Rep Pine: Pass HB1465 to Stop Elder Abuse
First 100 Residents move into Renovated Kuhio Park Apartments
Waihee: Mass murderer Zhou Enlai is a hero of mine
Sovereignty Scammers Hit it Big: Dorcy Estate Second only to Doris Duke’s
In an affidavit filed when the adoption was contested, Kanuha, a Baldwin High School graduate, claims that the court was misled by schemers who portrayed him as "a con man, scam artist, a financial predator who has lied, cheated and exerted undue influence on Laurence H. Dorcy, who was erroneously perceived by the court to be mentally deficient, a feeble-minded old man who was unable to handle his financial affairs since 2008."
That's a good summary of what Kanuha's foes do say about him. From his point of view, Kanuha is the victim of two conspiracies - one by "hangers-on" trying to get at Dorcy's money, and another by associates of his friend Hoy, trying to get Kanuha's Kula real estate.
For the present, following a hearing last month before 2nd Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto, Dorcy's longtime trust adviser, Jeffrey Peterson, has been appointed personal representative of the estate, over the objections of Kanuha's lawyers, Glenn Kosaka and William Crockett. (The state Department of the Attorney General also has filed to take a supervisory role to see that the trust assets, as potential gifts to charity, are protected.) …
The two trusts are both complicated, with many duties imposed on the trustees, and Rudy said this case is the second-largest, trust-inheritance challenge in the history of Hawaii, second only to the struggle over the estate of heiress Doris Duke.
Background: Naming names: Who are the alleged Sovereignty-mortgage scammers?
read … Another completely typical and average sovereignty activist
Activists: Assisted Suicide Legal under 1909 Hawaii Law
James Pietsch, a professor at the University of Hawaii's Law School writing in 2004 for The Journal of Legal Medicine, noted a unique Hawaii law:
"[W]hen a duly licensed physician or osteopathic physician pronounces a person affected with any disease hopeless and beyond recovery and gives a written certificate to that effect to the person affected or the person's attendant nothing herein shall forbid any person from giving or furnishing any remedial agent or measure when so requested by or on behalf of the affected person."
Added in 1909, this provision aimed to give terminally-ill patients the option to obtain treatment that had not yet been approved by the government. The 1909 provision, the Pain Patient's Bill of Rights and the Uniform Health-Care Decision Act together give terminally-ill patients significant freedom of choice to determine their course of medical care at the end of life and protection to physicians who provide that chosen care.
ALA: 1909 Law Does Not Allow Assisted Suicide
read … Facilitating Elder Abuse
Inouye on Case: “My thinking has not really changed … I don’t want to deal with a person like that”
“My thinking has not really changed. But, after all, I’m just like anyone else. I’m actively involved in government affairs. I’m a voter. And I have my likes and dislikes. And for me to continually say, ‘I have nothing to add. I have nothing to add,’ makes me look ridiculous and foolish,” Inouye said today by telephone from Washington.
“And so when people ask me, I say, ‘Well, I’ve been Mazie’s friend for a long time and I’ve watched her work and I like the way she does things.’”
Asked whether he considers that an endorsement, he said: “Well, if you want to consider that, that’s fine, because obviously if I’m going to say those things about her when I go to the polls I’m going to vote for her.”
…The senator says he has not received a satisfactory explanation from Case.
“What I am going to do? Am I going to just sit around and do nothing? I was hurt,” he said of his reaction to Case’s challenge to Akaka.
“He hasn’t given me any explanation, and if that’s the way he’s going to deal with me, I don’t want to deal with a person like that.”
The Hill: Inouye all but endorses Hirono in Hawaii
read … Is this a surprise?
Inouye: Lack of Bipartisanship Hurting Hawaii
The Hawaii Democrat, who also serves as President Pro Tem, said the panel remains as powerful as ever, but he contended that a lack of cooperation across the aisle has hampered his committee's ability to get individual spending bills enacted in recent years….
He said panel spots remain desirable because "you can actively involve yourself in the development of your nation or state" in a way that you can't on other committees….
After more than 50 years in Congress, Inouye believes that among the greatest lessons he has learned is that friendship leads to bipartisanship.
Legislating is "a bit more challenging today than it used to be 30 or 40 years ago," the Senator said during recent interviews in his office.
"For one thing, we socialized more before. We'd have time, we'd have lunches together. Today, very seldom do you see Members having lunch together," Inouye said.
"Somebody might say that's not a big thing. But if you develop warm relations, friendly relations by these activities, it may follow to the conference table," Inouye said. "Today, you don't have it."
read … The Case for Lingle
Abercrombie Muzzled After Pro-Bowl Gaffe
Abercrombie held half a dozen news conferences from January through April, also usually focused on single topics, such as the March tsunami. With the Legislature in session and a Cabinet being assembled, it was also a busy time.
The low point for Abercrombie came in early June at a news conference to announce the hiring of an early-childhood coordinator. Unprompted, the governor complained that the state should not pay the NFL $4 million to host the Pro Bowl.
"You know, we'll get more out of civil unions in a weekend than we'll get out of those guys," he said, incorrectly.
The Pro Bowl rant went viral….
Abercrombie did not stop talking to the media after that. He often speaks to reporters following public appearances, for example, and has permitted some sit-down interviews.
But, while the governor has delivered remarks in many public forums, he has rarely put himself in the position of answering questions in a formal news conference. When such events are held, his office sends out an advisory to the press.
An examination of media advisories from his office from June 10 through Oct. 5 shows that Abercrombie held only one more formal news conference in June, one in July, one in August and none in September.
read … This Won’t Last
Legislative Agenda: More Spending, Tax Hikes, and Tax Credits
If a small surplus stays in the forecast, Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-Halawa) said the pressure will likely be on restoring state services (more spending) reduced during the recession or on Abercrombie administration requests for money for items (more spending) such as covering the education and health care costs of Pacific migrants and on welfare programs.
Both Say and Kim also cited concerns about unfunded liability in public worker health insurance and retirement funds. (More spending)
Say (D, St. Louis Heights-Palolo Valley-Wilhelmina Rise) said lawmakers might propose tax credits for businesses that hire new workers or adjustments to the state’s environmental review law. He also asked business leaders at the summit at the Sheraton Waikiki whether they would provide political support for legislation lifting state regulations in areas such as procurement for two to three years to help with economic growth.
“Your voice has to be heard. Your voice has to be at the state Capitol if you want these kind of projects to move forward,” he said.
Kim said business leaders and others should do more to hold state government accountable. She said the state should make sure state programs are functioning and existing taxes and fees are being collected and used properly before lawmakers consider raising new taxes.
read … Triple Header
Hanabusa Engineered Automatic Legislative Pay Hikes
Act 57 continues legislators' pay cuts that began in mid-2009 and were initially set to expire June 30. Had the measure failed, lawmakers would have seen the the cuts restored. That would mean their annual salaries would have increased to $48,708 for a job that is officially part time. (Lawmakers are in session for four months out of the year.)
On top of restoring their pay to June 30, 2009 levels, a previously approved pay raise would have kicked in on Jan. 1, 2012, bumping their salaries up to $54,000. Salaries for the Senate president and House speaker would have increased to $61,500.
The scheduled pay raises had been recommended by a salary commission created by a 2006 constitutional amendment. The group, appointed mostly by former Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and House Speaker Calvin Say, can give lawmakers pay raises they don't have to vote on. The commission in 2007 approved a series of raises that would amount to a 61 percent increase by 2014 — from $35,900 in 2008 to $57,852 in January 2014.
read … Hanabusa
HW: Difficult to Discern If Kaauwai Responsible for GOP Debt
State of Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission (CSC) reports show that HRP spent more ($47,532 in operational expenses) than it earned ($35,181 in contributions) in the first half of 2011. While HRP was not in the red two years ago, it is difficult to discern whether Kaauwai’s leadership is solely to blame for the current debt, due to lack of itemizing on credit card bills in filings with the CSC and Federal Elections Commission. Credit card services and mailing costs were the top expenditures leading the party into debt.
Beth Fukumoto will take over as GOP interim chair. Both Fukumoto and Vice Chair of Communications Liz A. Dorn did not want to comment on the past; speaking for the party, Dorn says they are focusing on electing more Republicans to office in the upcoming 2012 elections.
read … GOP Chair Resigns
Hawaii County Elections Worker Operated Business out of Elections Warehouse
The Hawaii County administrator ultimately responsible for disciplining employees has been golfing with a worker he may be asked to fire.
Human Resources Director Ron Takahashi said he's already acknowledged his long-standing relationship with Elections Division employee Glen Shikuma.
Takahashi said their friendship is why he declined to have his department investigate Shikuma -- an independent investigation was launched instead -- and will seek to remove both himself and his staff from ruling on any grievance filed on Shikuma's behalf.
"I never talked to him about the case," Takahashi said Tuesday. "I would never do that."
Shikuma, a 12-year county employee, is under investigation for possible misuse of a Hilo elections warehouse he's responsible for managing.
He's accused of running a sign-printing business out of the 201 Makaala St. facility and also storing alcohol there.
Both actions, if proven, would violate county law.
read … Is the fix in?
Sheriff Department Gun Purchase Contract Questioned
Senator Espero says a complaint to the State Sheriffs Director highlights that the new Smith & Wesson guns have been simply sitting in storage since last October.
"What has raised the red flag is that these guns have been in Public Safety's possesion for a year and they're still not being utilized," says Sen. Espero.
The Department of Public Safety says that's because Internal Affairs is investigating how the guns were obtained, and if proper procurement procedures for such contracts were violated.
"This episode has shown me there's still some issues within the division that have to be worked out," says Sen. Espero.
Senator Espero says the gun trade-off has also brought to light inaccuracies in the Sheriff division's existing weapons inventory….
The Department of Public Safety says the internal investigation is ongoing. In the meantime, the new guns will be sent back to Smith & Wesson and state Sheriff's will continue to use their current duty issued pistols.
read … Sherriff
Back to the Stone Age: Civil Beat suggests Banana Leaves as Alternative to Styrofoam Plates
Leaves can be woven into baskets and boxes, used alone for wrapping or lining other containers, such as wood, bamboo, folded into dishes or woven baskets. Banana and ti leaves are excellent options for wrapping and lining; coconut and hala leaves can be used for weaving. When heated banana and ti leaves become soft and flexible making it easier to wrap up solid things like sandwiches, musabi, etc. Packages can be tied with raffia made from the bark of young hau bush or natural fiber string as alternatives plastic.
read … War on Restaurant Industry
Maui: Anti-GMO Luddites Push for Labeling in order to Facilitate Fear-Mongering Campaign
The push on Maui for such a law is coming mainly from two people: Ramoda Anand, a private citizen most known for his work with Maui Dance Advocates, and Maui County Council member Elle Cochrane, who has introduced a resolution asking the county council to include the above bill in its 2012 Hawaii State Association of Counties Legislative Package.
Lahaina News: Ellie Cochran
Reality: The Future of Fraud
read … Maui Time Screed
Wealthy Anti-Superferry Protesters fly to DC For “Stop the Machine” Protest
WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of supporters from across the country flocked to Wednesday night’s kickoff event for the October2011.org/Stop the Machine demonstration scheduled to take place today on Freedom Plaza.
"We've know for years what's wrong with our country. When we heard about this event we had to go. We said 'we're going, we're going to participate, and we’re going to stay until it's over,'" said Rich Hoeppner, who flew in with his wife from their home in Kauai, Hawaii. Other attendees included a group from Alaska, a couple from Hawaii and one woman who walked 200 miles from West Virginia.
Held at Busboys and Poets on 14th Street NW, the event featured speakers including Mahlon Mitchell, president of Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin, Eric Sheptock, a homeless advocate in D.C. and Jos Williams, president of the AFL-CIO's Metropolitan Council of Washington.
"When did teachers and policeman become the problem?" Mitchell asked the crowd, recalling the protests he fought alongside earlier this year in Madison, Wis.,.
read … Already preparing for Obama’s Defeat
SA: Fund adult classes via moderate fees
Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said four months ago that a cut in $5 million in general funds for adult education was needed for the Department of Education to meet higher priorities in the state's school system. Adult school principals have proposed to reduce the number of adult community schools from 11 to four and charge students at least $20 for classes, which make up for half of the $5 million in federal matching funds to be lost in state expenditures for the program.
The need for the program is apparent. Enrollment by adult students has grown from 7,765 to 9,058 in the past five years. More than one-third of the enrollees are for English-language instruction, most of them adults over 25. Most of the enrollees are seeking competence-based diplomas or opportunities to pass GED tests.
Here’s What they’re Not Cutting: Hawaii DoE: Cost of waste, fraud, and corruption between $191M and $431M per year
read … Adult Classes
Legal Morass Raises Questions About Charter School Independence
The Ethics Commission at first assumed Hong represented Boyd, the school employee. During the commission's investigation, though, it became evident that Hong represented not only Boyd, but other employees at the charter school. When commissioners asked who was paying the attorney, Hong said he is paid to represent Connections PCS and all of its employees — even though the Ethics Commission never leveled charges at the school or its other employees.
There are two problems with this. It would be a violation of the state constitution for the school to employ Hong to defend Boyd, which prohibits the use of public money for a private purpose.
And assuming Connections PCS is a public agency, state law requires the school to receive permission from the governor to hire a private attorney, because public agencies are by law automatically represented by the attorney general's office.
Finally, as part of the current legal entanglement, Hong and the school have refused to provide proof that they received such a waiver.
A June 28 letter from the Ethics Commission to Hong states that "it is unclear whether you are authorized to represent Connections Public Charter School aka Connections New Century Charter School ('Connections School').
It is unclear how much Hong is being paid, because he has not disclosed the amount to the Ethics Commission, claiming in the lawsuits that to do so would violate attorney-client privilege.
But Connections PCS made it clear it will spare no expense to win Boyd's ethics case when it offered to pay his $200,000 settlement fee. (The Ethics Commission rejected the school's money, saying that would be a misuse of public funds.)
read … Legal Morass
Reapportionment Revises Staggered Senate Terms Again
The state Reapportionment Commission, after issuing an initial revision to its plan for staggering the new Senate district terms, has revised the plan again.
New Plan: LINK
read … Staggering Terms (revised again)
OHA to Replace Namuo Within 3-5 Months
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is expected to pick a successor to longtime Administrator Clyde Namuo in the next three to five months, OHA Chairwoman Colette Machado said today.
Namuo, 60, said he is stepping down Dec. 31 after 10 years as administrator and chief executive officer.
In the interim, OHA chief operating officer Richard Pezzulo will serve as acting administrator, Machado said. The search for a new administrator will be headed by OHA's Asset Resource Management Committee, which is headed by trustee Oz Stender.
read … Return to Chaos?
Removing Bums from H-1 viaduct costs $400,000 a year
State officials spent $180,000 in manpower and an additional $20,000 in disposal fees to clear 90 homeless people and more than 60 truckloads of their belongings from the H-1 freeway viaduct in August through September.
And state officials plan to do it again every six months, using money that comes directly from Hawaii drivers….
"Even if you spend $200,000 on a cleanup, within a matter of days it looks just like it did before," Brower said. "It is viable that we spend money to clean up the homeless, whether it's under an overpass or on a city street. But if we're going to spend $400,000 a year on just one area, isn't there a better way?"
read … $4444.44 per Bum for Removal
Bill 54 Angers ACLU, Homelessness Industry
"The intent of this bill is directly for the homeless even if you say no," grilled Romy Cachola, Honolulu City Councilmember during public testimony on the bill….
"It seems that the city's publicized approach has always been these band-aid, back end approaches," said Nestor Garcia, Honolulu City Councilmember, during testimony. "The homeless are very mobile. They are very independent and they will move on to some other sidewalk to occupy."
The ACLU is opposed saying Bill 54 violates a number of constitutional provisions.
"We hope that the city council will spend more time and energy on productive and proactive measures that will address some of the root causes of homelessness, (Bill 54 addresses the root cause of homeless—lax enforcement) rather than this piecemeal approach that will affect everyone's civil rights and civil liberties," said Dan Gluck, ACLU Senior Staff Attorney.
"It is a public space for everybody and it needs to be shared it's the commons so to speak," said David Cannell, Homeless Shelter Resident. (Meaning it is just for me and you can’t use it.)
To review Bill 54 click here.
KITV: A bill that would prohibit the storage of personal property on public
Reality: It is inhumane to leave homeless laying on sidewalk. They must be FORCED to accept shelter.
Background: Kapiolani Park: Homelessness industry takes Hawaii tourism hostage, Defeating the "homelessness industry" before it gets a grip on Hawaii, Homeless tent cities: Seattle’s decade-long nightmare coming to Honolulu?
read … More ACLU Sloth Enabling
Waikiki Business Assoc Buys More Police Protection
Resolution 11-247, like a handful of others approved at the Council's meeting Wednesday, relates to a gift to the city. But this gift isn't travel to a conference or money to maintain city golf course facilities or 500 tickets to a University of Hawaii football game.
It's a $75,000 check from a group of businesses to the Honolulu Police Department to address specific illegal activities in one particular neighborhood — Waikiki.
The gift is from the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association, known to many as "BID," which includes among its board members representatives of many of the major Waikiki resorts, hotels and other businesses. The resolution says the money is to be used "to address various illegal activities on the public sidewalks in Waikiki along Kalakaua and Kuhio Avenues and connecting side streets, and the beach from Kapahulu Pier to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa."
In a letter to Safety, Economic Development and Government Affairs Committee Chair Tulsi Gabbard last week, HPD Chief Louis Kealoha said the following illegal activities have generated the most complaints in Waikiki
read … Waikiki
Hawaii District Court judges issue conflicting opinions on enforcement scheme for Hawaii's Tip Statute - Hawaii Supremes to weigh-in
Hotel and restaurant operators in the State of Hawaii have recently found their service charge practices subject to waves of challenges brought pursuant to H.R.S. § 481B-14 (the "Tip Statute"). The Hawaii Tip Statute is, in essence, a consumer protection statute that requires an employer to pay employee the entire service charge collected from customers as "tip income," if the employer fails to notify customers that a portion of the service charge will be retained by the employer for administrative and other costs. The Tip Statute challenges have sought to recover this allegedly owed "tip income" by, among other things, alleging that it constitutes unpaid wages under H.R.S. §§ 388-6, 388-10, and 388-11 ("Hawaii’s Wage Laws").
A recent decision by United States District Court for the District of Hawaii against Four Seasons, discussed in a September 9, 2011 blog entry, found that a Tip Statute action could be enforced via Hawaii’s Wage Laws. The Four Seasons decision was considered a significant blow to hotel and restaurant operators on this issue. However, another judge in Hawaii’s District Court recently issued an opinion that may breathe new life back into the defense that the legislature did not intend the Tip Statute to be enforced through Hawaii’s Wage Laws.
District Court Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi presides over a Tip Statute case involving the Wailea Marriott Resort ("Marriott"), one of a dozen resorts facing Tip Statute challenges. In the Marriott case, Judge Kobayashi elected not to issue a final determination on Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment or on Marriott’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint. Instead, Judge Kobayashi issued a lengthy opinion explaining the many reasons why she does not believe the Tip Statute can be enforced through Hawaii’s Wage Laws. Judge Kobayashi expressly acknowledged that her opinion was in direct disagreement with the decisions of her colleagues on the federal bench, including the Four Seasons decision, and a decision by a state court judge on this issue, each of whom have found that the Tip Statute can be enforced through Hawaii’s Wage Laws. Rather than issue her decision in the Marriott case, Judge Kobayashi elected to defer final ruling and seek guidance from Hawaii’s Supreme Court.
read … Supreme Tips
Assisted Suicide Lobby Begins to Crank up Lobbying for 2012
Hawaii Democrat Lifecycle: Abortion, medical marijuana, gay ‘marriage’, assisted suicide, death tax—which pays for the abortions
Kill ‘em off, dope up the survivors, ream them, and then kill them and take their money.
read … Kill Them and Seize their Assets
State's largest solar power project planned for Kauai
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative said today it plans to develop a 10-megawatt photovoltaic project that would be the largest solar power facility in the state.
The KIUC is seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service to pay for the PV and battery storage project with a $68 million federal loan that was previously earmarked for construction of an oil-fired, 10-megawatt combustion turbine generator.
To qualify for state and federal tax incentives the nonprofit KIUC has formed a new for-profit subsidiary to develop the project. The for-profit unit is necessary because KIUC as a tax-exempt cooperative does not qualify for the state or federal state incentives.
CB: Kauai Scraps Biomass Plant for Solar Farm
read … Solar
Tax Commission To Weigh Elimination Of State Income Taxes
A national state-by-state analysis of taxes completed in 2009 and referenced on the Hawaii Tax Review Commission’s website found that Hawaii has the sixth-highest tax burden on poor residents, who pay twice as much of their income in taxes as do Hawaii’s wealthiest residents.
Those earning less than $18,000 per year paid 12.2 per cent of their income in state and local taxes, the study reported. Hawaii’s wealthiest – with an average income of just over $1 million per year – paid a tax rate of 6.3 per cent, said the report.
The study was conducted by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and can be found here: 2009 tax study.
read … When Pigs Fly
Hawaii’s Future: Feds use Seal Protection to Shut Down Alaska Fisheries
the state of Alaska has recently (2010) filed a court case against NOAA related to the Stellar’s Sea Lion, its critical habitat designation, and the lack of NOAA’s understanding of effects of federally-mandated activities on local businesses and cultural practices. Reading this case, you will find many similarities to what is going on here in Hawaii.
The state of Hawaii is charged with managing the nearshore and onshore areas of this state, not the federal government. The fisheries in Hawaii are really a very LOCAL activity, with most commercial catch going to feed the residents of this state. Many people here depend on the ocean for a livelihood, for subsistence and for cultural fulfillment. After defining the “critical habitat” and then “protecting” the Stellar’s Sea Lion, the federal government closed off all federal fisheries in Alaska for specific locations within the critical habitat without giving the state or the people affected sufficient recourse for discussing alternatives. The same thing will happen here.
SA: Hawaii company gets patent for open-ocean fish cage
read … Federal Takeover
Meddling Enviro Gets Away with Harassment
Landt, a dive tour operator, answered a court summons last week on a charge stemming from an incident last February, when she photographed an aquarium fish collector anchoring on coral instead of using a day-use mooring near Kawaihae. Landt reported the incident, and turned her photographs in to officials of the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation Resources and Enforcement. The collector was legally allowed to gather yellow tang in that area, but anchoring on coral, damaging coral, and anchoring near an official mooring instead of using the mooring are all violations of state regulations. The collector, to date, has not been charged. But Landt received a summons for allegedly violating an obscure clause of the Hawaii Revised Statutes that forbids harassing fishermen. The summons alleged that she “did intentionally prevent and/or attempt to prevent the lawful taking of fish… by placing herself and/or others in a location in which human presence may affect the behavior of fish to be taken and/or the feasibility of taking such fish….”
As it turns out, however, the law cited applies only to disturbing people with freshwater fishing licenses.
read … Meddling Eco Gets Away
Latest Target for Free Floating Anxiety: Aquarium Fish Collectors
Council Chairman Dominic Yagong, one of the dissenters, said the council was "overstepping" its authority, since the West Hawaii Fishery Council and state agencies were already working on reef protections. Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi joined Yagong in opposition.
"We never told the rest of the state how to run their counties," Yagong said. "I certainly don't dare tell the councils on Kauai or Oahu or Maui what they should do with their county."
The resolution is likely to have little impact on the state Legislature, which this year killed several bills dealing with the issue, including one by Sen. Josh Green, D-North and South Kohala, North and South Kona. Green told West Hawaii Today on Wednesday that his bill sought a compromise where aquarium collection would be phased out rather than banned outright.
"I lean toward more restrictions on behalf of the environment," Green said. "But I'm open to doing it in a fair way. I'm not going to cut anyone's legs out from under them."
At the council meeting, dozens of recreational divers and environmentalists once again squared off against the aquarium fish collecting industry.
"There is no good coming from the aquarium trade," said Kaimi Kaupiko, a resident of Milolii, the last Hawaiian fishing village on the Big Island. "Our way of life is being hampered every day by these collectors."
Kaupiko said the reefs have been "devastated" over the years.
But William Walsh, a biologist with the state Division of Aquatic Resources, said West Hawaii aquarium fish stocks have actually increased over the past 12 years. He said during that time, yellow tang in the 30-feet to 60-feet prime reef habitat increased by 337,000 and kole populations increased by more than 1 million fish. Those two species make up 91 percent of the West Hawaii aquarium catch, he said.
read … Free Floating Anxiety
White House Pretends that 1,500 Hawaii Teacher Jobs Come From Obama Plan
The White House estimates that the president’s jobs plan will save or create nearly 400,000 teacher jobs across the nation.
According to a report issued by the White House on Tuesday, that includes 1,500 teacher jobs in Hawaii. The report pegs related funding for Hawaii at about $122 million.
Read the complete report.
read … Obamanomics Count
Gay Reaction to Anti-Bullying Program
Background: The transsexual agenda for Hawaii schools
More than 100 protestors rallied against Capitalism, Freedom on Hawaii island
More than 100 protestors held solidarity demonstrations in both Kona and Hilo on the island of Hawaii yesterday. The Hilo demo took place in front of the Merrill-Lynch offices; 4 policemen watched from an adjacent parking lot, but did not engage in any provocative actions since the rally was conducted with much Aloha spirit...
Still, the many creative and provocative signs held by the protesters--in Hilo almost half were young people, who are beginning to see that the Capitalist economy is a dead end--stimulated many positive response form passing motorists. "Money for Jobs, Not for War," "End the Fed," "Stop Bailouts for War & Capitalism" were just 3 of the more than 85 signs displayed at the Hilo demo. Several demonstrators even got interviewed by ESPN Radio, and they were able to air progressive analyses on the Collapsing Clunker Capitalist system to many listeners across the islands….
(That describes the development of “consciousness”. Pathetic, eh?)
read … Ignorant Socialist Slaves