Airports Division Audit: Mismanagement, Recurring Violations, Delays, Cost Overruns
Neighborhood Board Voting Deadline is Friday
Aloha Tower Case Tests 'Private Attorney General' Before Supreme Court
Atheists Attack HGEA, UPW Contract: Demand Unions Give Up Paid Holiday
Judicial Watch Sues U.S. Secret Service for Obama’s Hawaiian Vacation Records
HMSA: Obamacare to Impose 2% Rate Hike MN: Gold said the operation of the health insurance exchanges to ensure a selection of companies for the uninsured will be an ongoing cost. He said federal funds will help pay for the initial setup of the exchanges (Hawaii's will be called the Hawaii Health Connector), but that there is an estimate of about a 2 percent increase in premiums that will be needed for ongoing costs.
The HMSA chief said that ongoing cost will simply become part of the base rate.
In a further discussion about reining in health care costs, Gold explained that the only way to achieve true reductions is to change the whole mindset of providers - and insurance companies.
Doctors and hospitals are now compensated for the quantity of services and procedures they provide. Gold believes that quantity of services needs to be replaced by quality of services. That involves not just treating the sick or injured, but also keeping people well.
Our take from the meeting was that health care costs will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.
As Explained: Hawaii Obamacare Leaders Warn: “We’re not Going to Have Any Health Care”
read ... Another 2%
HMSA, Kaiser Losing Money--More Rate Hikes Coming
HNN: "Simply stated, the money we're collecting from members and businesses for their premiums is not enough to keep pace with the rising cost of health care," said HMSA CFO Steve Van Ribbink.
"Outside costs are tracking higher than expected," Kaiser said Thursday. "When our members receive care outside the Kaiser Permanente system we don't control those expenses, which have historically been much higher than inflation."
HMSA collected $637 million in premiums but spent more than that, despite lower administrative costs, and wound up with an operating loss of $9.5 million. Investment income covered much of that, leaving a net loss of $3.6 million.
Kaiser had revenue of $286 million but spent more than that, resulting in an operating loss of $1.8 million. Investment income covered most of that, leaving a net loss of $200,000.
Hawaii health care insurers and providers must clear their rate hikes with state regulators, who often grant a smaller increase than what was requested. Rate hikes typically kick on Jan. 1 or July 1....
HMSA has been modifying its contracts with hospitals to shift some compensation from procedures and tests to results. Kaiser has been undertaking capital projects to open or modernizes its medical centers.
SA: HMSA blames rising costs for $3.6M loss
As Explained: Hawaii Obamacare Leaders Warn: “We’re not Going to Have Any Health Care”
read ... More Rate Hikes Coming
Honolulu Tea Party says it was targeted by IRS
HNN: Yesterday, the acting chief of the IRS was ousted after a scathing inspector general's report found that the agency unfairly held up the tax-exempt applications of a number of Tea Party Groups.
"I definitely believe it was political in nature. What, we're just having rallies and waving the flag saying where's our tax money going," said Adrienne King, chief coordinator for the Honolulu Tea Party, which has about 100 followers.
"I do think the Honolulu Tea Party was singled out."
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz said others involved in the scandal should be fired.
"The people who did this (should be) held accountable ... lose their jobs. If they broke the law they should get prosecuted accordingly," he said....
Adrienne King says the IRS held up her group's applications for nearly two years, even though the process is typically routine.
She said her group received a letter from the IRS last year, asking for lists of speakers at its rallies and copies of their speeches....
These delays have prompted dozens of conservative groups to abandon their efforts and disband. But not the Honolulu Tea Party. It obtained its tax-exempt status this March.
read ... Local Tea Party says it was targeted by IRS
Maui Tea Party Group: IRS Intimidated Us
CB: Bill Doyle served as a board member and then president of the Tea Party Maui during the two years it sought tax-exempt status from the IRS. He said he believes the unusually high level of scrutiny received by tea party and other organizations came from “higher up,” though he said only congressional investigations into the scandal will determine whether it reached the White House.
In an interview with Civil Beat, Doyle described a 26-month ordeal with the IRS that involved the agency asking what the Inspector General has called “unnecessary” questions regarding the identity of its donors, membership and activities. “As I tell this story I have chicken skin because it’s chilling,” Doyle said.
He said the IRS' withholding of tax-exempt status impaired the Maui group's ability to recruit and get candidates on the ballot that reflected the organization’s views, thereby limiting the choices before voters.
read ... Maui Tea Party Group: IRS Intimidated Us
Will A New Federal Shield Law Replace The Soon-To-Be-Dead Hawaii Law?
CB: Six weeks before Hawaii’s media shield law expires, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York says he plans to revive federal legislation that would protect journalists from being forced to disclose confidential sources and information.
Schumer, a Democrat, said Wednesday he intends to re-introduce a bill that drew bipartisan support in 2009 but died amid the WikiLeaks scandal over the online publishing of a trove of secret government documents.
President Obama’s Senate liaison reportedly called Schumer Wednesday morning to ask him to reintroduce the Free Flow of Information Act, but Schumer said he was already planning to introduce the bill.
The White House is trying to deflect criticism after it was revealed this week that the Justice Department secretly gathered Associated Press phone records as part of an investigation into a national security leak earlier this year.
read ... Shield Law
Wasted money approaches Wonder Blunder status
SA: The people running the Department of Human Services' Med-Quest Division are causing a great deal of confusion for its 250,000 Quest health insurance members (many of whom started quitting HMSA and we know that's just unacceptable) — not to mention wasting a chunk of public funds.
Two mess-ups will end up costing state taxpayers $176,254 in open-enrollment remailings to Quest recipients: The first error neglected to include Kaiser as a health plan option on Oahu and Maui; the second involved some vague problem with noncompliant health-plan marketing, which resulted in cancellation of open enrollment in May and its rescheduling for June 17-28.
read ... Wonder Blunder
What Bills Do You Want The Governor To Veto?
CB: The Legislature passed 293 bills this past session, which ended May 2. Those measures are now on the governor’s desk and he has until June 24 to let lawmakers know which one he plans to veto. His deadline to veto bills is July 9....
Hundreds of bills passed by the 2013 Legislature are now under review and on their way to Governor Abercrombie’s desk for signature. The Governor invites community members to express their thoughts on specific measures.
Provide comments go to: http://governor.hawaii.gov/forms/contact/ (Be sure to include the specific bill number.)
read ... What Bills Do You Want The Governor To Veto?
Hawaii County Elections Division faces audit
HTH: What started as an attempt by Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi to find out how much overtime was paid during the 2012 election has blossomed into an audit by an outside firm comparing election expenditures for the last three election cycles.
After a great deal of debate and an unsuccessful attempt to go behind closed doors to discuss it further, the Hawaii County Council on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution asking the legislative auditor to find out the costs of overtime, training and travel, the use of electricity and printing supplies at the election warehouse, the handling of petty cash, voter registration and absentee ballot efforts and other costs associated with the 2008, 2010 and 2012 elections.
Acting Legislative Auditor Lane Shibata, saying the Clerk’s Office has no certified public accountant, said he had approximately $40,000 in his budget for the fiscal year ending June 30 that he could use for an outside auditor. The process needs to be started right away in order to use that money, he said.
read ... Elections Division faces audit
Bloody UH, Near Death, Littered With Bodies
Larry Price: At UH everything is up for grabs, nothing is permanent and everyone knows everyone else’s business.... It’s bloody, littered with the bodies of some very fine individuals who are now leaders at academically credible institutions across the nation.
Bob Jones: University is Near Death
Dan Boylan: Who’d Want To Be UH President? A university presidency is enough to make anyone sick. The officeholder must ward off infection from viral faculty, bacterial athletic boosters and ulcerous alumni. But worse infections come from self-inflicted wounds, however minor, when legislators are hell-bent on oversight and press ravenous for a story.
2 previous UH presidents remain in academic posts
SA: After Dobelle’s contentious departure in 2004 after serving three years as UH president, he went on to serve as president of the New England Board of Higher Education in Boston for three years and has been president of Westfield State University in Westfield, Mass., for the past six years.
Dobelle is also a tenured political science professor at Westfield State and was recently elected to the membership committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, he told the Star-Advertiser via email. (And we know we can trust without verifying, because Evan Dobelle NEVER inflated his resume, NEVER!)
Greenwood has said she will likely assume a tenured faculty position at the John A. Burns School of Medicine after taking a year of unpaid leave.
read ... Dobelle on the Dole
Ruling due on sidewalk nuisance law
SA: Both city officials and (de)Occupy Honolulu members are hoping a U.S. district judge will make a ruling Friday on the protest group's encampment on the sidewalks near Thomas Square and the city's efforts to remove them.
Members of (de)Occupy Honolulu, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that protests government policies on homelessness and other perceived social injustices, filed a lawsuit in December seeking to block the city's enforcement of the so-called "stored property ordinance."
SA: Restore historic Thomas Square
read ... Sidewalk Nuisance
Homeless Destroy Chinatown, Use as Toilet
HW: It’s 6 a.m. on a Tuesday in Chinatown. Businesses aren’t open yet, but people are making their way Downtown to begin the workday. Some of the homeless are still asleep on the sidewalks along River, Pauahi, Smith and North Hotel streets, but many begin moving towards Aala Park, leaving piles of unmentionable trash.
Jessica Escobivo is hosing down the sidewalks fronting the Joseph P. Mendonca Building at the corner of Hotel and Smith. She says she’s hired by the owner to do this every morning and night. For how long “depends on the smell,” Escobivo says. “There’s a lady here who pees and poops all the time. . . . I sometimes have to gently chase her away with the hose. In fact, I can smell her coming now.”
Most of us don’t see them–or the short-lived improvements they make–but from 4 a.m. to noon every day, a cleaning team sent by the City sweeps the streets, using a machine with brushes and suction that collects dirt. There’s also a shift nightly except Saturdays from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
The team of 10 picks up trash daily and sprays water on all the sidewalks to knock down the dust, says Tyler Sugihara, chief of the Road Maintenance Division. They clean all the Downtown streets on days the sweeper is available. “It’s a high-maintenance item that’s 10–12 years old. At that age, it breaks down … but we just got a few new ones that are more reliable,” he says.
Sugihara says the crew tries to power wash the streets every month, particularly near Bishop and River streets, which are “problem areas.” Sometimes, the team will use a deodorizer to try to get rid of the lingering odor.
Escobivo wishes the team would power wash more. “It’s not enough,” she says. “Sometimes I have to bring out a bucket of water during afternoons because of how bad it gets.” She says other building owners have begun hiring people to clean their blocks, as well.
So why is the neighborhood still so dirty? “The issues have primarily been with the defecation and urination from the homeless sleeping in Downtown,” says Sugihara. “There’s been an increase in homelessness and, therefore, trash.”
read ... Derelict Downtown
Mayor Wright Redevelopment Slated
HW: The Mayor Wright Housing project has been slated for major redevelopment by the Hawaii State Housing Authority (HSHA); requests for qualifications will be going out to developers in three to six months. Nonprofit group Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE) wants to make sure the project’s tenants have a say in the redevelopment process, which could include major renovations or a total rebuild.
At a meeting on Tuesday, May 7, at the nearby Aldersgate United Methodist Church, FACE Executive Director Drew Astolfi and representative James Fitzpatrick helped roughly 30 tenants to hammer out a plan of action. It will include an eventual sit-down with HSHA Executive Director Hakim Ouansafi.
read ... Redevelopment
Complete Streets: Kakaako Developers Aim to Recreate Manhattan
SA: The vibrant West Village community is what developers and landowners are likely hoping for in Kakaako.
The idea of a district where pedestrians and bicyclists have as much, if not more, consideration as automobiles was previewed Sunday on Cooke Street. Closed to cars, the “complete street” demonstration was paid for by Kamehameha Schools, the trust with ambitious plans for housing and commercial development in the area.
Murals of cyclists, vegetation and happy people on industrial buildings and warehouses, bulb-outs with potted shrubs and small trees, musical performances, a sidewalk cafe and seating under shade trees at the usually bare-bones Mother Waldron Park gave a fleeting taste of the work-live-play objective.
Though the atmosphere was engaging, whether Kakaako will achieve the ideal largely depends on government, developers and landowners.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority, the agency that directs development in the district, has proposed increasing density by allowing as many as three 700-foot towers and an undeclared number of 550-foot structures to be put up near two planned rail transit stations. The authority expects rail will mitigate traffic density that ordinarily goes with housing density, but the rail system, as currently designed, will not be expansive enough to coax people from their cars, or get them to their destinations easily.
Still, a neighborhood like the West Village could eventually evolve, one where buying tofu and a loaf of bread will require a short walk around the corner instead of a drive to a shopping mall, where parks and squares serve as places for hanging out and talking, where bike racks will take priority over parking lots and where foot traffic beats out the car. Wouldn’t that be nice?
read ... Complete Streets
Complete Streets Activists Fail to Stop Repaving Work
HW: The Honolulu City Council held a special Committee on Transportation meeting on Tuesday, May 7, to go over its Complete Streets initiative with input from the department directors of Design and Construction (DDC), Planning and Permitting (DPP) and Transportation Services (DTS).
At prior meetings, including the Moiliili workshop, community members pressed the idea of combining Complete Streets with Caldwell’s repaving projects, which Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute and some councilmembers have said makes sense....
“The Complete Streets implementation process is a work in progress that is separate from getting the streets paved,” said Chris Takashige, director of DDC. “The idea right now is to pave the roads. Sidewalks and other features are not part of the repaving program.”
DTS director Mike Formby seemed to tactfully demur: “The administration supports Complete Streets, and I think we’re on the same page, but it’s difficult for the projects that are already on the books.”
read ... Completely unpaved
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