Djou: "Rail is being transformed from a public works project into a private benefit club"
Stung by Slipping Numbers, Hirono Releases Four Week Old Polling Results to Fool Media
HR: Hirono's poll, conducted by (Democrat) Benenson Strategy Group in Washington DC, said "Congresswoman Mazie Hirono holds a double-ˇdigit lead over former Governor Linda Lingle and is well positioned to win in November."
The poll company reports: "Hirono holds an 11% lead over Lingle in the race for U.S. Senate. She receives a majority of the vote (51%), while Lingle receives 40%, 2% volunteer another candidate, and 7% are undecided. When we push undecideds, 19% advantage over Lingle. Among men, Hirono leads by 3%."
Hirono's poll includes 800 interviews with likely 2012 general election voters in Hawaii conducted June 19-ˇ21, 2012, with live callers claims to have a margin of error of ±3.46%.
Meanwhile, Lingle also claims to be ahead of Hirono, citing her own internal poll conducted by Voter/Consumer Research polling firm, which shows her with a 5 percentage point lead. The poll, conducted July 8 - 10, 2012, included calls to 600 likely voters statewide.
Lingle said: "I am very pleased to see that my message of bipartisanship and common-sense solutions to our state and nation's problems is resonating with the voters of Hawaii. The momentum and confidence that is building for our campaign are reflected in the polling numbers we received this morning. Even with the negative attacks made by my opponents and their surrogates, it's clear the people of Hawaii know me and know my proven record of working on their behalf for over 25 years."
Lenny Klompus, spokesperson for Lingle, said: "Her (Hirono's) poll is very old. Clearly they had to create a memo today for survey results taken nearly four weeks ago."
He said: "If Mazie is winning by such a large margin, why is she advertising and debating all of a sudden? Our poll from this week clearly shows her support is slipping. And if anyone has any doubt, her sudden reversal on a televised debate in two weeks makes it clear our poll is 100% accurate and she is very worried."
CB: Hirono Spends $69,000 on Ads
Lingle pulls in $1.1M to Hirono's $941,000
SA: Republican Linda Lingle raised more than $1.1 million during the past three months for her campaign for the U.S. Senate and has started to use her substantial bankroll to try to gain an advantage over Democrats.
Lingle's quarterly figure, which covers fundraising through June, puts the former governor at $4.2 million overall and widens the gap with Democrats.
Pay to Play Crowd Pours Money into Mayoral Race
HR: The former governor received $40,000 from donors connected to architect-engineer Dennis Mitsunaga, a longtime friend, fundraiser and political backer of Cayetano. Mitsunaga gave $4,000 personally and the rest came from Mitsunaga relatives and employees….
Rail proponents have made much of Mitsunaga’s connections to Cayetano and the fact that the businessman was once investigated for, but never charged with, participation in “pay to play” schemes that connected campaign donations to non-bid government consulting contracts.
The names of other individuals actually found guilty of campaign spending violations appear on the lists of donors to both Caldwell and Cayetano this year.
Russell Figueiroa, head of the RM Towill engineering firm who was fined $50,000 for campaign spending violations in 2006, gave the $4,000 maximum to Caldwell and employees of his firm gave Caldwell another $8,000.
Michael Matsumoto, head of the SSFM engineering firm here, gave $2,000 to Cayetano and $4,000 to Caldwell.
Matsumoto was fined $303,000 for campaign violations. He also served a term of court supervision after entering a deferred no-contest plea to criminal violations. Those offenses were erased from his record after he successfully completed his court sentence.
In this year’s race for Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney, challenger Kevin Takata pulled in more money than incumbent Keith Kaneshiro, thanks in large part to a $42,000 donation from Takata’s brother Michael, a New York businessman.
Kaneshiro received $58,000 in donations and Takata reported nearly $72,000 in receipts
Pandora’s Box: Gabbard Hammers Hanneman on Pay for Play
SA: GABBARD WENT on the offensive against Hannemann, her biggest opponent in the primary, accusing him of practicing a "play-for-pay" system of distributing contracts while he was mayor from 2004 to 2010. She pointed to articles showing those who contributed to Hannemann's campaigns were apt to win city contracts.
CB: Gabbard accused Hannemann of a "pay-to-play" culture in his mayoral administration that saw campaign donors receive millions of dollars in rail contracts. The generally unflappable Hannemann shot back that he followed procurement rules and later said, "I want assure everyone out there, all the investigations in the world will never uncover anything illegal, improper with any contract that came out from my administration, whether it was rail or not. If that had occurred, I certainly would have been accountable for it, and it ain't gonna happen."
Complete Rundown on Maui Legislative, Council Fundraising
MN: In what is expected to be one of Maui's hottest primary races, incumbent state House Rep. Gil Keith-Agaran has a sizable financial advantage over his opponent, longtime County Council Member Joe Pontanilla, for the seat representing Central Maui in the state Legislature….
Incumbent Republican Rep. George Fontaine, who represents District 11, South Maui: Raised $11,270, spent $12,690 for the filing period. Reported $8,255 in cash on hand as of June 30.
Incumbent Democratic Rep. Mele Carroll, who represents District 13, East Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe, did not file a finance report as of Thursday night….
Honolulu Mayoral Candidates Debate H-Power, Landfills
PBN: Caldwell said technology like the aforementioned H-Power plant that burns trash and turns it into energy, recycling and other methods could help eliminate the need for a landfill. And ash from the H-Power plant has a possible use for the roadwork, he said.
Cayetano doesn’t believe getting rid of a landfill is the answer in the immediate future, but he also doesn’t agree with putting it in Kahuku. “It doesn’t make sense with the distance. You’ve got to take into account fuel costs and wear and tear on the roads.”
The former governor also believes that trash-burning technology and a recycling plant that separates materials for burning could help.
Unlike his opponents, Carlisle doesn’t believe a landfill can be eliminated on Oahu.
“You can’t use the H-Power plant unless you have the landfill as a backup,” the mayor said.
Carlisle has been supportive of the efforts to find a new landfill location to date, and one area that he and Caldwell agree on is that the existing landfill should be mined for materials to be burned at the H-Power plant.
Candidates Don’t Know How Many Fire , Ambulance Stations City Has
CB: "We have 43 fire stations and 25 EMS stations," said Caldwell in a rebuttal to former Gov. Ben Cayetano. "We have more ambulances than that. And we can put them into fire stations close to where we live, so you can get them to people who are in need of care, healthcare, and taken to hospitals. This is critical for me. And it's going to save money..."
Are Caldwell's numbers correct?
The statement came in response to a question from KITV's Catherine Cruz, who originally asked Cayetano whether the departments should merge. The number of EMS stations is important because Caldwell argues that he can improve the city's life-saving capabilities by installing an ambulance in every fire station.
Honolulu as of Monday actually has 20 ambulance units or EMS stations, according to an EMS spokesperson. Those ambulance units, plus two other "rapid response" units, fall under two districts. (The city does indeed have 43 fire stations.)
But Caldwell wasn't the only one whose figures were mistaken. Cayetano said the city has 41 fire stations and 19 ambulance units.
While the former governor was more or less correct about the number of EMS stations — even the department's website has yet to be updated from 19 — his answer for the number of fire stations in Honolulu was off by two.
Congress hopefuls sail into Jones Act’s political waters
Borreca: ….former Gov. Linda Lingle, campaigning for the U.S. Senate, knew she was on to a news-making idea when during a Tuesday night speech, she proposed keeping the Jones Act — or at least thinking about it and daring to say the issue isn't just about open-market competition getting us cheap stuff from L.A….
"Our domestic shipbuilding industry could disappear because of the lower cost of foreign shipbuilding due to lack of environmental protections, poorer working conditions, lower wages, and foreign government subsidies," Lingle warned.
Lingle pointed to studies showing that a national ship-building capacity and the merchant marine are an important security component….
If Lingle were running as a Democrat and the local Dems had passed a similar resolution, the only debate would be whether to string her up from the yardarms or make her walk the plank.
Concert? What Concert? Wonder Reps Called UH Monday
SA: UH athletic director Jim Donovan on Tuesday said UH officials gave promoter Bob Peyton of BPE Productions $200,000 for the concert, the proceeds of which were to aid the university's financially strapped athletic department. Then in an email to the Star-Advertiser on Wednesday, Peyton said UH "wired the agent 200k directly (and) BPE wired 50k directly" to a Bank of America branch account number described as belonging to Miami-based Epic Talent, the purported agent in UH's Wonder deal and, according to its website, created in February. Sean G. Barriero, listed as Epic Talent's manager, did not return emails and calls by this newspaper.
UH officials apparently were unaware of the situation until Wonder's representatives at Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood, Calif., contacted them on Monday to say they knew nothing about a Wonder concert at UH. Another CAA representative emailed Greenwood with the same message.
"We don't know if this is bad judgment and poor policy or whether we have something more serious on our hands," Greenwood said.
Rightly placed on leave were Donovan and Rich Sheriff, the youngest son of the arena's namesake and its manager since it opened in 1994. UH vice president Rockne Freitas was installed as interim athletic director at Manoa.
Donovan and Sheriff are reported to have been escorted from their offices, allowed to pack one box of their belongings and turned in their keys. Donovan was into the fifth year of his five-year contract with UH — and supervisors had been tellingly mum for months about his future at UH.
Last Lease-to-Fee Case Ends in Defeat for Homeowners
PBN: Admiral Thomas condominium owners will not be able to purchase their land from the First United Methodist Church, now that courts have settled a decade-long dispute by dismissing condemnation proceedings.
The condo at 1221 Victoria St. in Honolulu sits on land owned and used by the church for its sanctuary and classroom space.
The ruling marks the final case under the City and County of Honolulu’s 1991 Mandatory Condominium Lease-to-Fee Land Conversion ordinance (Chapter 38).
Abercrombie Forces Hoosier, Takata to take Leave
HNN: Gov. Neil Abercrombie has instituted a new policy for his appointees this election year: they have to take vacation or unpaid leave if they're running for office.
Deputy Attorney General Kevin Takata is challenging Keith Kaneshiro in the city prosecutor's race this year. At the governor's request, Takata took vacation leave starting July 1. He'll be on leave until the prosecutor's election in November. He said he has accrued enough vacation as a longtime city prosecutor to use paid vacation time through the fall election.
"We don't want to punish anybody for running for office, not in a democracy. But by the same token, we want to make sure that the public is assured in turn that people are earning their paycheck," Abercrombie said.
Former State Senator Gary Hooser, who has headed the state's Office of Environmental Quality Control for the past year and a half also took vacation leave starting July 1, a little more than a month before the Aug. 11 primary. He is an appointee of the governor.
Hooser's running for a seat on the Kauai County Council….
Others not under the governor's direct control have also left state jobs to run for office.
At the end of last year, Esther Kiaaina stepped down voluntarily as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' chief advocate….
UH Manoa spokesman Gregg Takayama, who's running for a seat in the State House, is subject to strict UH rules for candidates. Following the procedures for all UH employees, Takayama went on unpaid leave as soon as he filed for office June 5, he said
Council passes ACLU-Backed bill governing protests
SA: People holding a protest or other "expressive activity" in a city park would be required to obtain a permit, under a bill approved Wednesday by the City Council.
Bill 38 allows groups of fewer than 75 people to convene at parks without permits. Gatherings of up to 150 people would be allowed without permits at Ala Moana Beach Park and Kapiolani Park because those venues are larger.
The bill, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union Hawaii chapter, was prompted by a court order….
Councilman Ikaika Anderson, who cast the sole "no" vote Wednesday, said he is worried about the possibility that city officials could use the law to disband groups if their numbers are larger than organizers had anticipated.
Stung By Signmaking, Alcohol Scandal, Hawaii County Election Div Plays Catch up
BIN: County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi, who also heads up the Hawaii County Elections Division, today gave an overview of the proceedings to candidates and media at the County Council room.
Despite a shakeup in the division’s personnel, and delays caused by lawsuits filed over the reapportionment process which drew up new boundaries for state offices, Kawauchi said the county will be ready for the Aug. 11 primary.
County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi describes the efforts taken by the staff of the Elections Division to prepare for the upcoming primary election.
“I do believe we’ll have a fair and honest election,” she told Big Island Now.
This year for the first time, permanent absentee voting applications were mailed to every registered Hawaii County voter.
Kawauchi said the response has been strong, with more than 17,000 voters choosing that method so far compared to 6,000 in 2010. (More Democrat Voters)
Kawauchi said the yellow cards detailing each voter’s precinct and voting location will be mailed next week.
The problems the Big Island’s Election Division faced this year included the firings early this year of several election workers, including longtime election program administrator Pat Nakamoto.
Nakamoto has reportedly won back her job through a union grievance process but has not yet returned to work.
Kawauchi today introduced the division’s interim administrator, Arlene Boteilho. Her duties include coordinating the activities of roughly 700 poll workers across the island.
Kawauchi today declined to comment on Nakamoto’s status.
Kenoi Vetoes Two Geothermal Bills
WHT: One bill would have required the county Civil Defense Agency to prepare an emergency response and evacuation plan for geothermal facilities and to submit it to the County Council for approval by Aug. 1. The bill is aimed at people living near Puna Geothermal Venture.
Kenoi’s veto message for the Civil Defense bill states that first responders already have a plan for all emergency situations, including geothermal, based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency-developed incident command system.
Council Chairman Dominic Yagong, who introduced both bills, said he was disappointed with the mayor’s action.
The other vetoed bill, which would affect people in lower Puna, would have renamed the Geothermal Relocation and Community Benefits Program to the Geothermal Relocation and Public Safety Program, although it’s popularly known as the “geothermal royalties” fund.
Some Kona Coffee Farmers Angered by Abercrombie Signing HB 280
HR: Gov. Abercrombie Abandons the Hawaii Brand and Small Scale Farmers
Kauai Voters Will Not Get Say on Mayor’s Power over Chief
KGI: After much controversy earlier this year, when Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. put Kaua‘i Police Department Chief Darryl Perry on leave, voters will not decide whether the mayor or the Police Commission has such powers over the police chief.
The Kaua‘i County Council on Wednesday defeated a resolution asking voters if they would want a Kaua‘i County Charter amendment to clarify the charter’s Article VII, Section 7.05., specifically stating the mayor has the power to “exercise direct supervision over all administrative departments, except those that are headed by either an elected official, or an official appointed by a board commission or the council.”
The current language in the charter states the mayor has direct supervision over all departments “except as otherwise provided.” Such language was interpreted earlier this year by County Attorney Al Castillo as giving Carvalho power to place Perry on leave.
“In my opinion, the mayor was very wrong when he suspended our police chief,” said Glenn Mickens, Kapa‘a resident and self-described nitpicker. “Our Police Commission was put in place to prohibit politics from playing a role in this type of decision-making and this charter amendment could, if passed, stop any future problems like this from happening.”
Mickens’ opinion was met by council members Mel Rapozo and KipuKai Kuali‘i, the only ones who voted for the resolution.
Kenoi axes GASB bill, Continues to Loot Retirees Benefits
WHT: Yagong, a 1st District councilman and mayoral candidate who has said Kenoi’s continued deferrals of millions of dollars of the recommended payment amounts to “stealing from future generations,” does not have the support on the County Council to override Kenoi’s veto unless someone changes his vote. The bill was approved last month on a 5-4 vote.
Yagong has said he introduced the bill because he was certain that dozens of amendments he planned to introduce to cut the county budget would be vetoed by the mayor — but as it turns out, the route he chose met the same fate.
Punchbowl flap will spur calls to kin
SA: The director of Punchbowl cemetery plans to call about 380 families to inform them that memorial markers of their loved ones were moved six years ago, and likely will apologize for not informing the families back then, a Department of Veterans Affairs official said Thursday.
The planned action comes in response to an inquiry that Brad Phillips, the agency official who oversees all national cemeteries in the West, completed after a Florida woman discovered in December that her late husband's marker had been moved without her knowledge.
As it turns out, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl's formal name, failed to notify roughly 380 families in 2006 when markers in one section were realigned to make room for an additional 300 placements, according to Phillips.
Senators tell judges to cancel Hawaii junket
WE: Senate Republicans told the 9th Circuit Court on Friday to cancel its mid-August trip to Hawaii, saying the court failed to prove why the trip was necessary even though it had been given weeks to respond.
The GOP lawmakers are also threatening legislation to bar such junkets in the future.
"In our initial letter, we requested specific documents pertaining to the total cost of the conference but were given vague excuses instead," Sens. Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, and Charles Grassley, of Iowa, wrote to the Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski. "The Court sidestepped every request for documentation of expenditures, responding instead that travel-related expenses are not easily accessible."
American Samoa lawsuit seeks U.S. citizenship
AP: A group of five people have filed a federal lawsuit arguing they should be U.S. citizens by virtue of being born in American Samoa, the only U.S. territory that doesn't grant that birthright.
The lawsuit filed this week in Washington, D.C., challenges the constitutionality of federal laws that make those born in American Samoa U.S. nationals but not citizens like those born in other territories….
Statutes have been passed in other territories defining them as part of the United States and entitling people born there to U.S. citizenship. But not everyone in American Samoa wants that, explained Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney in Alaska who often handles cases involving American Samoa nationals.
Being a citizen at birth would mean all of the U.S. Constitution applies, which would prevent certain communal land ownership rules unique to American Samoa, such as favoring those with Samoan blood, Stock said.
"This has been a big debate in American Samoa for a long time," she said.