Rothenberg: Gabbard Could Challenge Abercrombie
Stop Rail Appeal Hearing Set for August 15
Importing Boston’s Failures to Honolulu
Hawaii Insurance Agents Debate Obamacare
HECO Plans to Give Away Millions to Wind Scammers, Lock in Ultra-High Rates
Pilot project reducing institutional placement of at-risk youths
Obamacare: HHSC EMRs to Punch $100M Hole in State Budget
SA: The cost to convert to electronic medical records at the state’s 14 public hospitals will likely exceed $100 million over five years, nearly double earlier projections.
Hawaii Health Systems Corp. says it will need to seek additional funds from the Legislature next year for the largest project in decades at its antiquated facilities that provide acute and long-term care as well as critical access services on Oahu and the neighbor islands.
Initially budgeted at $58 million over five years, costs were re-forecast at more than $75 million at the end of last year for installation, maintenance, hardware and software, as well as additional staffing for the new system.
Now HHSC is estimating the project may exceed $100 million due to higher than expected expenses to upgrade infrastructure at the aging facilities and for ongoing maintenance, said Bruce Anderson, HHSC president and chief executive officer.
Related: Electronic Health Records: Monopoly 'Scare tactics' Driving Hawaii Doctors into Retirement
So Sad: Roz Baker, Queen of Union Puppets
read ... Too Bad Roz Baker Killed that Banner Deal, eh?
Council Budget Challenges 'Personal Services Contract' Scam
KHON: Hundreds of city jobs across Oahu are done by people on what’s called “personal services contracts.”
“Through attrition, retirement, moving to other places and so forth, we’re always filling positions,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. “But the demand for services never ends, so the short-term solutions is these personal service contracts.”
But when those contractors got letters recently stating their contract extensions may not be authorized past the end of the month, it caused a bit of a panic. The administration said it’s because of a last-minute change the City Council put in the budget adding restrictions on those contract positions. The budget chair explains the move this way:...
Cayetano 2012: Hannemann was Doling out Personal Services Contracts Like Hot Cakes
read ... Budget spat puts outlook in limbo for some city jobs
Matson Strike Deadline July 1
KHON: Union heads are flying into Hawaii to talk about details, but it certainly leaves businesses who rely on these ships uneasy about the days ahead.
Charles Khim, the attorney representing the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific and the Marine Firemen’s Union, spoke with KHON2 saying if both unions can’t reach a new contract with Matson Navigation Company, they will walk off the job.
Both unions took an authorization vote to strike and have given legal notice to the company.
Their contract ends at midnight on June 30, so they could hit the picket line as early as July 1.
If they do strike, their lawyer says Matson ships won’t be able to leave port.
read ... Start Stocking Up
Will Kakaako boom stress its infrastructure?
HNN: More than 12,000 people now live in the 450-acre region bordered by Ala Moana, Punchbowl, South King and Piikoi streets. But by the year 2018, the population is expected to grow to 22,000.
"How are we going to have 22 new condos, some 700 feet tall and have enough sewer capacity," said City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi.
"What about the water supply? Traffic? Schools?"
Kobayashi and fellow Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga wrote a letter last month to the city Transportation Department and the Department of Environmental Services expressing concerns about stress on the region's infrastructure.
But the state agency that oversees the Kakaako region -- the Hawaii Community Development Authority -- says the existing infrastructure is adequate and can handle up to 30,000 residents.
Anthony Ching, the HCDA's executive director, said the state has spent over $100 million to improve Kakaako's infrastructure over the past several decades.
"The pipes in the ground are sufficient with respect to storm water drainage and carry waste water. Utilities are also available," Ching said.
Related: Oahu Karst Cave Videos and Photos
read ... Will Kakaako boom stress its infrastructure?
Kakaako Development Schemes Erupt Everywhere
Oi: Dems Primary Lawsuit Splits Party behind Rigid Facade
Oi: Chairman David Chang’s statement Monday in response to the Hawaii Democratic Party’s lawsuit to block interlopers from its primary elections.
Chang observed that Democrats have the right to challenge Hawaii’s open primary system in which all voters — some of whom are party loyalists and others more interested in playing the role of spoilers — get to pick party candidates.
He then craftily pointed out that the local GOP prefers its election to remain accessible to everyone, describing Democrats’ attempts to limit participation as protecting the interests of “party bosses, machine politics,” and its “far left base.”
What he doesn’t say is that though both Republicans and Democrats might exploit an open primary system, Democrats are more likely to be harmed because few Republican primaries are disputed. Far more voters fill out Democratic ballots than GOP papers.
Even though Democrats rule Hawaii politics, reaction to the lawsuit displayed an interesting split in the party, and while the fracture won’t bring immediate ruin, it shows there is softness behind the rigid facade of the party.
Bart Dame: "There are too many Democrats in the legislature. There SHOULD be more Republicans to offer competition of ideas. A consequence of this lawsuit may be the election of more, and more moderate, Republicans. This Democrat thinks that would be a desirable outcome, e kala mai."
read ... Fresh Blood
Governor approves 2 bills on super PAC disclosures
SA: Gov. Neil Abercrombie has approved a pair of bills imposing new regulations on campaign super PACs.
Abercrombie also gave final approval Tuesday to the two-year state budget of $11.8 billion for fiscal year 2014 and $11.9 billion for fiscal year 2015.
The bills were among several the governor signed ahead of Monday’s deadline to inform lawmakers about bills he may consider for vetoes. He has until July 9 to sign or veto bills, or let them become law without his signature.
Components of the state’s financial plan still pending include proposals to place $50 million in the hurricane relief fund and $50 million in the rainy day fund to replenish the state’s cash reserves.
Another measure would put the state and counties on an annual payment schedule to deal with the unfunded liability in the health insurance fund for public workers.
The super PAC bills, signed Friday, were a source of contention between the House and Senate in the closing days of the legislative session over whether one or both should be sent to the governor.
A spokeswoman for the governor said the Attorney General’s Office advised that both could be made law without conflict because they have different effective dates.
read ... Super PAC
Caldwell Snubs the 98.5%: Suggests Eliminating Traffic Lane on King Street
SA: The city now has 134 combined miles of bike paths (separate roads for bikes only), bike lanes (painted lanes in the street) and bike routes (signs that indicate cars and bikes must share the road).
An August 2012 update of the city’s bike plan, prepared for the Department of Transportation Services, calls for 310 miles of additional bikeways at a cost of $68 million.
The city’s transportation budget has slightly more than $1 million this year for bike projects, officials say. However, the massive street repaving project that’s underway will drastically reduce the costs to stripe new bike lanes, they said.
About 1.5 percent of Oahu’s population, representing about 15,000 people, gets around town on bicycles, according to official estimates.
CB: VIDEO: The Kirk Cam — Our Intimate View of the Mayor's Spin About Town
read ... Caldwell acknowledges the city hasn’t promoted cycling
Regents Focus on Local Non-Academic Hire for UH President
CB: The University of Hawaii Board of Regents’ presidential selection committee agreed today that the university’s next chief executive officer should have “strong ties” to Hawaii. But whether regents will be hiring a headhunting firm remains to be seen.
The committee met this afternoon to plan the next steps of its search for the university’s next president.
Honolulu Regent John Holzman, who’s heading the effort, divided the seven committee members into three task groups: one that will delineate with selection criteria, one that will develop an outreach plan and one that will deliberate over the use of a search firm, which Holzman dubbed “professional help.” The task groups, Holzman noted, would not be subject to the Sunshine Law.
SA: The regents committee also will look at leaders outside the academic arena
Flashback: Engineered choice: How to pick a Greenwood
read ... No Sunshine
CNN: Counting Welfare Queens, Hawaii is Very Entrepreneurial
CNN: Lately, the state is seeing a spurt in technology startups, too, said Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii).
Young, visionary companies can take advantage of public and private initiatives. The state supports tech and digital media startups through incentives such as tax credits. Grants are available to small businesses pursuing innovations in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, Hanabusa said.
Technology accelerators like Blue Planet, started by Tetris founder Henk Rogers, are mentoring an expanding network of (welfare queens pretending to operate) internet, software, mobile and e-commerce firms.
read ... Most 'Entrepreneurial'? Ha!
Progressives Eager to Grab Non-Profit Money Previously Reserved for Old Boys
SA: Nearly 40 nonprofit organizations represented at a meeting Wednesday for those wishing to apply grants from the city ran the gamut of interests — from one of the state’s largest hospital systems to a group that wants to provide birth control tablets to feral pigeons.
About $5.5 million in grants-in-aid dollars are up for grabs under a newly instituted process designed to make the selection of recipients more equitable and less politically driven. City officials are still tallying the numbers but are anticipating that more than 200 nonprofits will apply.
Organizations had to attend one of five informational meetings, the last of which was held Wednesday, to be eligible for the grants. A Grants In Aid Commission tasked with sifting through the applications and coming up with a list of recommendations will meet for the first time on Friday.
Nonprofit officials who spoke to the Star-Advertiser generally were pleased with the new process that was triggered by an amendment to the City Charter approved by voters last year that requires 5 percent of property tax revenues generated annually to go into the new grants-in-aid fund.
Amy Monk, a board member of Malama Maunalua, described the evaluation process as “fair and transparent.” She said she was particularly happy when Deputy Community Services Director Gary Nakata told those at Wednesday’s meeting that all nonprofits regardless of their size and reputation had to fill out the same application and disclose the same information.
The Old Boys: Resignation call after Audit reveals “ward heeler’s slush fund” overseen by Honolulu Councilman
read ... Paying for Progressive Politics
Feds: Hawaii Must Repay Half-Million Dollars in Stimulus Money
CB: The federal government wants Hawaii to give back more than $500,000 in stimulus funds after state officials let a nonprofit spend it on computers and multimedia equipment for at-risk youth.
But much of the equipment is still boxed up, sitting in storage nearly three years after the money was doled out, something federal officials say was "not a prudent or reasonable" use of their money.
The equipment was purchased using the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money given to the state, and was supposed to go to an after-school program to teach at-risk youth about science, technology, engineering and math.
read ... Feds: Hawaii Must Repay Half-Million Dollars in Stimulus Money
Representative McDermott calls press conference to challenge Abercrombie administration’s obstruction of VA loans.
When: Thursday, June 20, 11:15 AM
Where: State Capitol, Minority Caucus Room (Chamber Level)
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