Just in...Hawaii fishes

Reef and Shore Fishes of the Hawaiian Islands (560 pp.), by John E. Randall, was published in 2007 by the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program. The book covers the 612 species found within the Hawaiian Islands from the shore down to 656 feet (200m). Introductory chapters present a historical review of ichthyological research in Hawaii, zoogeography, introductions of alien fishes, marine conservation, and methods for fish identification. Ref. QL636.5 R35 2007

See Star Bulletin review, 4.24.2007

Hawaii Directory of State, County and Federal Officials, 2008

LRB Library publishes the 2008 Hawaii Directory and offers pdf downloads as a complete volume or by individual agency on the LRB website.

A companion volume to the Guide to Government in Hawaii, this annual publication provides directory information for government in Hawaii. Includes phone numbers, mail and email addresses, and web site URLs.

Hawaii Directory of State, County and Federal Officials, 2008
(February 2008, pdf, 185pp/800kB)

Just in...2 on Hawaii

The Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force issued its report on "charting a course for Hawaii's sustainable future." See post from the Hawaii House Blog.

See also FR post from last year on the Task Force and an earlier publication.

Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan (pdf, 99pp/9.6MB)
(HC79 E5 H25 2008)

--------

In Healthcare Hawaii Style, Frank L. Tabrah, M.D., writes of his lengthy medical experience in Hawaii, beginning as a plantation doctor in Kohala on the Big Island, and the evolution of medical care in the islands. Dr. Tabrah sees in the health care system that developed from the plantation communities promising elements for national universal health care. From the Preface:

Proponents of National Health plans and single-party payment systems will find much in the universal coverage of the plantation years and the success of mandatory health coverage since 1974 to ponder in solving our health care crisis.

See review from the Star Bulletin.

Healthcare Hawaii Style, Model for the Nation? How the Aloha State Leads the Way Toward Universal Healthcare
(RA447 H3 T32 2007)

Elder abuse

The Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau's new study examines states' adult protective services law, gathers data on elder and adult abusive incidence in other states, analyzes possible changes to Hawaii's laws to conform to those of other states, and estimates the predicted effects of those changes on the caseload of Hawaii's Dept. of Adult Protective Services.

A new LRB study in response to HCR 188, HD2 (Hawaii Regular Session, 2007):

A Survey of Adult Protective Services and Elder Abuse in Hawaii and Nationwide.
(2007, pdf, 65pp/1MB)

Respite care

The Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) reviews how respite care programs and states define "respite care." The Bureau researched other states' respite care programs, particularly those that offer respite care options to caregivers who are caring for older adults or adults with chronic illnesses. Finally, the Bureau looked at how five states assess their respite care programs.

A new study in response to House Concurrent Resolution 187, House Draft 1 (Hawaii Regular Session, 2007):

Gimme A Break: Respite Care Services In Other States
(2007, pdf, 70pp/1MB)

Feds blow it

The federal government failed dismally in The American Lung Association's annual report card on federal and state tobacco control legislation and policies to tighten regulation of tobacco and discourage smoking. Reuters reports that the study also found states falling far short.

"While many states have failed to make meaningful progress at protecting their most vulnerable citizens, the tobacco companies are spending billions of dollars annually marketing their deadly products," the report reads.

The report tracked progress on tobacco regulation and reported on gains, losses and issues stalled throughout 2007. According to The American Lung Association website:

The Lung Association's report card grades each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on their tobacco control policies in smokefree air, cigarette tax, tobacco prevention spending, and youth access to tobacco products. The report grades federal tobacco control efforts on cigarette tax, giving the FDA authority over manufactured tobacco products, cessation and ratification of the international tobacco control treaty.

Hawaii faired much better than the federal government and many states, receiving A's and B's in the Association's four areas of analysis:

1. Tobacco Prevention & Control Spending (A)
2. Smokefree Air (A)
3. Cigarette Tax (B)
4. Youth Access (B)

For 2007, The American Lung Association

recognizes Hawaii for increasing its cigarette tax by $0.20 to $1.80 per pack, and for funding its tobacco control program above the minimum level recommended by CDC for the first time.

The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2007
(2007, HTML)

Press Release (HTML)

State Summary for Hawaii
(HTML)

Guide to Hawaii government

The 13th edition of Guide to Government in Hawaii has just been published. The Guide is a companion volume to the Directory of State, County and Federal Officials. Both are publications of the Library. The Guide describes state and county departments and their organization and agencies of the federal government having offices in Hawaii. Organizational charts of the state government, state departments, and the counties are also included.

Guide to Government in Hawaii (pdf, 255pp/2.2MB)
(available for complete download or by agency)

Update on extended sentences in Hawaii

Our Oct. 25 post on hate crimes noted that §706-662, Hawaii Revised Statutes, on extended sentences was deemed unconstitutional by the Hawaii Supreme Court "because it authorizes a court, rather than a jury, to make the finding that an extended term is necessary." In the recently concluded Second Special Session of the 2007 Hawaii Legislature, that defect was remedied by the passage of HB2 that became Act 1 (pdf, 14pp.) on Oct. 31. Act 1 requires a jury to determine facts necessary to impose an extended term of imprisonment unless the right to jury determination is waived, in which case determination is to be made by the court.

States and nation fail women's health

The National Woman's Law Center (NWLC) and Oregon Health & Science University Center for Women's Health (OHSU) jointly released a nation and state-by-state report card on the "current state of women's health status and health policies."

First, for the bulk of indicators of the status of women's health, the nation as a whole and the individual states are falling further behind in their quest to reach national goals for women's health.

The Report Card examines status and policy indicators in four categories:

1. Women's Access to Health Care Services
2. Addressing Wellness and Prevention
3. Key Health Conditions, Diseases and Causes of Death for Women
4. Living in a Healthy Community

Hawaii, though ranked 7 in comparison to other states, received an overall grade of Unsatisfactory. Lowest Hawaii marks were in Addressing Wellness and Prevention, failing with a low 37th place in "Screenings". Only the top three states (Vermont, Minnesota, Massachusetts, respectively) received other than Unsatisfactory with a score of Satisfactory Minus.

In its summary, the report states:

• The nation still receives an overall grade of unsatisfactory.
• No state received an overall grade of satisfactory.

Making the Grade on Women's Health: A National and State-by-State Report Card
(October 2007, HTML interactive)

Hawaii's Report Card (HTML)
National Report (HTML)
Key Findings (HTML)

Climate change impacts public sector budgets

University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER) released their report examining direct and indirect costs of climate change to America as a nation and to the many communities within.

The direct costs of not taking on the challenges posed by climate change are often neglected - and typically not calculated. The indirect effects are considered even less frequently, yet can be substantial ... All sectors of the economy will be affected.

Climate change impacts placing "immense strains on public sector budgets" and the uneven distribution of impacts across the country are two of several key lessons presented and supported in this study.

Recent estimates indicate that a sea-level rise of nearly 20 inches (50 cm) by 2100 would cause $23-170 billion in damages to coastal property throughout the US. In Hawaii, sea level rise will require upgrades to the drinking and wastewater infrastructures -- at a cost that exceeds $1 .9 billion over the next 20 years...

The biggest threats to [Hawaii's] already burdened infrastructure will be sea level rise and tropical storms.

CIER, established in 2006 as a multidisciplinary environmental research and collaboration group, works to develop "strategies and tools to guide policy and investment decisions, particularly to help mitigate climate impacts."

The US Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction
(October 2007, pdf, 51pp/5.2MB)

Executive Summary (pdf, 12pp/1.7MB)

Regional Highlight: Hawaii and US Affiliated Islands (pdf, 2pp/136KB)

Finding workers

In a press release (pdf, 6p.) issued Sept. 25, the Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) announced Hawaii's unemployment rate for August at 2.6 percent, noting that it was the 32nd consecutive month that the unemployment rate remained below 3 percent.

The long-running low unemployment rate has created an extended labor shortage. In August the Workforce Development Council (WDC) of Hawaii, a private-sector led body that advises the Governor on workforce development, published a booklet to help employers expand their labor options "to include people less commonly considered." The publication provides information on hiring:

• Immigrants
• Older workers
• People with disabilities
• Welfare recipients
• People with criminal histories

The report also summarizes tax credits available when hiring from certain groups, and presents an array of flexible employment alternatives to retain employees, especially older workers: compressed work week, flextime, job reassignment, job redesign, part-time work, phased retirement, job sharing, telecommuting, sabbatical.

Solutions at Work...Finding Workers (pdf, 32pp/3.7MB)

New for The Reading Shelf

Recently added to The Reading Shelf:

Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical Industry (347 pp.), by Howard Brody, a physician and medical ethicist at the University of Texas.

From the Introduction: This book aims to:

• describe the present relationship between the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry
• assess that relationship from the standpoint of ethics and policy
• where the problems are identified, suggest positive changes

(New York Times book review)


First Among Nisei: The Life and Writings of Masaji Marumoto (266 pp.), by Dennis M. Ogawa, professor of American Studies, University of Hawaii.

Marumoto was the first Asian to graduate from Harvard Law School and to serve on the supreme court of any state or territory. This account of his life and career is based on oral histories and his writings, which include excerpts from a diary he kept as a 14-year-old and letters he wrote home during World War II.

(Press release in the Advertiser)

Good-bye, trash

Yesterday both Honolulu dailies, the Advertiser and the Star Bulletin, published articles on the city's plans to send its trash to the mainland beginning in early 2008. The Advertiser cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (pdf) upholding "flow control" ordinances that would support Honolulu's plans. (Today the Advertiser reported briefly on Oahu's limited landfill options.)

For a national overview, last week the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on interstate shipment of solid waste (the data being generally from 2005). According to CRS, the largest waste importer is Pennsylvania, receiving over 7.9 million tons, most of it from New York and New Jersey; NY and NJ are the largest exporters. For Oahu's waste, the Advertiser reported that three companies are considering shipping trash to Washington or Oregon. In the CRS report, Oregon imported over 1.7 million tons and Washington over 147,000 tons of waste, both as of 2005.

Interstate Shipment of Municipal Solid Waste: 2007 Update, CRS Report RL34043 (pdf, 30pp/260kB, from Open CRS), June 13, 2007

Hawaii's sustainability

Has Hawaii exceeded its carrying capacity? On May 20 the Star Bulletin reported on the views of Andrew Hashimoto, Dean and Director of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) on Hawaii's growth:

In recruiting faculty members and talking to others, he said, most feel Hawaii has exceeded its carrying capacity. They are concerned about energy, traffic congestion, food production and stressed families, he said.

"How do we sustain Hawaii?" asked Hashimoto, stressing that the economy, environment and communities must be in balance to be sustainable. "The real question for decision-makers is, what do we do about it?"

In 2005, the Legislature passed SB 1592, CD1, which became Act 8, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, creating the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force and requiring the Task Force to submit a report (pdf, 32pp/244kB) to the 2006 Legislature and the Auditor to submit the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan to the 2007 Legislature, "to aid in the future long-term development of the State." (In 2006, the Legislature passed HB 2805, CD1, which became Act 210, SLH 2006, extending the deadline for the Auditor's submission of the sustainability plan to 2008.)

This year the Task Force has published a book of "thoughtful papers and research background on various issue areas which the Task Force identified as important for Hawaii's sustainable future....a fact-based foundation for public discourse about our future." -- Senator Russell S. Kokubun, Chair of the Task Force

Hawaii 2050: Building A Shared Future
     Report (pdf, 119pp/2.2MB)
     Summary (pdf, 17pp/164kB)

State flowers at risk

An AP article May 19 reported on the publication of The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming (pdf, 40pp/1.54MB) from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). According to the report, global warming threatens 18 state flowers and 17 state trees.

Shifts in average temperatures, precipitation patterns, and other changes due to global warming will mean that many native and iconic plants may no longer find suitable climate conditions in major portions of their historic range. In fact, many states across the country may lose their official State Trees and State Flowers. Imagine Kansas without the sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and Ohio without the Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra)!

"Maybe in 100 years the Texas bluebonnet will be the Kansas state flower," a horticulturist commented in the article. NWF has provided a map showing the vulnerable states. Fortunately for Hawaii, the yellow hibiscus is not threatened.

Yellow hibiscus (pua ma'o hau hele; Hibiscus brackenridgei); photo courtesy of State of Hawaii, DBEDT

Tracking bill status Hawaii style

The Hawaii State Legislature's website currently offers bill status via RSS syndication. To monitor the status of any bill, users can obtain the feed link for their RSS feed readers on the bill's status page. The website's RSS help page explains it clearly for those unfamilar with RSS syndication and its benefits.

Visit the Hawaii State Legislature Status and Documents to search current legislation.

Education state cards

The Alliance for Excellent Education recently published their updated state cards. According to the Alliance web site, the state card

provides a statistical snapshot of high schools for the United States and includes data on funding, teachers' salaries, graduation rates, college readiness, and academic achievement.

Washington Post (WP) reported Thursday on the Maryland State Card, which "could be a crucial tool in Maryland legislators' discussions about educational funding priorities."

Using the national standardized test scores of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and compiling data on teachers' salaries and data collection abilities, the Alliance state cards reported on three overall findings for the U.S. (pdf) and for each of the fifty states and D.C.:

1. High school dropouts cost the United States billions in lost wages. High costs, 50-state breakdown (pdf)
2. The United States' economy could see billions in wealth accumulation by raising the high school graduation rate. Hidden benefits, 50-state breakdown (pdf)
3. The United States could save billions in health care costs by raising high school graduation rates. Health care costs, 50-state breakdown (pdf)
   

Besides these three findings, the Hawaii State Card includes:

Hawaii's economy would see millions if the minority graduation rate was raised to the level of their white classmates.

Hawaii Directory of Officials

Distribution of the print edition of the Library's volume, Directory of State, County and Federal Officials in Hawaii, 2007, will begin later next week. However, the digital edition is currently available for download. The publication contains department and agency listings with phone and fax numbers, and mail and e-mail addresses. A supplement to Guide to Government in Hawaii, the Directory is published annually.

Directory of State, County and Federal Officials in Hawaii, 2007
(available in pdf as complete volume and by section, from Hawaii LRB)

A risky education

Washington Post (WP) reported today on last week's published U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress joint school-improvement platform. The WP story writes:

Among the document's most controversial proposals is a call for states and school systems to "fairly and efficiently remove ineffective teachers."

The platform also urged the development of statewide data systems to help track student achievement and teacher effectiveness. It also called on schools to expand student learning time -- which encompasses classroom time, tutoring and after-school and experiential programs -- and called for states to adopt a common definition of graduation rates.

The Center states much of their recommendations was built on the data as reported in the interactive state-by-state map, Education Report Card.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce offered details of their grading methodology (Hawaii's grades follow each category):

1. Academic Achievement (F)
2. Academic Achievement of Low-Income and Minority Students (C)
3. Return on Investment (F)
4. Truth in Advertising About Student Proficiency (B)
5. Rigor of Standards (D)
6. Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (F)
7. 21st Century Teaching Force (B)
8. Flexibility in Management and Policy (B)
9. Data Quality (A)

In the WP article, Tom Donohue, chamber president, says:

Without real leadership in education reform, our economic future and prosperity are at risk.

Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness
(February 2007, pdf, 88pp/1.2MB)

Overview (html)
Major Findings (html)

Capitol biographies

One of the Library's most valued resources is its newspaper clippings file comprised of articles from the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star Bulletin, covering about 1000 subjects. Some files date back to the 1970s.

The Library has just completed a helpful ancillary resource, a biographies file on Hawaii legislators, governors, and members of Congress, with relevant articles copied from the clippings file. (There are some articles from the 1960s when the Library kept folders of articles on legislators.) Totalling approximately 450 individuals, the files range alphabetically from Senator Kazuhisa Abe (Senate 1953-1966, Senate President 1965-66) to Senator Patsy Young (House 1972-1974, Senate 1975-1988). Currently the officials with the longest span of articles appear to be Senator Daniel Inouye (House 1955-58, Senate 1959, U.S. House 1959-1963, U.S. Senate 1963- ) and Governor Benjamin Cayetano (House 1975-1978, Senate 1979-1986, Lt. Governor 1986-1994, Governor 1994-2002). Articles will continue to be added to a person's file even after he or she leaves office.

The files are conveniently located in a cabinet by the reference desk, and a binder with a list of all names is available.

Language access in the Library

In the 2006 session, the Hawaii Legislature passed HB 2778, CD1 (pdf, 7pp/20kB) (Act 290, SLH 2006), which provides for the language access needs of persons with limited English proficiency.

Act 290 has been codified in Part II of chapter 371, Hawaii Revised Statutes, §§371-31 through 371-37. §371-33 requires state agencies to "take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to services, programs, and activities by limited English proficient persons, which will be determined by a totality of circumstances..." In response, the Library has acquired dictionaries for the following languages: Chinese, French, German, Ilocano, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish, adding to the Hawaiian dictionaries already in its collection. All dictionaries may be found in the reference section.

Ready or not yet?

Half the states are definitely not, and most others need improvement. Oklahoma scored the highest in a report on American health emergencies readiness and disaster preparedness, achieving 10 of the 10 possible indicators. Virginia had 8. The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a 2006 report card on America's disaster readiness as it had in 2005, noted in the FR post in January '06, which had rated Hawaii as one of 16 states to receive only 5 out of the ten indicators. This year's report found Hawaii to achieve 7 out of the ten indicators for preparedness.

The report mentions several key findings:

• Forty states face a shortage of nurses.
• Rates for vaccinating seniors for the seasonal flu decreased in 13 states.
• Eleven states and D.C. lack sufficient capabilities to test for biological threats.
• Four states do not test year-round for the flu, which is necessary to monitor for a pandemic outbreak.
• Six states cut their public health budgets from fiscal year (FY) 2005 to 2006.

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2006
(2006, pdf, 84pp/1MB)

Summary and individual state reports available in HTML.

Swimming with the fishes

The coral reef ecosystems of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands suffer from contamination by considerable amounts of derelict fishing gear from North Pacific Ocean fisheries washed in by ocean currents.

Greenpeace released a report last week examining the "vast vortex of plastic trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean," so described by Reuters. The report finds that the coral reef sytems of the NWHI, the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, and, worldwide, "at least 267 species -- including seabirds, turtles, seals, sea lions, whales and fish" are vulnerable to the contamination caused by tourism, sewage, fishing and waste from ships and boats. Derelict fishing gear includes, "fishing lines and nets, fishing pots and strapping bands from bait boxes that are lost accidentally by commercial fishing boats or are deliberately dumped into the ocean."

The research predicted that most debris is moved towards the mid-latitudes. This is in agreement with observations from other studies which showed higher concentrations of debris in such areas compared to nearer the poles. It also identified areas where ocean movements results in particularly high concentrations of debris such as north of Hawaii.

According to the Reuters story, Greenpeace is calling for "a global network of marine reserves, covering 40 percent of the world's oceans."

Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans
(November 2006, pdf, 44pp/1MB)

Photo Credit: © Greenpeace / Alex Hofford

Hawaii Admin Rules Table of Statutory Sections Implemented

The 2006 edition of the Hawaii Administrative Rules Table of Statutory Sections Implemented has recently been published by the Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) and includes all of the rules of Hawaii state government agencies filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in the Hawaii Administrative Rules format prior to May 1, 2006. All prior versions of the Table are superseded. This publication also contains a partial directory of the State's administrative rules listing all of the chapters organized under each of the titles of the Hawaii Administrative Rules.

Caveat: This table contains no references to rules that have not been converted to the Hawaii Administrative Rules format, or that are exempt from the Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act , Chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes (pdf).

Hawaii Administrative Rules 2006 Table Of Statutory Sections Implemented And Directory 2006 Supplement To 2001 Cumulative Edition
(2006, pdf, 144pp/335kB)

See also:
Hawaii Administrative Rules Directory, 2001 Cumulative Edition.
(2001, pdf, 527pp/1.3MB)

LRB Note, 02-11, Administrative Agency Rules (2002, pdf, 4pp/24kB)

Online access to Hawaii Administrative Rules

Koa economics

Exploring economic incentives for private landowners to adopt conservation practices has become an important focus of conservation efforts, according to a report by the Center for Environmental Sciences and Policy (CESP) at Stanford University. A CESP team did a case study on developing koa forestry in Kona, Hawaii, to combine forest conservation with financial benefits. The paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), June 27, 2006.

The team selected koa for four reasons:

• From a biodiversity perspective, a large fraction of native Hawaiian biota is associated with koa forests....
• From an ecosystem services perspective, koa forests provide carbon sequestration and hydrological and cultural benefits.
• From an economic perspective, koa is Hawaii's premier timber, and its high market value creates a potentially lucrative investment.
• Finding economically viable means of reforesting degraded pastureland is relevant far beyond Hawaii, particularly in the tropics.

The team concluded that

forestry ventures based on the high-value, native hardwood koa is a financially viable investment with strong potential to be a "win-win" land use for private landowners and for conservation.

The paper also cites the Conservation Reservation Enhancement Program (CREP), under which a landowner, by enrolling in the program, can "receive rental payments and cost-share assistance covering initial forest establishment and ongoing major maintenace costs." CREP is expected to be established in Hawaii through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA).

Business strategies for conservation on private lands: Koa forestry as a case study (pdf, 400KB, 6p.)

Beaches...going, going

Baldwin Beach Park on Maui is losing its beach to severe erosion, a Maui News article reported Aug. 23. The shoreline is closing in on the park's outdoor shower; if it approaches the restrooms, which use a cesspool, a lengthy closure of the park may result. "Baldwin Beach Park has the highest erosion rate on Maui," a coastal geologist said in the article, and a "'combination of factors led to a particularly bad year'" for the beach.

Maui isn't alone. "Beach erosion 'widespread'" was the headline of a front-page article in the Sunday Honolulu Advertiser Aug. 6 that reported, "As much as 25 percent of sandy beach land on Oahu and Maui has been lost in the past 50 years." The article quoted Dennis Hwang, author of the Hawaii Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook (see FR post), as stating:

Slowly, people are starting to realize that the coastline is very dynamic and maybe there is a benefit to moving away from it, rather than fighting it....The key is to start planning early for hazards that we know are coming.

A brochure, Coastal erosion and beach loss in Hawaii (html, SOEST) from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), discusses beach erosion and DLNR's Coastal Lands Program (CLP). The purpose of CLP, according to the brochure, is to establish a framework to protect Hawaii's beaches, and that framework is set forth in the Coastal Erosion Management Plan (COEMAP) (pdf, 90 pages/800 KB).

For further information, Surfrider Foundation, "a grassroots, non-profit, environmental organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches," provides an in-depth look at Hawaii Beach Erosion.

Photo from brochure (pdf)

Related FR post: Beach closed, maybe gone

Failure in preparedness, more than a grade

The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) report card on our Nation's preparedness affirmed that the United States is not prepared to respond effectively to a natural disaster or act of terrorism. The report is the organization's third annual study of U.S. preparedness for major health emergencies. Evaluating 12 different aspects of health emergency preparedness, the study ranked both the federal and the states performances. The federal government received an overall D+, and over half the states

garnered a score of 5 or less out of 10 possible points for key indicators of health emergency preparedness, such as capabilities to test for chemical and biological threats and hospital surge capacity to care for patients in a mass emergency.

Hawaii was one of 16 states to receive only 5 out of the ten indicators.

"We need to stop shrugging our shoulders and start rolling up our sleeves," Lowell Weicker, Jr., TFAH Board President is quoted as saying. TFAH formulated a Let's Get Real agenda for accelerated preparedness which includes:

• Leadership - "There needs to be a single, accountable official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for bioterrorism and public health preparedness."


• Accountability - currently there are "no defined, standardized performance measures for bioterrorism preparedness from CDC or regular reports of progress and vulnerabilities to the American people and Congress."


• Working with the Public - "The government should provide more consistent education and transparency to the public, so there will be greater understanding of roles and responsibilities during a difficult situation."


• Improving Basic Response Capabilities - "Information technology systems, emergency communications systems, and laboratory and other equipment all need to be modernized to meet current technology."

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) in response to the study called on Congress " to make new investments to eliminate the chaos and confusion that contributed to our woefully inadequate response to disasters like Hurricane Katrina."

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2005
(available in pdf, 1.8MB)

Executive Summary (available in pdf, 200KB)

See related FR posts, here and here

Listings of Attorney General opinions

The Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) is required by §28-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to provide the Legislature, prior to each regular session, with a list of the most recent opinions of the Attorney General (AG). LRB prepares digests of the opinions for its listings (pdf, 376KB, 39p.), available online beginning with opinions from 1985. The most recent listing, of two 2005 (pdf, 12KB, 1p.) opinions, is also available separately. Listings from 1961 are available in hard copy at the Library. Full opinions from 1993 may be found on the Attorney General's web site. The AG also provides a link to the web site of the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA) which offers AG opinions for the years 1987-1992.

Hawaii emergency health services, not so good

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released its first ever report card of the nation's emergency health services. The national overall grade was C-, the ACEP finding many states' emergency systems are operating "under extreme stress." Hawaii ranked 34th overall among states with its shortage of hospital space and trained professionals (see related FR post, here):

• Number of registered nurses per 1,000 people (41st)
• Number of hospital-staffed beds per 1,000 people (37th)
• Trauma centers per 1 million people (45th)
• Annual payments per fee-for-service enrollee in Medicare (51st)

Hawaii also "finished next to last in the nation in alcohol-related fatalities as a percentage of all traffic fatalities (50th)."

The report continues:

The state received its poorest mark of D- for its Medical Liability Environment. State legislators have done very little to enact reforms that would curb rising medical liability insurance premium rates, which are causing some good doctors to leave the state and others to reduce their availability to emergency patients.

Complete National Report
(available in pdf, 5.5MB, from ACEP)

Hawaii Report Card Detail
(available in pdf, 148KB)

Just in...Hawaii's Birds

The Hawaii Audubon Society has just published the sixth edition of its classic field guide, Hawaii's Birds. This sixth edition features text revisions and updates by Dr. Eric VanderWerf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with fresh avian images donated by several fine photographers, including Dr. Tom Dove, a local cardiologist "with a passion for birds," Cynthia Vanderlip, Senior Biological Technician at Kure Atoll for Hawaii's Division of Foresty and Wildlife, and Maui wildlife photographer, Eric Nishibayashi. (Ref. QL684 H3 S42)

Lillian Koller profiled in Governing

Lillian Koller, Hawaii Director of Human Services, is profiled in the September issue of Governing magazine. The article describes how, soon after being appointed by Gov. Linda Lingle to that position, she changed confidentiality rules in child welfare "essentially by administrative fiat." Senators Suzanne Chun Oakland and Rosalyn Baker comment on Koller's "take-no-prisoners approach." Koller previously practiced law in California and ran the Maui drug court.

Blunt instrument
(available in HTML on governing.com)