bills Kondo supports....
Personal feuds aside, lawmakers and nonprofit leaders said Hee also seems to kill bills when he doesn’t get what he wants.
Senate Bill 66 would have required members of boards regulating land, water, utilities and university affairs to file publicly available financial disclosure statements. It came close to passing, which would have been a very progressive step for Hawaii. But it ultimately died in conference committee after a select group of lawmakers from the Senate and House were unable to work out differences between their respective versions of the bill.
Hee was unhappy the House had inserted a provision from a different bill, Senate Bill 669, which Hee wouldn’t hear in his judiciary committee. He was also mad he didn’t get millions of dollars for a Turtle Bay project, lawmakers said....
The sole bill in the Campaign Spending Commission’s legislative package, House Bill 201, died in Hee’s committee after clearing the House....
Kondo told Civil Beat it was disappointing none of the Ethics Commission’s proposed bills passed. He said there were good bills in the legislative package — and others introduced by individual lawmakers — that would not only toughen up the current laws but make them internally consistent.
read ... Hee is the Problem
Playing Hooky from the Legislature
CB: Two lawmakers skipped 10 days of the 60-day session Hawaii Legislature. Rep. Marcus Oshiro and Sen. Maile Shimabukuro each missed one-sixth of the 2013 floor sessions, the days when members of the Senate and state House of Representatives vote on legislation as a group....
According to the House attendance sheet, which is made available online, 21 of the 51 representatives scored perfect attendance:
Henry Aquino, Karen Awana, Tom Brower, Lauren Cheape, Isaac Choy, Ty Cullen, Cindy Evans, Linda Ichiyama, Aaron Ling Johanson, Jo Jordan, Chris Lee, Nicole Lowen, Sylvia Luke, Dee Morikawa, Scott Nishimoto, Takashi Ohno, Richard Onishi, Scott Saiki, Gregg Takayama, Jimmy Tokioka and Ryan Yamane.
According to the Senate attendance sheet, which is not online but is reproduced below, six of the 25 senators did not miss a single floor session:
Roz Baker, Will Espero, Mike Gabbard, Clayton Hee, Russell Ruderman and Sam Slom.
Reps. Sharon Har and Roy Takumi missed seven days each, while Romy Cachola and Angus McKlevey missed six. All are Democrats.
The lawmaker with the worst attendance in the 2012 session, Rep. Mele Carroll, improved this year.
Carroll, a Democrat who represents Molokai, Lanai and parts of Maui, missed missed 11 of the 45 floor sessions in the 2012 Hawaii Legislature, in part due to sickness.
This year she only missed five days, she said, because of sickness and a family emergency.
read ... You'd be fired with this attendance record
Hawaii County Board OKs Sequential Self-Dealing
WHT: A former county employee who designed the bid specifications and helped choose the contractor for the first phase of the Kaloko Housing program got clearance Wednesday to submit a proposal for an expanded second phase in his new job with the nonprofit organization that won the first bid.
No county money comes with the contract, but the contractor is paid through federally backed rents on the units, worth more than $550,000 annually.
Jeremy McComber left his job heading the Community Development Division of the county Office of Housing and Community Development on July 31. He took a job Aug. 1 as director of operations for HOPE Services Hawaii Inc., which won the bid to manage the first phase of the affordable housing project in December 2011. McComber had worked for the county for 12 years.
The Kaloko project, dubbed “Na Kahu Hale O Ulu Wini,” is located in Kailua-Kona. The first phase of the project comprised 40 units. Construction of the second phase, with 36 additional units, is now wrapping up, with tenants expected to be selected June 1.
McComber told the county Board of Ethics he had no inside knowledge of the new request for proposals for property management and social support services for the expanded project....
After questioning McComber, the board unanimously voted that his participation in responding to the request for proposals did not violate either section of the ethics code.
read ... Board OKs former employee’s involvement in contract
LNG and CEO Compensation top issues at HEI's Annual Meeting
DN: LNG is the “least expensive fuel.” There is an infrastructure approach which is not costly to construct and that is the approach HECO will take. When he worked on the Mainland a few years ago, you couldn’t get a contract for longer than 3-6 months. There is currently a glut of LNG supply that can last more than 100 years. Gas producers are willing to lock in 20-year contracts. He concluded that “our interests are completely in line with our customers interest.”
read ... Henry Curtis
Hawaii High Prices Due to Electric Rates
CB: Prices are higher here, and we need to lower them. It’s what I keep talking about. We need to find a way that we can lower our costs.
I first noticed our farm costs rising steadily back in 2005 and 2006. Rising costs affect every aspect of our farm, and it was very worrisome. Looking into it, I realized that the rise in price was due to the price of oil increasing.
Here in Hawaii, we are being squeezed extra hard. More than 70 percent of our electricity comes from oil. Compare this to the U.S. mainland — Hawaii’s primary competitor in many produce and food manufacturing categories — which relies on oil for only about two percent of its electricity generation.
As the price of oil rises, you can see how our local farmers and food manufacturers become less and less competitive with the mainland.
read ... Richard Ha
Flights, seats from Honolulu fell over 6 years, study shows
SA: Honolulu Airport saw a 24 percent decline in domestic flight departures and a 19.6 percent drop-off in seats during a six-year period through 2012, according to a study released Wednesday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The study said U.S. airlines cut the number of scheduled domestic flights by 14.3 percent. The number of seats offered fell by slightly less as airlines switched to larger planes. In Honolulu, departures fell to 65,684 from 86,377 during the period while seats declined to 8.5 million from 10.5 million.
read ... Flights, seats from Honolulu fell over 6 years, study shows
My Dad, Larry Helm, Needs Your Prayers, Good Thoughts and Mana-ful Energy
HR: His true calling came in the mid 90's to help with care and providing services to the many Molokai Veterans. He is the commander for the Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans organization and has led it to what it is today. He also worked endlessly and unselfishly towards building the first Veterans Center on Molokai. He took on the arduous task of dealing with the County and the red tape that goes along with it. We hope he will SOON see his work come to fruition.
Today, he faces another hurdle. Terminal liver cancer. Although the doctor says it 'doesn't look good' - we all know after reading this post my dad has had 9 lives and he won't go down without a fight.
My family and I ask for your prayers, your love, your positive and mana-ful energy.
read ... Larry Helm
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