District 25 News

MAKIKI, TANTALUS, MCCULLY, PAPAKOLEA FEBRUARY 2012

Dear Neighbors,
Reapportionment Update. On February 15, 2012, the State Reapportionment Commission released the latest reapportionment maps. Unfortunately, the new plans have lower and upper Makiki split into two separate House districts. Our community of upper and lower Makiki has been together since 1991. For more than thirty years, reapportionment commissions have recognized the H-1 Freeway as a significant lower boundary. Below are maps of the current District 25 which keeps upper and lower Makiki intact and the proposed new districts that would blend upper Makiki with Manoa Valley and place lower Makiki with parts of Nuuanu and Pauoa. My experience as your Representative for the last six years has demonstrated the importance of having these areas intact in a compact political unit, especially when coordinating and handling specific constituent requests that may arise in the District or advocating for issues specific to the Makiki district. If you are concerned about this issue, please contact my office at 586-9425 or at repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov. A community petition is circulating to urge the Reapportionment Commission to preserve the compact and easily recognized boundaries that maintain the integrity of lower and upper Makiki in one House district. If you would like to personally present your own testimony, the Reapportionment Commission will conduct its only Honolulu public hearing on Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 6:00 pm at the State Capitol, Room 329 before approving the final plan at subsequent meetings on February 27 or 29, 2012. Your input is critical for this Legislative Session! To help guide me in my decisions throughout this session, the enclosed 2012 Community Survey has also been circulating. Please complete and return the survey either via mail to Representative Della Au Belatti, State Capitol, Room 331; Honolulu, HI 96813 or e-mail at repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov. As always, mahalo for your participation! With aloha,

Della Au Belatti

2001-Present House District 25 (maintaining lower and upper Makiki into one compact district)

2012 Proposed Districts 24 (combining upper Makiki with Manoa) and District 25 (combining lower Makiki with portions of Nuuanu and Pauoa)

2012 Charter School Reforms: Governance & Accountability

By KATE BRYANTGREENWOOD In addition to relying on the national model law for This summer Senacharter schools tor Jill Tokuda and adopted by the Representative National Alliance Della Au Belatti, co for Public Charter -chaired the Charter Schools, the Task School Governance, Force relied on the Accountability, and assistance of the Authority Task National GoverForce. Created by nors Association Act 130, the Task Senator Jill Tokuda; Stephanie Shipton, Policy Analyst with the National Governors AssociaCenter for Best Force was charged tion Center for Best Practices; Lisa Grover, Senior Director of State Advocacy for the NaPractices and the with providing clar- tional Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Representative Della Au Belatti; and Greg Richmond, President & CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers discuss evaluation, recomity to the relationthe Task Forces final recommendations with Hawaiis charter school leaders at the Hawaii mendations, and ships, responsibili- Charter Schools Networks annual Conference. expertise of the ties, and lines of Governance structure and authority National Association of Charter accountability and authority among between and among key charter School Authorizers. stakeholders of the charter school school organizations, the Departsystem, including the Board of Edument, the Board, and the Governor; Final recommendations of the Task cation, the Department of Education, Force were made available to the Governance as related to state and the Charter School Administrative public in the Task Force's final report local education agencies as reOffice, the Charter School Review and at their last informational briefquired by the federal government; Panel, and local school boards. ing on January 11, 2012. These recOversight and monitoring responsiommendations will help legislators The Task Force, comprised of volunbilities of the Panel, the Office, and implement major changes in Hateers representing those deeply inthe local school boards; and waiis current charter school system. volved in charter schools in Hawaii, Funding-related issues including maintained an aggressive schedule of funding of the Charter School Adpublic meetings and open work group ministrative Office. sessions that tackled the four major areas:

Charter School Task Force Recommendations

In its Report to the State Legislature, the 2011 Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority Task Force issued comprehensive recommendations that overhaul Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 302B, the charter school law. The following highlights are key reforms: Require charter schools to adopt performance-based contracts which identify annual performance targets to keep schools on track. Improve capacity of local governing school boards by altering composition of boards to be qualification-based rather than constituency-based. Reconfigure the Charter School Review Panel and the Charter School Administrative Office into the Charter School Commission (Hawaii's sole charter school authorizer) and alter the composition of the Commission to be qualification-based, not constituencybased. Provide for a transitional and implementation funding plan to facilitate the creation of the Commission and implementation of performance-based contracts. Institute a uniform system of annual reporting by charter schools to the Commission and the Board of Education (BOE).
2

Require the BOE to submit annual reports to the Governor, Legislature, and public on the performance of all Hawaiis charter schools. Require a one-year moratorium on reauthorization of charter schools to allow the new charter school governing structure, including performance-based charter contracts, to be implemented. For more information and to view the Charter School Governance Task Force complete work materials, please visit: http:// www.capitol.hawaii.gov/ specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtf

Access to Justice Commission Launches 2012 Community Briefings in Makiki

By REPRESENTATIVE DELLA AU BELATTI On January 11, 2012, the Hawaii Access to Justice (ATJ) Commission kicked off a series of three community briefings at the Parish of St. Clement in Makiki. Created by Rule 21 of the Hawaii Supreme Court in 2008, the ATJ Commission is comprised of judges, attorneys, legal service providers, governmental representatives including Representative Belatti, and members of the Hawaii legal community. The Commission's primary purpose is to substantially increase access to justice in civil legal matters for low and moderate-income residents of Hawaii. In its July 2011 Three-Year Evaluation of the ATJ Commission, the Hawaii Supreme Court issued an 18-page report evaluating the progress made by the Commission toward the goal of increasing access. Among the concrete steps identified were adoption of model pro bono policies for attorneys, the piloting of the Judiciary's Foreclosure Mediation Protocol on the island of Hawaii, increase of the jurisdictional limits in Small Claims Court, legislative passage of an increase of the indigent legal services surcharge on a party's initial circuit court or appellate court filing fee from $25 to $50, and adoption of court rules that permit judges the discretion to distribute unpaid residual funds to qualified nonprofit legal service providers. At the Makiki Community Briefing, Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald of the Hawaii Supreme Court and Associate Judge Daniel Foley of the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals addressed a crowd of approximately 50 residents. Moderating the evening's program was Dean Aviam Soifer of the UH Manoa-William S. Richardson School of Law. Chief Justice Recktenwald and Judge Foley's brief presentation discussing the work of the Commission was followed by a question-and-answer session. The informal setting of the briefing provided community members the unique opportunity to directly question Chief Justice Recktenwald, Judge Foley and Dean Soifer. Among the questions asked were about resources and services for the elderly and the impact of substance abuse on the cases before the Judiciary. Also in attendance were representatives from four members of the Hawaii Consortium of Legal Services Providers. The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Maximum Legal Services Corporation, Domestic Violence Action Center, and Legal Aid Services of Hawaii gave short presentations regarding their service areas and were available to meet with interested parties during a mini-legal fair which followed the formal program. This mini-legal fair enabled attendees to make direct and immediate contact with providers.
HAWAII CONSORTIUM OF LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDERS: This group of dedicated non-profit legal service providers stand ready to assist low-to-moderateincome residents on a variety of issues including domestic violence, housing, consumer protection, civil rights, Native Hawaiian, and elder law issues. To learn more about each provider, visit or call: Domestic Violence Action Center www.stoptheviolence.org ~ (808) 534-0040 Hawaii Disability Rights Center www.hawaiidisabilityrights.org ~ (808) 949-2922 Lawyers for Equal Justice www.lejhawaii.org ~ (808) 587-7605 Legal Aid Society of Hawaii www.legalaidhawaii.org ~ (808) 536-4302 Maximum Legal Services Corporation (808) 585-0920 Mediation Center of the Pacific www.mediatehawaii.org ~ (808) 521-6767 Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation www.nhlchi.org ~ (808) 521-2302 UH Elder Law Clinic www.hawaii.edu/uhelp/elderlaw.htm ~ (808) 956-6544 Volunteer Legal Service Hawaii www.vlsh.org ~ (808) 528-7046

Future community briefings are scheduled on May 9, 2012 in Windward 'Oahu and on November 14, 2012 on the Leeward Coast. For more information about the Commission and to keep up-to-date with future briefings, visit http://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justicecommission.
3

The Shortlist
January 18 to May 3, 2012 Public Access Room Hawaii State Capitol, Room 401 EXTENDED SESSION HOURS! Monday-Friday @ 8:00 am-7:00 pm The Public Access Room (PAR) at the Capitol is YOUR office! PAR serves the citizens of Hawaii by providing facilities, workspace, computer access, and expert staff assistance in navigating the legislative process. Not sure where to start? Stop by at the Capitol (Room 401), phone (587-0478) or e-mail (par@capitol.hawaii.gov) the helpful staff of Hawaiis Public Access Room. January 26 to April 10, 2012 Free Tax Preparation Goodwill Industries of Hawaii 1072 Young Street Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 4:30-7:30 pm Saturdays @ 10:00am-2:00pm BY APPOINTMENT ONLY Call 436-9947. IRS-certified volunteers will assist qualified taxpayers in filing their annual federal and state tax returns for free. In addition to this location, there are tax preparation sites throughout the State. More information? Visit www.hawaiitaxhelp.org or e-mail info@hawaiitaxhelp.org Thursday, February 23, 2012 Town Hall Meeting Stevenson Middle School 1202 Prospect Street @ 6:00 pm Have questions about this years legislative session? Please join Representatives Belatti and Sylvia Luke and Senator Carol Fukunaga for an update of issues being discussed and considered by the State Legislature. RSVP with Jon at 586-9425 or j.kawamura@capitol.hawaii.gov

Friday, March 2, 2012 ART at the Capitol Hawaii State Capitol @ 5:00-7:00 pm Enjoy live music, view over 460 works that are part of Art in Public Places, and mingle with lawmakers and artists at the 4th Annual ART at the Capitol. This years event also includes the debut of a documentary featuring Ruthadell Anderson, artist of the Senate & House tapestries, and Keiko Sato, speaking about her brother Tadashi Sato, artist of the Aquarius mosaic. Call 586-9425 or email repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov to be notified as more details become available.

Thursday, March 15, 2012 Next Makiki-Tantalus Neighborhood Board Meeting Makiki District Park, Arts & Crafts Building @ 7:00-9:00 pm Neighborhood boards are an important opportunity for citizen participation in local government. Attend the next meeting to join the discussion on issues important to the Makiki-Tantalus community. Neighborhood Board #10 meets every 3rd Thursday of the month. For minutes of past meetings, agendas of upcoming meetings, or to contact a board member, visit http://www1.honolulu.gov/nco/n b10/index.htm.

SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, March 31, 2012 4th Annual Easter Egg Hunt & Community Food Drive Makiki Community Library 1527 Keeaumoku Street @ Noon-4:00 pm Join Friends of the Makiki Community Library for its 4th Annual community-wide Easter Egg Hunt and food drive. Volunteers and donations are always welcome! Call 586-9425 or email repbelatti@capitol. hawaii.gov if you have questions. To stay informed about other Library activities, please visit www.makiki.info or call 5227076.