Early Voting Begins Today--Find Your Polling Place
Henkin: Rumors of Hee-Wooley Affair “Scurrilous”
Hirono Claims Credit for George Bush STEM Legislation
Failing, DoE Asks Feds for Permission to Scrap AYP Testing
Charter School Enrollment Reaches 10,000 Milestone
New Lane Open on H-1 Freeway
Hawaii Congressional Delegation: How They Voted July 30, 2012
Filipino Chronicle Poll Shows Strong Support for Cayetano, Split on Senate Race
FC: Former Gov. Cayetano holds a striking lead over his competitors among registered Filipino voters. Forty percent of the respondents polled said they would vote for Cayetano, followed by Mayor Peter Carlisle at 8.7 percent, former city Managing Director Kirk Caldwell at 3.1 percent, and a whopping 48.2 percent undecided. Even if Cayetano were to get only one-third of the 48.2 percent undecided group, that would be more than enough for him to secure the mayoral race in the primary election….
Among respondents who support Cayetano in the HFC poll, 87.3 percent of them also oppose rail, adding validity to Cayetano's belief that if he is elected, voters are also saying no to the continuation of the project as well. Then there are those who say they will be voting for Cayetano even though they support rail (12.7 percent). Only a few respondents said they would not vote for Cayetano because of his position on rail….
Hawaii's Filipino voters in this HFC poll found this race to be the toughest to decide. Case finished on top with 19 percent of respondents, followed by Hirono with 15.9 percent and Lingle close behind at 12.4 percent. The undecided group is 52.7 percent which means this race is up for grabs with no clear favorite.
LINK: Filipino Chronicle Election Supplement
read … Fifty Percent Plus One
What $300M? Abercrombie Suddenly Admits Surplus Does Not Exist
HNN: …in May, teachers voted to accept the same contract they turned down in January even though the governor said that the agreement was no longer valid.
"Since then, the economy has gotten better, the governor has said there's a surplus of about $300-million, so we are very perplexed as to why the agreement cannot be accepted," said Okabe.
A statement from the governor's office says:
"Mr. Okabe is mistaken to characterize the administration's news of good fiscal management as a "surplus." There remain many financial obligations and unfunded liabilities which we are working to get a handle on instead of pretending they're not there."
According to the state, the Attorney General says an offer terminated by rejection cannot be later revived by a subsequent purported acceptance.
In a letter dated July 25th, the governor's chief negotiator tells HSTA President Wil Okabe:
"The employer and HSTA must resume bargaining in order to reach a new tentative agreement. Nothing precludes the parties from considering the provisions of prior tentative agreements."
That's something Okabe was pleased to hear and says that will be discussed with the board of directors in a meeting this week.
"HSTA is always willing to talk; I believe that the last tentative agreement is a message from our members to look at this situation about how the economy has improved, with the access of $300-million."
Abercrombie was lying: “Governor: Hawaii ends fiscal year $300M in black”
HFP was right: “Abercrombie's $306M Claim Relies on Financial Sleight-of-Hand”
read … Abercrombie Admits he made the whole thing up
Hawaii public land development agency eyes Deal With Billionaire Clinton Crony Movie Mogul
PBN: …the agency wants to transfer the lease for Olomana Golf Links in Waimanalo so that it can do capital improvements to the course, which was acquired by Pacific Links Hawaii in May; is talking to Relativity Media and developer Lend Lease about developing the Ewa farm land, which is adjacent to D.R. Horton's proposed Hoopili subdivision; and is looking at expanding Big Island beekeeper Richard Spiegel's lease at Puako Forest from nine to 550 acres to protect his Volcano Island Honey business….
Relativity In Hawaii:
CB: Hawaii Land Corp. Pushes Forward on Projects, Despite Lack of Rules
SA: Land agency seeks 3 properties
read … Land and Power Always Begins with Golf
Even With 20% Extra Democrats, Stat-Adv Poll Finds Majority Oppose Rail
SA: Despite extensive election-year advertising and campaigning to convince the public of the benefits of the $5.26 billion Honolulu rail project, only 44 percent of Oahu residents believe work on it should continue, according to a new Hawaii Poll.
Another 50 percent of Oahu voters do not believe work should continue on the project, and 5 percent declined to answer or were undecided, the poll found.
Overall, support for rail has hardly budged since February….
HR: Star Advertiser poll show 59 to 39 percent preference for enhanced bus over rail
CB: Outside Money's Big Role In 2012 Hawaii Election
read … Rail at a standstill
West Hawaii Today Endorses Guccione
WHT: Our choice for this district is conservative newcomer Charles Guccione. He takes a business-like approach to government operations, reflecting the nature of his district. But he laces that nicely with more moderate understanding and support of concepts like impact fees, affecting regional residents. He is smart enough to understand a government “fee” is just another tax.
BINC: Kona Council Candidates Share Their Vision
HTH: U.S. Senate: Hirono, Case battle for right to face Lingle
HTH: Congress, District 2: Hirono’s seat is up for grabs
read … Guccione for Council
City Builds $20M Parking Garage, Reserves it for Ghost Employees at Non-Existent Agency
SA: Question: I drive by the Honolulu Police Department headquarters every morning and see that the expensive multilevel parking structure next to it still hasn’t opened. Why? The Alapai Transit Center bus depot on the street level is operational. I understand civilian police workers won’t be allowed to park there. They will still have to park at the Blaisdell Center and walk to work. So who will be allowed to park there?
Answer: The $20-million, five-story, 406-space parking garage above the Alapai Transit Center, which opened May 25, is reserved for employees who will work in the Joint Traffic Management Center, which has yet to be built. (LOLROTF!)
The center will bring together the traffic management components of the city’s and state’s transportation departments, as well as the Police, Fire and Emergency Services departments to provide coordinated management of traffic operations and incidents. (By which time the garage will have outlasted its design lifespan without even a single car parking there.)
No one is using the parking garage currently; it is not available for public parking. (And park n ride is unthinkable!)
read … Your Magnificent City and County Government at Work
Poll Larded With 20% Extra Democrats Shows Djou Trailing by Only 9%
HNN: In the race for the first congressional district, incumbent Colleen Hanabusa has a slight edge over Republican challenger Charles Djou.
Of those polled, 50 percent said they'd vote for Hanabusa if the general election were held today.
Djou garnered 41 percent in the poll. The margin of error is 5.4 percent.
Back in 2010, Hanabusa unseated Djou after he won a special election to fill the remainder of the term left by now- Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
The poll was conducted in July for Hawaii News Now and the Star-Advertiser by Ward Research Inc. among 429 likely voters for the second congressional district poll, and 327 likely voters in the first congressional district poll.
Background: Star-Adv Poll Debunked: 20% Extra Democrats
read … 20% - 9% = Djou Ahead by 11%?
Mellman: Gabbard 37%, Hannemann 32%
ZNI: Washington: Tulsi Gabbard, who trailed behind her nearest rival by over 40 points a few months ago in the race for the Congressional seat from Honolulu, has now taken a narrow but crucial lead of five points in the latest polls, brightening prospects for the first Hindu(???) to be elected to the US House of Representatives.
In a dramatic turnaround, 31-year-old Tulsi has eclipsed Mufi Hannemann and is now the frontrunner in the race to succeed Representatives Mazie Hirono in House, said the prestigious Mellman Group, releasing its latest round of opinion polls.
Ahead of the Democratic primary election in Hawaii's second congressional district on August 11, Tulsi, a Honolulu city council woman, now holds a five-point lead over Hannemann, former Honolulu mayor — 37% for Tulsi and 32% from Hannemann, said the Mellman Group. "This represents a sea change in the race since our previous poll, conducted in April, where Hannemann led Tulsi by 26 points.
SA: Hannemann shows 'a healthy margin' over his opponent
read … News from India
New Rules Will Make it easier for Criminals to Hide their Crimes
CB: When a conviction is expunged, you'd expect it to be erased. But that's not the case in Hawaii.
Public records of convictions that have been expunged can still be accessed at the courts in hard copy. But that could soon change if a new rule is adopted by the Hawaii Supreme Court sealing all expunged records.
Expungement is usually applied to defendants who are first-time offenders and who follow certain conditions. Expungement often follows a "deferred acceptance of guilty" or a "deferred acceptance of no contest" — pleas that allow convictions to be expunged after good behavior and payment of certain fines and fees.
If a person's record is expunged in Hawaii, it can't be found online through the state's database of adult criminal records managed by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.
But it can be found at the court, if you go to the court and review a paper copy of a person's record.
If the new rule is adopted, all forms of the expunged record would be sealed.
According to Hawaii State Judiciary spokesman Mark Santoki, the rule is being considered in part “to establish consistency” with the criminal justice data center.
read … So they can run for office without anybody knowing
Nuclear Family Reduces Homelessness from 30% to 7%
SA: This year, 70 percent of the homeless people were in shelters, up 1.3 percent. Most of those without a roof over their heads were individuals, according to the report: 93 percent of the homeless who were part of families had found cover in shelters.
SA: Mayoral candidates need to be clear about homeless issue
read … Permanent solution remains elusive for isle homeless
School Bullies: Hawaii Still Struggling To Help Tormented Kids
CB: Rep. George Fontaine, a retired police captain, said he was disappointed with how HB688 ended up.
"It didn't provide any kind of accountability or requirement for the department to report back to the Legislature," he said. "There's no onus on anyone."
Like other lawmakers, he hopes to get some answers from the board after the November election. From there, Fontaine said he will sit down with Awana, HB688's lead author, to decide on a course of action.
"The discussion needs to include everyone," he said, adding that parents need to be involved too. "We need to do whatever it takes to protect our children."
read … Bullying
Star-Adv Writes Article on UH Construction Boom Without Mentioning Kobayashi Even Once
SA: Huge cranes dominate the skyline of the University of Hawaii at Manoa this summer as the campus undergoes $137.5 million worth of construction and renovation.
Chief among the projects is a $42 million Information Technology Center…
The design of the Campus Center expansion and the design and renovation of Hemenway cost another $10 million, said Brian Minaai, UH's associate vice president for capital improvements.
(These are the projects Kobayashi scored under ‘special rules’.)
HR: Minaai worked from 2002-2005 as a Kobayashi Group project manager. He previously served as deputy director and director of the state Transportation Department in Gov. Ben Cayetano’s administration.
read … Kobayashi, who’s Kobayashi?
Hundreds of Grifters, Con-Men Expected at Hawaii Clean Energy Summit
CB: Hawaii’s energy sector is gearing up for the state’s fourth annual Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo being held at the Hawaii Convention Center, August 13 -15.
From DBEDT: With plenary addresses from Governor Neil Abercrombie, Senator Daniel Inouye, and representatives from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Navy, this pivotal event will attract an estimated 1,200 local, national and international participants representing government, military, the private sector, and energy industry officials from more than 20 countries….
Information about the speakers, panel discussions and how to register can be found here.
read … Perfect Place for a Dragnet
HEI Earnings Expected to Soar 28%
WSCS: Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net income of 36 cents per share, a rise of 28.6% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. The average estimate is the same as three months ago. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved down. It has risen from 35 cents during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 13.2% versus last year to $1.63….
With double-digit revenue growth the past four quarters, this earnings release is a chance to keep that positive trend going. The company has averaged year-over-year revenue growth of 21.4% over the last four quarters.
This upcoming earnings announcement will be a chance to build on positive earnings momentum over the last three quarters. Net income rose 48.5% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year and 37.8% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year before increasing again in the first quarter….
read … Rate Payers Suffer HECO Laughs All the Way to the Bank
Those legislative gifts don’t add up
ILind: I started with the disclosure filed by House Speaker Calvin Say because he usually submits a very thorough listing of gifts, and this year was no exception.
Right away, I noticed the list of gifts from the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii valued at $205 during the latter half of 2011, and $70 this year.
There’s nothing improper about those gifts, but several exceeded the threshold for itemized disclosure by the lobbyist or the client.
So I jumped over to the Chamber’s report of lobbying expenses from May 1-December 31, 2011. The gifts to the speaker valued at $25 or more, or with an aggregate value of $150 or more, should have been itemized, but the Chamber failed to report them. No itemized gifts during the January-February 2012 reporting period, either.
read … Those legislative gifts don’t add up
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