Special to Hawaii 24/7 by Sen. Will Espero

To be counted or not to be counted – that is the question than can result in millions of dollars for Hawaii. More than $300 billion a year for 10 years, $3 trillion in all, is up for grabs – want some of it?

How that money is going to be distributed and spent will be determined by the results of the 23rd Census of the United States, coming to your household soon. The data collected in this year’s census directly affects how federal and state funds are allocated to states and communities for transportation, education, public health, neighborhood improvements, and much more.

The information provided by the Census affects funding decisions for child care centers and programs; schools, universities and community colleges; health care clinics and hospitals; roads, bridges, traffic lights, and highway improvements; infrastructure, and many other issues. That is why it is so important that each household in Hawaii takes the few minutes to fill out and mail in their Census questionnaire. This will help ensure that your community gets its fair share of government funding.

What is the Census? It is a snapshot of the country, a count of everyone residing in the country April 1, and is required by our federal constitution. I encourage everyone to participate in the census process. The information is completely confidential, and this privacy is protected by federal law for 72 years.

Timeline

Census questionnaires will be mailed or delivered to households in February and March. Please return your questionnaires by mail as soon as you can. People are counted where they live and sleep most of the year. Since the census is conducted in multiple places, you should not count in your household anyone who is away at college, living in a nursing home, is on active military duty, etc. Households that do not return a questionnaire by mail will be called or visited by census takers from May to July.

By Dec. 31, the Census Bureau will present the count of the population to President Obama for apportionment. By March 2011, each state will receive complete redistricting data for them to use in redrawing the lines of each legislative district to ensure that each district is roughly equal in population size.

The way we take the count is different this time. This year the Census Bureau has bid “aloha ‘oe” to the long form. Only the short form will be used, which will take just minutes to complete. The short form will ask for a count of residents, name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, and relationship – quick and easy.

More detailed demographic information will no longer be taken on the April 1 short form census once in a decade. Instead it will be gathered continually throughout the decade by sending a survey to a small portion of the population on a rotating basis. This American Community Survey provides a more dynamic snapshot that enables government planners to have current data about communities every year.

Guiding major decisions

Census data tells the government where people are and how many there are. The government used information when making important decisions that affect you. If it’s important to you which school your child attends, or if you live in an area that needs more schools, then please fill out and mail in your questionnaire.

The population counts are used to determine school boundaries and whether new schools need to be built. If you live in an area that needs new roads or infrastructure construction or repair, please fill out and mail in your questionnaire. The information helps the government to plan where to invest transportation funding and what priority to assign to proposed projects.

If you feel your community needs more police or emergency services, needs services for youth or the elderly, could use a health care clinic, child care facility or job training center, please fill out and mail in your questionnaire. These are just a few of the many ways that the government uses the Census’ demographic snapshot of America to decide where and how your tax dollars are spent.

One person, one vote

The Census affects your voice at all levels of government. Census data is used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to redistrict state legislatures. Our democratic form of government requires that districts are roughly equal in population size to ensure that everyone is equally represented in legislative bodies.

Every 10 years, each legislative district has to be redrawn according to the new data to create districts of relatively equal population size. After each state receives the new census data by April 2011, it then has the daunting task of deciding the boundaries of each elective district. No new elections can occur until those new lines have been drawn.

Tying the right “piece of earth” with the population data and organizing it for easy use and access is extremely difficult, complex and time consuming. A wide variety and quantity of good data is essential for drawing the lines: special mapping software; databases with census, demographic and election data, and others.

Technologic advances will make this 2010 Census different from any other before. Google Earth was not around 10 years ago for the 2000 Census, and can now be one of the pieces of information that district line drawers can use to help make mapping decisions. Sheer numbers are not the only consideration.

The effect of the boundary lines on the community, on minorities, political ramifications, and other factors are also taken into consideration. Districting plans must also comply with voting laws.

Our United States Constitution mandates a count of everyone residing here to allocate Congressional seats, electoral votes, and government program funding. Our first American Census was taken in 1790 and has been carried out every decade since. The ever-evolving complexity of our citizens’ needs and interests means that those in government have the statistics and other information they need to identify and understand what is happening.

Our censuses have grown and adapted to provide the data they need to help them plan. With our share of the $3 trillion at stake, I encourage you to take a few minutes to fill out the quick, easy form and mail it in as soon as possible. How much Hawaii gets of that $300 billion per year is up to each of us.

— Find out more:
www.hawaiisenatemajority.com

Special to Hawaii 24/7 by Sen. Will Espero

Hawaii’s volcanoes put on a fantastic show for nature lovers, but its lava also creates a rich soil that gives locally grown food their distinctly delicious flavors.

Agriculture in Hawaii suffers from memories of plantation days gone by. No longer simply sugar and pineapple, our farmers deserve a fresh start of support.

There are several reasons why fostering our farms makes good sense. The biggest is it helps the economy.

The more we can produce our own food, the less money we need to export outside our cash circle, which helps to keep a positive state balance sheet overall. The meals we eat will be fresher, more nutritious, and tastier when we buy and eat locally grown food.

Expanding our farmer’s marketplace locally and elsewhere means more jobs will be created, and diversify and strengthen our economic base.

Fostering this industry means making sure that we expend the energy to promote it, and make sure the requisite infrastructure and industrial side supply chain are in place. It will take a coordinated effort between the private and public sectors.

The in-state market for farmers needs private sector support. Health safety standards require that foods be chilled at certain temperatures while transported to prevent bacterial growth.

Young Brothers has chilled cargo service by barge, but having it by air gets food to interisland markets faster. Let’s hope that one of our in-state airlines consider and can feasibly offer this service to increase the in-state market for our farmers.

Out-of-state promotion would help as well. We have a wealth and wide range of products – teas, coffees, herbs, lettuce, fruits, vegetables, avocadoes, tomatoes, cheeses, and many, many more.

Our year-long summer gives us favorable growing conditions. We should try to find grocers and food processing companies both domestic and foreign who would be interested in carrying our agricultural products in their stores or including them as ingredients in their food products.

A food processing plant or two would help, too. Sam Choy may be a famous local chef, but the salad dressings that bear his name are processed in California for lack of a food processing plant in Hawaii.

The Executive Branch should try to recruit food processing businesses to invest here, to produce food products using the flavorful vegetables, fruits, and herbs grown on our island soil.

Why is this important?

Farmers can only sell in grocery stores what satisfies grade requirements. Vegetables and fruits that literally don’t make the grade – too long, too short, not the right color, etc. — cannot be sold retail, and that can add up to a lot of waste of perfectly edible food and loss to the farmer.

Off-grade produce still possess the same delicious flavor as grade food but don’t look as pretty or uniform.

On the mainland, off-grade produce get channeled into food products such as soups, salsas, sauces, stews, frozen dinners, and other yummy products we gladly buy. It would help farmers with profitability to have an avenue for selling their off-grade produce.

The food processing plant, moreover, is an employer. The plant would provide jobs to residents.

There is no denying that our volcanic soil gives our onions, lettuce, avocados, fruit, teas, coffee, herbs, and other food products the fabulous flavor it has. Think of the terrific salad dressings, salsas, and so on that Hawaii could sell.

Being able to expand Hawaii’s food product line can help strengthen our economy by offering a more diverse range of products and keep people employed.

Then there’s the waste issue for those parts of food products that can’t be eaten, what’s called biomass. Instead of stuffing it into landfills, the throwaways can be diverted and processed by anaerobic digesters to produce biogas that then can be used to generate electricity.

Gas digesters have long been used in Europe to deal with the land scarcity issue, by extending landfill life through diverting waste away from landfills. Gas digesters (anaerobic digesters) take greenwaste and turn it in to methane gas and compost for soil improvement.

There are more than 85 of these facilities throughout Europe and many others planned.

Even China has long used gas digestion, and is planning on expanding its use. China set a target of 18.5 percent biomass by 2010, as a source of renewable energy. The biomass includes food waste, agricultural waste, industry, municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, animal manure, and the like.

Nine plants are being planned for Beijing using restaurant throwaways, animal waste, and municipal waste. Other large-scale biowaste plants are currently under consideration in several regions in China.

Homegrown / small scale urban household biogas digesters have been in use in southern China for about a hundred years. The first biogas company opened in Shanghai in 1932.

About 10 percent of the rural population, by 2005, was producing biogas for their cooking and lighting needs, giving these areas a degree of independence from central energy supply systems. Using biowaste to generate electricity also resolves water and soil pollution problems for that area.

These advantages give motivation for further development under China’s national plan. Since 2001, 4,000 middle- and large-scale biogas plants for electricity production were built mainly at pig, chicken and cattle farms. Other industries, such as sugar or alcohol production, can use its waste to generate electricity. The distillery in Henan supplies 20,000 households with biogas.

Waianae coast and Windward residents know all too well about landfills.

Extrapolating from City & County statistics and UH estimates, the amount of food and landscape waste could be around 1000 tons a day. There are also nine wastewater treatment plants on Oahu.

Instead of spending money to ship our trash overseas, the City and County would do well to invest in anaerobic digestion facilities that can supply enough power to operate the wastewater treatment plants and send the excess electricity into the grid.

The long-run benefits are local supplies of electricity, extended landfill life, job creation, and reduction of dependence on foreign oil. When we use local supplies of stock for electricity generation, we can keep part of that exported $7 billion in-state, circulating through our local businesses and keeping our economy healthy.

Locally generated electricity reduces losses through transmission lines, for greater efficiency of distributing power. Wisconsin and other states have gas digester facilities. The City of Los Angeles is constructing a facility following a successful, small-scale pilot project that used food waste from airport concessionaires.

The food chain – more than just a biology lesson and better for the economy.

— Find out more:

Senate Majority Caucus: www.hawaiisenatemajority.com

MEDIA RELEASE

Senate President Colleen Hanabusa has announced a Special Committee of the State Senate will convene to consider the options available to address the question of teacher furloughs.

“I am proud that my colleagues are stepping up with a battery of ideas to solve the teacher furlough problem,” Hanabusa said, “but every option raises questions. We need to look at not only whether money is available, but how we can ensure that any money we appropriate gets released by the governor and goes to education. We also need to answer some fundamental questions about whether any action we take will interfere with a collectively bargained agreement between the state, the DOE, and the teachers’ union. The right to collective bargaining is guaranteed in our state Constitution, so this is a significant concern.”

She added, “The worst thing we can do is build false hopes. We need to act responsibly. This is a complicated situation and a lot of different parties will have to come together to work out a solution. But this committee will get the ball rolling.”

The Senate Special Committee on Education Funding will be chaired by Sen. Brian Taniguchi, and include Sens. Will Espero (Vice-chairman), David Ige, Dwight Takamine, Jill Tokuda, and Shan Tsutsui, along with Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings.

“If other senators would like to sit in on the committee hearings, they may,” Hanabusa said.

Hemmings said he is looking forward to working with the committee.

“I am most pleased as Senate Minority Leader that the Senate President is looking for ways to get kids back to school. I think this is certainly an issue where reasonable people can work together to find reasonable solutions,” he said.

Espero, the committee vice-chairman, said he believes immediate action is required.

“The loss of 17 classroom days is unacceptable and embarrassing,” he said. “We have a responsibility to take action and address the situation for the sake of our children, and I believe we have the means to do so.

The committee’s primary goal will be to review the variety of approaches that have been proposed to end the teacher furloughs.

The committee will also consider whether to recommend that the legislature return for a Special Session before the regular session that will convene in January.

“The Senate cannot call a Special Session on its own,” Hanabusa said. “That takes the concurrence of two-thirds of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. But we can make a recommendation, and I believe the committee will do so.”

Hanabusa also pointed out a successful Special Session would rely on the cooperation of other interests.

“We need to keep in mind that given the threat of a veto and potential legal challenges to any interference in a contract that is the product of collective bargaining, a Special Session only makes sense if we can get all parties—the administration, the DOE, and the HSTA—to the table and agree, at least in principle, with what we plan to do. Otherwise, we would be raising false hopes and expending state resources on a futile effort.”

The committee will release its hearing schedule at later this week.

 Sen. Will Espero has written to the governor, urging her to use the facility for women inmates. Espero’s letter appears courtesy of www.hawaiisenatemajority.com:

Dear Governor Lingle,

I am writing to express my disappointment in the decision to close Kulani Correctional Facility. I know we are facing difficult financial times, but giving up a correctional facility for an at-risk youth facility is not the best trade-off in my opinion. I understand federal funds will help pay for the Youth Challenge Academy, but in time, those funds will ikely end and we will have to pay the full cost.

I believe a better use of Kulani Correctional Facility would be to return and house most of the women from Kentucky. With the allegations of sexual assault still unresolved, the availability of a correctional facility comes at an opportune time.

Originally, inmates were sent to the mainland due to overcrowding, not cost factors. Since the Department of Public Safety can move Kulani inmates to other facilities, an empty facility becomes available. This is a perfect opportunity to take the millions of dollars we are spending in Kentucky and inject those millions into the Big Island. It will not only keep PSD workers employed but will also be a boost to the economy.

Governor, I ask you to delay the closure of Kulani until a plan can be developed to return the majority of the mainland women prisoners. Because we are talking about 170 inmates, it should not be a difficult task. I would be happy to assist if needed or asked.

Building a new facility on Maui will not happen any time soon if it happens at all. We should not turn Kulani over to another department and remove it from our corrections system. I would be happy to discuss this idea with you as soon as possible.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

Respectfully,

Sen. Will Espero

Chairman, Senate Public Safety & Military Affairs Committee

Sen. Will Espero/Special to Hawaii247.org

The recent announcement by the FBI that Kapolei will be the site of one of the largest law enforcement complexes in the Asia-Pacific regions is heartening news for a state with a troubled economy.  

While the new FBI complex is expected to house 230 staff, area businesses will benefit by providing goods and services to that staff, such as gas, food, office supplies, and other items.

The federal government, as we have long known, is the second largest industry in Hawaii after tourism, by one account, spending over $14 billion in 2007 and accounting for over 86,000 or one eight of all jobs in Hawaii.  

Of the more than 86,000 federal jobs, more than 54,000 were military jobs, with close to 35,000 of those being active duty personnel, making the Department of Defense (DOD) the largest federal employer in our state.  

The next largest federal employers are the Departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs. 

While tourism constitutes about 30 percent of the total Oahu economy, according to one university economist, military spending accounts for another 23 percent.  

In the game of dollar dominoes, this is crucial to our economic health.  The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s (DBEDT’s) found, in a 2002 study, that for every $1 in military spending, more than $1.50 is created in new business.  

The approximately $6 billion in DOD expenditures last year in Hawaii circulates throughout the state, in the form of wages that the military can spend locally, or as services and goods provided to the military by local vendors in procurement contracts, or in research grants.  

While the military can perform some of its needs in-house, other work has to be farmed out to local businesses, such as military construction projects. 

Environmental Science International, Inc., (ESI) for example, derives nearly half of its $5.5 million annual revenue from military contracts.  A full-service environmental consulting and remediation firm, ESI performs assessments for new military housing, which the DOD then transfers to private developers.  

Thanks to the Military Privatization Act, private developers finance, build, maintain, and manage military housing projects on military bases. The 50-year period for these housing projects provides a steady, predictable source of income for local subcontractors.  

Army Hawaii Family Housing (AHFH) last year signed more than $550 million in contracts, 95 percent of which went to local companies, with 65 percent awarded to small businesses.  Over the 50-year period, which ends in 2054, the entire AHFH project is valued at more than $5.35 billion.  

Other military construction projects include work such as renovation and modernization of dry docks at Pearl Harbor to accommodate new submarines, and construction work relating to Stryker training and new fighter jets. 

The list of businesses supported by military expenditures goes beyond construction.  

Last fall, the House approved Congressman Abercrombie’s $800 million in the 2009 Defense Authorization Bill for the Hawaii National Guard and Reserves.  

Included in the funding were projects such as:

* high tech military research by Hawaii companies; 

* continued construction on Saddle Road near the Army’s training area on the Big Island; 

* continued development of airborne detection systems to alert Navy ships to the presence of marine mammals; 

* continued research at the University of Hawaii into the impact of the Navy’s submarine detection equipment on whales and dolphins; 

* continued mapping of clean-up of military munitions dumped into Oahu’s ocean at the end of WWII.

Basic items such as food also comprise a respectable portion of military spending circulated into our local economy.  For Y. Hata & Co., a local restaurant food supplier, for example, military contracts account for $10 million annually.  

Oahu’s five commissaries, where military families buy food, brought in $235 million in sales.  

Oil constitutes another big consumption item.  Tesoro Petroleum Corp. was the biggest winner, with a military contract in the $255 million range, representing 13 percent of the total dollar amount of all DOD contracts in Hawaii.

The next largest military contractor in the state, with an $83.5 million contract, is BAE Systems, a defense and aerospace company, which opened its new Pacific Innovation Center in January this year.  

The Pacific Innovation Center’s purpose is the demonstration of systems and software BAE develops in Hawaii.  

Other top 10 contractors include Weeks Marine Inc. ($53 million) which provides marine construction work; Nan Inc. ($50.5 million) which renovates soldiers’ barracks, and Hawaiian Electric ($49 million).

Military spending reaches even further than combat readiness through situating and supporting defense systems and soldiers and their families here.  

High tech research and development projects are funded as well.  Oceanit, a dual-use technology company, for example, has a DOD research contract for Sense-Through-The-Wall (STTW) technology.  Using a hand-held device, soldiers would be able to detect enemy presence before entering a room.  

When the technology becomes fully developed, firefighters, first responders, and the victims they save could benefit the most.  Firefighters currently have to guess at how many people are trapped in a room.  With STTW technology, they will be able to enter burning buildings and know just where to go, saving more lives in the process.

Federal funding is vital to Hawaii’s economy because the tax base to fund public projects is limited because of our small population.  In addition to military spending, federal dollars go to research funds for the University of Hawaii (more than $156 million for FY 2008), observatories, parks, energy production, agriculture, and transportation.  

This diverse allocation of federal dollars results in a stronger web of industry, albeit on smaller scales than tourism, but giving an array of job opportunities for workers of differing skills and interests.  This is key to a healthy economy, even in hard times.

Securing defense appropriations in Hawaii is largely credited to the seniority of our congressional delegation.  

Neil Abercrombie, a Congressman for 18 years, is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and Military Readiness Subcommittee, and chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces.  

The chairmanship has critical oversight responsibilities for U.S. Army and Air Force operations, budget, and equipment and weapons systems procurement.  

Sen. Daniel Akaka has been in Congress since 1976, first as a Representative, then as a Senator.  He chairs the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee, as well as being a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  

Sen. Daniel Inouye is chairman of the Committee on Appropriations and chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense, as well as member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs.  

He has been in Congress since 1959, as Hawaii’s first Congressman, then since 1962 in the U.S. Senate. 

Even beyond defense spending, though, Congresswoman Mazie Hirono is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, meaning she plays a role in procuring federal funding for transportation projects in Hawaii, including Honolulu’s rail transit system which will be the largest public works project in our state.

As the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii puts it, in Hawaii, the bottom line is, we need the military and the military needs us.  

From June 6 – 13, I will be in Washington D.C. with the Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council to meet with our Congressional delegation, Pentagon personnel, and other government officials.

 A consistent advocacy and lobbying effort by Hawaii residents helps ensure a steady stream of funds for our state. Networking with and maintaining strong ties with the D.C. establishment is critical for Hawaii.

— Find out more:

www.hawaiisenatemajority.com

Special to Hawaii 247.org by Sen. Will Espero

Hawaii has long been recognized across the country as one of the best, places to live for senior citizens.  

Our Pacific-Asian culture venerates our elderly. We let gramma or grampa live with us when they can’t or shouldn’t live on their own anymore, we visit often, we call daily to check on them, we push for programs to take care of them, and we have an abundance of care homes if we can’t render the services they need.  

Recently at the Legislature, many organizations that provide services for senior citizens came to educate lawmakers, staff, and the public about the resources available for our kupuna. I’d like to share some of these with you in the event you or your family or friends may have a need they can fill.

Hawaii Association of Case Managers (HACM) — www.EldercareHawaii.com

Want to know what housing options seniors have?  The HACM’s guidebook, “Residential Options for Hawaii’s Seniors” is informative.  Topics include What to Consider, Making the Decision, Helpful Resources, and Residential Options (retirement communities, care homes, assisted living, nursing homes, and hospice).

Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition (HFCC)   — wes.lum@doh.hawaii.gov, 586-0100

The HFCC provides training and education, counseling, and respite services to help caregivers become well-informed and better able to care for their loved ones and themselves.  Their advocacy, education, and outreach efforts promote awareness and best practices for caregivers and their families.  Their Speakers’ Bureau provides public education to improve the quality of life for seniors and their caregivers.  

Topics include Financial Issues (social security, Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care insurance); legal issues (advance health care directives, power of attorney, guardianships); community resources (support groups, geriatricians, adult day care, case management, respite services); housing options (nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential care homes); end of life issues (hospice, bereavement); and general aging information (Alzheimer’s disease, fall prevention, healthy aging).

Child & Family Services (CFS) — 681-3500

Child and Family Services offers a wide range of services for the elderly:  Ohana Care (assisting families caring for their elderly); Reach (outreach to prevent or intervene in elderly abuse and  neglect); Share (services for senior housing residents in Honolulu); Case Management  (supportive counseling and education, links to community resources); Caregiver Respite (clearinghouse for respite aides to assist family caregivers); Health Maintenance (senior fitness and fall prevention classes); and Adult Chore Services (in-home chore services to disabled seniors).

CFS’s handbook, “In the Comfort of Your Home” discusses home health care.  The book explains the different type of services an elderly person may need, such as homemaker services, therapists, home medical equipment, and hospice care; how to arrange for home health care; options for paying for services needed; adapting the home for safety; preventing home fires and preparing for emergencies; self care including diet, exercise, and preventing infections; and health.

Catholic Charities — www.CatholicCharitiesHawaii.org, 595-0077

Catholic Charities provides many services to the elderly: 

Housing Assistance: counseling on affordable housing options; assistance with information, referrals, and applications to permanent affordable housing units; referrals for social and financial services; group homes and shared housing projects for seniors

Transportation Services:  door-to-door transportation for seniors

Respite Care:  information and referral to respite and other services

Services:  in-home and community-based services including housekeeping, shopping, escort, letter writing and reading, interpreting and translating, advocacy, and para-professional counseling

Caring for an Older Adult — www.journeyworks.com

This comprehensive guidebook is quick and easy to read, and covers many of the issues that caregivers face.  Topics include:  Are You a Caregiver?; Getting Started; Creating a Care Plan; Daily Care; Home Safety; Managing Medications; Doctor Visits; Long Distance Caregiving and Support; When Care is Refused or Resisted; If the Person You Care for is Depressed; Memory Loss and Confusion; When Independent Living is no Longer an Option; Planning for the Future; Balancing Caregiving and the rest of Your Life; Respite Care; the Rewards of Caring; and Resources.

These are just some of the resources available to the public.  If you need assistance or more information, feel free to contact my office. 

———

Sen. Espero is chairman of the Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee, and member of the Health Committee; Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee; and Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. He can be reached by phone at 586-6360, fax at 586-6360, or e-mail at Posted in HealthComments (0)