January 9, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Saturday, January 9, 2010

January 9, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:09 PM :: 10791 Views

GTMO Greenwell accuses Hawaii police of "eating children"

"The police have become bears," Greenwell intoned. "They are eating our children, the people they are supposed to be watching over."

(This is the same Greenwell who is so eager for al-Qaeda baby-killers to come live free on the Big Island.)

RELATED: Guantanamo Greenwell: "If you voted for me you have to accept my position"

LINK>>>Lingle proposes new plan to eliminate Furlough Fridays

Hawaii governor says she doesn't want Legislature to take up bill on civil unions

"But in the middle of the biggest economic crisis in Hawaii's history, it is a most inappropriate bill to take up this year," Lingle said. "They should put it on the side."...

Lingle said she instead prefers to discuss job creation. "That's what I'm going to do in my state of the state...."

ADV: Jobs, not civil unions, is focus, Lingle says

SB: State Senate poised for final vote on Hawaii civil unions bill

Poll finds Mississippi folk most faith-centered; Hawaii below average

(Gay marriage advocates measure how much they have worn down religion.) Other Southern states also ranked high in the importance of religion in residents' lives. Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina were all at 70 percent or higher. The Pew Center found that "at the other end of the spectrum," fewer than four in 10 people living in New Hampshire (36 percent), Vermont (36 percent) or Alaska (37 percent) said religion is very important to them.

The national average: 56 percent. Hawai'i, with 55 percent, was No. 23.

LINK: How Religious Is Your State?

READ: Antonio Gramsci Reading List

Lingle says Honolulu rail project needs 'adjustment' due to recession

Responding to an article in The Advertiser today, Lingle said, "The financial numbers as you read about in the article in the morning paper I think are important. I'll also be in Washington in February and one of my appointments will be with the U.S. Department of Transportation to talk about this project. Everything we know about it from the federal DOT is what we've heard via the city. And I want to talk directly to them – I want to know what do they think of the financing plan."

ADV: Lingle calls city's rail plan costly, elevated tracks ugly

When the city completes its EIS, it must be approved by both the federal government and Hawaii's governor. So far, Lingle has only said she has not seen a copy of the draft EIS, but her concerns yesterday raise a red flag that her fears (if Lingle were a Democrat these would be labeled "concerns") may harden into a rejection.

"She's sounding more and more political every day, rather than cooperating with the city on a project that the people of Honolulu voted for in the last election that will undoubtedly help the state out of its economic doldrums," Hannemann complained (as he counted the days down to the last day to file).

Hotel occupancy falls in Hawaii in November

HONOLULU (AP) — A new study shows occupancy at Hawaii hotels averaged 63.1 percent in November, down from 63.5 percent recorded in the same month last year.

Hospitality Advisors LLC said Wednesday that the statewide average daily room rate fell for the 17th consecutive month, dropping 9.4 percent to $161.08 in November.

Hawaii Department of Education gets new chief information officer

Prior to his DOE appointment, Wu was senior director of systems development at Hawaiian Airlines.

(Hmmmm. Another business person.)

Women ordered out of prison where Isle inmates complained of abuse

Perched on a mountainside above Wheelwright, the Otter Creek prison came under public scrutiny when female inmates from Hawaii complained that they had been the subject of sexual assaults by their male guards.

Corrections officials in Hawaii removed 165 inmates from Otter Creek last year, citing safety concerns.

(If they were brought back to Hawaii, the only difference would be that the rapes would be unreported.)

Hawaiian Airlines Flight Passenger Facing Federal Charges

According to court documents, Johnson handed a comment card to a flight attendant which was given to the captain.

The note contained language that includes, "I thought i was going to die," "I hope we don't crash and burn," and "What if the plane ripped apart in mid-flight and we plummeted to earth."

Johnson arrested in 1996: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19961020&id=sXUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HOsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6664,5469712

University of Hawaii cancer center, hospitals team up (unless Leg raids Cigarette Tax Fund for feed HGEA)

The new facility is expected to be paid for almost entirely from cigarette tax money collected by the state. There is about $34 million in the fund, and about $28 million has been set aside for planning and design. Some lawmakers tried unsuccessfully during last year's legislative session to raid the fund to help deal with the state's budget woes.

Shipping our 'opala an imperfect solution

The city also should consider re-evaluating the contract to seek more favorable terms. It's a reasonable move, especially since shipping is now expected to begin around Feb. 12 — three months later than originally promised.