Report: Hawaii Ranks #2 for Embezzlement
Quarter Pounder Index: Honolulu 10th Most Expensive
U.H. Men’s Athletics Once Again Hamstrung With Swishy Moniker
Anti-Whaling Tactics to be used Against Hawaii Aquarium Collectors?
Flags to Fly at Half-Staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day
In the Reign of the Gay Magical Elves
O: The reign of The Gay Man as Magical Elf, who whenever he comes out appears before us as some kind of saintly E.T. whose sole purpose is to be put in the position of reminding us only about Tolerance and Our Own Prejudices and To Feel Good About Ourselves and to be a symbol
read ... Its all about the audience
With Greenwood Neutralized, Faculty, Apple Squeeze Athletic Department
SA: UH said athletics pays approximately $75,000 a year in interest on the debt, and Apple told Ka Leo o Hawaii, the campus newspaper, last week, "If we're not breaking even in three years, I really have to look at whether we will continue Division I-A athletics."....
That Apple hasn't publicly said where the money to "forgive" the deficit will come from has raised concern and speculation on campus.
In a meeting with members of the Manoa Faculty Senate on Friday, "Chancellor Apple confirmed verbally that he had planned to move the athletic department's debt to the Manoa chancellor's office and pay it off slowly with operational funds available to him," said Bonnyjean Manini, outgoing chairwoman of the Faculty Senate.
"He said it is not his intention to use academic funds. Whether he defines tuition money as academic funds is not clear since the past and current reduction in general fund appropriations from the state Legislature causes the need for us to use tuition money to help cover some operational expenses (e.g. utilities, renovation projects)," Manini said.
Manini, speaking as an individual faculty member, said covering the debt is only half the solution.
"Very few athletics programs in the country can sustain themselves financially. With the continuous reductions in state general funds being appropriated by our legislators to (UH), it is not realistic for our larger community to expect our campus to continue to fund this extremely expensive program. I only support the forgiveness of the $11.3 million athletics department debt if our director, Ben Jay, has a three- to five-year plan to show how his administration will balance its budget going forward, based on actual and not projected revenues."
Manini said, "Without a solid plan and accountability on a year-to-year basis, forgiving the debt now may cause a precedence for forgiving future debt. This would not serve the best interest of a public institution of higher learning whose primary objective is to educate and graduate our students."
Part of the Process: U.H. Men’s Athletics Once Again Hamstrung With Swishy Moniker
read ... In The Red
State Spends $176K to Save HMSA
SA: The additional expense is due to problems with this year’s Quest open enrollment, the annual period when members are allowed to change health plans. The department said Monday it canceled the open enrollment that began May 1 and was to have ended May 22.
The department sent information to 250,000 Quest members before the start of open enrollment. The problem with the first mailing was it left out Kaiser Permanente as a health plan choice on Oahu and Maui, so a second mailing was sent Wednesday.
The initial mailing cost $117,170, while a second correspondence to include Kaiser as an option cost $59,084, the department said Tuesday.
The department then canceled the open enrollment for May altogether and rescheduled it for June 17 to 28. The agency will send out a third mailing before June 17.
The department said the open enrollment was canceled because marketing by certain undisclosed health plans was not in compliance with state contracts. (Uh-huh) In addition, (Finally getting to the point) a payment dispute between the Hawaii Medical Service Association and the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center was causing confusion HMSA to lose 1000s of customers.
read ... State loses $176,254 on mailing blunders
Tea Party Maui targeted for IRS scrutiny
MN: In May 2010, the group applied for nonprofit status under the IRS Code's Section 501c(4), which allows an organization to engage in political activity as long as it's not more than 50 percent of its activity, he said. The application process was expected to take six to 12 weeks.
In late August of 2010, the group received a request for additional information from the IRS, Doyle said.
"That in itself was outrageous," Doyle said, because of the level and depth of information sought. Nevertheless, the group met a two-week deadline to submit the information, which was reviewed by an attorney, he said.
"We expected that would be enough to satisfy" the IRS' demands for more information, he said.
But the group heard nothing from the IRS for the rest of 2010, and the request for tax-exempt status languished for much of 2011 as well, he said.
That year, he said, the group inquired about its application and found out its case was being reviewed by officials in an IRS office in Cincinnati, which has become the focal point of a national inquiry about the agency improperly targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they've applied for tax-exempt status.
At one point in 2011, a Tea Party Maui official went to the Maui IRS office but was rebuffed, Doyle said.
"He wasted an entire day in the office," he said. "Nobody was willing to help. No one was available."
The IRS was taking "kind of a stonewall approach," he said.
More inquiries received "wishy-washy" or "I'll get around to it" responses, Doyle said.
read ... Tea Party Maui targeted for IRS scrutiny
Hospitals not to blame for differences in their bills
SA: People are asking why pricing differences exist....
Health care is not a mass-produced commodity. Having hip surgery is not like buying a Big Mac. Patients are unique — and their underlying health conditions are unique. A hip replacement for one patient is not the same hip replacement for another. One may have diabetes or complicating health issues, which require additional tests, labs and time in the hospital.
Similarly, broken bones come in all shapes and sizes. One patient may have a clean break, while another has arthritis. Yet another may have been in an accident with accompanying injuries — and emergency surgery costs far more than scheduled surgery. No two bills are alike because no two patients are alike.
Regarding billing, hospitals have three main payment sources: Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurers (HMOs).
» For government reimbursements, hospitals must follow federally established (Medicare) payment rules, which adjust amounts based on a long list of factors.
These include location (urban vs. rural), status (teaching vs. nonteaching), number of low-income patients served, state-determined (Medicaid) rates, and many others.
Hospitals have little or no control over payments for their Medicare and Medicaid patients. In Hawaii, Medicare pays hospitals an average of 10 percent less than the cost of care. For Medicaid, it's 20 percent less. This means our local hospitals lose income on approximately 60 percent of the populations they serve. Thankfully, it's not profit that motivates them, it's people.
» For commercial reimbursements, insurance companies negotiate rates separately with each hospital. It would create serious antitrust risks for hospitals to share proposed or negotiated rates with each other.
read ... Hospitals not to blame for differences in their bills
Police, Fire Contracts to Cost $11.5M
CB: On Tuesday, city officials told the Honolulu City Council Budget Committee that new contracts with the city’s four unions will add an estimated $37.5 million to the expense column in the coming fiscal year.
Initially, the administration guessed these costs would be $20 million, but changed that figure to $26 million after negotiated salary increases came in higher than expected for employees represented by United Public Workers and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.
Now the administration is bracing for the result of arbitration with the city’s police and fire unions. Budget Director Nelson Koyanagi said he anticipates the unions, particularly the State of Hawaii Police Officers Association, to be awarded hefty salary hikes.
read ... Salary Hikes
Public Shut out of BoR President Search? CB: The hottest item on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents’ agenda Thursday will be discussed behind closed doors.
Planned talks about the university’s presidency are scheduled for executive session — the part of the meeting when members of the public are asked to leave the room.
“How do they justify this?” said Beverly Keever, a UH professor emerita and open government advocate. “It’s a slap in the face ... When the public and the Legislature is demanding more transparency to build public trust, they should bend over backwards to be more open — especially about how they’re going to be looking for a new president.”
read ... Executive Session
For Abercrombie, Senate Primary is a Chance to Make His Mark HOC: Nothing official has been worked out yet, but Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz will be able to count on strong support from the governor who appointed him to the Senate over Hanabusa in December. In public, Abercrombie has been mostly non-responsive about the Senate race, but according to an adviser, the governor plans to give as much help as he can to Schatz.
"He's clearly going to stand behind his pick," the adviser said, noting that concrete planning about how to do that will come later. "To the degree and extent there are opportunities to support one another, that will clearly be the case," the Abercrombie adviser continued. "We haven't talked about endorsements or anything, but it's clearly more than implied."
Abercrombie, 74, believes one of his missions as the titular head of the state Democratic Party is to inject more youth of his own cronies into the ranks of major office-holders....
Inouye essentially controlled the Hawaii Democratic Party for decades, and the extent to which Inouye's vast influence and network survived him (it didn't and Abercrombie is sweeping out the remnants) could be as critical an issue for Hanabusa as Abercrombie's support is for Schatz.
read ... Hotline On Call
Kakaako: Ecos, Developers on Same Page
SA: The state Legislature created an agency 37 years ago to devise an urban plan for Kakaako, at that time covered with warehouses, car repair shops and various rundown structures. For the first time, the Hawaii Community Development Authority has released a comprehensive view of numerous skyscrapers projected throughout the 450 acres with build-up tied to the upcoming elevated rail and bus systems. It is both impressive and scary. The agency will need to assure an open process that resists temptations to overbuild when it comes to elements such as unprecedented tower heights, density leading to unbearable congestion, retaining valuable open space, and manageable capacity on sewage and other infrastructures.
This Kakaako process has been unusual, unlike the happenstance growth of Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. Several tall residential buildings have emerged from earlier HCDA plans but drawings accompanying the agency's longterm plan released last week — in its draft Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Overlay — reveals what a highly urban Kakaako could look like in the decades ahead. That includes:
» Up to three "exemplary iconic buildings" up to 700 feet tall — almost twice the existing 400-foot maximum in most of Kakaako.
» Other new "tower types" to reach up to 550 feet high, within the 450-acre district bound by Ala Moana and South King, Punchbowl and Piikoi streets....
Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii, said his organization wants to "watch very closely" to determine if several green design concepts, including networked bicycle lanes and open public areas, are included. (Translation: No room for cars. Developers not saddled with parking requirements.)
The Sierra Club is "open to the concept" of the building plans, preferring urban development rather than loss of prime agricultural land on the island....
Long-range details of the plan are to be released May 23 on HCDA's website and open-house meetings are scheduled May 23-30.
read ... Kakaako plan bears monitoring
DOE Builds Without Permits, Blames consultant
HNN: There are 570 students at Waialua Elementary School, but not a single one has been able to set foot in what's shaping up to be the school's new library, computer and media center. The grand opening was supposed to have happened 17 months ago....
DOE assistant superintendent Ray L'Heureux said...he blames the consultant hired to get the proper permits. The job was never done. L'Heureux said he didn't find out about it until late last year.
"Every now and then we have a process in place where a consultant just hasn't done the due diligence when it comes to this permitting. In this specific case that's exactly what happened," he said.
The consultant did not get a Shoreline Management permit or SMA. It's necessary because of where the campus is located. An SMA is needed to obtain a building permit. L'Heureux said construction can go forward while a building permit is being sought, but you need one in hand so Hawaiian Electric can finish hooking up the electricity.
"We spend millions of dollars and now we have a white elephant just sitting there," North Shore Neighborhood Board chairman Mike Lyons said.
L'Heureaux declined to name the consultant but said DOE canceled that company from another job at Waialua Elementary because of the permit problem.
read ... DOE blames consultant for school building slowdown
Registration Fee Hike? Council seeks to Blackmail Gun Owners
KHON: The state attorney general says gun registrations are up 342 percent over the past decade.
HPD headquarters is the only Oahu location to take care of the paperwork and that takes three visits — first to apply for the permit, then to get the permit two weeks later, and a third visit to register the firearm. Each one could take several hours of waiting.
“People are getting there at two in the morning to be able to get in early and they aren’t the first ones there,” said Harvey Gerwig, Hawaii Rifle Association.
So the City Council is looking at the Kapolei and Kaneohe police stations as additional sites. They also want to make forms available online to speed up the process.
HPD says it doesn’t have the money or the staff to do that. Right now, it costs $16.50 to register a firearm.
Will people pay more to shorten the wait? (Blackmail)
“It’s $5 a gun now, it’s $20 next year, it’s $100 the year after that. We won’t stand for that, that’s not gonna happen,” Gerwig said.
read ... New sites, new fees could end long lines for gun permits
Organizations consistently ranking high for lobbying expenditures
ILind: If you’re tracking power and influence, one obvious measure is an organization’s presence at the State Capitol as it tries to shape legislation in its own interest.
Eleven organizations that are represented by registered lobbyists in Hawaii consistently ranked among the top 25 in lobbying-related expenditures, according to reports filed with the State Ethics Commission....
Click here for a list of the top 25 spenders in each of the three periods.
CB: Campaign Spending And Ethics Get Tech Upgrades
read ... Organizations consistently ranking high for lobbying expenditures
Sen Green Gives His Parking Spot to Super Lobbyist
CB: The senator and the lobbyist both shrugged off any notion that any favoritism or influence is involved.
"He opposes me on almost all my bills," said Green. "He blocked the Monsanto bill. I was the lead trying to get the GMO labeling bill passed, and he represented Monsanto." (And Green is very grateful for the opportunity to posture without effect.)
When asked the same question, Radcliffe wasn't so civil.
"Influence?" he said sarcastically. "Josh rolls over for me every fucking day .... Yeah, Josh always gives me everything I want."
Referring to Civil Beat's interest, Radcliffe said, "Must be awfully fucking slow today."
Like most lobbyists, Radcliffe certainly has an interest in having a good relationship with a state senator. He and lobbying partner Red Morris gave $3,500 to Green's campaign in the 2006-2008 election cycle and $5,000 in the 2008-2010 cycle.
read ... Slow News Day
Scientists, Farmers Defends Themselves Against Ignorant Mob HTH: Scientists and representatives of the island’s agriculture industry warned that the bill would prevent farmers from benefiting from modified crops that are resistant to disease.
Jason Moniz, representing the Hamakua Farm Bureau, requested the bill be killed, saying it threatens the “well-being” of farmers and ranchers.
“Frankly, I’m sick and tired of having to defend my life’s work,” he said.
Such a bill would have prevented farmers from adopting the transgenic Rainbow papaya in the late 1990s, bill opponents said.
The papaya is resistant to the ringspot virus that devastated the industry, and is credited for saving the largely Puna-based farmers.
“I strongly encourage you to educate yourself further about the potential benefits of genetically engineered crops,” said Susan Miyasaka, an agronomist with the University of Hawaii.
“They can improve the quality and safety and nutritional value of foods for human consumption,” Miyasaka added.
“We have all eaten them and I feel that I am healthy, and I’m against this bill.”
The bill would allow Rainbow papaya, which makes up about 75 percent of the state’s papaya industry, to still be grown, but farmers would have to prove that the crops are “physically contained” by following U.S. Department of Agriculture Level-3 biosafety procedures.
read ... Luddites Attack
Testimony Unanimous Against Tax Hikes
HTH: Mayor Billy Kenoi is proposing the tax hike to help balance a $394.3 million budget, a 7.9 percent increase over the 2012-13 fiscal year. It’s Kenoi’s second tax hike since taking office, but it’s his first budget increase.
All seven testifiers opposed raising property taxes.
Dick Matsumodo, testifying from Waimea, said the property tax increases coupled with hikes in fees is just too much a burden. The budget also anticipates increases in vehicle registration and weight taxes, bus fares and park fees.
“All these increases you are going to put on us, we can’t afford it,” Matsumodo said. “Everybody’s struggling now and you’ve just got to make do, because you’re just going to put us in a hole.”
Other testifiers pointed to a recent study that showed the county’s property assessment and tax policies need work. Disparities and inequities abound in the system, they said, and those problems need to be addressed first, which would likely bring in more tax dollars.
“The study is right on. The taxes now are not equitable,” said Marie Correa, testifying from Hilo. “How can your property tax system be in very bad shape and slap 10 percent on top of this on the people of this island?”
Kona real estate agent Gretchen Lambeth said many homeowners pay the minimum $100 annual tax, which doesn’t begin to cover county services. She recommended raising that to $500 annually as a way to make the system more fair.
Tom Rees, a regular testifier in Hilo, had noted Monday that he thought Kenoi has “taken the easy way out,” rather than addressing the systemic problems.
Related: 2nd County Employee pleads not guilty to fuel theft
read ... No to Kenoi
$40M for Micronesian Medicaid in Immigration Bill
CB: Hawaii took a step Tuesday towards finally recouping a large chunk of the estimated $115 million it has been paying annually to cover the costs of providing health care to migrants from Micronesia. The Senate Judiciary Committee added a provision pushed by Sen. Mazie Hirono to allow Micronesian and others living in the United States through the Compact of Free Association to be eligible for Medicaid.
The immigration bill still has a long way to go to being passed by the full Senate and then the House. But if approved, the provision would save Hawaii about $40 million a year in unreimbursed health care costs.
A sign the provision stands a good chance of at least passing the Senate came in Tuesday’s committee vote. Judiciary Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, called the measure “a fair amendment. It should be non-controversial.”
HNN: Hirono bill looks to make migrants eligible for Medicaid
Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo: Senate Committee Approves Bill to Restore Medicaid Eligibility for Migrants From Micronesia
read ... Micronesian Windfall? Hawaii Could Get $40M From Feds
HSTA Tries to Shortchange State on Contract Deal
CB: The Hawaii State Teachers Association has officially withdrawn its complaint with the Hawaii Labor Relations Board, but it didn’t go as smoothly as Gov. Neil Abercrombie would have liked. ...
On May 1, two weeks after the governor and HSTA President Wil Okabe signed the new deal, the union filed a motion to withdraw its complaint without prejudice with HLRB.
Abercrombie and members of the state contract negotiations team retorted May 7 with a motion in opposition. They didn’t like the “without prejudice” part, which means the union can bring the same complaint against the state at a later date.
The labor board, comprised of Chair James Nicholson and member Rock Ley, sided with the state this week.
The board on Tuesday granted the withdrawal of the complaint, but with prejudice, meaning the union can’t file the same complaint with the board.
And as the order states, “This case is closed.”
read ... Case Closed
NYT Runs Feature on Pig Eradication in Hawaii
NYT: I decided I had to do it — it would be an exercise in ecological balance, a small act to help save little forest birds from extinction. When the moment came, I imagined, I would take no pleasure in it but just do my job, perhaps whispering into the pig’s ear: “This is for the ‘o’o bird. The mamo. And the po’ouli. Aloha, bruddah.”
Perhaps then the pig would grasp the horror — the horror — of what its species had done.
read ... The Horror!
Are You an Artiste? $5M for You in Rail Budget
HNN: Honolulu Mayor Peter Caldwell and Hart CEO Dan Grabauskas unveiled a $5,000,000 rail art program Tuesday.
In order to be selected, artists must demonstrate their knowledge of Hawaii's history and culture. Applications must be submitted at this website before June 20.
read ... Grabauskas
Defense workers' furlough days cut Again
SA: The number of furlough days has dropped from 22 to 14 and now 11. The Pentagon also is exempting shipyard workers from the remaining 11 furlough days that will affect most Defense Department civilian employees between July 8 and the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The decision means that 4,447 civilian workers at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, the state's largest industrial employer, will keep their regular workweeks — and full paychecks — officials said.
read ... Never Really There
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