December 23, 2009 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

December 23, 2009 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:27 AM :: 10481 Views

Defense bill benefits Inouye, Akaka, Abercrombie contributors

The officers of Pacific Marine and Navatek have contributed $29,000 to Inouye since 1997, according to Federal Election Commission records. Steve Loui, Pacific Marine's chief executive officer, gave $9,800 of that.

Other firms that will benefit from Inouye-backed earmarks also have donated to his campaign. Those include $9 million total for two earmarks for Honolulu-based Oceanit, whose employees have contributed $22,900 since 1997, and a $3.9 million earmark to Referentia Systems Inc. of Honolulu, whose officers have donated $17,200....

Earmarks to Hawaii firms linked to U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka include $4.5 million to Archinoetics LLC for a war fighter awareness system, $3.5 million to NovaSol for a reconnaissance system, and $2 million to Pukoa Scientific for a device that detects mobile targets.

Archinoetics employees have contributed $4,500 to Akaka's campaigns in recent years, according to federal records; NovaSol officers have given $6,000; and Pukoa employees have donated $6,100.

One Pukoa officer also gave $4,600 to U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who co-sponsored its earmark with Akaka.

Abercrombie also teamed with Akaka to champion a $1.6 million earmark for Referentia Systems to evaluate corrosion-resistant coatings for military aircraft. Referentia employees have given the 10-term congressman $7,750 in campaign donations in recent years....

Hawaii teachers' furlough deal unlikely by Lingle deadline

Lawmakers now say a special session looks doubtful.

"We do support a special session, but only after the negotiating parties come to an agreement," said House Speaker Calvin Say. "It does look a little bleak. But I'm hoping, for my Christmas present, there is an agreement."

Linda Smith, senior policy adviser for Lingle, said the governor set an original goal of January to give the Legislature time to meet in special session before the start of the regular session on Jan. 20.

"That was our hope when the governor put her original plan together, to get the children back in the classroom beginning in January," Smith said.

(Yawn) Democrat Lawmakers blast DBEDT, director on behalf of HGEA (Wash, rinse, repeat)

Liu defends layoffs, saying key functions are being performed by others now....

"While other states have accelerated their efforts to expand programs generating economic value, DBEDT has taken the opposite tack, and your committees believe that DBEDT has lost all credibility to implement economic policies on the state's behalf," according to the 13-page report issued by state Rep. Angus L.K. McKelvey and state Sen. Carol Fukunaga.

"Against this backdrop, the director of DBEDT will have to assume responsibility for shortcomings or deficiencies that result from the departmental layoffs he initiated."

Honolulu councilman's memo proposes (to fight TAT takeaway by highlighting) cuts to city services

(Nestor Garcia's Washington Monument Gambit to stop Leg from grabbing TAT)

Among the possibilities Garcia listed in his memo:

• Charging a fee for trash pickup at single-family, multifamily and nonprofit organizations. (Tax everybody)

• Placing pay stations in the parking lots at Kapiolani Regional Park and Ala Moana Regional Park. (Recently subject of big dispute)

• Consolidating and possibly closing police substations and satellite city halls. (Public safety)

• Slashing the holiday Honolulu City Lights, Windward City Lights and Kapolei City Lights, possibly by as much as 50 percent. (Ban Christmas)

• Reducing the number of members in the 40-person Royal Hawaiian Band. (Silence the music)

• Eliminating the funding to provide cable television broadcasts of council meetings and O'ahu neighborhood boards. (Aimed at political activists)

• Increasing rates for the city's Summer Fun program for youths. (Aimed at kids)

SB: TUG OF WAR OVER HOTEL ROOM TAX

Loss would be tremendous blow, says Maui Co. budget director

Maui County members of the state Legislature contacted for comment Monday ~~expressed~~ feigned opposition to the governor's proposal. (And the mayor acted surprised.)

Central Maui Sen. Shan Tsutsui said that suspending hotel room tax revenue from the counties during the economic downturn would be taking it away when they need it the most.

(HTH) Lingle: Use hotel tax for budget

Earlier this year, Mayor Billy Kenoi and the state's three other counties successfully lobbied the Legislature to keep the tax.
"We hope that we'll be successful this session as well, although we know we're facing an uphill battle," Kenoi said Monday by phone from Oahu, where he was meeting with legislators.

(Kenoi doesn't pretend to be surprised. No interviews with posturing legislators.)

WHT: County may lose TAT to state

Costly Micronesian benefits may be covered

Migrants from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau had protested the Hawaii Department of Human Services' move toward removing the costly treatments it provides for free from its health plan covering about 7,000 adult noncitizens. A federal judge's Sept. 1 ruling prevented Hawai'i from implementing that plan.

The new Basic Health Hawaii program announced Monday includes those treatments while still saving the cash-strapped state about $8 million in taxpayer money. The old plan would have produced $15 million in savings.

Professors union says ready to fight UH on contract

The executive director of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly said today that the union is "fully prepared" to go to court and defend a clause in its contract that would prevent the administration from cutting faculty salaries....

Musto said the university's reputation and ability to attract high-caliber faculty will be hurt by salary cuts.

(All the more reason to solve this problem by abolishing American Studies Dept and Ethnic Studies Dep't. Being rid of these will add billions to the local economy by ending the training of obstructionists--while dramatically improving the academic character of the UHM faculty and showing the world that UHM liberal arts are not just a caricature of the typical leftist American College. We could even give the remaining faculty a raise.)

SB: UHPA will fight pay cut in court, director says

ADV: UH faculty to fight 6.6% cut

More Than a Decade After Condemnation, Hawaii Department of Transportation Still Owns Homes on Ancient Hawaiian Fish Pond

What alarmed him was while working across the street, DOT contractors damaged the fresh water spring that ran via his property from the mountain to the ocean. He walked across the street to warn the project manager several times that the workers needed to be careful of the natural underground spring but they ignored him, and laid cement conduits and electrical and cable wires on top of the treasured waterway. His neighbor called him at work one day to tell him that his pond was dry, and the fish were flopping around on the now muddy area.

The fish died.

Hara fought the state for four years to get the spring "Kalauha’eha’e" restored.

At first, the state promised to fix its mistake, but then took that option away citing cost. In a fierce legal battle, the state refused to meet his requests at every turn until he finally, after being drained financially, he surrendered his property and home.

Bob Jones: No Special Election Need to Replace Abercrombie in Hawaii's First Congressional District

How does Djou stand a better chance in a special election? (Simple, the Democrat vote is split) He's going to be a long shot in that district no matter when we hold the election (the template at work). That's simply a fact based on voters registered in the last election by party. (Uhhh...Hawaii doesn't have party-line voter registration, Bob.)

...as the polls come in, some of the wanna-be's might drop out before the ballots are printed. Lack of money and lack of support. (Hanabusa)

I read a columnist (Shapiro) saying we'd become a laughing stock by not having an election just as we're not having school some Fridays.

We should never fear outsiders' unlearned laughs keeping us from doing what's fiscally and practically smart for our circumstances.

Hawaii County Housing Agency: We're not trying to hide anything

HILO -- It has the power to float bonds, spend county money and even condemn private property through eminent domain, according to county code.
But the Hawaii County Housing Agency -- composed of all nine members of the Hawaii County Council -- is one of the least-known agencies in county government.

Obama says Hawaiian vacation will wait until after Senate passes health care bill

WASHINGTON >> President Barack Obama won't leave Washington for his Hawaii vacation until the Senate finishes work on the health care overhaul, even if that means staying in town for Christmas Eve.

Brace yourself, America, this is going to sting a bit (Advertiser finally explains details of Obamacare)

(Now that the bill is all-but-passed the Senate, the Democrat media can exhale....)

WASHINGTON — Americans will feel the pain before the gain from the health care overhaul Democrats are close to pushing through Congress.

Proposed taxes and fees on upper-income earners, insurers, even tanning parlors, take effect quickly. So would Medicare cuts.

Benefits, such as subsidies for lower middle-income households, consumer protections for all, eliminating the prescription coverage gap for seniors, come gradually....

For people who buy their own insurance policies — about one of every six Americans — premiums will go up. But that's for better benefits prescribed under the legislation. And about half of them would get tax credits to substantially lower their costs....

• For the first time, Americans would be required to carry health insurance, either through an employer, Medicare or Medicaid, or by buying it themselves. Refusal would bring fines, except in cases of financial hardship.

• Most employers would be required to offer coverage or pay a tax, under the House bill. In the Senate version, employers would get a bill if any of their workers got subsidized coverage in the exchange.

• Medicaid coverage would be expanded to pick up millions more living near the poverty line.

Obama keeps bond with Hawaii strong

(This "news" item doesn't mention Obama's deep and enduring ties to the "choom gang".)

Here are some other deep and enduring Hawaii-Obama ties not mentioned....

>>>Barack Obama: Red Diaper Baby , The Frank Marshall Davis Network in Hawaii , Price of Apology: Clinton, Obama, and the Hawaiian Quid Pro Quo , Obama's Other Controversial Church , The Unitarian Church and Obama's Religious Upbringing