Maui Snorkeling

Maui snorkeling at Molokini: Lani Kai [an error occurred while processing this directive] Lani Kai The Lani Kai is fast and travels the distance between snorkel locations quickly leaving lots of time to snorkel Molokini and its second snorkel location, Turtle Town. You can be in the shade in the lower cabin or can enjoy the sun on the deck above. The maximum capacity of the Lani Kai is 70 passengers. The Lani Kai is a family operated vessel that has toured in the waters surrounding Molokini for many years. This 53’ Double Deck Maxi Power Catamaran features a water slide, two freshwater showers, two large sunbathing trampolines, a large upper sunning deck, a spacious and protected cabin area, two restrooms and three water entries with easy access. Island: Maui Activity: Molokini Snorkel "LANI KAI" a 53' Double Deck Maxi Power Catamaran features a waterslide, two freshwater showers, spacious protected cabin area, two restrooms and three water entries. Can accommodate 70 passengers. Departs from Maalaea Harbor Slip 76 ACTIVITIES MORNING MOLOKINI & TURTLE TOWN ADVENTURE - This snorkel trip to Molokini (weather dependant) includes breakfast with fresh bagels and cream cheese, tropical fruit, coffee and juice. Lunch will feature a create your own sandwich buffet with deli meats, cheeses, breads, vegetables and chips and beverages, soda, juices and ice tea will be served. All snorkeling gear, instruction and flotation devices are provided. Snuba ($49.00), underwater cameras, wetsuits and trip videos are available at an additional charge and payable on board. DAILY 7:00am - 12:00 noon Regular Price $88.00 Your Price $72.90 AFTERNOON SNORKEL - The three hour afternoon snorkel trip to Molokini or Coral Gardens (weather dependant) includes all snorkeling gear, instruction and flotation devices. Complimentary soda, juice, and lunch will be served. DAILY 1:00pm - 4:00pm Regular Price $44.00 Your Price $38.90 [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Hawaiian City Garden

StopMoskowitz :: The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem Support the Coalition with your Donation Donation Amount $25.00 $50.00 $100.00 $250.00 $500.00 $1000.00 thank you The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem P.O. 67903, Los Angeles CA 90067 310 553-1146 email -- Tri-City Hospital's Tax-Exempt Status - An Abuse of Public Trust? An organization is not a non-profit simply because it says so. There are state and federal standards that non-profit entities must meet in order to maintain their legal status -- and to qualify for tax-exemption. A review of California state health care data, Internal Revenue Service non-profit guidelines as well as Tri-City Regional Medical Center's lease with owner Irving Moskowitz all strongly suggest that rather than serving the health needs of Hawaiian Gardens and the surrounding community, the hospital is mainly operating as a private surgical facility for a wealthy physician's stomach stapling practice. Meeting the Community Benefit Standard Providing health care is not enough to qualify as a non-profit. According to IRS guidelines, a hospital may qualify for tax-exemption only if it is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes and if it meets the community benefit standards. 1 Tri-City fails on both scores. The IRS defines community benefit as the operation of a hospital in a way that helps the community as a whole. For the IRS, Tri-City's failure to provide charity care to poor patients should be a red flag. The IRS gives points to organizations that have a formal policy to provide free care to patients who are too poor to pay. 2 Tri-City has such a policy - it just doesn't follow it. When it applied for 501c(3) status, the hospital's application declared, "With regard to charity cases, the Hospital's policy is simple. The Hospital will not turn away any patient for financial reasons. When a charity patient is admitted, the case is handled individually on a case by case basis. In some cases, the Hospital absorbs costs associated with providing services to charity patients." 3 But in 2000 and 2001 the hospital provided zero charity care, despite net income of over $2 million in 2001 alone. Tri-City also reneged on another policy it presented to the IRS when it filed for tax-exempt status - its commitment to pre-natal care. The hospital's administration promised that, "Prenatal Services will provide care for the female patient during pregnancy, labor, delivery and the post-partum period." 4 There were no babies delivered in Hawaiian Gardens in 2000 and 2001. 5 Tri-City's administration might argue that its failure to provide obstetric services is the result of a lack of demand from the community. But by the IRS' lights, it would be hard for the hospital to know what the health care needs of the surrounding area are unless it consults with the community. As part of its review, the IRS looks for a governing or community board composed of civic leaders rather than ones dominated by hospital administrators, physicians and other professionals connected to the hospital. 6 Again, Tri-City looks good on paper but failed to live up to its promises. In its application for 501c(3) status, the hospital touted its 25 member community advisory board which consisted of "school officials, clergymen, business owners, city government and community organizations. The board assesses and determines the prevalent health care problems in the community." 7 According to one former city official who sat on the hospital's community board, the advisory board ceased meeting soon after it was formed. Citing the high cost of treatment at Tri-City and the lack of charity care, he said few residents of Hawaiian Gardens use the hospital now. State health care data backs that assertion up - despite its proximity only 13.7% of all Hawaiian Gardens residents who were hospitalized in Los Angeles County last year were admitted to Tri-City Regional Medical Center. Hawaiian Garden residents admitted to the hospital represented an even smaller percentage of Tri-City's total patient census - just 5.4% (Less than a fifth of the patients treated by Tri-City lived within a five-mile radius of the hospital). 8 Hospital charges were also higher than the norm - no one from Hawaiian Gardens was discharged with less than $2,900 in charges, less than one in ten left with charges under $5,000. 9 This includes patients who used the emergency room for relatively simple complaints such as a cut, chest pains or a child's broken bone. On average - Tri-City patients from Hawaiian Gardens were charged well over $10,000. 10 Many of the residents of Hawaiian Gardens are immigrants without insurance to cover their health care costs, so for them, Tri-City's high charges are all but unaffordable. Beyond the degree to which a hospital serves the community, the IRS also considers whether or not the majority of its activities promotes a tax-exempt purpose. 11 Arguably, Tri-City is doing more to advance the business of Dr. Mathias Fobi than it is to promote the health of the surrounding community. The for-profit Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity is located within the Tri-City Hospital campus. The center, which provides surgical stomach shrinking services to the morbidly obese, generates at least one quarter of the hospital's surgical cases and probably a good deal more. Last year, 439 of Tri-City's patients underwent the stomach stapling procedure and on average, they racked up $50,000 in hospital charges each. Total charges for those patients totaled $21,936,400 - representing close to a third of the hospital's gross charges for the year. 12 Another 15 patients received "tummy tucks," their total charges ranged $24,000 to $100,344. 13 And more than 200 of the hospital's other patient discharges involved some sort of abdominal procedure such as an abdominal CAT-Scan, a procedure which is often associated with stomach stapling. 14 The hospital discharge data strongly suggests that perhaps as much as half of Tri-City's surgical practice is tied to the Obesity Center. Insiders, Disqualified Persons and Private Benefit While Fobi charges for the surgeries he performs, the hospital also would typically bill patients for the use of its operating and recovery rooms and other medical services it provides. Tri-City's IRS form 990 from 2001 (the most recent one that is publicly available) indicates that year it paid Fobi's private firm, FOCA Management Company, $2,293,044 -- more than its next four highest paid contractors combined. 15 Stomach stapling accounts for a large part of Tri-City Hospital's tiny patient census. Whether the firm is managing all or just part of the hospital's patient care - $2.3 million is an extraordinarily large amount for a non-profit of Tri-City's size (the hospital has less than 130 licensed beds) to pay for an administrative service. At minimum, it suggests the potential for a conflict of interest on Fobi's part, particularly if the firm's fees are based on revenues. 16 At worst, it could represent a violation of federal anti-kickback laws governing doctor-hospital relationships. The payment to the management firm also has the potential to put Tri-City's tax-exempt status in jeopardy. IRS guidelines expressly forbid those having an interest in the hospital from benefiting from its net earnings. 17 A public trust? The same rule that draws into question the large payment Fobi received also applies to the hospital's former for-profit owner, Irving Moskowitz. Moskowitz is neither a board member nor a Tri-City executive and, at least technically, he does not maintain ownership of the hospital. But Cerritos Gardens General Hospital Company, a private firm run by Moskowitz, has received more than a million dollars in annual rent from Tri-City since it spun off the hospital as a non-profit in late 1996. 18 The rental agreement alone does not necessarily jeopardize the hospital's tax-exempt status. However, both members of Tri-City's two-person governing board and the hospital's president (who is also one of the two board members) are long-time Moskowitz associates. And, a review of Tri-City's financial circumstances indicates that Moskowitz retains a level of de facto control over Tri-City. Immediately after Tri-City Regional Medical Center was converted into a non-profit, the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation 19 donated $4.9 million in tax-free proceeds from its Hawaiian Gardens bingo to the hospital. 20 California state financing records show that in 2000 the foundation made an additional transfer of funds to Tri-City. The state financing statement does not record the amount of the loan but it does indicate that the hospital pledged its accounts receivable as collateral. 21 Two additional state financing records, dated February 2, 1999 and January 25, 2001, show the hospital also is indebted to its landlord - Cerritos Gardens General Hospital Company. What's more, a clause in the lease signed between Tri-City and Cerritos Gardens grants Moskowitz's private firm the right to resume control of the property at any time, regardless of whether the lease remains in effect or not. It states that the "Lessor may re-enter or resume possession of the Hospital, and remove Lessee and Lessee's property there from, and at its option either terminate this lease, or without terminating it, lease the Hospital for the account of the Lessee for the remainder of the term or terms as Lessor shall see fit." 22 The social contract of tax exemption for charitable organizations is based on the assets of those organizations being held in trust for the public - not for the benefit of an individual or a group that controls a charity. A case could be made for Moskowitz and his firm making a calculated decision to rid themselves of the inconvenience of paying state and federal tax on the facility while continuing to reap a profit through sizable rent payments (subsidized first by a grant from his own foundation and later, from the net earnings derived from business generated by the for-profit obesity center). All the while he and his firm would be able to maintain control through the hospital's financial obligations to the company and his foundation. And, if that did not work or was no longer the optimal business model, the for-profit firm could resume possession of the land and the building at any time. It is a classic case of having one's cake and eating it too. It is also an affront to the basic tenets of public trust and hardly what the federal government had in mind when it established tax-exempt status for non-profits. 1 J.E. Gitterman and M. Friedlander, "Health Care Provider Reference Guide," Internal Revenue Service, 2003, p. 2, "The promotion of health for the benefit of the community is a charitable purpose. Engaging in health care activities alone does not necessarily further charitable purposes." and p. 9 "The test used fro determining if a health care provider satisfies the IRC 501c(3) operational test is the "community benefit standard" enunciated in Revenue Ruling 68-545, 1969-2 C.B. 117, and court cases that apply Rev. Rul. 69-545. The community benefit standard is the test used to determine whether a hospital, clinic or other health care provider is operated to promote health in a way that accomplishes a charitable purpose." 2 J.E. Gitterman and M. Friedlander, "Health Care Provider Reference Guide," Internal Revenue Service, 2003. p. 9, "Prior to Rev. Rule 69-545, tax-exempt hospitals were required by rev. Rul 56-185, 1956-1 C.B. 202 to admit and treat patients who were unable to payAlthough a formal policy to provide charity care is still relevant, the new standard also takes into account a number of additional factors indicating that the operation of the hospital benefits the community as a whole." 3 Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. 1023 IRS application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code Addendum to Schedule C - Hospital and Medical Research Organizations, November 25, 1997. 4 Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. 1023 IRS application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501c(3) of the Internal Revenue Code -Exhibit B "Statement of Activities," November 25, 1997. 5 California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), Patient Discharge Database, 2000 and OSHPD Annual Utilization Report of Hospitals, 2001. 6 J.E. Gitterman and M. Friedlander, "Health Care Provider Reference Guide," Internal Revenue Service, 2003, p. 10, "As used with regard to a hospital, the "Community benefit standard" in Rev. Rul. 69-545 includes the following factors: Does the hospital have a governing board, community board, board of trustees, or board of directors composed of prominent civic leaders rather than exclusively members who are hospital administrators, physicians or other professionally connected to the hospital?" 7 Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. 1023 IRS application for Recognition of Exemption, Exhibit B, November 25, 1997. 8 According to the 2002 OSHPD Public Patient Discharge Data, 136 Tri-City discharges came from the Hawaiian Gardens zip code (90716) and Tri-City Regional Medical Center discharged a total of 2519 patients that year. Less than 500 patients discharged from Tri-City lived in zip codes that were within a five-mile radius of the hospital. 9 2002 OSHPD Public Patient Discharge Data 10 Ibid. 11 J.E. Gitterman and M. Friedlander, "Health Care Provider Reference Guide," Internal Revenue Service, 2003, p. 33, "Each director, principal officer and member of a committee with board delegated powers shall annually sign a statement which affirms that such person understands that the Corporation is a charitable organization and that in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes." 12 2002 OSHPD Public Patient Discharge Data and OSHPD Annual Utilization Report of Hospitals and 2001 OSHPD financial data. and The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), National Center for Health Statistics, 2002. 13 2002 OSHPD Patient Discharge Data and The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), National Center for Health Statistics, 2002. 14 Ibid. 15 Gardens Regional Hospital - DBA Tri-City Regional Medical - 2001 federal tax return. 16 J.E. Gitterman and M. Friedlander, "Health Care Provider Reference Guide," Internal Revenue Service, 2003, p. 18, "If compensation is based on revenues, the potential for unreasonable compensation warrants a close review." 17 J.E. Gitterman and M. Friedlander, "Health Care Provider Reference Guide," Internal Revenue Service, 2003, p. 4, "IRC 501 c(3) expressly provides that to qualify for exemption, no part of an organization's net earnings shall to the benefit of private shareholders or individualsin practice the inurement prohibition applies to insidersIn the health care setting physicians may be insiders depending upon whether they exercise control." p. 8 also notes that insider status is not necessarily a pre-requisite for a violation of the inurement prohibition, "if the charity confers a private benefit on non-insiders, the charity is nor operating exclusively in the public interest and its exemption may be jeopardized if the private benefit is substantial." 18 According to Los Angeles County property records Cerritos Gardens Hospital Company currently owns the property at the hospital's address. Irving Moskowitz is identified as the company's managing general partner in his casino application submitted to the city of Hawaiian Gardens. Hawaiian Gardens Card Club, Inc., Information in Support of Application for Card Club License, January 25, 1995. 19 Moskowitz and his wife Cherna have presided over the Foundation as President and Secretary Treasurer since at least as far back as 1988. Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation 990s, 1987-2001. 20 The Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation 1997 990, Statement 7, p. 28 (On p. 23 the Foundation notes that, "Concerning grants and allocations to Gardens Regional Hospital and American Friends of Mercaz Harav which are listed on statement 7: the donees have agreed under specified circumstances to return a portion of the grant to the Irving Moskowitz Foundation."). 21 UCC Record, California Secretary of State, May 15, 2000, debtors: Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. and Tri-City Regional Medical Center, Secured Parties: Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation. 22 Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. 1997 1023 IRS application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code - Exhibit E, "Lease by and Between Cerritos Gardens General Hospital Company, a CA limited partnership and Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center," November 25, 1997. The lease agreement notes that the hospital's dba (doing business as) name is Tri-City Regional Medical Center. p. 36, Para 25.1. J.E. Gitterman and M. Friedlander, "Health Care Provider Reference Guide," Internal Revenue Service, 2003, p.17 - Retained Rights - A review of the underlying docs is necessary to determine if there is retained authority by the seller and on p. 11 it states, "Financial control may include the right to approve annual operating and capital budgets, strategic planning initiatives, and significant sales, leases, mortgages, or other transfers of encumbrances of real estate or personal property." It is worth noting that the lease between and Between Cerritos Gardens General Hospital Company and Tri-City includes a demand for an annual review of the non-profits financial statements. View all news reports 2003 the Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem

Hawaii Rental

Hawaii vacation rentals,vacation homes,villas,condos,hotels in Hawaii. Hawaii vacation rentals specializing in Big Island vacation rentals , Kauai vacation rentals , Maui vacation rentals , Oahu vacation rentals . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Any Homes Condos Hotels Any Oahu Maui Kauai Big Island $0 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $450 $500 $600 $700 $800 $900 $1000 $1500 $2000 $2500 $3000 $3500 $4000 to $ ? $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $450 $500 $600 $700 $800 $900 $1000 $1500 $2000 $2500 $3000 $3500 $4000 We offer hundreds of Hawaii vacation rentals, vacation homes, villas, resorts, cottages, condos, apartments, hotels and bed and breakfasts on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. From beachfront and oceanfront to ocean view and swimming pools - let us help you arrange your travel plans to paradise. Review our Hawaiian vacation rentals and let us know which best fits your vacationing dreams. Today's Featured Accommodations Paul Mitchell Estate Lanikai, Oahu, Hawaii 14 $4,375 / night 7 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Pool, Beachfront Hale Mana Kauai Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii 10 $1,000 / night 5 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Oceanfront Ocean House Lanikai, Oahu, Hawaii 20 $795 / night 5 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Mountain view, Garden view, Oceanfront Hale Lanui Kihei, Maui, Hawaii 12 $650 / night 4 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Partial Ocean view, Pool, Less than 1 block from beach Ohana Kailua Beach House Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii 10 $600 / night 5 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Mountain view, Garden view, Less than 1 block from beach Hale Nui Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii 10 $550 / night 4 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Mountain view, Garden view, Pool, 2 blocks from beach Polihale Leilani and Puamana Studio House Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii 9 $475 / night 4 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Mountain view, Garden view, Less than 1 block from beach Mia Huna Kalihiwai, Kauai, Hawaii 2 $429 / night 1 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Mountain view, Pool, Oceanfront Pali Ke Kua 109 Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii 3 $150 / night 1 Bedroom Condo Apartment, Ocean view, Mountain view, Pool, Oceanfront Hale Lele Villa Kihei, Maui, Hawaii 15 $1,700 / night 5 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Pool, Less than 1 block from beach Ikena Lani Anini, Kauai, Hawaii 12 $1,500 / night 6 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Mountain view, Pool, More than 3 blocks from beach Aina Malia Wailea, Big Island, Hawaii 8 $1,063 / night 4 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Oceanfront Malulani Puako, Big Island, Hawaii 6 $813 / night 3 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Oceanfront Kona Bamboo House Keauhou, Big Island, Hawaii 6 $330 / night 2 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, Pool, More than 3 blocks from beach Sugar Shack Pepeekeo, Big Island, Hawaii 6 $125 / night 3 Bedroom Vacation Rental Home, Ocean view, More than 3 blocks from beach Latest Vacation Review: Kona Bamboo House "We were very comfortable at the Bamboo house. The best experience we have had in Hawaii, yet. The pool was cool, but inviting and we made a lot of use out of it. We spent most of our time on the lanai,and the privacy was great. Thanks again." It is 5:21 AM Wednesday here in beautiful Hawaii. Home Hawaii vacation rentals Hawaii condos Hawaii hotels Oahu vacation rentals Oahu condos Oahu hotels Maui vacation rentals Maui condos Maui hotels Kauai vacation rentals Kauai condos Kauai hotels Big Island vacation rentals Big Island condos Big Island hotels Hawaii real estate Hawaii activities Hawaii info Hawaii luxury rentals Hawaii vacation deals Hawaii News Information in this page is deemed reliable but not guaranteed for Hawaii vacation rentals , Big Island vacation rentals , Kauai vacation rentals , Maui vacation rentals , Oahu vacation rentals , Captain Cook vacation rentals , Hilo vacation rentals , Hualalai vacation rentals , Kailua Kona vacation rentals , Kapoho vacation rentals , Kawaihae vacation rentals , Keauhou vacation rentals , Kohala Ranch vacation rentals , Kona vacation rentals , Mauna Kea vacation rentals , Mauna Lani vacation rentals , Pepeekeo vacation rentals , Puako vacation rentals , Volcano vacation rentals , Waikoloa vacation rentals , Wailea vacation rentals , Waimea vacation rentals , Aliomanu vacation rentals , Anahola vacation rentals , Anini vacation rentals , Haena vacation rentals , Hanalei vacation rentals , Kalihiwai vacation rentals , Kapaa vacation rentals , Kealia vacation rentals , Kekaha vacation rentals , Kilauea vacation rentals , Lihue vacation rentals , Makaweli vacation rentals , Moloaa vacation rentals , Poipu vacation rentals , Princeville vacation rentals , Wailua vacation rentals , Waimea vacation rentals , Wainiha vacation rentals , Waipouli vacation rentals , Haiku vacation rentals , Hana vacation rentals , Honokowai vacation rentals , Kaanapali vacation rentals , Kahana vacation rentals , Kapalua vacation rentals , Keawakapu vacation rentals , Kihei vacation rentals , Kuau vacation rentals , Kula vacation rentals , Lahaina vacation rentals , Makawao vacation rentals , Makena vacation rentals , Napili vacation rentals , Olowalu vacation rentals , Oneloa Bay vacation rentals , Paia vacation rentals , Spreckelsville vacation rentals , Up Country vacation rentals , Wailea vacation rentals , Diamond Head vacation rentals , Haleiwa vacation rentals , Hauula vacation rentals , Hawaii Kai vacation rentals , Honolulu vacation rentals , Kaaawa vacation rentals , Kahala vacation rentals , Kailua vacation rentals , Kaneohe vacation rentals , Ko Olina vacation rentals , Lanikai vacation rentals , Makaha vacation rentals , Mokuleia vacation rentals , North Shore vacation rentals , Pipeline vacation rentals , Punaluu vacation rentals , Sunset Beach vacation rentals , Turtle Bay vacation rentals , Waialua vacation rentals , Waikiki vacation rentals , Waimanalo vacation rentals , Waimea vacation rentals . All pricing and terms of rental for vacation rentals in Hawaii are subject to change. All Hawaii vacation rentals must pay a 30% to 50% deposit to make a reservation and pay the full balance for the vacation rental within 30 to 60 days of arrival depending on the specific rental.. Cancellation after a vacation rental confirmation is issued results in forfeiture of any collected money, except the guest's security deposit and cleaning fee (if applicable). Hawaiian Beach Rentals prides itself on offering the best customers service and highest quality accommodations possible. For information on Vacation Rental Travel Insurance Click Here . Hawaii Real Estate . Hawaii Search . List your vacation rental, condo or hotel on our site. Powered by Vacation Rental Agent

Hawaiian City Garden

StopMoskowitz :: The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem Support the Coalition with your Donation Donation Amount $25.00 $50.00 $100.00 $250.00 $500.00 $1000.00 thank you The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem P.O. 67903, Los Angeles CA 90067 310 553-1146 email -- How Moskowitz Profits from his Hawaiian Gardens Non-profits A Detailed Analysis of Irving Moskowitz's Non-profit Operations in Hawaiian Gardens nonprofit (non·prof·it) adj. 1. not conducted or maintained for the purpose of making a profit <a nonprofit organization> - noun 2. a nonprofit organization, institution, corporation or entity. These days, Dr. Irving Moskowitz is seldom seen in Hawaiian Gardens but his presence is everywhere. A banner bears his name in a picture of the Little League team that runs in the local paper. Senior citizens attending a city council meeting sport t-shirts with Moskowitz's name emblazoned across the back. Moskowitz may be hundreds of miles away at his home in Miami Beach but he is ubiquitous in the community as a businessman and benefactor who has pumped millions of dollars into the city. And there is no question Hawaiian Gardens is in need of help. The unemployment rate is high in this largely immigrant slice of LA County where half of all adults lack a high school diploma. And where close to one out of every four Hawaiian Garden residents lives below the poverty line. 1 But Irving Moskowitz's track record of less-than-charitable activity in Hawaiian Gardens belies his image as a philanthropist - a careful examination of his financial records and those of his non-profit foundation show that the majority of his contributions resulted in either financial gain or increased political influence for himself. Dr. Moskowitz, it seems, has engaged in non-profit profiteering in Hawaiian Gardens. Since posting this report on our website, more information has come to light that strongly suggests that Moskowitz's non-profit Tri-City Regional Medical Center is in violation of Internal Revenue Service rules qualifying health care providers for tax-exemption. (Click here to read more) Putting the 'profit' in Non-profit healthcare Tri-City Hospital sign greets motorists entering Hawaiian Gardens saying the "community" facility serves all health needs - as long as you're not poor or pregnant. Take Tri-City Regional Medical Center in Hawaiian Gardens. In 1996, when its balance sheets were beginning to look less-than stellar, 2 Moskowitz decided to spin off this privately owned hospital as a non-profit, while retaining ownership of the building and land. 3 Immediately after converting Tri-City Regional Medical Center into a non-profit, the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation 4 donated $4.9 million in tax-free proceeds from its Hawaiian Gardens bingo to the hospital. 5 Moskowitz then began collecting the money back by charging the hospital $95,000 a month in rent, payable to his private landlord company. 6 Those payments now exceed $110,000 per month. 7 California state financing records show that in 2000 the foundation made an additional transfer of funds to Tri-City. 8 The hospital's fidelity to the concept of charitable trust 9 is tenuous at best. This could perhaps be forgiven if the hospital was meeting the health care needs of the local community. But despite its non-profit status, Tri-City is less than solicitous when it comes to the health of Hawaiian Gardens. When the hospital applied for non-profit status in 1997, it made a commitment to provide pre-natal care. 10 Recent patient discharge data published by the state of California shows that Tri-City has stopped delivering babies - none were born at the hospital in either 2000 or 2001. 11 It isn't for lack of demand for services. Last year residents of Hawaiian Gardens brought home 98 newborn babies. 12 While small in size (the city's population is a little under 15,000 13 ), Hawaiian Gardens is a young, largely immigrant community - recent census data indicates the average age of its resident is 26. More than half of the households have children under the age of 18. And as of 2000, a little more than 10 percent of the population was under the age of 5. The women of Hawaiian Gardens are having babies - they are just not having them delivered at the hospital in their own neighborhood. Tri-City's failure to fully address the health care needs of the poor may be a factor. Again, nearly one out of every four resident of Hawaiian Gardens lives below the poverty line and many are immigrants who do not qualify for state programs such as MediCal (although MediCal is available to cover prenatal care and deliveries for undocumented immigrants, making the hospital's failure to provide these services all the more shocking). Stomach stapling accounts for a large part of Tri-City Hospital's tiny patient census. When it turned non-profit the hospital made a commitment to provide free or reduced cost care to the indigent 14 - and yet in recent years Tri-City has provided zero dollars in charity care. 15 State health care data shows the other four non-profit hospitals of comparable size in LA County provided a combined total of two million dollars in charity care in 2001 (the most recent year that statistics are publicly available). 16 Tri-City's failure to pull its own weight when it comes to helping out poor patients has little to do with its bottom line - in 2001 the hospital's gross patient revenue exceeded $72 million and its net income was slightly more than two million dollars - despite the fact that its occupancy rate in 2001 was an abysmally low 19.6 percent. 17 The average occupancy rate for other hospitals of comparable size in the state of California that year was 52.16 percent. 18 How does the hospital manage to stay afloat with such low patient volume? The answer may be as close as the sign in front of Tri-City's main entrance announcing it is also the home of "The Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity." Tri-City, it seems, has gotten into the lucrative business of stomach stapling. The Center, run by the somewhat famous Dr. Mathias Fobi provides surgical stomach shrinking services to patients clinically termed morbidly obese, that is, those who are 75 to 100 pounds or more overweight. (In what is perhaps an unfortunate display of poor taste, his website's motto is "lighten up." 19 ) According to a CBS News Report profiling his practice, Fobi performs surgery on up to 600 patients a year. 20 While Fobi charges for the surgeries he performs, the hospital also bills patients for the use of its operating and recovery rooms and other medical services it provides. In 2002 patients who underwent the surgical procedure at Tri-City, on average, racked up $50,000 in hospital charges. 21 State health care data shows that at least 439 Tri-City patients underwent the stomach stapling procedure last year, that is, more than one out of every four patients that received some sort of surgical treatment at the hospital had their stomach stapled. 22 Total charges for those patients was $21,936,400 - representing close to a third of the hospital's gross charges for the year. Tri-City's 2001 income tax forms (the most recent that are publicly available) indicate that by far its highest paid independent contractor that year was FOCA Management Company, a private company registered to Dr. Mathias Fobi. 23 Tri-City paid Fobi's firm $2,293,044 - more than its next four highest paid contractors combined. 24 Dr. Fobi has made numerous national television and radio appearances touting his surgical techniques and his patients come from as far away as Alaska, 25 but the obesity center appears to be of little value to the community where it is based: last year not one Hawaiian Gardens resident made the short trek across this mile-wide city to receive the procedure. 26 One former City Council member recalls that when the hospital was first built, Hawaiian Gardens welcomed it as the solution to the community's unmet health care needs. But citing the high cost of treatment at Tri-City and the lack of charity care, he said few use the hospital now. State health care data backs that assertion up - despite its proximity only 13.7 percent of all Hawaiian Gardens residents who were hospitalized in Los Angeles County last year were admitted to Tri-City Regional Medical Center. 27 Hawaiian Garden residents admitted to the hospital represented an even smaller percentage of Tri-City's total patient census - just 5.4 percent. 28 Since posting this report on our website, more information has come to light that strongly suggests that Moskowitz's non-profit Tri-City Regional Medical Center is in violation of Internal Revenue Service rules qualifying health care providers for tax-exemption. (Click here to read more) Banking on Bingo Bucks Moskowitz earns more than $1.3 million dollars annually as landlord of what is ostensibly a non-profit hospital. But his money-making off non-profits doesn't end there. In 1988, the city of Hawaiian Gardens granted the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation a license to operate a non-profit bingo within its city limits in exchange for a commitment to spend the majority of the funds generated by the bingo on the local community. The foundation, which had existed mainly to own a piece of land in Northern California and seldom got much cash, was suddenly taking in more than $30 million annually from bingo games. But the foundation's bottom line wasn't the only beneficiary. 29 Moskowitz is the managing general partner (for practical purposes, the sole owner) of Cerritos General Hospital Company, the private firm that owns the land where his bingo is situated and the building in which the game is played. 30 It is not possible to tell from the foundation's IRS 990 forms (which non-profits file instead of income tax returns), exactly how much Moskowitz's foundation is paying him for use of the land, but even by conservative estimates, the total comes to several hundred thousand dollars a year. The Moskowitz Foundation's 2000 and 2001 990 forms show that in both years it paid total occupancy costs (defined by the IRS as rent and utilities) of over $900,000 for services and programs. The bingo is the foundation's only activity -- apart from writing checks. If even half its occupancy costs went to paying rent on the bingo hall as opposed to covering the costs of electricity, gas and water, it's safe to say Moskowitz is paying himself roughly $450,000 a year for the privilege of holding his own bingo games. On top of the bingo's rental payments, Moskowitz also drew more than half a million dollars in salary ($322,880 in 1999 and $184,503 in 2000, respectively) from the Moskowitz Foundation. 31 By contrast, the Moskowitz Foundation takes advantage of a state law requiring bingo workers to be volunteers for the non-profit operating the bingo. To run the bingo, Moskowitz uses mostly immigrant workers who have no ties to, or even knowledge of, the aims of his foundation, compensating them with nothing but the opportunity to get tips from bingo winners. 32 Workers say that their nightly shifts sometimes bring in as little as $20, even though the "volunteers" essentially function as full-time employees. 33 The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is currently suing Moskowitz's bingo on behalf of 24 unpaid bingo workers. 34 continued on page two View all news reports 2003 the Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem

Hawaiian Recipes Hawaiian Recipe

Lava Flow Recipe - Hawaiian Tropical Drink Recipe  You are here: About > Travel > Hawaii / South Pacific for Visitors > Recipes > Cocktails / Tropical Drinks > Lava Flow Recipe - Hawaiian Tropical Drink Recipe Travel Go Hawaii Essentials Which Hawaiian Island Suits You Best? Clickable Map of the Hawaiian Islands Beach Guide Hawaii Pictures Clickable Map of Maui, Hawaii Topics A Hawaii Vacation Planner Big Island of Hawaii Kauai Maui / Molokai / Lanai Oahu / Honolulu / Waikiki South Pacific Culture, History & Language Hawaii Lodging Hula Luau Maps and Weather Pearl Harbor Photos, Video & Cams Recipes Shopping and Gifts Buyer's Guide Tastes of Paradise from Hilo Hattie HilHilo Hattie Dresses and Sarongs Multi-Day Guided Tours Top Hawaii Guidebooks Top Maui / Molokai / Lanai Guidebooks Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Hawaii / South Pacific for Visitors newsletter! See Online Courses   Search Hawaii / South Pacific for Visitors Stay up to date! At a Glance Prep Time : 05min Cook Time : 05min Course : Beverage, Cocktail Special : Easy, Quick Type of Prep : Blend / Process, Chill Cuisine : Hawaiian, U.S. Regional Occasion : Party Email to a friend Print this page More Tropical Drinks Original Mai Tai Recipe Blue Hawaii Cocktail Piña Colada Additional Hawaiian Recipes Hawaiian Recipe Index Recent Discussions My Favorite Restaurants are.... Hawaii Celebrities in the News Restaurants Most Popular Nudist Beaches in Hawaii Hawaii Photos Hawaii Pictures Life's a Beach in Hawaii - Our collection of photos of peopl... Hawaiian Island Scorecard What's Hot Top Picks in Hawaiian Coffee Kamehameha the Great Kalua Pig Waikiki Beach, Oahu - Life's a Beach in Hawaii - Hawaii Beac... Best Beaches 1999 Related Topics Air Travel Cruises Honeymoons / Romantic Getaways Surfing / Bodyboarding Travel with Kids Lava Flow Recipe - Hawaiian Tropical Drink Recipe From John Fischer , Your Guide to Hawaii / South Pacific for Visitors . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! There are numerous variations for making a Lava Flow. This biggest difference is that some recipes use 1 oz. of light rum and 1 oz. of Malibu® coconut rum. When Malibu® coconut rum is unavilable you can use 1 1/2 oz. of light rum and 1/2 oz. of coconut cream. INGREDIENTS: 1 oz. light rum 1 oz. Malibu® coconut rum 2 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries 1 small banana 2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice 2 oz. coconut cream PREPARATION: Blend the 2 rums and the strawberries in a blender to form a smooth paste. Pour this mixture into a tall (Collins or Hurricane) glass. Rinse the blender. Blend the banana, the coconut cream, and the pineapple juice in blender with crushed ice until smooth. Pour this mixture into the glass with the rums very slowly and watch as the strawberry mixture oozes its way to the top along the sides of the glass creating the flowing lava effect. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and paper umbrella. If Malibu® Coconut Rum is Unavailable INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 oz. light rum 2 1/2 oz. coconut cream 2 oz. fresh strawberries 1 small banana 2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice PREPARATION Blend the rum, 1/2 oz. of coconut cream and the strawberries in a blender to form a smooth paste. Pour this mixture into a tall (Collins or Hurricane) glass. Rinse the blender. Blend the banana, the rest of the coconut cream, and the pineapple juice in blender with crushed ice until smooth. Pour this mixture into the glass with the rums very slowly and watch as the strawberry mixture oozes its way to the top along the sides of the glass creating the flowing lava effect. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and paper umbrella.   Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2006 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About Tips to Losing Weight Guide to Distance Learning How to Travel for Less PHOTOS: Italy PHOTOS: Hybrid Cars What's Hot Top Picks in Hawaiian Coffee Kamehameha the Great Kalua Pig Waikiki Beach, Oahu - Life's a Beach in Hawaii - Hawaii Beac... Best Beaches 1999