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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/02/overdue-report-holds-up-hawaii-plan-to-prevent-gender-discrimination/" target="_self">Overdue Report Holds Up Hawaii Plan To Prevent Gender Discrimination</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Fri, 15 Feb 2019 10:01:53 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('Last year, many people cheered the Hawaii Legislature’s passage of a measure to create a state version of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in education programs that receive federal funding. House Bill 1489, which was signed into law by Gov. David Ige as Act 110, established a framework to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity or sexual orientation in any state-funded Hawaii education program. It was a “huge step for Hawaii,” said then-state Sen. Jill Tokuda. Now, however, implementation of the law will be delayed. The Legislative Reference Bureau, which conducts research and compiles reports for lawmakers on various issues, has missed a deadline to draft a report intended to serve as a jumping-off point for legislators to come up with the enabling language. The report was due Dec. 27. The Legislature was supposed to hammer out the details of the enforcement mechanism this session, with the law to take effect Jan. 1, 2020. The Legislative Reference Bureau needs more time to submit a report to lawmakers, meaning a delay in implementation for a state version of the federal Title IX law against gender discrimination.Anthony Quintano/Civil Beat “The study will get done. We just don’t have a date,” LRB director Charlotte Carter-Yamauchi told Civil Beat earlier this week. “We are working diligently on it.” In written comments to lawmakers, Carter-Yamauchi explained the delay in further detail. “Due to an extraordinary amount of additional work during this past interim and the substantial complexity of this study’s subject matter, the Bureau has been unable to complete the Title IX study in the time allotted to it,” she wrote. The Women’s Legislative Caucus has introduced measures this session solely for the purpose of extending the LRB study deadline. On Wednesday, House Bill 483 passed out of the Judiciary Committee with a new study deadline of Aug. 1. If that date holds, the Legislature would need to spend the 2020 session crafting the actual law, meaning an effective date would be in mid-2020 at the soonest or, more likely, the start of 2021. “It sounds like there is a push to push the effective date back a year, to allow the Legislature in the 2020 session to legislate part two of the state Title IX law,” said Bill Hoshijo, executive director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission. “It would be cause for concern if it is pushed back more than that.” ‘A Response To What’s Happening Nationally’ Proponents say a state version of Title IX is needed for several reasons. One is the Trump administration’s rollbacks of student civil rights protections in recent years. The U.S. Department of Education has rescinded Obama-era guidance concerning rights of transgender students, released new rules for the handling of investigations of campus sexual assault and proposed new regulations that would allow schools to raise the bar for proving claims of sexual assault and harassment. “We all do have a sense of urgency,” said Ann Freed, co-chair of the Hawaii Women’s Coalition. “We have to draw a line here in the sand. We’re doing this as a response to what’s happening nationally.” Proponents also say a Hawaii version of Title IX is necessary due to the number of incidents where students have reported discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation without appropriate action taken by the state Department of Education. Transgender youth in Hawaii report a higher prevalence of bullying than their peers, according to state Department of Health statistics. Additionally, a recent University of Hawaii Climate Survey revealed that 10 percent of 44,600 students polled said they experienced sexual harassment while enrolled on a UH campus. The Hawaii DOE also has been named in two recent lawsuits alleging violations of Title IX — one alleging rampant bullying in Hawaii’s schools based on race, gender or sexual orientation and another based on inequities in girls’ athletic programs at Campbell High School. The DOE recently filed its response to the girls’ athletics lawsuit brought by ACLU Hawaii. In a five-page answer, it denied almost all the allegations. Under a resolution agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Education to close out a years-long investigation of student-on-student bullying based on race, sex or disability, Hawaii’s DOE must also beef up its civil rights compliance procedures. It’s in the process of revising its anti-bullying policy and has hired new “equity specialists” to fill out most of its school complex areas. What The Study Covers The Legislative Reference Bureau’s report is supposed to analyze versions of Title IX in other states like California, New York and Alaska, and discuss how Hawaii’s law might clash with federal law, something other jurisdictions have had to contend with. The LRB has made some progress on the report, as outlined in written comments it submitted to the Senate version of the study deadline extension bill. The report will discuss enforcement entities responsible for Title IX investigations in other states, the complaint filing process, possible remedies including alternative dispute resolution, injunctive relief and civil damages and inconsistencies between state and federal compliance mandates. The body responsible for Title IX authority in other states generally is the state board of education or state superintendent, along with an institution of higher learning, the LRB said. California’s and New York’s state Title IX laws are the most comprehensive in terms of outlining a grievance process, a student’s bill of rights, state evaluation and oversight and data reporting requirements, according to the LRB. Before Hawaii lawmakers adopted a plan to create the state’s own version of Title IX last year, the bill had been diluted. Amendments removed the possibility for monetary damages and an option for a complaint to be directly filed with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission. The Hawaii DOE opposed the legislation, saying there was no need for it. The post Overdue Report Holds Up Hawaii Plan To Prevent Gender Discrimination appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/02/legislature-should-stop-shooting-down-hawaiis-most-needed-reforms/" target="_self">Legislature Should Stop Shooting Down Hawaii’s Most-Needed Reforms</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Fri, 15 Feb 2019 10:01:53 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('There are some things we desperately need that our state legislators seemingly will never provide: • The right to statewide initiative and referendum that citizens enjoy in almost every other Western state. • Legislative term limits to encourage fresh leadership and a better chance to shake up the entrenched power structure that runs the islands. Unfortunately, it looks like this session will bring more of the same inaction on frequently proposed reforms that are clearly supported by Hawaii voters — you know, the folks the politicians are supposed to be working for. Even as they pay lip service to the obvious need to energize the electorate in a state that consistently serves up stale choices to voters, key legislators are again blocking initiative/referendum and term limits bills without even allowing committee hearings on them. Key good-government reforms like term limits and allowing citizen initiatives have all but died in the Legislature. A handful of measures such as all-mail balloting remain alive.Cory Lum/Civil Beat The clock is running out, because Friday is the deadline for bills to clear the committees they’ve been referred to in their initial chambers. And while legislative leaders sometimes employ magic tricks to get around such deadlines, that’s only to boost measures they support rather than those they consistently run away from. Who has been thwarting the biggest reform bills this time around? The chairs of the judiciary committees, Rep. Chris Lee and Sen. Karl Rhoads. That’s where the measures sit, including Senate Bills 456 and 440 in support of statewide citizen initiatives, House Bill 459 and Senate Bill 312 for a statewide referendum process, and House Bill 102 and Senate Bill 311 for legislative term limits. Contact Key Lawmakers Senate Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads senrhoads@Capitol.hawaii.gov 808-586-6130 House Judiciary Chair Chris Lee repclee@Capitol.hawaii.gov 808-586-9450 Senate Government Operations Chair Laura Thielen senthielen@capitol.hawaii.gov 808-587-8388 House Lower and Higher Education Chair Justin Woodson 808-586-6210 repwoodson@capitol.hawaii.gov Civil Beat polls have found widespread support for these reforms among Hawaii voters: • Last October, 70 percent supported term limits for legislators, while 14 percent opposed the idea. • In December 2017, 60 percent supported allowing voters to go over the heads of legislators and propose their own new laws through statewide citizen initiatives or binding referendums that could force public votes on measures approved by the Legislature. Eighteen percent opposed that. And yet, bills to accomplish these things can’t even get hearings in the Legislature. Same goes for other ideas that are popular with voters, including having Hawaii join the vast majority of states that sell lottery tickets generating billions of dollars for state services. Our December 2017 poll found that 55 percent of likely Hawaii voters support a lottery while 34 percent oppose it. Numerous lottery bills are sitting in the Senate Government Operations Committee, chaired by Sen. Laura Thielen, and the House Lower and Higher Education Committee, chaired by Rep. Justin Woodson. Some would establish a unique state lottery here, others would have us join the 44 other states that participate in Powerball and Mega Millions. In most cases, the proceeds would go to public education. It is inexplicable that our cast-strapped state government won’t avail itself of this revenue source, especially when many of those lottery tickets would no doubt be purchased by out-of-state tourists. Not a single lottery bill has been scheduled for a hearing. This is not to say the Legislature never takes action on needed reforms. Last session, for instance, it finally approved medical aid in dying so that the terminally ill have more control over their fate. This session, it appears on track to raising the minimum wage. Bills to convert to all-mail balloting statewide and require an additional campaign funding report before the general election are still alive. But the judiciary committees derailed the most intriguing election reform, a bill that would have advanced the top two primary vote-getters to the general election regardless of political party. Some good government bills also still have beating hearts, including: Sen. Thielen’s Senate Bill 1057, which would require the state Office of Information Practices to resolve complaints regarding access to public records or open meetings within six months — sometimes it takes years. Rep. Scott Nishimoto’s House Bill 285, which would require county police departments to disclose the identities of officers who are suspended or discharged. Senate Bill 678, introduced by Sens. Les Ihara and Donna Mercado Kim, that would apply provisions of the state Sunshine Law governing open meetings and public records to the Legislature. Still, the most fundamental reforms go wanting. When Civil Beat editorialized last year in support of holding a constitutional convention, we said it was the only way Hawaii would give its citizens the chance to seize the rights of statewide voter initiative and referendum while clamping term limits on legislators. We’re sorry to see that so far, the Legislature is proving us correct. The post Legislature Should Stop Shooting Down Hawaii’s Most-Needed Reforms appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/02/kakaako-crash-shifts-the-dialogue-on-vehicle-collisions/" target="_self">Kakaako Crash Shifts The Dialogue On Vehicle Collisions</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Fri, 15 Feb 2019 10:01:40 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('Much of the press and several politicians are saying the recent tragedy in Kakaako, where three people were killed, another five injured, is about alcohol. What about all the people who die where impaired driving wasn’t a factor? In my life two out of the four people I saw daily growing up were hit by cars — one was maimed, the other was murdered, both crossing streets doing things you would expect responsible people to do. Ten years ago my grandma was struck by a car. She survived because she landed in grass. Grandma never walked the same after that. My sister, Emelia Hung, four years later would not be as lucky after being struck by a car, and would die from injuries less than a day later. Alcohol wasn’t a factor in both those events and isn’t a factor in the majority of motor vehicle related deaths. A bill that outlaws anyone from buying alcohol after they get a driving under the influence charge is getting attention. But did the person who drove into all those people in Kakaako have a standing DUI while driving or drunk? Would the bill, if it were law already, have stopped the tragedy in Kakaako? Remember, speed kills.Flickr: N1NJ4 By punishing someone who already has a DUI, we are already letting them endanger the public. There have been many laws over years regarding drinking and driving and none of them have changed the fact that traffic fatalities in Hawaii are still very high, relative to many other places. The intentions of legislation about drunk driving are well meaning, and I support them. Any effort to make streets safer is welcome, as well as moving dialogue more toward a focus on driver responsibility. However, the focus on drinking misses the point, something the Honolulu Police Department has highlighted more, that it was a speeding vehicle that ended those lives in Kakaako, like so many other lives, and takes away from the more fundamental discussion of how do we prevent car collision deaths in general. ‘Cars Kill More People Than Guns’ Years ago there was a mass shooting at an African-American church in the U.S. South, and there was all this focus on the person’s ideology and the Confederate flag. But ultimately it didn’t change the fundamental problem of it is way too easy to get a gun in the U.S. Mass shootings capture the attention of the press though, just like three people dying, another five being injured after being hit by a car in Kakaako did. But mass shootings and hate crimes are overall a small percent of gun deaths, just like impaired driving is only a small percent of traffic fatalities. And in the United States, cars kill more people than guns, in Hawaii cars kill more people than guns, 1.5 to 4 times as much, depending on the year. “There is no justice in this world, not unless we make it,” says George R.R. Martin. And the best justice for those who’ve died in these tragedies is to make sure it never happens again. The Hawaii Bicycling League is focusing on these types of bills this legislative session, and they are great examples that make a positive difference. They include “Vision Zero” bills, which are based off the idea that we can have zero traffic fatalities. Another bill protects pedestrians, including forcing cars to slow down in densely populated areas. The Hawaii Bicycling League is also advocating legislation pushing for cameras that capture pictures of speeding cars, which in turn should discourage people from speeding if drivers knew they were present. Also, the bar needs to be raised for car accessibility. As it was put in a recent Civil Beat article, we have too many cars on Oahu, and legislation also needs to be passed to address this. Though policies that push for punishment and prevention should be supported, prevention should be more of a priority than punishment. Better to prevent lives from being broken and lost, then to simply punish people who perpetrate crimes after the lives have been lost. Though punishment may disincentivize bad behavior, thus preventing more of it, there should be concrete motions that prioritize prevention. What happened in Kakaako was horrible and alcohol is getting a lot of attention, but it overlooks other more important factors. What would be more horrible is letting more tragedies continue to pile up. The post Kakaako Crash Shifts The Dialogue On Vehicle Collisions appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/02/bring-hawaiian-airlines-call-center-back-to-the-islands/" target="_self">Bring Hawaiian Airlines Call Center Back To The Islands</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Fri, 15 Feb 2019 10:01:38 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('The recent announcement that Hawaiian Airlines reported an annual profit of $233 million should be good news for the company and its executives. We can all take satisfaction that our premier air carrier weathered a challenging 2018 for the visitor industry and still emerged in the black. Hawaiian can continue the stream of good news for our state by returning something it took away from our islands in 2007. Nearly 200 workers lost their positions when the airline decided to outsource its call center by shifting it to the Philippines. The move might have made sense at a time when the company was emerging from bankruptcy and looking to reduce costs in order to keep flying, but not today. Economic conditions have changed dramatically. Tourist arrivals are approaching 10 million annually. The airline has a virtual monopoly on interisland traffic and is expanding its mainland and international routes. It’s time to return those jobs to Hawaii. These are good-paying jobs, which can range from $17 per hour at entry level to $29 an hour for top positions. A Hawaiian Airlines traveler silhouetted in the Interisland Terminal.Cory Lum/Civil Beat It’s more than an issue of corporate responsibility. It’s also about continuing to be a good neighbor, which Hawaiian has been in the past. It’s worth noting that on top of providing $23 million in profit sharing with its employees, Hawaiian also donated more than $200,000 in cash to local charities 2017, as well as countless volunteer hours through its local employees. Still, the benefits for relocating the call center back home to Hawaii are clear. It’s not simply charity. More job opportunities mean more people working and more money being pumped into our local economy, as well as more tax revenue generated for local governments. Even with increased internet automation of customer service, it still makes good business sense for Hawaiian to have local people helping local clients. As part of Hawaiian’s essential local customer base, we have every right to expect good service delivered by reservation and customer claims agents who have local sensibilities and are part of our Hawaii ohana. If Hawaiian’s new CEO would look at the double bottom line and not just the financial one, it should be a win-win situation for everyone. That’s why I have introduced House Concurrent Resolution 13 to put the Hawaii Legislature on record asking for Hawaiian Airlines to bring those call center jobs back home. It’s time for Hawaiian to do the right thing. The post Bring Hawaiian Airlines Call Center Back To The Islands appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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document.write('<li class="rss-item"><a class="rss-item" href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/02/health-beat-theres-something-to-be-said-for-that-drugstore-pharmacist/" target="_self">Health Beat: There’s Something To Be Said For That Drugstore Pharmacist</a><br />');
document.write('<span class="rss-date">Fri, 15 Feb 2019 10:01:24 +0000</span><br />');
document.write('An 84-year-old patient of mine came in recently with a large shopping bag of vitamins and a small handful of prescription bottles. “Do any of these cause problems with my medicines?” she asked, holding up bag of supplements. “I don’t know,” I replied, “have you checked with your pharmacist?” “I can’t. I get my pills through a mail order service, and I don’t know if they have anyone I can talk to about it.” I had to be honest, I didn’t know either. My staff have called the mainland mail order companies, and are often stuck in a maze of telephone prompts and forced to leave a message. But I do know that every time I pick up a prescription at the local pharmacy near my house, they always ask me if I have any questions. I have overheard a few people say yes, and they are brought to a separate area so the pharmacist can talk to them personally. “Let’s take a look at these bottles,” I said as I emptied the bag onto the exam table. Patients have choices when it comes to obtaining their prescribed medicine, but the cheapest way might not be the safest way if a pharmacist consultation is needed.Flicker.com Calcium, vitamin D, multivitamins, glucosamine chondroitin and a few less common ones. Tumeric and something labeled “memory support,” and another called “bladder support.” The ingredients were unpronounceable, and also were in such tiny print I had to get a magnifying glass to read it. If I was having  problems reading the fine print, how could I expect my octogenarian patient to be able to see it, let alone decipher what the ingredients were and if they would cause a problem with her standard medications? Losing The Personal Touch This all highlighted a growing problem with the loss of the community pharmacy connection. In years gone past, people would ask their neighborhood pharmacist for suggestions on what types of medications to take for a cold, or if their vitamins had to be taken on an empty stomach. Whenever a doctor prescribed medication, the pills were dispensed by a pharmacist who would be able to suggest what to do if a dose was missed, or if there were certain types of pills that might interfere with one another. Prescriptions could be tracked and if someone like my patient hadn’t picked up her pills, she would be notified that her refill was ready. If she had a large amount of leftover medication at the end of the month, the pharmacy would notify me or my office of the potential for skipped pills. But that was then. Now, many of my patients are given incentives to get their medications via mail order delivery services. Often it’s financial, with a lower copay for three months of medications at the same cost as two at a local pharmacy. The pills are often on automatic reorder, with new pills sent to time with the previous ones running out. That sounds like a great way to improve compliance, lower cost, and for some patients it probably works. But for the high-risk elderly, the ones who might not know which medications to take and when, the loss of the personal touch puts them at a greater risk of mixing up their pills, with potentially disastrous results. It’s time that pharmacists are recognized as part of the health care team and reimbursed for consultations with patients about all of their prescription medications and supplements. Adverse drug events are monitored nationally, and in a recent study, there were an estimated 700,000 emergency room visits and 100,000 hospitalizations due to ADEs. The elderly are most at risk. Not only are they more likely to be on multiple medications, they are also prescribed certain medications that have more side effects due to slower metabolism or other age-related changes. On average, almost 30 percent of people over 80 are taking at least seven prescriptions daily. Mixing mail-order and local prescriptions can further complicate things. Neither supplier has a comprehensive list of what patients are taking, increasing the chance of bad interactions between medicines. Electronic medical records are supposed to tracking all prescribed medicines, but not all doctors use the same system and lots of people have more than one physician. If the patient picked up all their medications at one location, the pharmacist would know. Their database would be complete, and not only would they be able to advise patients about their medications, they would also be able to cross-reference all of the supplements as well. This would potentially save the patients thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs for supplements they shouldn’t be taking, and save the entire medical system from unintentional adverse drug events that can lead to serious consequences. Pay Pharmacists For Consultations This is not to say that all mainland mail-order companies should be abandoned, or that every prescription has to come from the same place. Rather, it’s time that pharmacists are recognized as part of the health care team and reimbursed for consultations with patients about all of their prescription medications and supplements. Yearly exams by physicians are considered an essential health benefit provided by medical insurance, including all Medicare plans. It’s time that yearly reviews by pharmacists be considered essential as well. Anyone on more than five prescription medications, or who is over 65, should have consultation with a pharmacist covered by their medical insurance. This one-on-one personal interaction can save thousands of dollars by lowering overall medical costs via streamlining prescriptions, avoiding potential deadly interactions, and making it easier for patients to know who they can turn to if they have questions about their medications. It could save my 84-year-old patient hundreds of dollars a month by eliminating unneeded supplements, and potentially save her life. The post Health Beat: There’s Something To Be Said For That Drugstore Pharmacist appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.');
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