Djou Hits Takai on Pension Tax in Latest Commercial
Ige 'Education Tax' Would Hit All UH Graduates' Income
Afghanistan: Hawaii Based Marine Killed by Jihadi Child Molester
Hawaii Ranks 30th on Business Taxes
Lava Flow: Schools Closing but Polling Stations Expected to Open
Cayetano Blames One Party System for Low Turnout
American Samoa--Mistaken About Faleomavaega?
VIDEOS: Maui Anti-GMO Activists Steal Signs, Suffer Road Rage
Source: Maui News Shutting Down Weekly
US General: North Korea Now Has Nuclear Warheads for Missiles, Can Hit Hawaii
Poll: Djou 45% - Takai 45%
CB: This time around, Civil Beat surveyed 604 likely voters statewide Oct. 16-19. The poll, which sampled 70 percent landlines versus 30 percent cellphones, has a margin of error of 4 percent.
Takai does very well among Japanese-Americans (Takai is Japanese-American) while Djou does very well among Filipinos, Hawaiians and Chinese (Djou is Thai-Chinese). Takai has the edge among white voters.
read ... Tied Up
Ige Hammered on Pension Tax, GE Tax
PR: State Sen. David Ige's awkward statement at a debate this month that he looked at a pension tax as an option to close a projected budget deficit in 2011 provided fuel for a super PAC aligned with the Republican Governors Association to tweak the Democrat on the issue in a new television advertisement....
The pension tax has become so politically toxic, however, that several candidates and interest groups have used the issue in ads or talking points this year.
The strangest twist is that Ige, during the debate over how to close the deficit in 2011, did try to advance an increase in the general-excise tax, which would have had far greater economic impact than a pension tax.
The RGA has dinged Ige over the GET in a previous ad, but it appears the pension tax is the more potent political weapon.
read ... Tax Hiker
HGEA, AFSCME, National Democrats Spend $1.46M to Buy Ige
CB: Hawaii Forward — funded by the Democratic Governors Association and AFSCME, the nation’s largest public services employees union — has spent $1.46 million to help Ige win. His own campaign, meanwhile, has spent $830,000 since the primary and $1.42 million during the election....
State Sens. Roz Baker, Donovan Dela Cruz, Ron Kouchi, Donna Mercado Kim, Clarence Nishihara and Michelle Kidani each contributed at least $1,000, and that’s not to mention the House reps who kicked in cash like Angus McKelvey and Della Au Belatti. Former Gov. Ben Cayetano and his wife have donated a combined $11,000 and U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono gave Ige’s campaign $6,000.
While Ige’s biggest campaign contributions have come from left-leaning political action committees, developers, lawyers and people like University of Hawaii Professional Assembly Executive Director JN Musto, who had supported Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the primary, Ige is touting his small contributors.
read ... Bought n Paid For
Politico: House Dems Fret Debilitating Losses
Politico: ...Looking to contain the damage, Democrats are pumping money into liberal congressional districts that were long thought to be safely in their column. Over the last several days, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has directed resources to maintain seats in Hawaii and Nevada, both of which broke sharply for the president in 2012 — an indication of just how much the terrain has shifted against the party over the past two years.
In many instances, Republicans are spending money to put races in play that had long been considered safe for Democrats. American Action Network, a national group with ties to House Speaker John Boehner, has begun airing TV commercials in blue districts in Hawaii and eastern Iowa.
read ... House Dems fret debilitating losses
HAWAII'S REALTORS ENDORSES DJOU
The Hawaii Association of Realtors endorsed Charles Djou for the U.S. House today at an event in downtown.
"I am honored to earn the support of Hawaii's hard working realtors," stated Djou. "Owning a home is fundamental to the American Dream and I will work hard toward making this more affordable for our community. I'm ready to hit the ground running for Hawaii in Congress on day one and excited to have earned the realtors' support."
NYT Online Poll: Ige 45% -Aiona 19%
PR: But the latest wave, with Aiona only at 19 percent, puts the Republican significantly lower than other polls and is likely off what he will receive on Election Day. The poll was taken from Oct. 16 to Oct. 23 among 1,002 respondents. The margin of error was plus or minus 6 percentage points.
read ... Garbage Poll
HCDA Rushes Approvals to Beat New Governor
SA: Two developers of proposed Kakaako condominium towers will have their project permit applications decided sooner than previously scheduled to avoid potential delays with a new governor taking office Dec. 1.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority announced Monday that hearing dates have been moved up for two towers slated to replace part of Ward Warehouse owned by Howard Hughes Corp. and a tower dubbed Vida on land owned by Kamehameha Schools containing Cutter automobile dealerships.
The Vida tower permit was scheduled for hearings on Nov. 12 and Dec. 17. HCDA bumped up the later hearing date to Nov. 25 at noon.
Hughes Corp. and Vida tower developer MK Vida LLC requested the changes. Attorneys for the developers said in their written requests that there likely would not be enough HCDA board members to hold the hearings as previously scheduled.
That's because four board members will lose their seats Dec. 1 when Hawaii's next governor takes office. The four members represent half the board, which has one vacancy. Five members are needed to hold a meeting....
Another even bigger board shake-up faces the HCDA early next year....
Related: Open Letter to Gubernatorial Candidates from Kaka'ako Coalition
read ... Rush Rush
Sam Aiona Distinguishes Himself in CD6 Race
SA: Small-business owner Aiona, 48, has fought hard to distinguish himself from Fukunaga.
"She's a career politician, and what we really need is people with new ideas, a fresh approach … and someone with a lot of energy," Aiona said.
He maintained that Fukunaga has been complacent and not done enough to help solve the homeless crisis or get the ripped-up roads in their district repaved.
"She thinks government is the solution while I think government is the problem," he added....
Aiona, a former director of the state Office of Community Services, said he wants to meet with nonprofits that aid the homeless and see what kind of help they can be given rather than "move the homeless people around like they're pieces of furniture" through sit-lie bills. He said money earmarked to purchase or develop units to house the homeless is being used inefficiently and that the city should instead let the nonprofits — experts in the field — come up with plans that the city can help fund....
Aiona said the plan to create Residential A was ill-conceived and failed to take into consideration the needs of local homeowners. He said he would consider a bill to repeal Residential A in favor of one that taxes only offshore investors.
read ... Distinguished
Caldwell's Latest Fee Hike: Make the Disabled Pay
SA: Motorists with disabled-parking placards might no longer be able to park for free in nine city-owned or city-sponsored parking lots on Oahu, under a new law that's scheduled to take effect soon.
The nine affected lots are those with parking lot attendants, city Transportation Services Director Mike Formby said. They are Hale Pauahi, Marin Tower, Kekaulike Courtyards, Harbor Court, Chinatown Gateway, Kukui Plaza, Smith-Beretania, Alii Place and Kaimuki Municipal Lot No. 1 (Ewa-end lot).
Those with placards, however, might still be able to park for free in metered stalls both in city-owned or city-sponsored lots as well as along city streets, under the plan....
The planned changes will be aired at a public informational meeting held by the city Department of Transportation Services at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Mission Memorial Building's first-floor conference room at 550 S. King St.
The policy change, approved by the Honolulu City Council and signed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell earlier this year....
read ... Shameless
Star-Adv Supports Caldwell's Grab for DHHL affordable housing credits
SA: DHHL's 1,296 credits to date were valued at between $97 million and $162 million, based on the agency's 2009 estimate that each credit was worth $75,000-$125,000. No developers have yet "cashed in" their credits....DHHL has countered that the program provides more resources at a time of fiscal constraint to develop homes for beneficiaries who have waited for many years to get a homestead. While that may be true, the state — and county — governments have others' needs to consider.....George Atta, director of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting, has urged the repeal of the law, saying that it "undermines the ability of the counties to provide new affordable housing to all its residents.
read ... End DHHL program for housing credits
Abercrombie Never Recovered From October 2011 Lows
Borreca: It was October 2011 and Gov. Neil Abercrombie's chief of staff and communications director, as well as their deputies, had resigned, when a national political polling firm rated the long-serving Democrat as the least popular governor in the United States.
The fall from grace measured by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, N.C., showed Abercrombie losing 20 percentage points in six months.
As it turns out, despite his assertions that "I play all four quarters," there was no halftime regrouping.
"What I believe I need to do is to keep going with the plans that we have underway right now and to give people an opportunity to examine what it is we're doing and what we're going to do and to see whether we can deliver on that," Abercrombie said three years ago, in reaction to the polling.
Today Abercrombie is ending a 40-year political career after taking a shellacking in his re-election attempt, losing to underfunded and at the time, unrecognized state Sen. David Ige, 2 to 1.
read ... He Didn't Listen to Voters
Surfrider: Pro-Tourism, Anti-Agriculture
KE: It's clear that Surfrider and Friends of Mahaulepu alone want to dictate what sort of agriculture is acceptable and sustainable. And garans, no agricultural operation will ever be clean or sustainable enough to suit them.
Meanwhile, there's this weird dichotomy with the tourism industry that has inserted itself into ag and coastal lands throughout the island, especially on the southside. For some reason, tourism is getting a free pass from Surfrider, Friends and GMO Free Kauai.
This giant disconnect is blithely expressed by Linda Bothe — a Kalaheo resident and Dustin Barca supporter — in a letter to the editor today:
We are also dealing with some elected officials’ “brilliant idea” to put a polluting, smelly dairy on sacred grounds that lead right to the ocean. Also, right next door to one of our beautiful hotels that brings in tourism and with that income and jobs.
Related: Musings: Who is Arthur Brun?
read ... Musings: So Special
Anti-GMO Group Holds Rally Ahead of November Vote
MN: For a full photo album from Sunday’s event, visit our Maui Now facebook page.
Civil Beat Editors: Vote 'No' on Flawed anti-GMO Proposal
read ... Morons Against Monsanto
Lanai mother sues state over Hawaiian language barriers
KHON: Lanai’s only public school is at the center of a lawsuit filed by a mother whose children only speak and read in Hawaiian.
Chelsea-Marie Kealohalani Clarabal is suing both the Department of Education (DOE) and the Board of Education, which sets policies for the schools. According to the lawsuit, while there are about 20 public schools that have Native Hawaiian language immersion programs on Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Hawaii, and Kauai, there are none on Lanai.
Two of Clarabal’s children learned Hawaiian while at Paia Elementary School’s Kula Kaiapuni, where one daughter completed the first grade and the other completed kindergarten.
The family moved to Lanai, where the two children enrolled last year at Lanai’s only public school, Lanai High and Elementary School.
read ... Lawsuit
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