Environment

Upcoming Congressional Bills

• Senate: Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012
• Senate: Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012
• House: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012
• House: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013

They sniff out bombs, patrol dangerous explosive zones, and put themselves in harm's way to protect our soldiers. Yet military working dogs are currently classified as "equipment" by the Pentagon and are sometimes left behind ....

“This is Mufi Hannemann’s pet project that he abandoned to run for governor, quite unsuccessfully I might add,” Marx began. “Now it appears another Honolulu politician, Tulsi Gabbard, has decided to take Mufi’s reigns and put the state deeper into financial crisis by supporting a $450,000,000 ‘paper’ loan,” Marx stated....

Kanohowailuku Helm reports about IAM's visit to the slippery corridors of the state Capitol, where four IAM delegates survived initiation into the bizarre rituals of Hawaii lawmaking....

... there is a huge reservoir of pro-life, pro-family registered non-voters and non-registered voters who can be reached ....

 ...the electorate is growing more and more sensitive to the rising burden of taxes and fees of the past few years as lawmakers attempted to balance the state’s budget on the back of taxpayers....

... three hundred delegates gathered at the Hilton Hawaiian Village today for the 2012 Hawaii Republican Party Convention.... 

Working together to create jobs will bring Hawaii’s economy back. That’s the independent record that Linda Lingle has built....

DC status quo defenders have contributed about $700,000 to Mazie....

• Derrick H.M. Chan
• Daniel R. Foley
• David M. Forman
• Craig H. Nakamura
• Richard W. Pollack

Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the appointment of a new Director of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) and a change at the Public Safety Department (PSD).

The drag from construction and government will end this year, setting the stage for broader growth....

Almost two years ago today, we made history by winning a historic special election....

The lawsuit argues that the Equal Protection Clause guarantees representational equality as well as voting equality....

Starting May 9th, the Leadership Institute will be returning to Hawaii with world-class campaign training for conservative candidates....

For Honolulu, this means that the $250 million that the Obama Administration had set aside for our rail project will just disappear. It also means that New Starts Funding as a national program may also disappear....

Governor Neil Abercrombie today ordered that all national and Hawai'i flags at all State offices and agencies as well as the Hawai'i National Guard are to be flown at half-staff ....

Her latest missive is not surprising to the people of Hawaii, as it is simply the latest example of what the public knows already: Mazie puts partisan politics before people....

State grades were based on a rigorous examination of state law for adherence to guiding principles developed by national child welfare experts using a 100-point grading system....

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS LAKE ERIE (CG 70) successfully conducted a flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, resulting in the first intercept of a short-range ballistic missile target ....

Bateman, a retired US Air Force Colonel (JAG), former Assistant Attorney General for Washington state and attorney in private practice for 30 years, now owns the Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee farm, which he has operated for the last seven years....

"Like me, the U.S. Chamber recognizes that the time for partisan bickering is over. We must work together to establish bipartisan solutions that will help boost our economy" -- Linda Lingle

The Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the names of the Navy’s recently acquired high speed ferries (HSFs); the USNS Guam and the USNS Puerto Rico....

...

"...we cannot have high-quality schools without adequate funding...." -- Wil Okabe

Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) that address recent March 2012 storm damage to highways and roadways as well as implement safety improvements throughout the state’s transportation system....

On May 8, 2012, the state released the first draft of its strategy to transform its information technology and business processes....

Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah all earned A+'s for their friendliness towards small businesses. In contrast, small business owners gave California, Hawaii, Vermont, and Rhode Island an F....

"As a Congressman and member of the Chickasaw Nation, Congressman Cole has made providing indigenous people, including native Hawaiians, the means for self-determination, self-governance and self-reliance a legislative priority," said Gov. Linda Lingle.

We are also pleased to report that the most onerous measures of 2011 and 2012 – House Bill 441, House Bill 834, House Bill 2028 and Senate Bill 2975 – all died upon adjournment of this legislative session....

Why start the first year with 500 releases? I also question whether we will have the necessary programs and personnel in place for Year 1. Will drug and alcohol treatment, counseling, vocational training, or halfway houses be ready?

Hawaii is a harbinger for what's to come in both caregiving and LTC ....

This 2012 edition of Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect marks the 21st year the AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America’s workers....

The Bill passed 22-3. Out of 25 Senators, there were 10 who voted "yes, with reservations." Honorable Senators, what does that even mean?

OPEIU represents nurses throughout the United States under the umbrella of the OPEIU Nurses Council and recently affiliated the 4,000-member Hawai'i Nurses Association (HNA)....

...production companies only remain in-state until tax conditions are made more favorable elsewhere....

Among the problematic policies are ... policies that force student clubs to accept voting members and officers that don’t agree with the clubs’ beliefs....

A political watershed is formed when the benefits of incumbency flow down hill to a new generation....

A highly compensated Bishop Street executive recently complained that his effective state tax rate was something on the order of 16% even though the nominal maximum state income tax rate is 11% for those folks making big incomes....

The aforementioned circumstances raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern….

The Hawaii State Senate adjourned on this final day of the 2012 Legislative Session, passing many bills in support of its priorities set forth at the beginning of the session....

The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it would keep Hawaii on "high risk" status for failing to carry out education reforms it promised in return for a $75 million grant from the federal government....

Just a day after her last legislative day at the State Capitol, Representative Kymberly Pine will pull her papers today at 11:30 a.m. to run for the City Council District 1 seat....

"I am encouraged that yesterday the Hawaii State Legislature passed SB 2785, which establishes a regulatory framework for the private investment in, and development of, an inter-island electricity transmission cable."

State's April 2012 Monthly Energy Trends Report has just been released by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism....

With the end of the 2012 Legislative session today, hundreds of measures now come to Governor Neil Abercrombie for his approval....

The Hawaii House of Representatives took action Thursday on its final bills of the session....

Republicans in the State House of Representatives successfully led the way in opposing a series of bills that would have resulted in lasting damage to our environment....

"As candidates for HSTA President, we had our disagreements. However, we both agree that asking teachers to reconsider the January settlement proposal is in the best interest of Hawaii's teachers and children." -Paul Daugherty & Wil Okabe

Pre-Trial is a threat to public safety. Releasing thousands of prisoners cannot be taken lightly, and the current process for early release is inadequate....