Entries for August 2012

Marco Mangelsdorf, who co-owns a company in Hawaii, ProVision Solar Inc ... has been fuming since he received a $138,000 tax bill in June from U.S. Customs, 250% more than what he paid for a shipment of Chinese panels he received in February ....

· use of illegal campaign contributions to obtain public funding,

· Mr. Ing taking over $5,900 in cash from his own Committee without appropriate receipts or descriptions

...Larry Mehau associate John Carroll announced his support of Larry Mehau associate Mazie Hirono in the US Senate race today....

The long predicted fight over the foreign flag carriage of crude oil from the U.S. Government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) on the U.S. Gulf Coast to refineries on the U.S. East Coast seems set to begin in earnest ....

“They can’t say we didn’t warn them,” Slater said. “We were saying from the get-go that this (survey) had to be done.”

Governor Linda Lingle, candidate for Hawaii’s open U.S. Senate seat, called on the Republican National Committee to consider the diverse opinions of Party members related to a woman’s right to choose before adopting a proposed platform plank....

Since Heritage's Robert Rector and Kiki Bradley broke the story on July 12 that the Obama Administration had gutted the work requirements from the 1996 welfare reform law, the Administration has denied it.

Howard Karr, chair emeritus of the UH Board of Regents, will chair the committee. Norm Chow, UH football head coach, will serve as committee vice chair....

So the question becomes, how much does that cost and is there really a savings?

Obvious question: Did Rockne Freitas con-vince Greenwood to deploy such a stupid story in hope of the BoR firing Greenwood and putting him in the top job?

Akaka’s lawsuit seeks a recount of the ballots cast, or alternatively a re-run of the primary election for her district.

California, Hawaii, Iowa, and New York today have been awarded Level One Exchange Establishment grants, which provide one year of funding to states that have begun the process of building their Exchange....

...the CBO said that if Congress does not act, the economy will shrink by 0.5 percent, and the unemployment rate will spike to 9.1 percent....

...under federal law, the U.S. Energy Department has to deem the exports in the national interest before these companies are granted permission....

Hawaii was another destination that didn't appear last year. For Labor Day 2012, Waikiki Beach and Ka'anapali/Lahaina were among the top 50 Labor Day destinations.

At one point I was expecting them to bring up Hirono's Mother.

To open the Budget Bill would allow for the infusion of necessary funds to restore bus service to our bus-riding constituents island wide who are suffering needlessly....

Hirono and Lingle have agreed to five debates during the General Election season....

The complaint asserts that the Honolulu police arbitrarily moderate the page by deleting comments and banning users who post or make comments unfavorable to the department.

...the recruits are mostly rural, illiterate men who can become disgruntled by cultural differences with their American trainers or susceptible to insurgent bribes or intimidation....

The next scheduled candidate forum, hosted by the Kailua Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Thursday, August 21. According to organizers, Mazie Hirono has failed to respond to their requests for a joint-appearance.

Nearly one-third of America's doctors are already opting out of treating Medicaid patients—because their costs often outweigh what the program pays for care....

A 33-page report on the visit said momentum on improvements at the school "... was lost through a numbing combination of delay in the completion of the new campus, declines in funding, and lack of focused leadership."

"These laws were often rooted in a naïve faith that patient consent, rather than underlying structural protection, is the be-all and end-all of patient protection." -- Big Brother

Join us on August 23, 2012 at the Plaza Club for an enlightening discussion about the Jones Act by a panel of experts.

"Yes HSTA did ask for arbitration and Ambercrummy rejected it! What a snake he is! I get angry every time I see his face! It hurts my heart to know that we will never be given the recognition we deserve!" --- Teacher

Inouye has announced that after carefully reviewing election reports and records at the state election headquarters in Pearl City that she does not have a cause to file a protest over the primary election results ....

I have written a letter to the Honorable Governor Neil S. Abercrombie, requesting an independent review of the performance of the State of Hawai‘i Office of Elections....

Today, Tuesday, August 21, 2012 – 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Life of the Land has filed Motions to Intervene in the proposed HECO-Aina Koa Pono Biofuel Supply Application #2 before the Hawaii PUC and the Gas Company's LNG Application before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Assange claims that government transparency is his goal, yet the governments he is fighting—the Swedish, the British and the American—are solidly democratic, hardly something that can be said of the communist regime in Ecuador.

Experts retained by Viejas have called the Ocotillo wind project “the worst example that they have ever seen,” Pico revealed....

The problem is that governments at all level are spending a lot more than they are collecting in revenue....

“Bio-Logical Capital ensures … lodging development that … embraces the use of … building materials… and maintains the buildings….”

In December of 1994, one month after Oregon voters passed Measure 16, "physician assisted death," into law, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) responded.
Ethix Corp., an HMO, announced that they "welcomed broad coverage for assisted suicide in a medical economic system already burdened."

"...it’s come to the point where we are wondering whether it’s worth continuing the business...."

... non-tourism sectors have still not fully rebounded ....

... elections require the cooperation of the state and the counties working together and not pointing fingers at each other ....

“Currently, 30 states, including Hawaii, have their own renewable energy standards, and now she wants to wipe those out and impose a big-federal-government, one-size-fits-all standard.”

With continued rapid growth of roof-top solar, additional biomass energy from Hu Honua and recent expanded operations at Puna Geothermal Venture, more than 50% of the island’s energy will soon be renewable. (BUT THE PRICES KEEP GOING UP!)....

Inserting himself into the biographies of past presidents on the White House website apparently wasn't enough for President Obama....

Yesterday the General Contactors' Association of Hawaii (GCA) held a candidate forum between Charles Djou and Colleen Hanabusa....

HSTA President Wil Okabe today released the audio of an August 14 voice mail message from Gov Neil Abercrombie....

CAGW named Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye and Ranking Member Thad Cochran its August 2012 Porkers of the Month for including a $380 million earmark for the wasteful and widely-criticized Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS)

The health care system can't possibly deliver on the huge increase in demand for primary care services -- there aren't enough doctors....

Ryan v Obama on Medicare: Surprisingly, there's very little difference between the two plans.

Federal Election laws state that the candidate’s picture must take up “at least 80 percent of the vertical screen height.”

Harrison Sheppard, head of Hana Ranch Partners’ executive committee… said that it “was a very complex transaction. It’s not technically correct to say the sale has been finalized.”

The subsidy is already equivalent to 50 percent to 70 percent of the wholesale price of electricity. And that isn't the only special-interest treatment wind producers receive....

...a federal database of health-related breaches showcases an unsettling new strain of opportunism that is emerging as criminals try to exploit the industry’s shift to digital medical records....