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Dear Neighbors,

Reapportionment Update. On February 15, 2012, the State Reapportionment Commission released the latest reap-

portionment 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, reapportionmentcommissions have recognized the H-1 Freeway as a significant lower boundary. Below are maps of the current Dis-trict 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 areasintact 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. Acommunity petition is circulating to urge the Reapportionment Commission to preserve the compact and easily recog-nized boundaries that maintain the integrity of lower and upper Makiki in one House district. If you would like to per-sonally present your own testimony, the Reapportionment Commission will conduct its only Honolulu public hearingon Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 6:00 pm at the State Capitol, Room 329 before approving the final plan at sub-

sequent 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 en-

closed 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

MAKIKI, TANTALUS, MCCULLY, PAPAKOLEA FEBRUARY 2012

District 25 News

2001-Present House District 25 (maintaining lower

and upper Makiki into one compact district)

2012 Proposed Districts 24 (combining upper Ma-

kiki with Manoa) and District 25 (combining lower

Makiki with portions of Nuuanu and Pauoa)

mailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Reapportionment%20Concernmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Reapportionment%20Concernmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Community%20Surveymailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Community%20Surveymailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Community%20Surveymailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Reapportionment%20Concern

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In its Report to the State Legislature,the 2011 Charter School Govern-ance, Accountability, and AuthorityTask Force issued comprehensiverecommendations that overhaul Ha-waii Revised Statutes chapter 302B,the charter school law. The follow-ing highlights are key reforms:

Require charter schools to adoptperformance-based contractswhich identify annual performancetargets to keep schools on track.

Improve capacity of local govern-ing school boards by altering com-position of boards to be qualifica-tion-based rather than constitu-

ency-based.

Reconfigure the Charter SchoolReview Panel and the CharterSchool Administrative Office intothe Charter School Commission(Hawaii's sole charter school au-thorizer) and alter the compositionof the Commission to be qualifica-tion-based, not constituency-based.

Provide for a transitional and im-plementation funding plan to fa-cilitate the creation of the Com-mission and implementation ofperformance-based contracts.

Institute a uniform system of an-nual reporting by charter schoolsto the Commission and the Board

of Education (BOE).

Charter School Task Force Recommendations

Require the BOE to submit annualreports to the Governor, Legisla-ture, and public on the perform-ance of all Hawaiis charter

schools.

Require a one-year moratorium onreauthorization of charter schools

to allow the new charter schoolgoverning structure, includingperformance-based charter con-tracts, to be implemented.

For more information and to viewthe Charter School Governance TaskForce complete work materials,please visit: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/

specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtf

2012 Charter School Reforms: Governance & Accountability

By KATE BRYANT-GREENWOOD

This summer Sena-tor Jill Tokuda andRepresentativeDella Au Belatti, co

-chaired the CharterSchool Governance,Accountability, andAuthority TaskForce. Created byAct 130, the TaskForce was chargedwith providing clar-ity to the relation-ships, responsibili-ties, and lines ofaccountability and authority amongstakeholders of the charter schoolsystem, including the Board of Edu-cation, the Department of Education,the Charter School AdministrativeOffice, the Charter School ReviewPanel, and local school boards.

The Task Force, comprised of volun-teers representing those deeply in-volved in charter schools in Hawaii,maintained an aggressive schedule ofpublic meetings and open work groupsessions that tackled the four major

areas:

Governance structure and authoritybetween and among key charter

school organizations, the Depart-ment, the Board, and the Governor;

Governance as related to state andlocal education agencies as re-

quired by the federal government;

Oversight and monitoring responsi-bilities of the Panel, the Office, and

the local school boards; and

Funding-related issues includingfunding of the Charter School Ad-

ministrative Office.

In addition to rely-ing on the nationalmodel law forcharter schoolsadopted by theNational Alliance

for Public CharterSchools, the TaskForce relied on theassistance of theNational Gover-nors AssociationCenter for BestPractices and theevaluation, recom-mendations, andexpertise of the

National Association of CharterSchool Authorizers.

Final recommendations of the TaskForce were made available to thepublic in the Task Force's final reportand at their last informational brief-ing on January 11, 2012. These rec-ommendations will help legislatorsimplement major changes in Ha-

waiis current charter school system.

Senator Jill Tokuda; Stephanie Shipton, Policy Analyst with the National Governors Associa-tion Center for Best Practices; Lisa Grover, Senior Director of State Advocacy for the Na-tional Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Representative Della Au Belatti; and Greg Rich-mond, President & CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers discussthe Task Forces final recommendations with Hawaiis charter school leaders at the HawaiiCharter Schools Networks annual Conference.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtfhttp://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtfhttp://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtfhttp://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtfhttp://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtfhttp://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtfhttp://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/specialcommittee.aspx?comm=csgtf

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By REPRESENTATIVE DELLA AU BELATTI

On January 11, 2012, the Hawaii Access to Justice (ATJ)

Commission kicked off a series of three community brief-

ings 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, attor-neys, legal service providers, governmental representa-tives including Representative Belatti, and members of theHawaii legal community. The Commission's primary

purpose is to substantially increase access to justice incivil legal matters for low and moderate-income residents

of Hawaii.

In its July 2011 Three-Year Evaluation of the ATJ Com-mission, the Hawaii Supreme Court issued an 18-page

report evaluating the progress made by the Commissiontoward the goal of increasing access. Among the concretesteps identified were adoption of model pro bono policiesfor attorneys, the piloting of the Judiciary's ForeclosureMediation Protocol on the island of Hawaii, increase of

the jurisdictional limits in Small Claims Court, legislativepassage of an increase of the indigent legal services sur-charge on a party's initial circuit court or appellate courtfiling fee from $25 to $50, and adoption of court rules thatpermit judges the discretion to distribute unpaid residualfunds to qualified nonprofit legal service providers.

At the Makiki Commu-nity Briefing, Chief Jus-tice Mark Recktenwaldof the Hawaii Supreme

Court and AssociateJudge Daniel Foley ofthe Hawaii Intermediate

Court of Appeals ad-dressed a crowd of ap-proximately 50 resi-dents. 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 presen-tation discussing the work of the Commission was fol-lowed by a question-and-answer session. The informalsetting of the briefing provided community members theunique opportunity to directly question Chief JusticeRecktenwald, Judge Foley and Dean Soifer. Among thequestions asked were about resources and services for theelderly and the impact of substance abuse on the casesbefore the Judiciary.

Also in attendance were representatives from four mem-bers of the Hawaii Consortium of Legal Services Provid-

ers. The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, MaximumLegal Services Corporation, Domestic Violence ActionCenter, and Legal Aid Services of Hawaii gave short

presentations regarding their service areas and were avail-able to meet with interested parties during a mini-legalfair which followed the formal program. This mini-legalfair enabled attendees to make direct and immediate con-

tact with providers.

Access to Justice Commission Launches

2012 Community Briefings in Makiki

HAWAII CONSORTIUM OF LEGAL SERVICES

PROVIDERS:

This group of dedicated non-profit legal serviceproviders stand ready to assist low-to-moderate-income 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 Centerwww.stoptheviolence.org~ (808) 534-0040

Hawaii Disability Rights Centerwww.hawaiidisabilityrights.org~ (808) 949-2922

Lawyers for Equal Justicewww.lejhawaii.org~ (808) 587-7605

Legal Aid Society of Hawaiiwww.legalaidhawaii.org~ (808) 536-4302

Maximum Legal Services Corporation(808) 585-0920

Mediation Center of the Pacificwww.mediatehawaii.org~ (808) 521-6767

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporationwww.nhlchi.org~ (808) 521-2302

UH Elder Law Clinic

www.hawaii.edu/uhelp/elderlaw.htm~(808) 956-6544

Volunteer Legal Service Hawaiiwww.vlsh.org~ (808) 528-7046

Future community briefings are scheduled on May 9,2012 in Windward 'Oahu and on November 14, 2012 onthe Leeward Coast. For more information about the Com-mission and to keep up-to-date with future briefings, visithttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-

commission.

http://www.stoptheviolence.org/http://www.stoptheviolence.org/http://www.hawaiidisabilityrights.org/http://www.hawaiidisabilityrights.org/http://www.lejhawaii.org/http://www.lejhawaii.org/http://www.legalaidhawaii.org/http://www.legalaidhawaii.org/http://www.mediatehawaii.org/http://www.mediatehawaii.org/http://www.nhlchi.org/http://www.nhlchi.org/http://www.hawaii.edu/uhelp/elderlaw.htmhttp://www.hawaii.edu/uhelp/elderlaw.htmhttp://www.vlsh.org/http://www.vlsh.org/http://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.vlsh.org/http://www.hawaii.edu/uhelp/elderlaw.htmhttp://www.nhlchi.org/http://www.mediatehawaii.org/http://www.legalaidhawaii.org/http://www.lejhawaii.org/http://www.hawaiidisabilityrights.org/http://www.stoptheviolence.org/

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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 Ha-waii by providing facilities,workspace, computer access,and expert staff assistance innavigating the legislative proc-ess.

Not sure where to start? Stop byat the Capitol (Room 401),phone (587-0478) or e-mail(par@capitol.hawaii.gov) thehelpful staff of Hawaiis Public

Access Room.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Town Hall Meeting

Stevenson Middle School

1202 Prospect Street

@ 6:00 pm

Have questions about this years

legislative session? Please joinRepresentatives Belatti andSylvia Luke and Senator Carol

Fukunaga for an update of issuesbeing discussed and consideredby the State Legislature.

RSVP with Jon at 586-9425 orj.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 460works that are part of Art inPublic Places, and mingle withlawmakers and artists at the 4thAnnual ART at the Capitol.

This years event also includes thedebut of a documentary featuringRuthadell Anderson, artist of theSenate & House tapestries, andKeiko Sato, speaking about herbrother Tadashi Sato, artist of theAquarius mosaic.

Call 586-9425 or email repbe-latti@capitol.hawaii.govto benotified 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 animportant opportunity for citizenparticipation in local govern-ment. Attend the next meeting tojoin the discussion on issues

important to theMakiki-Tantalus community.

Neighborhood Board #10 meetsevery 3rd Thursday of themonth. For minutes of pastmeetings, agendas of upcomingmeetings, or to contact a boardmember, visithttp://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 Com-munity Library for its 4th Annual

community-wide Easter Egg Huntand food drive.

Volunteers and donations arealways welcome! Call 586-9425or email repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.govif you have questions.

To stay informed about otherLibrary activities, please visitwww.makiki.infoor call 522-

7076.

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 as-sist qualified taxpayers in filingtheir annual federal and state tax

returns for free.

In addition to this location, thereare tax preparation sites through-out the State.

More information? Visitwww.hawaiitaxhelp.orgor e-mail

info@hawaiitaxhelp.org

The Shortlist

http://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionhttp://www.hawaiijustice.org/hawaii-access-to-justice-commissionmailto:par@capitol.hawaii.govmailto:par@capitol.hawaii.govmailto:j.kawamura@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Town%20Hall%20Meeting%2002/23/12mailto:j.kawamura@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Town%20Hall%20Meeting%2002/23/12mailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Art%20@%20the%20Capitolmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Art%20@%20the%20Capitolmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Art%20@%20the%20Capitolhttp://www1.honolulu.gov/nco/nb10/index.htmhttp://www1.honolulu.gov/nco/nb10/index.htmhttp://www1.honolulu.gov/nco/nb10/index.htmmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=MCL%20Easter%20Egg%20Huntmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=MCL%20Easter%20Egg%20Huntmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=MCL%20Easter%20Egg%20Hunthttp://www.makiki.info/http://www.makiki.info/http://www.hawaiitaxhelp.org/http://www.hawaiitaxhelp.org/mailto:info@hawaiitaxhelp.orgmailto:info@hawaiitaxhelp.orgmailto:info@hawaiitaxhelp.orghttp://www.hawaiitaxhelp.org/http://www.makiki.info/mailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=MCL%20Easter%20Egg%20Huntmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=MCL%20Easter%20Egg%20Hunthttp://www1.honolulu.gov/nco/nb10/index.htmhttp://www1.honolulu.gov/nco/nb10/index.htmmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Art%20@%20the%20Capitolmailto:repbelatti@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Art%20@%20the%20Capitolmailto:j.kawamura@capitol.hawaii.gov?subject=Town%20Hall%20Meeting%2002/23/12mailto:par@capitol.hawaii.gov