Category: Uncategorized

  • Meeting canceled tomorrow night

    Sorry about the last minute notice.  The meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday May 18, 2016 is not going to happen. Democratic party of Hawaii intervention has created delay. Stay tuned for more information about a future planning meeting to prepare for election of officers at convention.

  • General Membership Meeting

    The Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii would like to invite you to our General Membership Meeting

    When: Wednesday, May 18 from 6pm to 8pm

    Where: McCully District Park – Japanese School Bldg. 1st floor

    831 Pumehana St.

    Meet past and present ECDPH caucus chairs and officers to strategize about:

    2016 DPH State Convention

    2016-2018 ECDPH officer election process

    JOIN A SUBCOMMITTEE:

    • FOOD AND FARM SUSTAINABILITY
    • ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
    • PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

    Pa’ina potluck style.

  • Please come for a social gathering

    The Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii would like to invite you to attend a Social gathering

    When: Wednesday, April 27 at 6pm to 8pm

    Where: McCully District Park – Japanese School Bldg. 1st floor

    831 Pumehana St.

    Meet past and present ECDPH caucus chairs and officers who will talk story about:

    2016 DPH State Convention

    ECDPH Caucus mission and goals

    Discussion about how the 2016-2018 ECDPH officer election process

    JOIN A SUBCOMMITTEE: FOOD AND FARM SUSTAINABILITY

    ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

    PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF HAWAII

    LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

    Pa’ina potluck style.

    For more info contact – Juanita, Lisa or Barbara at ecodemhi@gmail.com

    education     advocacy     legislation

    Mission

    The Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai’i is dedicated to educating each other, the Party, and the public to Aloha ‘Āina critical to the preservation and restoration of the environment at local, state, and oceanic levels. The Caucus will research and network with relevant stakeholders, conduct public forums, create position papers, advocate for and propose legislation in support of environmental causes statewide. In carrying out these tasks, the Environmental Caucus will be guided by environment related party platform positions and state party convention adopted resolutions.

  • GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING TONIGHT

    Join the ECDPH today March 14, 2016 at Olelo Mapunapuna from 5pm to 8pm for our General Membership Meeting and Talk Story series!

    The Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii invites you to our “Talk Story with DLNR Director Susan Case on Hawaiiʻs Environmental Future”

    Agenda for the Evening

    General Membership Meeting at 5pm to 5:30pm

    Refreshments from 5:30 pm to 6pm

    Talks Story in the Studio at 6pm to 7pm

    ECDPH General membership meeting will be held in the outdoor area in front of the Main entrance to Olelo Mapunapuna Studio

    WHEN: MARCH 14, 2016 – MONDAY @ 5 PM – 8 PM

    WHERE: OLELO MAPUNAPUNA STUDIOS –

    1122 MAPUNAPUNA ST. IN HONOLULU, HAWAII

    FREE PARKING WHERE AVAILABLE

    POTLUCK DISHES WELCOME

    RSVP : JUANITA OR BARBARA @ 808-330-6224

  • CALLING ALL DEMOCRATS ON OAHU! JOIN US ON MAY 2ND FOR THE OAHU COUNTY COUNCIL CONVENTION

    REMINDER FOR OUR ECDPH MEMBERS

    PLEASE COME OUT AND JOIN US AT THE OAHU COUNTY COUNCIL CONVENTION WHERE WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY!

    May 2nd, 2015 Convention
    O‘ahu County Democrats
    Moanalua High School
    2825 Ala Ilima St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
    Registration from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
    – Call to Order at 8 a.m. –    NOTE: As much as possible, this will be a paperless convention. Please bring your own copies of the documentsSIGN UP AT OAHUDEMOCRATS.ORG AND CONTACT BIXBY HO – OCC CHAIRMAN

  • Next ECDPH Caucus Meeting – April 30

    Thursday, April 30, 2015

    6:00 – 8:00 pm

    45 N. King Street, Honolulu, HI 96817 (5th Floor)

    We are preparing a panel of speakers to talk on climate change impacts in Hawaii and the South Pacific and what our community can do to prepare and manage the changes we are facing environmentally for Hawaii nei.

    Click here for the ECDPH Calendar page.

  • Critical Announcement regarding the future of Energy in Hawaii

    This event is co-sponsored by Americans for Democratic Action, Hawaii Chapter, and by Progressive Democrats of Hawai.

    Submitted on behalf of Alan Burdick

    –  Mahalo Alan

    A reminder to all that on Sunday, 08 FEB 15, ADA/H will be holding a public forum at 1:30 p.m. in the Mānoa Public Library [with lots of parking] second floor meeting room with Rep Chris Lee on the HECO – NEXTERA merger. It looks like a good forum on a bad deal. The Florida alligators who run NextEra have a reputation that is so bad that even pro-business Forbes Magazine says they’re a bunch of crooks.

    If we cannot be 100% sure that the Hawaii PUC will be held to the highest standards of public interest [unlike their totally corrupt Florida counterparts] Hawaii is in for a very rough time. Please come to the forum and, in the meantime, take a look the attached [pdf available] article from today’s Forbes for your reading [dis]pleasure.

    * * *

    1/30/2015

    FORBES MAGAZINE

    What Is At Stake For Hawaii In NextEra Energy – HECO Merger

    NextEra Energy, the holding company based in Juno Beach, FL, wants to buy all three of Hawaii’s electric utilities.

    One aspect of the acquisition that has not attracted much attention is the limited applicability of federal energy regulation to utilities in Hawaii.

    Except in a few minor instances, utilities in Hawaii are not regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). By contrast, Florida Power& Light (FPL), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, is regulated by the FERC.

    The reason for the discrepancy is that the FERC only regulates energy sold in interstate commerce. Hawaii’s power system is isolated.

    In the 1970s, FLP sued the FERC to limit the scope of federal energy regulation to sales of electricity that actually crossed state lines. The lawsuit went all of the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that federal regulators have jurisdiction over any transmission lines that are part of a power grid that crosses state lines.

    Hawaii and Alaska are the only two states with power grids that are physically isolated from any other state. (Texas is not technically isolated from other power grids but has limited federal oversight anyway).

    This issue is especially important right now because Hawaii is considering construction of an undersea cable that would interconnect the power grids on the islands of Oahu and Maui. Currently, Hawaii has three stand-alone power grids: one grid serves the Big Island, another grid serves Maui and a third grid serves Oahu.

    In nearly any other state, the inter-island cable project being considered in Hawaii would be subject to various federal rules and regulations designed to ensure consumers receive the benefits of robust competition.

  • Information about urgent action requested- Not meant as a representation of views of caucus members or the Democratic Party of Hawaii

    This Friday, the Board of Land and Natural Resources will be voting on an approval in principal of the acquisition of a conservation easement over 654 acres of shoreline line spanning from Kawela Bay to Kahuku Point.  The staff submittal describing the proposed approval is attached.  The Trust for Public Land’s DRAFT testimony is attached.
    Please consider sending in testimony in support to  kuulei.n.moses@hawaii.gov.
    To send in testimony, reference Agenda Item D-28.  The following are bullet points that you can consider including in your testimony:
    • The conservation easement will protect five miles of shoreline spanning from Kawela Point to Kahuku Point, 654 acres of shoreline land, and important scenic, recreational, and ecologically important resources.
    • Endangered Hawaiian monk seals have been documented pupping and resting along this shoreline.
    • Threatened Hawaiian green sea turtles bask and nest along the shoreline.
    • Migratory birds and endangered Hawaiian waterbirds frequent the area, including Punaho`olapa Marsh
    • Approximately five miles of recreational coastal trails located on private owned land will be made available to the public
    Mahalo for your support –
    Lea
    Lea Hong
    Hawaiian Islands State Director
    The Trust for Public Land
    1003 Bishop Street
    Pauahi Tower, Suite 740
    Honolulu, HI  96813
    (808) 524-8563 (direct)
    (808) 783-3653 (cell)

  • Join us in making history in Hawaii – Virtual Town Hall meeting with David Ige

    Aloha:  I am writing to ask your assistance in helping to promote a David Ige 2.0 event, live streamed on the Internet, on Sunday, October 12, 4:00 to 5:00pm. At many remote sites around the state, David’s supporters and prospective supporters will participate in a live statewide conversation, which will be guided by participants using interactive software.

    Participants will tell David what they want him to talk about; what they want to know about him and his plans for Hawaii’s future. David will share why he wants to be governor, and answer questions through use of Internet polling software to gauge interests of participants in real time. Participants would use high speed Internet connection for the live stream, and any device (computer, smartphone or tablet) to share questions, comments, and other information.

    We are assembling a large group of event promoters to spread the word and invite participants, who we’ll also encourage to have friends over, share refreshments, or have it a party. Here’s my request — to come to a project meeting to launch a promotional campaign on:

    * Sunday, October 12, 4pm, at Ige Campaign HQs on University Ave.
        RSVP to ecodemhi@gmail.com
     
    Please invite anyone who’s willing to help promote the Oct. 12 event. There are so many groups and people to contact that we need all the help we can get. Everyone has contacts in their networks, so everyone can make a difference in this effort.

    If you have any questions, please contact:
    Barbara Borgnino
    808-739-9770
    borgnino@yahoo.com

  • Important Wetland and Cultural Resource- Kawainui, Kailua Meeting

    THE KAILUA NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD (KNB) WILL BE HOLDING A COMMUNITY DISCUSSION MEETING ON THE KAWAINUI-HAMAKUA MARSH MASTER PLAN RECENTLY RELEASED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES (DLNR). THE NEW DRAFT OF THE PLAN, THAT HAS MAJOR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ECOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL, CULTURAL, ARCHEOLOGICAL AND FLOOD CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MARSH, HAS BEEN GIVEN VERY LITTLE PUBLICITY, AND NO OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
    THE KNB, LANIKAILUA OUTDOOR CIRCLE, HAWAII’S THOUSAND FRIENDS, THE AUDUBON SOCIETY, KE KAHUA O KUALI`I, KEEP IT KAILUA AND OTHERS EXPRESSED SERIOUS CONCERNS WITH THE PREVIOUS DRAFT OF THE PLAN, YET THE NEW DRAFT RELEASED MAY 22, 2014 IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS THE PREVIOUS DRAFT.
    THE KNB HAS REQUESTED THE DIRECTOR OF DLNR, WILLIAM ALIA, TO PRESENT THE PLAN AT THE MEETING, AND COMMUNITY RESIDENTS WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THEIR OPINIONS ON THE PROJECT. THIS MAY BE THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO BEFORE THE PLAN IS SUBMITTED FOR A FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
    THE MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 AT 7:00 PM AT THE KAILUA RECREATION CENTER, 21 S. KAINALU DRIVE, KAILUA. ALL KAILUA RESIDENTS, AND OTHER INTERESTED PERSONS ARE URGED TO ATTEND.
    A COPY OF THE PLAN IS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.HHF.COM/KAWAINUI.
     
    Photo credit:  Lisa Hinano Rey, December 2014.