October 28, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Thursday, October 28, 2010

October 28, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 1:33 PM :: 11641 Views

Aiona-Finnegan launch Statewide bus tour

Early Voting open Oct 19-30: Find your polling place

RCP: Hawaii Governor’s race a “toss up”

Rep Roland Sagum (D-Kauai) endorses Duke Aiona for Governor

Hawaii, DC Terror Arrests Seen as Part of a Wider Plot

Lingle: $35M spent on Robotics helped win $75M Race to the Top

Hanabusa could have saved Superferry, did nothing

Filipino community leaders join Lynn Finnegan to cast early ballots

Abercrombie voted against tougher penalties for criminals who kill unborn baby

Aiona announces Hot Water, Cool Rates solar power incentives

KHON: Hawaii Man Facing Terror Charges Worshipped in Manoa

A Hawaii man who faces international terrorism charges worshiped several times at a mosque in Manoa but was asked to leave because of his extreme views, that's according to the Chairman of the Muslim Association of Hawaii.

Twenty-one-year-old Abde Hameed shehadeh was arrested last Friday by federal agents in Honolulu and is awaiting extradition to New York.

The man accused of making false statements in a terror probe first came to the Muslim Association of Hawaii in Manoa three months ago.

"He came for worship however we did ask the individual not to come," said association chairman Hakim Ouansafi. He says Abdel Hameed Shehadeh was a loner who prayed at the mosque several times before being asked not to return. "The worst place for someone with extremists views to come it will be Hawaii because there's absolutely no tolerance and there's only one mosque and our community is a community that speaks to each other so if someone hears something they will come and tell me. We felt uncomfortable so we asked him not to come back."

NY Post: SI 'jihadi' a terror dunce

Rep Ron Sagum endorses Aiona-Finnegan, media demands expulsion from Party

SA’s Derek “Iamnotademocrat” DePledge: “As Honolulu City Councilman Gary Okino has learned, endorsing a Republican is a violation of the Democratic Party of Hawaii’s constitution and can be grounds for reprimand, censure or expulsion…. Other local Democrats have had to explain why they crossed party lines.” (DePledge’s web posting is named after the Hawaii Democratic Party rule in question, “Section 8b 1”)

CB’s Chad “GodfreeHawaiielections” Blair: Rep. Sagum's endorsement may come as a surprise to the Democratic Party of Hawaii, which does not allow its membership to support the opposition. According to the state Legislature's website, Sagum is indeed a member.

Before the primary, some Democrats called for sanctioning Honolulu City Councilman Gary Okino, a Democrat running for the state House. Okino told supporters to vote for several "righteous" Republican candidates who shared his views. (Okino opposed civil unions.)

Sagum, who was elected in 2006, was one of 20 representatives of both parties to vote "no" on House Bill 444, the Hawaii civil unions bill that was vetoed by Gov. Linda Lingle in July.

News Release: Rep Roland Sagum (D-Kauai) endorses Duke Aiona for Governor

Inouye again hints he may be seeking final term

With so many years in political office, Inouye said he still enjoys the Senate and wants to continue serving. ''I want to, maybe for another term, and I hope that someone is prepared to take over,'' he added.

Asked if that was a declaration that a ninth term will be his last, he said, ''No, no, no. That's the most foolish thing a politician can say.''

Similar comments from Inouye here: In major interview published today, Inouye ignores Abercrombie ... “The facts of life would tell you," Inouye said, "that it is the final stop."

Osborne named to oversee election complaints

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie E. Osborne Jr. has been named to oversee the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in Hawaii for next Tuesday's general election….

In addition, the FBI will have agents available to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.

Those who know of discrimination or election fraud are asked to contract authorities.

Justice Dept. pushes states on new law to protect military voters

Washington (CNN) -- The ballots of U.S. military personnel abroad -- even those in remote war zones -- must be received and counted before the November election results are declared final, the Justice Department's Civil Rights chief asserted Wednesday.

Poll shows voters favor appointed school board

More than 53 percent said yes and 35 percent said no. There were 11 percent who don't know or refused.

Supporters are excited by the results but are still concerned since a blank vote counts as no.

HSTA outspent 6-1 on Appointed BoE

Wil Okabe and the teachers union feel strongly that Hawaii should preserve a democratically elected board. He's nervous that Hawaii's Children First has raised more than $512,000 for its campaign supporting an appointed board. The union has spent $86,000 opposing it.

HSTA, HGEA still sabotaging Race to the Top, may yet destroy it

Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said winning the grant may prove to be easier than following through on its promises….

“There's going to be a lot of conflict,” Matayoshi said. “Any change that's easy should have been done already. We are on the hard stuff.”

Matayoshi was referring to two promises the state made to the U.S. Department of Education in the grant application that conflict with the current contracts for teachers and principals.

The first is a statewide core curriculum, which would give teachers and schools much more direction on what to teach and when to teach it. The current contract between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the Department of Education has a strong academic freedom clause which has been interpreted to give teachers the freedom to teach without interference.

The second promise made in the grant application could be even more difficult than curriculum. The state, together with HSTA and Hawaii Government Employee Association, the union representing principals and vice-principals, is proposing annual performance evaluations of teachers and principals. The current HSTA contract has tenured teachers evaluated only once every five years.

The new evaluation system would not only be more often -- it would use student growth, potentially including standardized test scores, as a part of the evaluation.

KITV: Educators See Challenges In Proposed Reforms

(These whole exercise has been a union head fake designed to prevent RTTT reforms from reaching any schools anywhere.)

Aiona, Abercrombie much closer in cash on hand

Abercrombie and Schatz also had more cash on hand available for the final two weeks of the campaign -- $494,000 to $384,925. But both campaigns have enough money to compete and are receiving significant tactical help from political allies.

Hawaii Unions Donate Just $275K to Campaigns

Seventeen labor unions have given a total of $274,917 to 64 candidates. About 40 percent of that total went to Democratic candidate for governor Neil Abercrombie and his running mate Brian Schatz….

The rest of the union money went to candidates running for everything from the Honolulu City Council and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to the state Senate and House of Representatives.

(Unions are not an insurmountable obstacle. Of the three most unionized states, Alaska is GOP, NY is mixed, and Hawaii is recovering.)

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Republicans look to Hawaii to make waves in House

HONOLULU (AP) — A fill-in Republican congressman has a shot at winning a full-term job in Hawaii, a Democratic stronghold and President Barack Obama's birth state.

Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Djou, who is the incumbent after winning a May special election, has entrenched himself in the office by voting against all tax increases, opposing big government spending and tapping voter anxiety about the country's direction.

But the tight race could tip either way because Djou was elected without a majority in the vote-by-mail contest earlier this year. Djou earned 40 percent of the vote, and Democratic support split between his opponent in Tuesday's election, state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, and several other candidates.

Democrats dominate Hawaii politics — including this urban Honolulu congressional seat for 19 years before Djou was elected — but voters have never ousted a congressional incumbent in 51 years since statehood.

Maui News ENDORSEMENT: Fontaine for state House

It is hard for us to find a nominee more appealing than George Fontaine, Republican candidate for state House District 11 (South Maui).

A retired Maui police captain, Fontaine has run his own business, served on the Catholic Task Force on Homelessness, worked for a community-based land trust organization and served as vice chairman of the Maui County Civil Service Commission.

And, oh yeah, he is a past president of the Kihei Community Association. In short, he has a tremendous background and a consistent record of community service….

He is running against incumbent Joe Bertram III. Bertram lost us when he defended a friend who was charged in an Internet child predator sting. When Bertram said it was a "victimless crime," he lost our vote.

Maui News ENDORSEMENT: Aiona for governor

While there are certainly questions in our mind about both major party candidates for governor, in the end it comes down to one simple conclusion:

We can't afford Neil Abercrombie's vision of government.

The sheer scope and size of government that Abercrombie's "A New Day in Hawaii" presents is scary. All these new governmental efforts will require a massive infusion of cash - tax increases. Just as we're coming out of a recession. What timing!

Abercrombie's rejection of an audit of the Department of Education ensures there will be no true educational reform in Hawaii under him - the majority of education dollars will remain inside DOE's walls instead of in local schools. His proposed reform by "changing priorities" is just pandering to the unions that support him so strongly.

You can't "change priorities" if you are afraid to investigate what the current priorities are. "Changing priorities" is code for "retaining the status quo."

Abercrombie's plan to have the lieutenant governor be the point man in securing more federal largesse is ludicrous. Mr. Abercrombie, the federal government is broke and the drunken spending spree it has been on is going to stop.

Maui News ENDORSEMENT: Arakawa for mayor

Arakawa was not a perfect mayor. But he did not make the mistake of a vigorous shutdown of transient vacation rentals because he knew the economic fallout that would ensue. Livelihoods and lives would be destroyed - no small detail. Besides, he, like a lot of the operators and council members, thought a workable TVR bill was imminent.

The current mayor has been fond of saying that she "can't pick and choose" the laws to enforce. That is her defense whether the subject is TVRs, home-based businesses or signage. Forget the details - or the consequences: The law is the law.

We think Arakawa will change the tone of county government. Government should be Chief Facilitator, not Chief Enforcer.

Other Maui News Endorsements:

KGI: Meet your candidates for Lieutenant Governor

Maui News: Lanai and East Maui races stay congenial

WHT: Coffman, Leau tout their differences

Roads, rail top Council candidate issues

The City Council's 6th District is one of the oldest on Oahu in terms of history and infrastructure -- and it's showing its age.

Both candidates in the Nov. 2 runoff for outgoing Councilman Rod Tam's seat say fixing roads is a priority. Tam could not run for re-election because of the two-term limit.

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Transsexual Agenda: Hawaii leaders work on ways to curb bullying

"We have a duty to prepare the students college or a career and where ever they work in the State of Hawaii, they need to comply with the civil rights laws, you cannot work at a company and discriminate a co-worker or customer, so you have to make sure it's a safe environment for everyone," Board of Education member Coco Iwamoto said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the board met, along with community members to come up with ways to curb bullying.

Right now, the State Department of Education has two ways to combat this issue. One is workplace rules, which calls for zero tolerance for improper behavior or discrimination and the other is Chapter 19, which covers discipline in schools.

"Under Chapter 19, bullying, harassment and cyber bullying are classified as "B" offenses which are very serious offenses," Acting deputy superintendent Ron Nozoe said.

Nozoe said there are a few anti-bullying programs that schools use, including school-wide guidance programs.

"They talk about scenario-based, if you're in the situation, what do these kids do in these situations, others have contracted with private agencies," he said.

But Board of Education member Coco Iwamoto said it all comes down to each individual doing their part.

"It's an opportunity when a teacher or school level personnel witnesses an incident of bullying or harassment, it's opportunity to intervene and educate around that issue," she (sic) said.

REALITY: The transsexual agenda for Hawaii schools

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Progressive Democrat column about losing Primary

If you still choose to go forward, there's a small ray of hope. Many smaller organizations, such as the Sierra Club, Progressive Democrats, church organizations, women's rights groups, gay rights groups and the local newspaper will mail you questionnaires to complete and return. However, I found it unsettling that some organizations will actually tell you what to write on their questionnaire for their endorsement -- so if you "white" lie, you can collect quite a few of these endorsements. However, I believe most candidates are like me and answer these questionnaires honestly. Or at least I would like to think so.

Another positive for a newcomer is that there are actually some organizations that spend the time and effort in speaking with candidates, reviewing their mailers, websites and published articles for a complete picture before endorsing. I was very lucky to have three such endorsements during my campaign: the Woman's Political Caucus, LGBT and the Hawaii Venture Capital Association.

GREAT NEWS: SA’s Oi says “Long, dark cloud coming down on politics”

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Kauai County mum on former worker accused of harassment

LIHU‘E — County officials this week repeatedly refused to answer questions about Dexter Shimatsu, 62, of ‘Ele‘ele, the former county Department of Liquor Control supervisor who allegedly sent harassing e-mails to a co-worker using his employee account.

Citing state law regarding employee privacy, county spokeswoman Mary Daubert would only say the male employee who allegedly harassed Kristan (Hirakawa) Suniga “is no longer working for the county.” She did not name Shimatsu, who has not been charged with any crime.

Daubert declined to answer questions about whether Shimatsu was allowed to retire with full benefits, or if he was disciplined for the alleged actions that led to the county settling state and federal lawsuits filed by Suniga.

The lawsuits were dropped when the county agreed to settle the case out of court, agreeing to pay Suniga $450,000.

Reached at his ‘Ele‘ele home Wednesday afternoon, Shimatsu said he was not disciplined, and with 30 years of county service began planning his retirement a few years before actually retiring.

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Army violated Makua agreement, judge says

U. S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway ruled today that the Army violated an agreement by failing to conduct a subsurface archeological survey of certain areas at the Makua Military Reservation.

Mollway also ruled that the Army did not adequately study the effect of its activities on the limu at Makua Beach.

Army Times: Court criticizes Army on Hawaii training

Hillary Clinton arrives in Hawaii Wednesday afternoon, plans to ignore Abercrombie, Hirono

During her three-day stop in the islands, Clinton will meet with the Pacific Commander Admiral Robert Willard, and the Japanese foreign minister.

Secretary Clinton will also give a major speech about the United State's role as a pacific nation.

(As Sec’y of State, Clinton has been avoiding all campaign engagements this cycle.)

Hawaii to get 7 percent more air capacity

The count by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism breaks down seats by destination island:

To Honolulu: 1,623,624, up 3.8%.
To Kahului: 444,300, up 23.6%.
To Kona: 156,372, up 3.2%.
To Lihue: 106,318, up 5.5%.

There are currently no scheduled flights to Hilo from out of state.

Bed bugs a challenge for paramedics

DDT is the ONLY effective method to eliminate AND prevent the return of bedbugs.

Honolulu makes the top 100 for third-quarter foreclosures

93. Honolulu
1,843 properties in foreclosure
0.55% of homes in foreclosure

Gov. Lingle unveils new affordable housing for the elderly on Maui

KIHEI (HawaiiNewsNow) - South Maui's first affordable aging-in-place housing campus for the elderly will hold its grand opening Thursday.

Hawaii Pacific Health, HMSA announce agreement on new contract

The contract will include a pay-for-performance reimbursement model to be implemented for the first time at HPH facilities, which include Straub Clinic & Hospital, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children and Pali Momi Medical Center on Oahu, as well as Wilcox Memorial Hospital and Kauai Medical Clinic on the Garden Isle.

"Our agreement with Hawaii Pacific Health furthers our efforts to create a payment system that ties financial incentives to improved quality and delivery of care and positive patient outcomes," said Robert Hiam, HMSA's president and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. "We believe that transitioning to this new payment model and away from simply paying for services based on volume and regardless of outcomes is a vital part of creating an economically sustainable health care delivery system."

The agreement puts an end to the public dispute that was ignited when HMSA posted a notice on its website three weeks ago to its 691,000 members warning that the members could pay more for medical services at HPH facilities if a new contract wasn't reached by Jan. 31.

Public Campaign Funding Pledge Fizzle

Six weeks ago, a coalition of four Hawaii citizens' groups -- Voter Owned Hawaii and the state chapters of the League of Women Voters, the Sierra Club and Common Cause -- sent e-mails to every candidate in Hawaii state elections, inviting them to pledge their support for comprehensive public funding for elections. As of press time for this article, about ten days before the election, only three Big Island candidates had signed on.

After Kaloko: DLNR proposes its rule changes for dams

Most folks never gave much thought to the dams and reservoirs around the state until the waters held by the Kaloko Reservoir broke free on March 14, 2006, killing seven people and sweeping tons of sediment onto north Kauai’s reefs.

In the years since, much of the discussion has focused on who was to blame for the tragedy, as well as how to ensure that the remaining structures around the state are safe.

Less attention has been paid to related topics, such as the role these systems play in agriculture and water well recharge, who should bear maintenance costs and whether some of these trapped waters should be returned to the streams. (Now you know the agenda.)