September 7, 2009 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Monday, September 7, 2009

September 7, 2009 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:42 PM :: 7378 Views

Adv: "Much smaller government now seems inevitable"

A much smaller government, something union leaders feared early on, now seems inevitable. More important, additional jobs will be lost and programs cut back even further.

Sadly, there's plenty of blame to go around on this one. As the labor dispute over public employee contracts drags on, the gaping budget shortfall only grows larger. And the process surely has not been helped by the political posturing along the way.

SB: Don't cut lucrative film office (Please save the job of a poor little Obamabot)

DoE Failure: Tough times for Hawaii dropouts

An entire article on Hawaii dropouts and GED which does not mention Kulani becoming a Challenge Academy nor does it mention these reports:

DoE failure costs Hawaii $1.6 Billion every year , Randall Roth dissects Hawaii's failed Department of Education

But it DOES mention THIS: "Tammi Chun, executive director of the Hawai'i P-20 Initiative, notes that many dropouts advance no further in their education than the GED.

"The GED tends to be terminal," she said.

Chun said her organization undertook an unscientific study to track the number of people with GEDs who successfully transitioned into the University of Hawai'i system. The results, she said, were very minimal.

"On each campus, it was onesies-twosies," she said.

(She's almost as encouraging as her DoE sponsors. http://www.p20hawaii.org/?q=aboutus.php , http://www.goodbeginnings.org/index.php No wonder Randy Roth identified the Advertiser as "part of the problem" in Hawaii Education.)

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Advertiser decries open, competitive bidding on State contracts: "Hawaii law may hurt farmers"

Act 175 hopes to use government purchasing power to benefit local agriculture. The law, which took effect July 1, requires state agencies to gather competitive bids before buying food and other agricultural products.

It gives up to 15 percent preference to locally grown products in the bidding process. So if a Mainland grower can supply the food for $100, and a local grower bids $114, the local grower gets the contract.

(Followed by a whole bunch of complaints about how inconvenient this is and then...the effects of the just-eliminated "old-boy system" on farmers...)

Farmers are convinced that the changes in procurement law could help send more government business their way.

"The Big Island farm bureau polled their members, and they've got 650 members — and they only had one producer selling on a regular basis to the state and one who shipped their first shipment this year," Connally said. "Their sense was their products were not going into the state facilities.

"If the farmers see that there's a steady market available, then they can produce for that market."

(Meanwhile the Advertiser has come up with some handy excuses for the Legislature to gut this bill and go back to the old boy system of procurement.)

Hundreds gather to honor a queen

The event, sponsored by the Hawai'i Pono Coalition, marked the 171st anniversary of the queen's birth and the centennial of the trust she established in 1909 to care for her people's orphans and destitute children.

Claire Asam and Patrick Yim, two of the three trustees of the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust, said the organization has nine units statewide, with a presence on every island except Ni'ihau.

Asam and Yim said the endowment of the trust, mainly invested in land in Waikiki and Kona, is about $500 million.

Paul Flores, of Nanakuli, said the Hawaiian studies and youth leadership program at Wai'anae High School sponsored by the trust set him on the path to his position at the University of Hawai'i with Na Pua No'eau, which offers "academic enrichment opportunities for gifted and talented Native Hawaiian children."

Flores said he thought the next generation of Native Hawaiian leaders, while honoring the many contributions of their ancestors, faced new obstacles and needed to merge the strengths of Western and Native Hawaiian cultures to "create a new universal leadership."

LINK: http://www.huiohawaiiponoi.org/articles.html

Gas consumption in Islands declines -- Obamanomics

Sure indication of economic decline--Figures from the Energy Trend report show gasoline use down on all islands:

• O'ahu gasoline demand was down 9.2 percent in the first six months.
• Maui County fell 6.1 percent.
• Kaua'i was off 9.5 percent.
• Hawai'i County had the smallest decline at 2.5 percent.
• Diesel fuel declined 17 percent statewide.
• The number of registered gasoline vehicles in the state in August was off 2.8 percent to 925,532 compared with a year earlier.

In the year ended June 30, ridership on TheBus totaled 77.4 million riders, or about 10 percent more than a year earlier.

(Environmentalists are thrilled at the effects of Obamanomics)

Whole Foods Market/will delay opening -- Obamanomics

the updated projection is still somewhat uncertain because General Growth, which is restructuring in bankruptcy, has no estimate as to when it might finish construction of the retail complex anchored by Whole Foods.

SB: A lawmaker's long reach (Abercrombie campaign commercial)

Abercrombie's specialty is writing bills he knows will never be passed an then getting the Hawaii "news" media to write stories about his fake efforts. Closest they come to the truth: "His critics say Abercrombie is trying to win the 2010 race for governor at Guam's expense." -- Not exactly because Abercrombie ALREADY KNOWS his Guam pork project IS DEAD. READ: Rep Bordallo: Abercrombie's $10B Guam pork deal "not going to sail"

Then the AP writer does this:

Labor unions have been Abercrombie's biggest backers over the years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. Since 1989, donations from union-affiliated political action committees to Abercrombie's congressional races include: the Laborers' International Union, $101,000; the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, $90,000; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, $81,960; and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, $68,500.

In all, the watchdog group counts $586,000 in donations from building trade unions over his career. Nearly one out of every $3 he's raised during his House career came from labor.

No mention of Abercrombies contributions from the Hunt Building Co of El Paso TX which were cited HERE: Rep. Neil Abercrombie is CAGW’s August Porker of the Month and HERE Follow the money: $10B Guam pork project benefits Abercrombie contributor

Obviously this is a fight between Abercrombie and Hannemann over union backing. Hannemann is winning, but Abercrombie's fake Guam job offer might look better if Mufi's rail scam collapses before it gets started.

Land Use Commission takes on city plan to extend life of Waimanalo Gulch landfill

Hanabusa continues to pretend to fight against the Waimanalo Landfill. It looks good to her constituents.

Health care reform vital to practically everyone

Beth Giesting peddles Obamacare. She is chief executive officer of the Hawaii Primary Care Association which includes the recently-embezzled Bay Clinic and other fine examples which demonstrate how medical care would be delivered under a socialized health care system. "(HPCA) core membership consists of nonprofit multi-service Community Health Centers and Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems...."

Debunked: Myths and Facts about Obamacare , Sarah Palin: Concerning the "Death Panels"

DNA leads police to suspect in teen's strangling death

A DNA sample from the body of Iris Rodrigues-Kaikana, whose naked body was found in a Kalihi alley last month, led police to the man arrested for her death, court documents show. (That was fast DNA work.)

(Legislature back in session in January. Expect a renewed ACLU/Trial Lawyer effort to challenge the collection of DNA samples from convicted felons.)