Hanabusa pledges to raise taxes on small businesses
Hanabusa said when she is sworn in early next year, her first priority will be easing the economic strains on Hawaii residents.
"The thing I want to get through is the preservation of the tax cuts for the middle class. As you know, I have always been opposed to the tax breaks for the upper 2 percent," said Hanabusa.
(Because these are the small business owners who are putting Americans back to work. And if we don’t take their income, how are we supposed to keep the people weak, dependent, and voting Democrat?” shrieked Hanabusa. “How are we supposed to create more make work positions for the HGEA bosses to control? I could lose my job if those tax hikes don’t go through.)
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Maui Council considers $6M property tax hike
WAILUKU - Homeowners would pay property taxes on more of their home's value under a proposal to be considered next week by the Maui County Council's Budget and Finance Committee.
The county's home tax exemption was increased dramatically in the mid-2000s, to offset the impact of soaring property values on taxpayers. The council will discuss a proposal to start bringing the home tax exemption back down again, from the current $300,000 to $200,000…producing…an estimated $4 million to $6 million in additional revenues.
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Hawaii Senate committee lines up for civil unions
Judiciary Committee Sens. Clayton Hee, Dwight Takamine, and Les Ihara back civil unions, while Sens. Mike Gabbard and Sam Slom oppose them.
RELATED: Senate Democrats announce Committee Chairs, Church-based voter drive brings 15,000 to polls, powers GOP House gains
Schatz announces appointments to staff posts
In a statement Friday, Schatz announced that he named Kimberley Wong Yoshimoto as his chief of staff and Malia Oshima Paul as his deputy chief of staff.
Yoshimoto was co-chair and campaign coordinator for Schatz' campaign. An attorney, she previously was corporate counsel at Colliers Monroe Friedlander.
Paul also was active in Schatz' campaign. Before that, she was an attorney at the Santa Clara County Superior Court in California and a law clerk for a Hawaii Circuit Court judge.
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BLNR grants wind farm lease to company facing bankruptcy, licensed to kill Nene, Shearwater, Pueo
WAILUKU - The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday unanimously granted Kaheawa Wind Power II the land lease it needs to make way for 14 additional wind turbines along the Lahaina pali.
Kaheawa Wind is a subsidiary of Boston-based wind energy company First Wind, which already provides electricity to Maui Electric Co. with 20 wind turbines above Maalaea.
The subsidiary Kaheawa Wind II also has developed the conservation plan in coordination with the state DLNR as part of an application for an "incidental take" permit for endangered species.
The large wind turbines are known to cause accidental injury or death to birds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires the take permit for four species identified as the endangered nene goose; Hawaiian petrel, or 'ua'u; Hawaiian hoary bat, or 'ope'ape'a; and the threatened Newell's shearwater, or 'a'o.
The company also plans to take steps to safely capture and relocate birds found in the area, and will continue its ongoing habitat management and reforestation efforts of native plant species, officials said.
(Anti-Superferry protester) Lucienne de Naie of the Sierra Club's Maui group, called for the protected pueo, or Hawaiian owl, to be added to the list of birds in the permit application. (Because wind energy is a feeeel-goood environmental project) she also said First Wind's various native species restoration and educational efforts are "great examples of cooperation." (Tell that to the football players on Kauai)
REALITY: Facing default, Hawaii windfarm operator cancels IPO, Hawaii windfarm developer “could go under”
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Achievement: Black students leave Hawaii DoE in the dust
Nationally, between 1998 and 2002, the average score for African-American students in reading increased 12 points. In Florida, over the same period of time, the average increased at double that rate (25 points). The fourth-grade reading gap between black and white students would be half the size it is today if African-American students nationwide had made the same impressive results as black students in Florida.
Notably, African-American students in Florida now outpace or tie the statewide average of all students in reading in eight states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico.
Florida has been able to start narrowing the achievement gap through commonsense reforms. Beginning in 1998 under the leadership of Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida ended social promotion, implemented limited performance pay for teachers, allowed alternative teacher certification, enacted school choice for special-needs students, and created a transparent system of grading schools and school districts.
(Neil Abercrombie will make sure none of these things happen in Hawaii)
Hawaii robotics teams win Tokyo tournament
While in Japan, the Hawaii students are visiting an underwater robotics laboratory in Yokohama as well as cultural sites across the country.
The Pan Pacific VEX Robotics Championships will be held Dec. 3-5 at the Hawaii Convention Center.
(Neil Abercrombie will kill robotics in Hawaii)
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Technology spreads bullying in Hawaii schools
School rules known as Chapter 19 dictate the approach to discipline in schools, but many say it has varying degrees of effectiveness
"The schools that are doing great, that's awesome, the schools that aren't, if we can have a uniform standard we can try to get everyone in line to better address bullying and cyberbullying in our state," said Rep. John Mizuno of the House Human Services Committee.
Hawaii is one of only a handful of states that DON'T have laws specifically addressing school bullying consequences.
"I think there has to be a way in which we can really address the parents concern in a much more expeditious manner, so whether that means passing a law, whether that means more training at the school site," said Rep. Roy Takumi of the House Education Committee.
A Board of Education committee has been taking up the matter in recent meetings and lawmakers say they'll continue to introduce anti-bullying legislation even though it's failed to gain momentum in past sessions.
Here’s what is coming: The transsexual agenda for Hawaii schools
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The secret life of a tracker: How one man made himself the public shadow of Charles Djou for three months during his special election campaign
In reality, though, they're just biding their time until a candidate screws up.
"I always carry a digital voice recorder in my front pocket to make sure I can catch them saying anything stupid or mean to me," said Chang. "You remember that republican senator and the Macaca moment? That's what the democrats are shooting for."
The "Macaca moment" came in 2006 when then-Virginia Senator George Allen called a democratic tracker a "macaca," a word later revealed to be converted by the media into a racial epithet even though nobody had ever heard it before and it does not exist in any dictionary.
Democrats believe that word cost Allen his Senate race, something that would not have been possible without the use of trackers and a willing Democrat media.
"That's what they describe as the ‘Holy Grail' for tracking: you want to try to catch the person you're tracking saying something really stupid that'll hurt them."
Unfortunately for Chang, Djou never came as close as Allen did to any major verbal screwups. For the most part, he said, Djou stayed on message. (So sad.)
(The purpose of this article is to assist Democrats in recruitment of further ‘trackers’ from among the brainwashed drones manufactured by Abercrombie’s Gramscian supporters among the UHM liberal arts faculty. But there is a risk…)
But spending that much time following anyone – political rival or not – affects how you view them. If anything, Chang was able to get to know Djou better than any regular voter could have.
In the end, it changed how Chang thought of Djou as a person.
"At the beginning I viewed him as this kind of sinister being," said Chang. "But between the three candidates in the special election he was probably the most personable. He's good with people, he's friendly, even to those he disagrees with. He was also a very disciplined campaigner.
"If he were ten years younger, I could imagine being friends with him."
(Do the perfessers really want to risk having all their brainwashing undone like this?)
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Mom of slain Eastern Illinois coed is 'outraged' that killer will be in 'paradise' in Hawaii
Justin Boulay, 33, of St. Charles, was sentenced in May 1999 to 24 years in prison for strangling his girlfriend, Andrea Will, with a telephone cord. After serving 12 years, Boulay, 33, is scheduled to be released from the Danville Correctional Center.
Boulay plans to move to Hawaii to live with his wife, Rachel, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii Medical School, who married him while he was in prison.
Boulay's release has sparked outrage; a Facebook page -- Voices for Andrea Faye Will -- has more than 1,200 members.
"It's not like we are looking for revenge," said Sally Zikas of Tinley Park, who was a sorority friend of Will's. "But this is such a slap in the face. You can't just see [Boulay] fly off to paradise without having our say."
On Tuesday, candlelight vigils will be held in Batavia and at the University of Hawaii.
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Drink linked to UH attacks
An attack on a University of Hawaii student in her dormitory room Wednesday night was the fourth sexual assault reported at the Manoa campus since August, a UH official said.
The Manoa campus typically gets reports of one or two sexual assault cases a year, said Capt. Donald Dawson, of the Campus Security Department….
Officials said that in at least two of the cases, the new caffeinated alcoholic beverage, Four Loko, may have played a role.
Containing 12 percent alcohol along with a heavy dose of caffeine, the beverage is popular among college students across the country and has been nicknamed "blackout in a can." The drink has been banned in Michigan and Washington, and other states might follow suit. A ban is in place or is being considered on several college campuses as well.
Four Loko, with its potent punch, has been a topic of discussion among Manoa campus officials.
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Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Receives National Recognition for Integrated Care Model
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is celebrating the first step toward becoming the first recognized multi-site patient-centered medical home system in the state. Kaiser Permanente's Hawaii Kai Clinic recently received the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Physician Practice Connections® Patient-Centered Medical Home™ Recognition for its integrated, coordinated care, which supports access, communications and patient involvement.
The PCMH is a model of care that seeks to strengthen physician-patient interaction with coordinated care and a long-term healing relationship. It is gaining acceptance nationally as a best-practice method of care delivery and is a promising tool for successful health care reform implementation.
WHT: Kaiser says South Kona clinic should improve access to health care
HTH: Alii Health Center may get bailout
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State Must Pay For Reef Restoration: Construction Causes Damage To Live Coral Reef
On Friday, the state land board decided the Division of Aquatic Resources staff failed to adequately warn American Marine about the nearby natural coral reef and should shoulder more responsibility for the damage.
Officials said the contractor was responsible for one-third and the Division of Aquatic Resources for two-thirds of the incident.
The board also slashed the recommended fine from $800,000 to $400,000.
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Kauai Auditor to probe enforcement of county permits
The County Auditor work plan includes reviews of the county’s capital projects, the budget process, fuel consumption, energy usage and the effects of a partial hiring freeze, which began in December 2008.
In addition to the audits, Pasion said the department plans to complete two pre-audit assessments during the fiscal year.
One of those pre-audits will look at whether prerequisites set forth by the Planning Commission for permit approvals are being monitored and enforced.
The other pre-audit, requested by the Cost Control Commission, will consider the feasibility of consolidating personnel functions from different county departments under a unified human-resources department.
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Marsland family trust gives $1M to Shriners
The amount is the largest donation to the Shriners in Honolulu from a single donor, according to the Shriners organization.
"The Marsland family was deeply involved in the Shriners cause for generations," Drzymala said.
Marsland, a tough and outspoken crime fighter, started working for city prosecutors after his only child, son Charles Marsland III, was murdered in 1975.
He later served eight years as city prosecutor after winning elections for four-year terms in 1980 and 1984.
He died at his Hawaii Kai home on his 84th birthday in 2007.
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First democratic elections risk unsettling balance in Tonga
Emergency powers are still in place in Tonga after riots in 2006, and some commentators say the king, George Tupou V, has been steadily building his defence service to use if the 17 candidates elected fail to form a government.
Auckland University Pacific politics expert Dr Steven Ratuva said the rise in democracy in Tonga and the elections had been accompanied by an increase in the size of the military.
"They seem to be running parallel to each other, which, given the history of Fiji, is not a comfortable situation.
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