OHA Chair Colette Machado: Same Sex Marriage Will Affect our Traditional Sense of 'Ohana
VIDEO: When Marriage is Redefined, People are Punished for Not Agreeing
Kapolei NB Passes Anti-Rail Resolution
Senators Use Allowance For Many Purchases
Cardines: Religious Exemption is All Shibai
SA: "The exemption ... is merely all shibai," Cardines said in an interview this week on the position of many evangelical Christians on the landmark legislation. "It can't work. It can't work. If you look at church in the context of people that have a belief system based on the Bible and the faith in Jesus Christ, it does nothing to protect them."
He added: "A number of people feel that church happens only on Sunday and all they do is preach a message or hold weddings, funerals and baptisms, but actually church is people with a belief system who practice their faith 24/7, 365 (days a year). So basically, church is not an institution, it's the people.
"Our people include teachers, so in that case, if same-sex marriage is passed, will teachers be forced to teach that curriculum? We're also students -- will students be forced to stay in the classroom and listen to that? Will parents be able to opt out, or will they be notified if the curriculum is changed? And that's just the education system. We can go on and on and on."
read ... Forced Marriage
Unconstitutional: Abercrombie Still Pushing for Public Accommodations Law to Create State Religion
CB: Gov. Neil Abercrombie has given state lawmakers a slightly revised version of the gay marriage bill they are set to hear when the hotly anticipated special session starts Monday.
There are some subtle, though significant, differences concerning religious exemptions between the governor’s version and Senate Bill 1, which is expected to be introduced by Sen. Brickwood Galuteria.
The primary distinction is the governor’s version clearly states that nothing in his bill trumps the state’s public accommodations law, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation when a facility is rented for commercial use.
If the bill passes, a church that qualifies as a place of public accommodation couldn’t rent out its space for a preschool and then refuse to let the public rent it for a gay wedding, for instance.
The governor’s version also has a provision that says religious organizations don’t have to make their facilities available for a marriage if they don’t operate “primarily as a for-profit business.”
SB 1 has no reference to the public accommodations law....The governor’s latest draft of the gay marriage bill was unveiled Friday when it was posted on the Capitol website.
read ... Abercrombie Seeks to Create State Religion
Mainland Homosexuals Eager to Penetrate Hawaii
Interview: Charles Djou on Serving in Congress and Afghanistan
HP: Congressman Charles Djou sits answers some meaningful and fun questions about his life philosophy....
read ... HuffPo
Keep tight lid on spending
SA: It should worry legislators as they watch the supplemental budget requests come in from state departments. Those requests were due last Wednesday at the governor’s finance office as it prepares a supplemental budget to go before the Legislature when it convenes in regular session in January.
Among the many line items are petitions for:
- >> An extra $2.5 million in general funds for Preschool Open Door program subsidies, accommodating needy late-born children who no longer will have the option of enrolling in the state’s pre-kindergarten program.
- >> Funds to help support University of Hawaii at West Oahu as it seeks alternative financing for new campus construction.
- >> From the capital budget, $25 million to install air conditioning in more schools, as well as the state Board of Education’s $40 million supplemental request for operating expenses at Hawaii schools.
Lawmakers will have to review every supplemental request very carefully, holding back especially on many new commitments that will incur ongoing costs. Further, it’s time for them to comb through many old programs — and old special funds on the state’s books — to see which are effective and which are a drain.
read ... Keep tight lid on spending
Gas prices Drop 29 Cents After Tesoro Refinery Reopens
PBN: Gas prices in Hawaii have been decreasing over the past couple of weeks, to an average of $4.12 on Friday for a gallon of regular unleaded, but the Aloha State still has the highest gas prices in the nation and is the only state with a statewide average higher than $4 a gallon.
The statewide average for regular unleaded as of Friday was 29 cents lower than a year ago, and 18 cents less than a month ago, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. But Hawaii's statewide average is far higher than any other state, 29 cents higher than No. 2 Alaska....
read ... 29 Cents Lower
Waipahu: Mentally Ill Homosexual Allegedly Exposes Himself to Elementary School Boys
HNN: A neighbor of a Waipahu adult care home said its staff did nothing to stop a mentally ill man from exposing himself to little boys in the neighborhood, a charge the care home denied Friday.
The home licensed for three mentally ill adults is on Apowale Street in Waipahu, just down the hill from Waipahu Elementary in a neighborhood full of kids before and after school.
Neighbor John Talkington told Hawaii News Now on October 3, about 3 p.m. in the afternoon, a male patient in his 20s repeatedly exposed his genitals and touched himself to three boys aged six to eight as he stood just inside a three-foot chain-link fence trying to coax them over to the home.
That's when Talkington called 911.
AP: Hawaii poised to address gay marriage
read ... About Reality
Enviros on Warpath over Two Abercrombie Nominees
The Senate's environmental committee has deep reservations about Salmonson's appointment, but it remains to be seen whether the governor will considering pulling her name to avoid a possible outright rejection.
Questions are also emerging about an appointment to the State Land Board from a former state land director.
Sen. Laura Thielen told KITV while she believes Shawn Smith would be qualified to serve on a number of positions, she believes the Land Board would not be a good fit.
Thielen pointed to Smith's efforts to pave the way for 80 luxury homes to be built on agricultural land on Kauai's North Shore.
Governor Abercrombie said he continues to support both appointments
Read ... Abercrombie vs Enviros
City prosecutor questions prison reform as serial rapist faces new charges
KITV: City Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro says Carter’s latest run-in with the law is further proof prison reform known as the Justice Reinvestment Act is not working. Kaneshiro says his office recommended against granting Carter work furlough, but the Department of Public Safety disregarded those concerns.
"Some of them should not be out on work furlough because they're dangerous," Kaneshiro told KITV4. "When you rush into decisions and rush people on parole, put people on work furlough that are really not appropriate, the bottom line is you're looking at releasing these guys from prison."
Two bills related to the Justice Reinvestment Act sailed through the 2012 Legislature with almost no opposition. While the goal of the act is to offer more treatment programs to inmates and decrease the overall prison population, Deputy Director of Corrections Max Otani said how inmates like Carter are selected for work furlough has not changed.
"It's the same process that we've used all along,” said Otani. “I think the only reason why work furlough is related to the Justice Reinvestment Act is that we utilize some of the funds that was appropriated for our mainland branch and expanded our furlough population.”
Public Safety Chairman Sen. Will Espero said he plans on contacting Public Safety Director Ted Sakai about the decisions that were made that led to Carter receiving work furlough in June. Carter was scheduled to be released from prison in October of next year.
SA: Serial Rapist Gets Work Furlough, Allegedly Rapes Again
HTH: Child Molester gets new trial because Juror Discovered he was also a murderer
read ... Justice Reinvestment
Hoku plant might be dismantled
IJ: The fate of the Hoku Materials plant in Pocatello, and just who will own what when the dust settles, is now in the hands of the U.S. Bankruptcy court after an online auction of the company’s assets was completed on Thursday.
Buyers had two options, to bid on purchasing the Pocatello Hoku plant in its entirety, or bidding on it by the piece, which could lead to the plant being dismantled.
David Barkoff, director of sales for Heritage Global Partners, the company hired to conduct the auction, said both options were provided to maximize the potential funds earned. Early Thursday afternoon he said that the 179 certified bidders were vigorously going at it.
“The current aggregate auction number has surpassed the bulk figure,” Barkoff said at approximately 1:30 p.m. with several hours to go in the auction of individual lots.
The two day auction began on Wednesday with bidders able to take a shot at owning Hoku Materials Pocatello assets as a whole, in the bulk auction, or by the piece, through one of 1,364 individual lots.
The bulk auction, or the attempt to purchase the plant as a whole unit, ended Wednesday with a top bid of $3.7 million. Barkoff could not disclose who that bidder was.
While the individual lots also went up for sale on Wednesday, many were still open for bidding Thursday afternoon. As of 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, about 500 of those lots had been closed, with more than 800 lots still receiving active bids.
Link: Auction Lot Info
read ... Idaho Journal
30 Days: Protester now 'Occupies' a Jail Cell, 2 more await sentencing
SA: A state jury this afternoon found two more (de)Occupy Honolulu protesters guilty of obstructing government operations in connection with the city's enforcement of the stored property ordinance.
Blade Michael Walsh and Catherine C. Russell each face a maximum one-year jail term and $2,000 fine at sentencing on Monday.
Madori Rumpngworn is already serving a 30-day jail term after another state jury found her guilty two weeks ago.
DN: Two (de)Occupiers on trial in a judicial system devoid of sympathy
read ... Occupy This
Census Bureau: Means-Tested Gov't Benefit Recipients Outnumber Full-Time Year-Round Workers
CNS: Americans who were recipients of means-tested government benefits in 2011 outnumbered year-round full-time workers, according to data released this month by the Census Bureau.
They also out-numbered the total population of the Philippines.
There were 108,592,000 people in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2011 who were recipients of one or more means-tested government benefit programs, the Census Bureau said in data released this week. Meanwhile, according to the Census Bureau, there were 101,716,000 people who worked full-time year round in 2011. That included both private-sector and government workers.
read ... About the Future
Hawaii Kai Sludge Heads for Cemetery?
SA: One of the companies responsible for disposing of sludge dredged from the Hawaii Kai Marina is apparently again looking at dumping the material on the site of a controversial and long-stalled cemetery in the back of nearby Kamilo Nui Valley.
The marina's dredging project angered the public when sludge from there was spilled on the H-1 freeway Aug. 31 and was found on a private lot in Waianae in violation of city and possibly state and federal permits or regulations.
The Hawaii Kai cemetery site has come under scrutiny from East Honolulu residents who have argued for years that it has become a dumping ground for large-scale waste in the area and created environmental and traffic problems.
The issue is expected to be discussed by the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board at its meeting Tuesday night, board Chairman Greg Knudsen said.
read ... Sludge in Cemetery?
Phone violations pack traffic court Because of Poorly-Written Law
SA: If he had been pulled over before July 1, Kim could have instead challenged the ticket in writing, via mail.
However, Act 74, the new statewide law banning drivers from using hand-held cellphones and other electronic devices while driving, requires everyone cited in Hawaii to make a court appearance -- even if they're not contesting the ticket.
That's because the new distracted-driving law treats driving and talking on a cellphone without a hands-free device (such as a Bluetooth headset) as a traffic violation and not just an infraction, court officials say.
read ... Poorly Written Law
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