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| DECEMBER,
2009 NEWS FLASH - December 31, 2009 1:50 p.m. Deadline Extended to Apply for Maui County Boards, Committees or Commissions WAILUKU, Maui, Hawaii-Mayor Charmaine Tavares announced today that the deadline to submit an application to participate on a County Board, Council, Commission or Committee has been extended to January 8, 2010. Due
to terms expiring, applications are being accepted for a total
of 73 vacant seats. Responsibilities include hearing public testimony,
reviewing policies and standards and making recommendations. Application guidelines and detailed information are available online by clicking on the “Boards and Commissions” tab on the homepage of www.mauicounty.gov, or by calling the Office of the Mayor at (808) 270-7855. (Report Provided by the Maui County Office of Information) NEWS FLASH - December 31, 2009 1 p.m. Haliimaile Pineapple Company Launches Tomorrow HALIIMAILE,
HAWAII, December 31, 2009----Five former Maui Pineapple Company
executives have teamed up with Pardee Erdman of Ulupalakua Ranch
to assume pineapple operations from Maui Land & Pineapple
Company, Inc. (“ML&P”) as of January 1, 2010. The new company,
Haliimaile Pineapple Company, Ltd. (“HPC”), will continue to grow
and market fresh pineapple under the established Maui Gold®
Brand. HPC has purchased and licensed key assets, and leased farm
land, equipment, and buildings from ML&P with plans to serve
the Hawai‘i market. (Report Provided by the Haliimaile Pineapple Company, Ltd.) NEWS FLASH - December 31, 2009 6:50 a.m. Governor Taking Second Look at Furlough Proposal Gov. Linda Lingle is examining the details of a tentative agreement on reducing teacher furloughs — even after she summarily rejected the plan four days ago. Lingle aides met yesterday morning with education officials to discuss the plan, which would restore seven of the 10 remaining furlough days this school year. Though no decisions were made during the meeting, Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto and Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi said they were optimistic after delivering details about the agreement to the administration. And the governor's aides offered no outright rejection of the plan, contrary to the governor's original response to it on Monday. Education officials met with Linda Smith, the governor's senior policy adviser; Marie Laderta, the director of the state Department of Human Resources Development; and Georgina Kawamura, the director of the state Department of Budget and Finance. The Hawaii State Teachers Association, the union representing most teachers, has agreed to the plan but was not represented at yesterday's meeting. Under the agreement, $35 million from the state's rainy-day fund will restore five furlough days; teachers will teach on two planning days (Jan. 4 and May 21); and the school year will end three days early. Monday evening, the governor said she could not support the agreement, calling it "not a credible plan" and "not sustainable." Smith said yesterday the administration was still disappointed that the agreement did not eliminate all remaining 27 furlough Fridays, 10 this school year and 17 next. But she said they now better understand the context of the negotiations and discussions with the HSTA that led to the agreement. After the meeting, Smith called the discussions "helpful," and said the details would be relayed to Lingle. Smith would not specify when the governor would make any decisions about the agreement. "This, again, was an informational meeting for us to understand better the details of what the proposal was. We continue to be disappointed in terms of not having the furlough situation corrected. We very much appreciate the fact that the superintendent and the chair spent a lot of time going over the particulars of the plan," Smith said. RAINY DAY DECISION While the governor does not need to sign off on the new plan, she would need to approve the Legislature's use of the $35 million from the state's rainy-day fund. Legislative leadership said their ability to push the plan through in the upcoming session would depend on the governor's support. Lingle objected to the proposal because it used more than two-thirds of the $50 million she offered but only restored seven furlough days. Her plan used the $50 million to end all 27 furlough days. Education officials and Lingle's aides met for more than an hour and a half yesterday morning. They emerged from the governor's office as one group, smiling, and telling reporters that their conversation had been productive. Smith said Kawamura was present and went back to her office after the meeting to examine the budgetary details of the plan. Toguchi said he hoped explaining the plan to the governor's staff could help in persuading her to support it. "We had a long and productive meeting," the BOE chairman said. "There was no outright rejection of the proposal, even at the end, I asked, 'So you're not rejecting this?' And the answer was no. As far as (the governor's staff) is concerned, their job was not to push either way, but to brief the governor and let her make the final decision." SENSE OF URGENCY Hamamoto said the plan salvages what remains of the school year by effectively eliminating the final 10 furlough Fridays. "School starts next week, so we need to move quickly. In that sense, today's meeting was positive. They're going to work on getting some numbers and seeing what is possible," she said. Lingle had offered on Nov. 15 to use $50 million from the rainy-day fund to restore 12 furlough days if teachers would agree to teach on 15 planning or other noninstructional days. Her plan would have wiped out all remaining furlough days this school year and next. Lingle's representatives walked away from talks with the HSTA, DOE and BOE on Dec. 17 when the teachers union said $50 million was not enough to restore all furlough days. Union and Department of Education officials said they were worried that Lingle's plan, by their tally, left them $19.3 million short. Officials feared they would need to lay off 2,500 full-time employees, increase class size and cut programs to make up for the $19.3 million shortage. The teachers union also had expressed concern about giving up the roughly 10 yearly planning days. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 30, 2009 5:55 p.m. High Surf Heading For North Shores Tonight 1. EVENTS: The National Weather Service in Honolulu has ISSUED a HIGH SURF ADVISORY for NORTH FACING SHORES of MOLOKAI AND MAUI in effect from 6:00 p.m. this evening to 6:00 p.m. Thursday. A High Surf Advisory means that high surf will affect beaches in the advisory area, producing rip currents and localized beach erosion. 2. EFFECTS: Surf along north facing shores will build to heights of 14 to 18 feet tonight, then drop to 10 to 15 feet Thursday. Forecast surf heights are estimates of the height of the face or front of waves. A high tide of approximately 3.2 feet is expected between 2:53 a.m. and 4:11 a.m. tomorrow morning. The next high tide of approximately 1.4 feet is expected between 1:29 p.m. and 2:47 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. 3. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES: BEACH GOERS ARE URGED TO STAY OUT OF THE WATER AND WELL AWAY FROM THE SHORE BREAK DUE TO THE HAZARDOUS WAVE ACTION AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS. 4. INFORMATION: Maui County Civil Defense will continue to monitor the situation. Please listen to your local radio and TV stations or NOAA Weather Radio for any updates. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts can be reached by calling 1-866-944-5025. The NOAA Weather internet service can be found at www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl. Pre-recorded advisories and notifications are available 24-hours a day on the Maui County Automated Information System (AIS) by calling 986-1200. The same information is available on the Maui County website at www.mauicounty.gov. (Report Provided by Maui County Civil Defense) NEWS FLASH - December 30, 2009 2:55 p.m. 'Pleasant' New Year's Eve Forecast Unpleasant for Firefighters Light winds and scant rainfall are forecast for the next two days — gloomy news for firefighters, people with breathing problems and others not looking forward to ringing in 2010 with fireworks. "Showers will linger over Kauai and Oahu today as a weak front stalls just north of the Garden Isle," the National Weather Service said today in its Hawaii Area Synopsis. "The rest of the state will see light and variable winds persisting through New Year's Eve with little rainfall expected. Trade winds return temporarily Friday with light windward and mauka showers expected." The weather service says today will be mostly sunny with haze and tomorrow partly cloudy with haze. Highs will be 79 to 84 degrees and winds will be variable from 5 to 15 mph. (Information Provided by The National Weather Service) NEWS FLASH - December 30, 2009 2:50 p.m. No Decisions Made at Today's Furlough Meetings in Capitol Education officials and Gov. Linda Lingle's aides met for more than an hour-and-a-half this morning to discuss a tentative agreement with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, which would eliminate seven of the 10 furlough days for the current school year. Linda Smith, the governor's senior policy advisor, called the discussions "helpful" and said the particulars of the meeting will be relayed to the governor. Smith said the purpose of the meeting was to learn more details about the HSTA tentative agreement. Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto and Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi were present at the meeting. Though no decisions were made during this morning's meeting, education officials said they were optimistic after delivering details about the agreement to the administration. Toguchi said the governor's aides offered no outright rejection of the plan. "We had a long and productive meeting," Toguchi said. "We look forward to a hopefully a favorable response, soon." Smith said the administration was still disappointed that the agreement did not eliminate all remaining 27 furlough Fridays. But she said they now better understand the context of the negotiations and discussions with the HSTA that led to the agreement. "This, again, was an informational meeting for us to understand better the details of what the proposal was. We continue to be disappointed in terms of not having the furlough situation corrected. We very much appreciate the fact that the superintendent and the chair spent a lot of time going over the particulars of the plan," Smith said. Smith said Georgina Kawamura, director of Budget and Finance, was present and went back to her office following the meeting to examine the budgetary details of the HSTA plan. Smith could not be specific when the governor would make any decisions about the agreement. Under the agreement, $35 million from the state's rainy day fund will restore five furlough days, teachers will give up two planning days (January 4 and May 21) and ends the school year three days early. Monday evening, the govenor said she could not support the agreement, calling it "not a credible plan,"?and "not sustainable." Lingle had offered on Nov. 15 to use $50 million from the rainy day fund to restore 12 furlough days if teachers would agree to teach on 15 planning or other noninstructional days. Her plan would have wiped out all remaining furlough days this school year and next. Lingle's representatives walked away from talks with the HSTA, DOE and BOE on Dec. 17 when the teachers union said $50 million was not enough to restore all furlough days. Union and Department of Education officials said they were worried that Lingle's plan, by their tally, was $19.3 million short. Officials feared that restoring furlough days, and the $19.3 million shortage, would result in layoffs of 2,500 full-time employees, an increase in class sizes and loss of programs. The teachers union had also expressed concern about giving up the roughly 10 yearly planning days. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 30, 2009 2:10 p.m. Sahimi Prices Expected to Be 'Reasonable' This Year By 7 a.m., it was over. All the ahi auctioned at United Fishing Agency on Pier 39 this morning was headed for its eventual destination: your table and tables as far apart as Tokyo and Toronto. The auction continued, with buyers snapping up also-rans from aiu to uku. But the big money had already changed hands. The big daddy of the day: A yellowfin of 270-plus pounds. Buyer John Hernandez, who sells to markets all across the Mainland and Canada, scored a 234-pounder and stood over it proudly as he waited for it to be carted away. The fish had cost him $10 a pound. At least 35 pounds will be lost in carving it up: the head, bones, collar and so on. At wholesale, $10 a pound is a LOT. Many fish go for less than $1 a pound. It's a measure of how highly the skilled buyers thought of the color, fat content and flavor they experienced in taking a minute taste of the tail meat before the auction began. "That's why the markup has to be what it is," said Hernandez, of John's Fresh Fish. But the markup isn't so radical that you won't find beautiful red and fresh ahi for your New Year's sashimi platters at what have become fairly reasonable prices. Based on a quick survey of Oahu stores this morning, expect to pay anything from $14.99 a pound for tombo ahi (suitable for poke and seared dishes) to as much as $26.99 a pound for the treasured belly fat called "toro." Brooks Takenaka, assistant general manager of United Fishing Agency, said there appears to be an ample supply of ahi. "Every year the concern is whether there's going to be enough fish (and) this year was not any different," he said. "What's interesting is that with all the concern about a shortage, there seems to be more fish this year than last, so go figure." Takenaka said prices were "all over the place, from as high as $14 to $15 a pound to $2, depending on the quality." Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 30, 2009 8:10 a.m. Nearly $1 Billion in State Investments Still Unavailable More than a third of the state government's investment portfolio is stuck in illiquid auction-rate securities because markets for the investments remain frozen. The state Department of Budget and Finance said $975 million of the state's $2.6 billion portfolio, or about 37 percent, is tied up in the investments. But it said having the money trapped in auction-rate securities isn't a problem now. "The best thing for us to do now is hold it until it matures," said state Finance Director Georgina Kawamura, explaining the state would probably take a $200 million loss if it sold the investments now. "I can't in good conscience sell it off and take an actual loss." She added that if the state did sell, it could not reinvest the money at the same rate it is earning now with the auction-rate securities. The disclosure was made as the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the House Finance Committee held a joint informational hearing into the state's use of auction-rate securities and whether the department followed investment policy in buying so much of the supposedly safe securities. Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, head of the Ways and Means Committee, said she was curious about why the department exceeded a guideline saying no more than 20 percent of the state's investments could be in auction-rate securities. She also questioned whether the state should have dabbled in the investments, since they were derived from student loan packages that weren't short-term in nature, and maturities extending more than three decades, in some cases. "I'm wondering why we had that big of an amount (invested) and if that was a reasonable amount during that time," said Kim, explaining her investigation had turned up the state more than doubling use of auction-rate securities from 2006 to 2008. She said it appeared the state increased its holdings in student loan auction-rate securities from $452 million to more than $1 billion. MARKETS DRIED UP The investments had been popular with money managers until the market collapsed in February 2008 as credit markets dried up and bond insurance worries swept Wall Street. The investment is a complex one, but it allows investors to get returns that are higher than can be obtained in bank accounts or certificates of deposits. Investors could move in and out of the securities every seven to 35 days in auctions, and big investment houses marketing the securities backed up their sale with a pledge to repurchase the securities themselves should the auctions fail. But that guarantee fell by the wayside when auctions failed to attract bidders, trapping an estimated $330 billion that had been invested in the market. The Hawai'i state government had about $1.07 billion invested in auction- rate securities while Hawai'i county governments had more than $40 million at the time the market froze. Kawamura said the shutdown caught many people by surprise, including many professional investors. STATE TO HOLD ON The legislators were told the state is prepared to hold on to the investments until they mature, and that for now, the state is earning an average of 1.85 percent on the investments, or more than they would in comparable 30-day, one-year and two-year investments. Scott Kami, administrator of the Financial Services Division, said the investments are held by the state treasury and meet covenants and assurances on bonds. He said such money would never be used for the day-to-day spending of the state. As such, it would be available to help the state with its present budget crisis. Kawamura and Kami were also asked by legislators about whether risk assessments were done, how the 20 percent limit was eclipsed and how much in commission was paid to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which sold the state the auction-rate securities. The amount has come down slightly from the $1.07 billion invested when markets froze as some student loans were repaid early, resulting in principal being paid back to security holders. The probing prompted Rep. Gene Ward, R-17th (Kalama Valley, Queen's Gate, Hawaii Kai) to criticize Kim, D-14th (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights), about the nature of her questioning. Ward said Kawamura and Kami had been trying to manage the state's money prudently when they got caught in the auction-rate market failure, along with many investors worldwide. "You're playing the blame game," said Ward. "It's an information hearing, not a 'gotcha' hearing." Kim responded that she was trying to find out how the state got into the situation and whether laws were adhered to. "If we had followed investment policies perhaps we wouldn't have as much tied up." TOMORROW KEY DATE Kami said the state is closely following what will happen in coming days as brokers approach a Dec. 31 deadline for making "best efforts" to repay large investors. Brokers made that agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the state wants to see if the SEC will take further action, Kami said. Other states have sued brokers, and Kami said Hawai'i is keeping its options open. Kawamura said the state has not lost any money on the investments yet, though it was forced to write down the carrying value on its accounting records by $114 million. But "we have not incurred any actual loss," said Kawamura, saying the state has not been forced to liquidate or sell any of the securities. "I don't think anyone could have known what would happen in February 2008." Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 30, 2009 6:50 a.m. Furlough Meeting Set for 10 a.m. Today Gov. Linda Lingle's aides are expected to meet with education officials this morning to discuss ending teacher furloughs, but the teachers union will not be at the table. Lingle on Monday shot down an agreement the union had signed off on, which would have ended most furlough days this school year with the use of $35 million from the state's rainy-day fund. She called it "not a credible plan," and "not sustainable." State Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi will meet with Linda Smith, the governor's senior policy adviser, and Marie Laderta, the director of human resources development, at 10 a.m. in the governor's office. Smith said yesterday that she was also arranging for either Superintendent Pat Hamamoto or Deputy Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi to attend the meeting. "We want to sit down and discuss where we go from here, and why the governor believes that this current plan is not a sustainable solution," Smith said. But Toguchi said he hoped to gain the governor's support for the plan and to explain to her aides why the state Board of Education and the state Department of Education support the agreement. Toguchi said he plans to continue asking to meet directly with the governor. While the governor does not need to sign off on the new plan, she would need to approve the Legislature's use of the $35 million from the state's rainy-day fund. Legislative leadership said their ability to push the plan through in the upcoming session would depend on the governor's support. Under the agreement, $35 million from the rainy-day fund would eliminate five furlough days. Teachers would then give up two planning days — Jan. 4, the beginning of the second semester, and May 27, the last teacher workday of the school year. The school year for students would end three days early, on May 21, meaning the week of May 24 would be a furlough week for teachers. For next school year, the state Board of Education has also agreed to rearrange the 17 furloughs in the school calendar to minimize disruptions to instruction days. Toguchi said he expected the governor to express disapproval for the plan. "I expected her to be critical of it, but at the same time, hopefully she can be convinced that while this is not her original proposal, it is as good a deal as we're going to get given the amount of time and money that we have," Toguchi said. The governor has not wavered from her original plan, which she proposed on Nov. 15. Lingle proposed using $50 million from the rainy-day fund to restore teacher salaries for 12 days, and then require teachers to swap their planning days for instructional days to eliminate 15 additional furlough days. Lingle's negotiating team had been adamant that all remaining 27 furlough days in the teachers' two-year contract be eliminated. Toguchi said the tentative agreement with the Hawaii State Teachers Association is a compromise. He said it took a significant amount of negotiating to get education officials and HSTA to see eye-to-eye. "The problem was that they made a position and they won't change from it. I think that our students deserve better than a my-way-or-the-highway proposal," Toguchi said. Lingle's representatives walked away from talks with the HSTA, DOE and BOE on Dec. 17 when the teachers union said $50 million was not enough to eliminate all furlough days. Union and Department of Education officials said they were concerned that Lingle's plan, by their tally, was $19.3 million short. Officials feared that eliminating furlough days, and the $19.3 million shortage, would result in layoffs of 2,500 full-time employees, an increase in class sizes and loss of programs. The teachers union had also expressed concern about giving up the roughly 10 yearly planning days. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 29, 2009 4:20 p.m. Lingle Aides to Meet with BOE Over Furlough Proposal Gov. Linda Lingle's aides are expected to meet with education officials tomorrow morning to discuss the tentative agreement that was reached with the Hawaii State Teachers Association. State Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi will meet with Linda Smith, the governor's senior policy adviser, and Marie Laderta, the director of human resources development, at 10 a.m. in the governor's office. Smith earlier today said she was also arranging for either Superintendent Pat Hamamoto or Deputy Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi to attend the meeting. "We want to sit down and discuss where we go from here, and why the governor believes that this current plan is not a sustainable solution," Smith said. Toguchi said he wants to seek "the administration's support of a resolution to reduce furlough days." "The board and I remain committed to bringing students back to the classroom for as many days as possible. Failure is not an option when something as important as the education of Hawaii's children is at stake,"?he said in a statement. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 29, 2009 3:30 p.m. USDA Offers Assistance to Hawai'i Farmers Through SURE Program WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has implemented the new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program (SURE). Producers are encouraged to visit their USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) county office beginning on January 4, 2010, to participate in the program if they suffered crop production losses during the 2008 crop year. SURE provides crop disaster assistance payments to eligible producers on farms that have incurred crop production losses. The program takes into consideration crop losses on all crops grown by a producer. To be eligible for SURE, producers must have suffered at least a 10 percent production loss for the entire crop year on a crop of economic significance (crop representing 5% or more of farm operation production revenue). In addition, producers must purchase either a policy or plan of insurance, under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or NAP coverage, for all economically significant crops. For 2008 crops, producers had the opportunity to obtain a waiver of the risk management purchase requirement through a buy-in provision. Producers considered socially disadvantaged (minority, female, handicapped), a beginning farmer or rancher, or a limited resource farmer may be eligible for SURE without a policy or plan of insurance or NAP coverage. In addition to meeting the risk management purchase requirement, a producer must have a farming interest physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Agriculture Secretary under a Secretarial Disaster Designation. Regardless of a Secretarial Disaster Designation, individual producers may also be eligible for SURE if the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm due to a natural disaster. For more information on the new SURE program, please visit your local FSA county office or http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
(Report Provided by the Office of U.S. Representative Mazie K. Hirono)
YouTube Video of Lahaina Fight Sends Dangerous Message LAHAINA — Police have counseled two Lahaina high school students involved in a mixed martial arts-style fight that was videotaped and posted on the Internet last week. A video of the fight, on the Web site YouTube, shows the boys wearing shorts and T-shirts and throwing punches and kicks on a basketball court as a crowd of people watch. At the end of the video, which lasts 1 minute and 45 seconds, one boy is shown lying on the ground and cradling his head. The fight occurred earlier this month on a playground in Lahaina, said Capt. Charles Hirata, commander of the Lahaina Patrol District. "We have talked to both of the boys involved," he said. "We want to let people know that with this type of fighting, you can obviously see that there's a possibility of receiving some pretty serious trauma to the head. "We encourage people to report when they see fights starting, give the police a call." He said he hoped the Web posting wouldn't lead to copycats. "Unfortunately, this type of medium doesn't really discourage this kind of thing," Hirata said. While he hadn't seen the video, mixed martial arts professional fighter Brandon Visher of Kula said he has heard about similar fights, which have nothing to do with the disciplined sport. "Those kind of fights are a totally different thing as opposed to the professional mixed martial arts fighting," Visher said. "Most of the professional fighters don't go out there and try to get into street fights. The people that are doing that kind of street fighting without any rules may be trying to prove themselves to other people." Visher, who has fought professionally since 2003, around the time the sport began becoming more popular in Hawaii, said he usually trains five days a week and does other activities such as running, swimming and weightlifting on weekends. Earlier this month, he won by a knockout in his debut in World Extreme Cagefighting competition in Las Vegas. For matches, Visher said mixed martial artists wear protective gear, including small gloves and mouthpieces. Reach Lila Fujimoto at lfujimoto@mauinews.com. (Report Provided by The Maui News) NEWS FLASH - December 29, 2009 1 p.m. AAA Hawai'i Offering Free 'Tipsy Tow' Service on New Year's Eve AAA Hawaii is offering its free Tipsy Tow service during the New Year's holiday, the company said in a news release. The service is available from 6 p.m. Thursday, New Year's Eve, until 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. Tipsy Tow is available in the areas served by AAA Hawaii. Motorists, bartenders, restaurant managers, party hosts or passengers of a drinking driver may call 1-800-222-4357 for a free tow home of up to seven miles. A regular AAA Hawaii-contracted emergency road service truck will be dispatched. The service excludes rides for passengers, is restricted to a one-way, one-time ride for the driver and the destination is limited to the driver's residence. Reservations are not accepted. Drivers can expect to pay the rate charged by the tow truck contractor for rides farther than seven miles. "We want motorists to be aware of the high crash risk from drinking and driving associated with holiday and encourage them to think twice about getting behind the wheel if they have been drinking," AAA Hawaii's Acting Branch Manager Chris Olvera said in a news release. AAA Hawaii offers the following safe-driving tips for the holidays: • Designate non-drinking drivers who can get everyone home safely. • Call a friend or family member for a ride if you have been drinking. • Keep a cab company telephone number in your wallet. • As a party host, offer plenty of food, and non-alcoholic drink alternatives, and provide a gift to guests who volunteer to be designated drivers. • Take the car keys away from friends and relatives who have had too much to drink. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 29, 2009 8:55 a.m. President's Visit, Crummy Mainland Weather Boosting Bookings Booyah for Barack and blizzards! Thanks to the lingering cold front on the U.S. mainland and President Barack Obama's widely covered winter vacation in Hawaii, the state's beleaguered visitor industry is seeing a boost in first-quarter bookings. After six consecutive months of growth, arrivals from Hawaii's top U.S. West visitor market fell in November, pushing total visitor arrivals into a 1.4 percent decline, according to statistics released yesterday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Arrivals from every major market except Japan dropped, causing visitor spending to fall 2.2 percent. Even Hawaii's top U.S. West market, which had been on a six-month growth spurt, took a hit last month, pushing the overall visitor count down to 490,514 and forcing spending down to $771 million. "As we anticipated, arrivals during November, historically a slow month for tourism, were slightly down," said Mike McCartney, president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. "However, the good news is that we are continuing to trend ahead of and gain market share from some of our competitors for our North America market, including Mexico and the Caribbean." Through November, Hawaii's visitor arrivals fell 5.1 percent to 5.9 million, and spending had dropped by 12.9 percent to $8.9 billion. However, market watchers have signaled that the worst could be over: April ended a 10-month run of double-digit hemorrhaging, December's peak holiday season brought the expected rush of travelers and U.S. carriers will add 497,309 air seats to the market by December 2010. "November performed near expectations, and all of the positive indicators from HTA's report released today, especially increased air capacity, are good signs," said Revell Newton, complex director of sales and marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Waikiki. Visitors from Dallas to Denver and Detroit and source markets in between have begun to book isle travel for next year, said Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays LLC, Hawaii's largest travel wholesaler. "The recession is over, the global financial crisis appears to be behind us, consumer confidence is improving and oil prices remain low," Richards said, adding that packages to Hawaii are tracking well ahead of last year. Hawaii benefited from Mexico's troubles and from the snowstorms that moved through the Midwest and the East Coast, he said. Images of Obama, who arrived Thursday to enjoy Hawaii's charms along with his family and friends, are also a powerful travel motivator, Richards said. "Any time you have the president of the United States staying there, it's positive," he said. "It shows it's safe to travel and shows off Hawaii." In addition, the presidential entourage — which includes Secret Service, staff, site teams and a protective pool of White House media correspondents, along with their friends and family — filled Hawaii hotels in December, he said. "I'm glad that he's there. I wish that he would stay a month," Richards said. In 2010, Hawaii also will receive extensive national television exposure from sporting events such as the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and PGA tour events, McCartney said. "Aggressive marketing and increased air seats moving forward allows us to be optimistic that in 2010 we will experience growth in arrivals, which will help stabilize visitor spending and position us for increased expenditures in 2011," said state Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert. But while these positive factors will yield more robust arrivals, it could be years before Hawaii hoteliers and other members of the visitor industry see spending recover to 2007 levels, said Barry Wallace, executive vice president of hospitality services for Outrigger Enterprises Group. "We'll surpass both 2008 and 2009 occupancy, but not average daily room rates or revenues," Wallace said. The consumer price index will probably outpace revenue per available room, the best measure of hotel performance, for the next five years, he said. While Hawaii's hotel industry will not fully recharge next year, occupancy improvements are likely to return more employees to work, Wallace said. "The state will benefit because when our employees have more hours, they have more money to spend on retail and restaurants," he said. Reach Allison Scaeffers at aschaeffers@starbulletin.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Star-Bulletin) NEWS FLASH - December 29, 2009 7:15 a.m. ML&P Looking to Investors to Avoid Demise of Company Maui Land & Pineapple Co. is looking to existing shareholders to help bail it out of financial woes that may lead to the company's demise if left unresolved. The company yesterday said it wants to sell up to $25 million of subscription rights to shareholders that allow them to buy additional common stock in the company. The sale is targeted at helping alleviate some of the financing problems facing the Kahului, Maui-based company after large losses from its agriculture and real estate operations. This includes $115 million of losses in pineapple during the past seven years and setbacks associated with the development and sale of the Residences at Kapalua, a fractional ownership development at the Kapalua Resort operated by Maui Land in West Maui. The company, whose biggest owner is former AOL chairman Steve Case, had a net loss of $92.9 million through the first nine months of the year and is winding down pineapple operations that once were at the heart of its business. Maui Land has had three chief executive officers in the past year. Details of Maui Land's finances were included in a filing at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. In it, company auditor Deloitte & Touche LLP, said it had substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern should it be unable to stanch losses. The filing detailed a number of steps Maui Land has been taking, including renegotiating $70 million of credit lines from Wells Fargo Inc. and American AgCredit that were to mature in March. The company said it was able to increase the amount available under one of the credit lines while extending both lines' maturity for a year. The revised agreements, however, carry a higher interest rate. The company is to maintain liquidity of $8 million and will be in default of the loans should it slip below that level. The liquidity includes cash on hand along with amounts available under lines of credit. Maui Land is also looking at selling several real estate parcels to pay down debt and provide additional liquidity. It said the sales were a key part of its strategy to regain financial health. "The company's cash outlook for the next twelve months and ability to continue to meet its financial covenants is high dependent on selling certain real estate assets in a difficult market," the filing said. "If the company is unable to meet its financial covenants resulting in the borrowings becoming immediately due, the company would not have sufficient liquidity to repay such outstanding borrowings." The filing yesterday didn't detail what property is up for sale, though it said the company is marketing a 25-acre parcel in Kahului that includes administrative offices, a fresh fruit packing facility and former cannery site. Other pieces of its initiative include finding third parties to oversee parts of its operations. Earlier this month the company announced Outrigger Enterprises Group was taking over management of the 206-unit Kapalua Villas. It also has said it was looking at licensing operations of Kapalua Adventures and finding an operator to provide resort shuttle and security services for the Kapalua Resort Association. It also has been seeking an operator for Kapalua Farms, an organic farming business. Still to be resolved are negotiations on a $35 million committent to buy the spa, beach club improvements and sundry store at the Residences at Kapalua. Maui Land said it is renegotiating the purchase so it can avoid immediate cash requirements. Sales of condominiums and fractional ownership interests at the Residences at Kapalua haven't gone as well as hoped, with 19 of the 84 condominiums being sold and 62 of the 744 fractional interests being transacted. Maui Land said it's written down its investment in the venture developing the Residences at Kapalua to zero. It also disclosed its finances may be affected by an ongoing a dispute about a canceled Maui LPGA event and a lawsuit stemming from the shutdown of pineapple operations. Maui Land's shares ended regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange at $5.91 each yesterday. That was 56 percent lower than at the start of the year. Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 29, 2009 6:25 a.m. Holiday Travel Slows As Security Tightens in Hawai'i Airports Domestic and international travelers were arriving early for flights out of the Islands yesterday — one of the busiest travel days of the year — as authorities beefed up security at airports statewide, increasing patrols of bomb-sniffing dogs and upping scrutiny at checkpoints. The heightened security measures so far haven't translated into longer lines at Hawai'i airports, as they have on the Mainland, and officials say that's partly because of travelers coming early and coming prepared. But officials warned that long security lines and other headaches are still a possibility, since airports remain busy with holiday travelers through New Year's. "We are recommending that they do give themselves more time" to get through security checkpoints, said state Transportation Director Brennon Morioka. "TSA is going to be more vigilant in their security checks. There is the potential for slightly longer waits." The heightened security comes in the wake of a failed Christmas Day plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner — an incident President Obama yesterday called an "attempted act of terrorism" and a "serious reminder" of the need to continually adapt security measures against changing terrorist threats. Obama, speaking to reporters at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kane'ohe Bay, also vowed to use "every element of our national power" to keep Americans safe and "defeat the violent extremists who threaten us." "It's absolutely critical that we learn from this incident," he said. 'PEACE OF MIND' At Honolulu International Airport yesterday, passengers said they were happy to see new security measures in place and felt safer because of them. They also said they were doing their part to move through security lines quickly by arriving earlier and double-checking their luggage to make sure they had nothing that couldn't go aboard, such as more liquid than is allowed. The heightened security "keeps our peace of mind," said 50-year-old Jamie McSporran of Edmonton, Alberta, who was traveling with 13 members of his family after a vacation in Hawai'i. The group arrived at the airport about 2 1/2 hours early for their flight home. The new security "certainly is in our best interests," McSporran said. Brian Sekiguchi, DOT deputy director for state airports, said part of the emphasis of the heightened security is on "roaming security." At Honolulu International Airport, Morioka said, travelers are seeing more patrols of state deputy sheriffs and bomb-sniffing dogs in terminals. Security guards were also randomly checking cars heading into airport parking garages. MORE FOOT PATROLS Meanwhile, Neighbor Island airports have stepped up foot patrols of hired security guards. And scrutiny at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at all airports has increased, Morioka said. Travelers heading to the Neighbor Islands, domestic destinations and foreign soil all have to go through a TSA checkpoint, where their carry-on luggage is X-rayed and they are asked to walk through a metal detector. They can also be pulled aside to be screened. All checked luggage is also X-rayed after being taken at the ticket counter. "They're looking for explosive devices" and other contraband, said Sidney Hayakawa, the former head of TSA in Honolulu who now is in the administrative services office in the airports division. He added TSA has been issued "security directives," some of which travelers won't see. He would not discuss those measures, but said they were in line with other security efforts. Hayakawa added that travelers are also being asked to be vigilant and report suspicious activity. Several travelers at Hono- lulu Airport yesterday said they were trying to be more aware of their surroundings and on the lookout for anything peculiar. "We have a heightened awareness," said Joan Ehmen, who was heading back to Atlanta with her husband and two children. The family got to the airport about two hours early for their flight through Los Angeles. "We're expecting there are going to be some changes" to security, she said. Kristin Hingtgen, 25, of Seattle, said she is also trying to keep her eyes open for anyone suspicious. "I think that's just natural," she said. "I guess everybody will probably be doing that." HEARING POSTPONED The man behind the Christmas Day incident — Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab — charged with trying to destroy an aircraft, is being held at a federal prison in Milan, Mich. A court hearing that had been scheduled for yesterday to determine whether the government can get DNA from him was postponed until Jan. 8. No reason was given. Meanwhile, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the thwarted attack as retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group in Yemen. Yemeni forces, helped by U.S. intelligence, carried out two airstrikes against al-Qaida operatives this month in the lawless country that is fast becoming a key front in the war on terror. The second one was a day before 23-year-old Abdulmutallab attempted to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight as it prepared to land in Detroit. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 28, 2009 4 p.m. High Surf Advisory Extended Through Tuesday Evening 1. EVENTS: The National Weather Service in Honolulu has extended the HIGH SURF ADVISORY for NORTH and WEST FACING SHORES of MOLOKAI and MAUI now in effect until 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. A High Surf Advisory means that high surf will affect beaches in the advisory area, producing rip currents and localized beach erosion. 2. EFFECTS: Surf will be 10 to 15 feet through Tuesday afternoon. Forecast surf heights are estimates of the height of the face or front of waves. A high tide of approximately 2.9 feet is expected between 1:37 a.m. and 2:55 a.m. tomorrow morning. The next high of approximately 1.3 feet is expected between 11:42 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. tomorrow noon. 3. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES: BEACH GOERS ARE URGED TO STAY OUT OF THE WATER AND WELL AWAY FROM THE SHORE BREAK DUE TO THE HAZARDOUS WAVE ACTION AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS. 4. INFORMATION: Maui County Civil Defense will continue to monitor the situation. Please listen to your local radio and TV stations or NOAA Weather Radio for any updates. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts can be reached by calling 1-866-944-5025. The NOAA Weather internet service can be found at www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl. Pre-recorded advisories and notifications are available 24-hours a day on the Maui County Automated Information System (AIS) by calling 986-1200. The same information is available on the Maui County website at www.mauicounty.gov. (Report Provided by Maui County Civil Defense) NEWS FLASH - December 28, 2009 2:25 p.m. HSTA, DOE Agree to Cut Furlough Fridays by Seven The Hawaii State Teachers Association approved an agreement with the state Board of Education and the Department of Education to reduce the number of furlough days by seven in the current school year. Under the agreement, $35 million from the state's Rainy Day Fund will restore five furlough days, teachers will give up two planning days (January 4 and May 21) and the remaining three instructional days will be taken as furlough days at the end of the year. "The plan is the most reasonable and viable short-term solution to provide a safe and healthy environment for our children and to maintain the quality of instruction they deserve. The agreement will salvage the remainder of the current school year and position the DOE to receive an additional $75 million in federal Race to the Top funds. We now await the governor's approval of this agreement so that we can return to our classrooms," a news release from the HSTA said. The agreement requires the state Legislature to allot money from the Rainy Day Fund, an action that would require the approval of Gov. Linda Lingle. Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 28, 2009 2:05 p.m. Visitor Arrivals Slip Again in Novmber - But Not As Much as Expected The number of people vacationing in Hawai'i — as well as the amount they spent — dipped slightly last month, according to the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. Total visitor arrivals in November declined 1.4 percent from the same month last year to 490,514 visitors, Decreased arrivals led to a 2.2 percent decline in total spending by visitors arriving by air to $771 million for November. The average daily spending by these visitors was $174 per person, down slightly from $175 per person in November 2008. Overall, there was a 2 percent drop in total visitor days from November 2008. The average length of stay by all visitors was 9.22 days, slightly lower than the 9.27 days in November 2008. Among the top four visitor markets, arrivals by air from U.S. West fell 3.7 percent from November 2008, after six consecutive months of positive growth. Arrivals dropped from the U.S. East (-7.8 percent) and Canada (-7.4 percent) compared to last November. Arrivals from Japan rose for the third consecutive month, up 7.9 percent from November 2008. Mike McCartney, President & chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, echoed industry sentiment that November — traditionally a slow month for tourism — was expected to be down after the challenging year even though some recent months have show signs of recovery. "However, the good news is that we are continuing to trend ahead of and gain market share from some of our main competitors for our North America market including Mexico and the Caribbean," McCartney said. According to market research data released as a result of monitoring the blitzes conducted in North America, Hawai'i has seen positive market share growth improvement over its competitive set over the same period last year, thus indicating a continued domestic demand for a Hawai'i vacation despite the recession, he said. And McCartney noted the bonus this month in having President Obama and the First Family home for a holiday vacation which will provide significant worldwide news and media coverage for Hawai'i. In the next few months, Hawai'i will also receive extensive national television exposure through sporting events with the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl and PGA tour events. Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.co or at 535-2429. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 28, 2009 7:50 a.m. Census Figures Show Slight 'Exodus' from Hawai'i For the first time in nearly a decade, more residents left Hawai'i than moved here, according to newly released 2009 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. A poor economy and rising unemployment are likely the reasons, said research and statistics officer Eugene Tian of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. "When our economy is good, more people move to Hawai'i," he said. The Census data show that from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2009, an estimated 5,298 more people moved to the Mainland from Hawai'i than migrated here. During that same period, 4,033 more people from foreign countries came to live in the state than moved away. That left a net migration loss of 1,265 people. Normally the influx of outsiders to Hawai'i offsets any decline from folks moving to the Mainland, but that did not happen this time, Tian said. He said two factors influence domestic migration between Hawai'i and the Mainland: military movement and the economy. The last net migration loss occurred in 2001, except for a net loss in 2007 attributed to a major military deployment to the Mainland, according to Tian. Even though the state experienced a net loss of residents, the total population increased slightly from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2009, thanks to "natural" growth from 19,093 births, minus 9,792 deaths. The Census Bureau estimated the state's population at 1,295,178, up 0.6 percent — or 7,697 people — from 2008. Tian said the average annual population growth rate between 2000 and 2009 was 0.7 percent, or an average of 9,046 new residents per year. Hawai'i ranked 42nd in the nation in terms of 2009 resident population, accounting for only 0.42 percent of the U.S. population of 307 million, the bureau said. California remained the most populous state, with an estimated 37 million people, or 12 percent of the nation's total. Rounding out the top five states were Texas (24.8 million), New York (19.5 million), Florida (18.5 million) and Illinois (12.9 million). Texas gained more people than any other state between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, with 478,000 new residents, followed by California (381,000), North Carolina (134,000), Georgia (131,000) and Florida (114,000), according to Census Bureau estimates. Wyoming showed the largest percentage growth (2.12 percent), followed by Utah (2.10 percent), Texas (1.97 percent) and Colorado (1.81 percent). The only three states to lose population over the period were Michigan (-0.33 percent), Maine (-0.11 percent) and Rhode Island (-0.03 percent). This the final set of Census Bureau state population estimates to be published before the official 2010 Census population counts are released next December, said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves in a news release. "We are focused now on ensuring we get a complete and accurate count in 2010. The census counts will not only determine how many U.S. House seats each state will have but will also be used as the benchmark for future population estimates," he said. When calculating total population growth using natural and migration estimates, the math doesn't always add up because the Census Bureau includes a "residual" number to represent the change in population that cannot be attributed to any specific demographic component. Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 28, 2009 6:45 a.m. High Surf Advisory Extended Through Tuesday Morning 1. EVENT: The National Weather Service in Honolulu has continued the HIGH SURF ADVISORY for NORTH and WEST FACING SHORES of MOLOKAI and MAUI in effect until 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. A High Surf Advisory means that high surf will affect beaches in the advisory area, producing rip currents and localized beach erosion. 2. EFFECTS: Surf will rise to 12 to 16 feet along north facing shores of Molokai and Maui by this afternoon. Surf along west facing shores of Molokai is expected to remain just below the advisory threshold today. Forecast surf heights are estimates of the height of the face or front of waves. A high tide of approximately 1.4 feet is expected between 10:35 a.m. and 11:53 a.m. this morning. The next high of approximately 2.9 feet is expected between 1:37 a.m. and 2:55 a.m. tomorrow morning. 3. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES: BEACH GOERS ARE URGED TO STAY OUT OF THE WATER AND WELL AWAY FROM THE SHORE BREAK DUE TO THE HAZARDOUS WAVE ACTION AND STRONG RIP CURRENTS. 4. INFORMATION: Maui County Civil Defense will continue to monitor the situation. Please listen to your local radio and TV stations or NOAA Weather Radio for any updates. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts can be reached by calling 1-866-944-5025. The NOAA Weather internet service can be found at www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl. Pre-recorded advisories and notifications are available 24-hours a day on the Maui County Automated Information System (AIS) by calling 986-1200. The same information is available on the Maui County website at www.mauicounty.gov. (Report Provided by Maui County Civil Defense) NEWS FLASH - December 27, 2009 3 p.m. President Keeps Low Profile, Security Doesn't While President Obama has kept a decidedly low profile during his Hawai'i vacation, his security detail has made quite a visual impact in the Kailua neighborhood where he is staying. Would-be paparazzi hoping to get a shot of Obama and the rest of the first family say they've had to make do with the tolerant if less-than-sunny visages of the Secret Service agents whose job it is to ensure the president's safety and privacy. Though not a big fan of the Hawai'i-born president, Linda Pacheco, 50, of Kailua, strolled onto the grassy embankment across the canal from where the Obamas are spending the week. She didn't spot the president, but she did get a good look at the imposing armed boat docked on the other side as well as two sets of Coast Guard personnel patrolling the waterway in inflatable boats. "It's kind of scary to see all of this security," Pacheco said. "I don't think (Obama's) visit has really disrupted anything out here, but all of this armed security is kind of intimidating. I didn't expect it." Pacheco said she sympathizes with residents whose street has been closed off by the Secret Service and wondered why the Obamas didn't stay at the nearby Marine Corps Base Hawai'i. "And I don't know why they told people where they are in the first place," she said. "If they didn't say anything, nobody would be coming around trying to see them." Obama started the second full day of his Hawai'i vacation with an early morning conference call with national security and counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan and National Security Staff chief of staff Denis McDonough regarding heightened air security in the wake of Friday's attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit. Obama followed that with a workout at the Marine base. According to a media pool report, demonstrators were again present along the route, holding signs protesting the nation's ongoing military involvement in Afghanistan. Media covering Obama's vacation in Hawai'i were asked to respect the privacy of his 8- and 11-year-old daughters. White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton and Michelle Obama's press secretary, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, issued a joint statement yesterday urging journalists not to photograph or film Sasha or Malia Obama when they are on excursions without their parents. Obama spent most of the rest of the day at the Kane'ohe Klipper Golf Course, where he played with friend Dr. Eric Whitaker and Hawai'i pals Greg Orme, Mike Ramos and Bobby Titcomb, according to a pool report. Obama also made an unscheduled stop at Pyramid Rock Beach to watch the waves, to the surprise of swimmers and sunbathers. Tom Schuetter, 57, frequents the beach adjacent to the street where the Obamas are renting a house. He said swimmers and surfers have been venturing as close to the secured perimeter as the Secret Service will allow, trying to get a glimpse of the Obamas. Schuetter wasn't able to get to the best surfing spot yesterday because of the security restriction, but he said it was a minor inconvenience. "I didn't vote for the guy, but he's my president," Schuetter said. "I think he has the right to be left alone. Nobody who lives here wants to pester him." Not that they could. Secret Service personnel firmly but politely turned away scores of cars attempting to turn into the secured street. Others shooed camera-wielding onlookers from areas around the canal or patrolled the ocean on personal watercraft. Schuetter's wife, Dolly, took a snapshot of Schuetter catching a wave at the beach yesterday. "I hope she got the Secret Service guys in the background," he said, laughing. Richard Wong, manager of nearby Pinky's Pupus Bar and Grill, said the restaurant has seen a mild uptick in business thanks to curious patrons and Secret Service, FBI and Coast Guard personnel who stop by for a bite after their shifts. "They're very friendly, very helpful," Wong said of the president's security detail. "And we definitely feel protected. It's not like anybody is going to try and rob us with those guys around." Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 27, 2009 8:10 a.m. Counties Unite to Fight TAT 'Grab' Expect the leaders of Hawai'i's four counties to fight hard to keep the transient accommodations tax dollars that Gov. Linda Lingle is proposing be taken away from them. County leaders have warned that cutting the revenue they get from the TAT, also known as the hotel room tax, raises the likelihood they will need to raise property tax rates. "We rely on the TAT going in," said Maui County budget director Fred Pablo. "That money goes back into the visitor industry" in the form of roads, parks, emergency services and other programs that visitors use, he said. The proposal was not totally unexpected given the state's budget woes. But for Lingle, the mayor of Maui for eight years in the 1990s, to propose temporarily cutting off TAT dollars to the counties to help balance the state budget is a reversal and points out how severe the state's financial crunch is. State officials for years have tried to reduce, if not eliminate, the county share of the TAT. As a mayor, Lingle joined her colleagues in staving off challenges to the county allotment from the TAT. Last year, Lingle's administration opposed taking TAT dollars away from the counties to help balance the budget as some key lawmakers had suggested. But at a news conference last week, she announced the proposal to cut TAT to the counties. She acknowledged how serious a move it is and said that she fully expects the counties to fight it. The Lingle plan would divert room tax revenues from the counties for three fiscal years. The counties would lose an estimated $99 million next fiscal year: $44.5 million in Honolulu; $22.7 million on Maui; $18.5 million on the Big Island; and $14.4 million on Kaua'i. "If the counties lose the TAT, we would have to look at other sources of revenues, as well as potential reductions in services and service levels to balance our budgets," said Kaua'i County finance director Wallace Rezentes Jr. While Honolulu would lose the largest dollar amount, the smaller Neighbor Island counties may feel a bigger hit. "The TAT is more important to the outer island counties because it makes up a larger percentage of our operating budgets as compared to the City and County of Honolulu," Rezentes said. "I think it has a more significant impact on the Neighbor Island counties and probably Kaua'i more than anyone," said Hawai'i County finance director Nancy Crawford. Kaua'i County's TAT revenue amounts to about 8.4 percent of its operating budget. For Hawai'i County, it's about 4.5 percent, and for Maui about 4 percent. In contrast, Honolulu's share constitutes just under 2.5 percent of its $1.8 billion operating budget. ALREADY SKIMPING Mark Oto, Honolulu deputy budget director, acknowledged that the percentage impact may be greater on the other counties. However, he said, "you have to remember that Ho-nolulu provides more public services that are enjoyed by a larger number of visitors," such as the city's extensive bus system. Neighbor Island counties have minimal bus service. Hawai'i County doesn't have curbside trash pickup. County officials agree that the loss of TAT is especially bad in the midst of a difficult economy. The main source of revenues for all counties is property taxes. Falling property values means less in each of their operating budgets. Pablo, the Maui budget director, said property values in his county are projected to fall anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent, which means the operating budget could fall from $460 million to $420 million. Factor that in with a 4.5 percent drop from TAT, and "that's pretty close to 8 percent, 9 percent of our budget." Some state leaders have argued that the counties are in a better position to absorb losses in revenues, pointing out that they have not had to lay off or furlough employees as the state has. County leaders, however, said they had already been anticipating the economic downturn and have been downsizing in recent years, including reducing their workforces through attrition, holding off on equipment purchases and restricting travel. In Honolulu, city agencies were told they will be getting 4.5 percent less money than budgeted during the current fiscal year. In Maui County, Pablo said, belt-tightening actually began in 2007. "That's a big chunk we already trimmed, beginning in fiscal 2008," he said. Hawai'i County departments chopped 10 percent off non-fixed-cost spending in the current year, Crawford said. Crawford said that because state revenues are based largely on excise and income taxes, the impact has been felt more quickly. Property tax revenues, which the counties depend on, are based on assessments from a previous year. The counties are expected to argue that they are rightfully due the TAT money. From roads to sewers, parks and buses to police, fire and water safety, they provide the services used by visitors. The four counties have historically relied on state funding. For nearly two decades, that "allowance" has come in the form of a share of the transient accommodations tax. ORIGINS OF THE TAX The TAT was established in 1986 by the state Legislature at 5 percent of a visitor's hotel room bill to assess visitors for the burden they place on the state's infrastructure. Hotel industry leaders for years fought the tax, warning it would hurt tourism. But supporters pointed out that most major visitor destinations to impose some kind of tax or fee on tourists. During the first few years, TAT revenues went into the state general fund. In 1989, then-Gov. John Waihe'e proposed giving the counties the bulk of the TAT to provide them with a steady source of money. Pablo has calculated that Maui County provides funding for state functions that at least matches the TAT money it receives, including funding Maui Community College partnerships or internships involving the nursing, tourism and agriculture programs. State Rep. Joe Souki, D-8th (Wailuku, Waihe'e, Waie-hu), was chairman of the Finance Committee when the decision was made to turn over the bulk of the TAT to the counties. The money was given to the counties to "reward the counties for their role in the tourist industry," with their respective county shares based on the number of hotel rooms in each. Souki said he may be able to support reducing the counties' share but not cutting TAT money from them altogether. "If you take this money away, they're just going to have to do other things like raise property taxes or something else," he said. The state has over the years been cutting the counties' share of TAT. Today, the counties get only 44.8 per-cent, with 17.3 percent going to the convention center and 37.8 percent going to a new tourism special fund. County officials say taking away TAT from them won't benefit anyone. "I don't know how that helps the state's citizens," Pablo said. "What happens is we're just passing the deficit from the state to the counties. Now the counties would have to deal with it." Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 26, 2009 4 p.m. Rescuers Untangle Whale on Christmas Day A whale entangled in fishing gear off of Maui was freed on Christmas Day by rescuers led by the Hawaiian Islands Entanglement Response Team. According to NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the team launched from Maalaea harbor following a report of an injured whale from an ocean tour operator. By 6 p.m., the team, staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adinistration's Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office and the Sanctuary, assisted by U.S. Coast Guard Station Maui, had removed most of the line that was cutting into the whale's tail. Rescuers believe that an anchor hanging below its tail was also removed. (Report Provided by The Honolulu Advertiser) NEWS FLASH - December 26, 2009 2:20 p.m. Pu'unene Jail Back on Track PUUNENE, Maui - Gov. Linda Lingle and Central Maui state Sen. Shan Tsutsui have found common ground and agreed to move forward with experimental plans for a privately built new jail in Puunene, said Barry Fukunaga, the governor's chief of staff, on Wednesday. If all goes as planned, in the next few years, the estimated $235 million, state-of-the-art jail would spring up in Puunene's abandoned sugar cane fields. The jail would replace the aged and overcrowded Maui Community Correctional Center, which sits across Waiale Road from residential subdivisions in Wailuku. The agreement to move ahead with the project follows a dust-up this fall between Lingle and Tsutsui, vice chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. After a Maui News article in September in which Tsutsui criticized the jail's high price tag, campuslike design and a general lack of details provided to lawmakers by the administration, Lingle abruptly halted the project indefinitely. Tsutsui said he didn't object to the project itself, but he maintained his concerns about the project's design and cost estimates. Then, Lingle invited Tsutsui to a meeting at her office last week to resolve their differences, the senator said. The meeting included the governor, Tsutsui, Fukunaga and Public Safety Director Clayton Frank. They discussed a new jail plan revised in response to Maui lawmakers' concerns about the earlier plan's "soft design." After the meeting, Tsutsui said he still has questions and doubts, but he is very interested in learning more and seeing the project get under way. More meetings are in the works with other Maui state lawmakers as well as Mayor Charmaine Tavares and members of the Maui County Council, Fukunaga said. "We're glad that this little misunderstanding has been put aside, and we can move forward," Fukunaga said. "They (Lingle and Tsutsui) both agreed this is a project of importance, and the necessity is there. We want to proceed without any more delay, and what is being contemplated now is different than what we originally thought." The state - if it finds a willing investor in these challenging economic times to construct the jail facility - would rent-to-own the Maui regional public safety complex, according to the governor's proposal. However, securing private financing is a big "if," and there remains a difference of opinion about whether it should be built all at once or in phases. The 843-inmate, minimum- and medium-security jail would more than double the capacity of the current jail in Wailuku. Fukunaga said that state-hired architects will be finished in January or February with the final design. Once those plans are done, the state will seek out a private company to build the new jail, he said. The governor's Neighbor Island Community Advisory Council Chairwoman Madge Schaefer helped put the governor and Tsutsui on the same page by contacting them. Schaefer has been a key figure in redesigning the jail by heading up an unofficial advisory committee with correctional center employees. The redesigned jail's housing units are larger instead of spread out. They also are essentially self-contained. Inmates will take their meals, medications and rehabilitation and educational classes within each unit, rather than guards walking them from building to building. It's a safer alternative for staff members, too, Schaefer said. The complex's almost 39 acres also will be encircled with a series of fences and gates, which weren't part of the original plans, she said. That and the isolated location set back from Mokulele Highway should help deter people on the outside from passing illegal drugs inside, which is a problem at the current jail. "At first, it looked like they were going to camp," Schaefer said. "Now they'll know they're going to jail." But even after his meeting with the governor, Tsutsui said he didn't think the planners had done enough to cut costs. He thought the design is "overbuilt." For instance, Tsutsui suggested prison officials construct half as many buildings and just bunk up the inmates rather than give each inmate his or her own cell. Tsutsui also said that part of the frustration from lawmakers has been the spiraling cost estimates. When the Department of Public Safety first proposed the project seven years ago, legislators were told it would cost $70 million to build, with about half the money coming from the federal government, he said. The hope is to address the critical need for more cells in Maui County while not impacting the state's capital improvement projects budget, Fukunaga said. The Legislature typically approves about $500 million in capital improvement projects using general obligation bonds. If the turnkey arrangement doesn't work, Tsutsui said, he was skeptical that his fellow lawmakers would approve a Maui project that would potentially eat up half of the capital improvement budget for the entire state. The state Senate and House refused to appropriate a $50 million request by Lingle in 2008 to begin construction. Lingle's capital improvement plan also says that she may seek federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars for the Maui regional public safety complex. (The governor's plan can be found online at hawaii.gov/gov/cip/maui/madept.pdf.) "You know, it's a really good design now that it can be expanded by modules," Schaefer said. "And why not use the design to get the stimulus money?" The Legislature convenes in mid-January and would need to fund the project either through the operating budget - if it goes the lease route - or from general obligation bonds - if lawmakers decide to pay for it outright, Fukunaga and Tsutsui said. Once the project design is complete, it will go through the bidding process, and that's also when officials will get a better handle on the actual price tag, Fukunaga said. Tsutsui said that he thought constructing the new correctional center in phases through state bonding seemed like the most realistic approach, starting with $50 million for infrastructure, such as water lines and electricity. "They seem to think they can do it all at once," Tsutsui said. "(Lingle) thinks they can get the ball rolling before the end of her term. If we're committed to doing this, we don't have to rush on building it. Right now they seem to just want to barrel ahead." The new jail will house pretrial detainees, inmates serving one year or less and felons with less than two years left on their sentences. The new complex is also designed to include Maui parole offices, the inmate intake service center and a sheriff's office. Fukunaga agreed that the state could build the offices later as money becomes available to keep the initial cost down. State Comptroller Russ Saito has said he would like to see construction begin in mid-2010 and be completed by the end of 2012. An environmental assessment also is nearly complete, Fukunaga said. And so far officials have not encountered any problems, such as archaeological sites or pollution, that could slow the project from moving forward. Fukunaga said that the governor is very concerned about putting the project together without greatly impacting the capital improvement projects budget. The lease-to-own idea was actually that of late Central Maui state Rep. Bob Nakasone, who was a strong supporter of the project, Fukunaga said. But he said he was unsure if other states or municipalities have been successful with the approach. However, developers on Maui have built two elementary schools in recent years, he pointed out. "Previously, we had inquiry from a private firm, but I'm not certain if it's still there," Fukunaga said. "Certainly, economic conditions have changed, but we won't know the interest in the marketplace until we actually put the proposal out there." If that doesn't work, prison officials will try to get bonding money from the Legislature, he said. Reach Chris Hamilton at chamilton@mauinews.com. (Report Provided by The Maui News.)
NEWS FLASH - December 26, 2009 1:35 p.m. |
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