Environment

... supported by Delegate Gregorio “Kilili” Camacho Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands), the top Democrat on the Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs ....

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...the House Conferees battled down to the last six minutes to protect churches who did not want to be involved with civil unions....

the Senate has voted to make the public shoulder the burden of a $1billion cable system....

HB2175, HB2099, HB1875....

In a statement to a local reporter, Hirono's spokesperson said that her campaign travel itinerary took precedence over her duty as a Congresswoman to vote ....

Government interference in the sugar market hurts consumers and food manufacturers by driving up the price of sugar, threatening competitive farmers and ranchers by jeopardizing export growth, and weakening the U.S. economy by diverting resources from more competitive uses...

In 2009, the shift to biotech crops reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 17.6 billion kilograms, equal to the removal of 7.8 million cars from the road for a year....

The State Legislature has passed three groundbreaking bills to curb the growing cyber crime trend in Hawaii. The bills were the result of the cyber crime informational briefing co-chaired by Representatives Kymberly Marcos Pine and George Fontaine.

Representative Thielen's amendment required that, by 2020, food grown in Hawaii for local consumption would double from the amount which was grown in the state in 2014....

As the nation’s hospitals rush to adopt new health information technologies such as computerized medication prescribing systems, the potential for such advances to inadvertently result in harm to patients remains a major challenge ....

Governor Abercrombie, HECO and some House and Senate members are now finalizing legislation that would allow the project to fast-track without sufficient environmental analysis or public review....

The certification process has become a restrictive bottleneck, damaging the industry it was intended to protect....

“Society should protect and strengthen marriage, not undermine it as this lawsuit seeks to do,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Holly Carmichael....

Robles, 18, was there as a condition of parole for the juvenile crimes of sex assault, theft and runaway charges, according to the complaint.  The family claims that the home failed to supervise the two boys despite house rules that required curfews and bed checks every 20 minutes on overnight shifts.

Hawaii Christian Coalition presents its annual Prayer at the Capitol May 3, Thursday 6:30-8:00pm State Capitol Auditorium....  

• Senate: 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012
• Senate: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011
• House: Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act
• House: Interest Rate Reduction Act

“Mr. Gill explained that ... Hawaii’s primary election law is out of compliance with the freedom of association provision in the U.S. Constitution. In order to rectify this error, a lawsuit must be filed and Mr. Gill asked UHPA to consider supporting this federal litigation.”

... but a bill for Hollywood Moguls' Tax Credits appears dead, and a sneaky attempt to foist another HCEI-style set of 'goals' on Hawaii has been thwarted ....

They were welcomed by our vibrant MC, Miss Hawaii Lauren Cheape....

...the tax incentive did nothing more than skew the economic cycle and created the feast and famine of construction activity....

Robert Thomas, a Director with Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert in Honolulu, concentrates his practice on property and land use issues including eminent domain, regulatory takings, water rights, and voting rights....

"I will support Congressional investigation efforts into the TSA policies and guidelines and will advocate for practices that maintain security while not sacrificing the personal dignity of our residents and visitors." -- Gov. Lingle

Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE: CPF), parent company of Central Pacific Bank (the "Bank"), today reported net income for the first quarter of 2012 of $13.5 million....

"I was paying close to $1,000 in annual dues. After I won that case, I started paying about $100. I didn't want to pay for the things that I'm not obligated to pay for like giving money to political candidates...."

“I’m trying to think, but nuttin’ happens!” -- Curly Howard

Ted Liu stepped-up as Chair of the Event and with single-minded determination, energy and hard work, led its success....

Will programs to help the prisoners adjust be in place the first year when most of the prisoners are let out? 410 will be released the first year, 384 in the 2nd year, 257 in the 3rd year, 111 in the 4th year, 29 in the 5th year, and 4 in the 6th year for a total release of 1,195 prisoners over 6 years....

Abercrombie jumps the gun to claim credit for something that wasn't his doing ....

The top five states ranked by per capita in 2011 were: California, Hawaii, Florida, Nevada, and the District of Columbia ....

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Private clinics and pharmacies have whispered among themselves for months about suspending services due to non-payment of millions....

Hawaii’s 2012 Plan is not just “substantially” different from population, it is grossly deviant.

One person saw an opportunity with the demise of the German tax shelter: Relativity Media founder Ryan Kavanaugh....

Assess2Know will allow Hawaii to evaluate students' performance using thousands of measures in alignment with instructional objectives and Common Core State Standards, which were implemented in 2011....

• Senate: Cloture Motion; Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012
• House: Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012
• House: Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II
• House: Small Business Tax Cut Act

The state Department of Human Services (DHS) has posted for public comment a draft proposal for a demonstration project that would integrate healthcare services for clients enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid....

The Hawaii Health Connector, which was established to create and oversee the state’s health insurance exchange, will begin the first phase of the information technology (IT) system next week as the result of a contract with Public Consulting Group (PCG) of Boston....

To turn out their vote this fall, Hawaii Democrats are claiming that Hawaii will decide the balance of power in the US Senate. But in reality Hawaii's Senate election will determine whether the Aloha State will have a voice on the majority side of the aisle or will suffer decades of obscurity with low-seniority Senators of the minority party .... 

For 2012 HSTA has deleted several questions from 2010 including their call for legislators to de-fund services for severely disabled students in violation of the Felix Consent Decree.

The Hawaii harassment statute, which Fisher had violated ... includes not just violent touching but “any slight touching of another person in a manner which is known to be offensive to that person.”

While some of the slowness of government action is certainly attributable to the laws and regulations that have been layered upon year after year, a good part of the blame lies with the reality that many in the public sector do not want to make decisions purely out of the fear that the decision might be wrong....

Rep. Gene Ward (R-Hawaii Kai – Kalama Valley) will host a "Talk Story" with constituents in his district at Maunalua Bay (next to the canoe halau) this Saturday April 21 from Noon to 2 p.m. Food will be provided....

The Hawai‘i State Senate has confirmed the appointment of four new members of the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents effective July 1, 2012, and renewed the appointment of two Regents....

Judge Hara ruled that the HSTA, Mr. Beekman and Mrs. Wilson had no standing ....

... Hawaii Employees' Retirement System, Honolulu, is searching for up to three domestic large-cap equity managers to run a total of about $1.2 billion, according to sources ....

Scheduled as follows, open house starts at 5:30 p.m. with formal presentation to start at 6:30 p.m....

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DW Aina Lea Dev. LLC v. State of Hawaii Land Use Comm'n, No. 11--1-0112K ....

Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the release of more than $34.2 million for various Capital Improvement Projects ....