Energy

The next step will be to get the Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee, Brian Taniguchi, to hear the bill.  This will be the toughest committee to get Karen’s Law through as there is opposition to the bill with its committee members.

More than 1,000 high school students from Mexico, Philippines and four states, including Hawai‘i, will compete in the tournament that challenges teams of young people to solve a common engineering problem, using a standard kit of parts that includes motors, batteries and a control system – but no instructions.

Of the 34 teams in the tournament, 24 represent the state. The winning teams will advance to the FIRST Championships – called the “Super Bowl of Smarts” in Atlanta, Georgia, April 15-18. Honoka‘a High School was one of six teams to represent Hawai‘i last year in Atlanta.

But now, when collaboration and continued support is most needed to get us over the hump, some politicians have taken it upon themselves to propagate misinformation and distort a very clear record of accomplishment.

For those politicians and cynics, I have a message: Hawai‘i will be a world leader in clean energy, with or without you....

34 teams representing 24 Hawai‘i high schools from O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and the Big Island, eight teams from the mainland (California, Louisiana and Wisconsin) and two international teams from Mexico and the Philippines who will converge on the UH Mānoa campus to compete in what is called the “varsity sport of the mind.” The winning teams will advance to the FIRST Championships – called the “Super Bowl of Smarts” – in Atlanta, Georgia, April 15 -18.

Although the Senate Judiciary Committee ended with a tie vote (3-3), there is still ongoing discussions happening at the capitol in regards to a potential pull of the bill from committee for a vote on the Senate floor.

If the Supreme Court refuses to reconsider its SuperFerry decision, Councilmember Djou’s legal affairs committee will examine voiding all state laws that apply to just the City and County of Honolulu. 

What of last year's legislative attempts to smooth the way for Aloha Airlines as it lurched into insolvency? Under the court's equal protection analysis propounded in the Superferry decision, any such legislation could well be contrary to the court's new reading of constitutional restraints on the legislature's power to act.

The decision today by Hawaiian Telcom to ask the bankruptcy court to approve $6 million in bonuses for its employees is unconscionable, and we will oppose it in court.

Karen’s Law is now in the Senate, referred to Chair of Human Services, Suzanne Chun Oakland and Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Brian Taniguchi. It will be hard to get a hearing for Karen’s Law hearings without ample public support.

We are going to have to go out and find other employment for Alakai, for now.

Environmental and community-action groups such as the Sierra Club and Maui Tomorrow now find themselves in the crosshairs of many residents frustrated by recent developments with the Hawaii Superferry.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle along with Castle & Cooke, First Wind Hawai‘i and Hawaiian Electric Company today announced an agreement that could lead to large wind farms on both Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i providing clean energy to O‘ahu. These wind farms would feed into an inter-island cable system currently being discussed that could ultimately interconnect the major Hawaiian islands for increased grid reliability, security and consumer and business cost savings through access to renewables.

As Pacific Business News editorialized January 12, the Superferry opposition and obstruction, “continues to perplex us as yet another group of politicians, this time senators from Neighbor Islands, make noise….”

The Certificate of Need for the proposed West Maui hospital was officially approved by Ron Terry, Executive Director of SHPDA....

In observance of the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the Hawai‘i Admission Act, both houses of the Hawai‘i State Legislature will convene a joint session in the State Capitol House Chambers on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, from noon to 1:30 p.m. 

Because I have also met with and will continue meeting with union leaders, the counties and my cabinet, as well as social service agencies and other organizations in the community, the process of developing a new financial plan takes time, but I believe it is time well spent.  I remain committed to balancing the budget without raising taxes or laying off employees.  Either of these actions would further weaken our economy.

Looking for happiness—it's family-friendly communities for some, tropical paradise or the rugged West for others. A survey of Americans' well-being, conducted by Gallup in partnership with Healthways and America's Health Insurance Plans, gives high marks to Utah, which boasts lots of outdoor recreation for its youthful population.  Speaking of outdoor recreation, the islands of Hawaii took second place and Wyoming was third in the poll that rated such variables as mental, physical and economic health.

Sen. Sam Slom, (R-Hawaii Kai): this is the premier bill presented by the “criminal lobby.”

"Karen's Law", HB819HD2, passed out of the House today un-amended.  The measure passed with the exception of no votes placed by Representatives Lyla Berg, Roy Takumi, Faye Hanohano, Sylvia Luke, Hermina Morita, Mark Nakashima and Scott Saiki.

EarmarkWatch is an experimental distributed research project that contains data for Fiscal Year 2008 earmarks from the House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education bills and the 2008 House Defense Bill. It does not contain 2009 earmarks.

Thanks to you, Karen’s Law will finally be heard on the House Floor tomorrow...a select few members will be trying to kill the bill.

Earthquake location: Along Hamakua coast, about 10 miles NNE of Laupahoehoe.

It appears at least 41 Senators object to the massive increase in spending -- 8% over last year's budget – and the larding in of 8,500 earmarks totaling $7.7 billion. 

A senior Senate aide told me this morning that many Senators do not want a repeat of the Stimulus battle where their offices were literally shut down with telephone calls and their email was swamped with messages going after the wasteful spending.

You see, they’re talking about Americans like you.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today submitted to the State Legislature recommended amendments to three bills that would provide statutory changes needed to help meet a projected $650 million revenue shortfall for the remainder of the current fiscal year (FY09) and biennium budget fiscal years 2010 through 2011.

“I commend the HTA for having the wisdom to reconsider their previous decision and return the Pro Bowl to Hawai‘i where it belongs.
“Let us now move forward and work closely with the NFL to make the Pro Bowl’s homecoming the best possible.
“I am excited to continue working with Commissioner Goodell on what I believe could be an enhanced all-star weekend of festivities.”

An official familiar with Abercrombie's plans says the 10-term congressman will make his announcement through an Internet video to be released Sunday.

"Karen's Law", HB819HD1, passed out of the Finance Committee today at 4:36pm un-amended. All members present voted yes.

The range of North Korean ballistic missiles has increased five-fold since 1990.  The two-stage Taepodong-2 missile, if successfully developed, could travel thousands of miles to strike Alaska, Hawaii and "parts of the continental United States," intelligence experts estimate.  By testing and perfecting a third stage, the North Koreans could reach anywhere in North America with a nuclear warhead.

In November 2002, the Governor underwent a similar breast biopsy, which tested negative for breast cancer.

San Francisco State University:  "[T]he College Republicans must be punished or sanctioned for throwing shoes at the Hamas flag; pending charges should be dropped against the two protestors who assaulted the College Republicans and seized the Hamas flag; and, most ominously for defenders of free _expression on campus, a forum should be created to 'educate' students about what forms of speech the 'offended' students deem acceptable or unacceptable, including what the Left regularly tries to proscribe as 'hate speech.'"

Kimo Apana, a former Maui County Mayor, testified that he brought a friend into MMMC with a stroke this week and although they needed to admit the friend, there was not a bed....

The bill was drafted as a compromise to get House approval and to encourage talks with the state Senate, where many senators are opposed.

Governor balances budget with no tax increases, no layoffs, no significant cuts in essential services -- Act 215 spending cut 50% -- $320 in Federal 'stimulus' funds covering Medicaid expenses -- renegotiate State employees health benefit cost sharing %

I am glad to see that the HTA board will reconsider the NFL’s proposal so we can begin working on making the Pro Bowl even better.

In an effort to make Hawai‘i’s state government as efficient and effective as possible, I have asked each state department to develop new and innovative ways of delivering critical services and upholding their responsibility to the people of Hawai‘i. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has responded with a comprehensive plan that reinvents how it cares for Hawai‘i’s land and ocean recreational spaces.

At first, it was a bit odd to see Washington, D.C. attorney Kannon Shanmugam, counsel for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the "ceded lands" case immediately concede in oral argument that the U.S. Supreme Court should rule against OHA -- and hold the Apology Resolution was simply a symbolic statement of regret -- if the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision relied on it.

The predicament OHA finds itself in is one almost entirely of its own making. Its unusual U.S. Supreme Court strategy was made necessary by its overwhelming victory in the Hawaii Supreme Court (the court ruled unanimously against the State), where it argued successfully that the Apology Resolution provided all of the answers. But in prevailing on that basis, OHA opened the door to the state and federal government's arguments which -- if accepted by a majority of the Supreme Court -- at the very least will shift the venue for resolution of land claims from OHA's preferred forum, state courts, to the political branches of state government.

We are looking to draw on the popularity of our recreational areas to help reverse years of decline and rehabilitate these cultural attractions for outdoor enthusiasts, who enjoy everything from fishing and hunting, to boating and camping, to hiking and swimming.

HONOLULU – GOVERNING magazine announced today that Hawai‘i Human Services Director Lillian Koller has been selected as a “Public Official of the Year” for her leadership in bringing about widespread improvements at the State Department of Human Services (DHS) over the past five years, including an overhaul of the child welfare system.

Convicted felons are being registered. Some jurisdictions propose allowing non-citizens to cast ballots in state and local elections. But are our soldiers voting?

After nationalizing a Kauai poi factory in December, the state of Hawaii is considering collectivized agriculture. A bill before the Legislature’s House Committee on Health would establish a state farm on Maui -- to grow marijuana.

“OK, if they ask you are you related to this person or that, just say yes, OK?”

With that instruction, non-Hawaiian sovereignty activist Shelly Stephens, who sometimes calls herself “Makaala Nakoa” sent three Hawaiians into the Hilo courtroom of Third Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura on February 1.

Plates and glasses smashed to the floor, books came flying off the shelves and TVs slid off tables across Kohala, Kona and Hamakua districts of the Big Island Sunday morning as a 6.7 temblor shook the Big Island.

Rep. Ed Case called the Democratic Senate Primary vote on Sept. 23, “a Choice between past and future” and explained on his campaign Web site: "This election gives Hawaii's voters a choice between the way things have been in Hawaii and national politics and the way they can and should be. I believe our political culture is broken and must change, and that this election asks voters to choose between the status quo and a better way forward."

But Hawaii Democratic Primary voters said “no.”

A Tokyo-based newspaper reports in its Friday AM edition that North Korea’s failed Taepodong-2 missile was aimed at an area of the ocean close to Hawaii.

Gov. Lingle has done a service to autistic children everywhere by rejecting the Thimerosal claims. This is one step away from fear mongering claims which might make for a nice juicy lawsuit one day and a step towards autism research which could discover the real cause(s) and develop real treatments.

Thousands of lives are at stake but the Democrats and their trial lawyer donors care only about the opportunity for more ill gotten gains. The fact that these gains might be made at the expense of the lives of children who are infected by diseases which might have been prevented by vaccines made no longer available due to lawsuit liability is of no concern to them.

The day after Iraq’s stunning December 15 election success, the New York Times wrote, "Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the …(National Security Agency) has monitored the international telephone calls and international email messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible ‘dirty numbers’ linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications." ... the local media, and The New York Times all chose not to mention that President Bill Clinton asserted his authority to conduct physical searches "for foreign intelligence purposes" without a warrant in Executive Order 12949, dated Feb. 9, 1995, during the Bosnia War.