Where’s the Tax Stamp on that Eggplant?
June 14, 1900: The Abolition of Slavery in Hawaii
96.8% of Hawaii Gays stay outside 'Marriage'
KGI: ...Between Dec. 2, 2013, and March 2, 2015, 3,457 same-sex marriages were conducted in Hawaii; in 2,283 of those, one or both members were non-residents. (3,457 - 2,283 = 1,174 resident gay marriages)
During that same time, 435 same-sex marriages took place on Kauai; in 386 of those couples, one or both were non-residents.... (435 - 386 = 49 resident gay marriages on Kauai)
“Hawaii’s population of cohabiting same-sex couples, just 3,262 couples reported in the 2010 U.S. Census, amounts to less than 0.5 percent of its 1.4 million population,” LaCroix wrote in a July 2013 research paper about (which grossly exaggerated) the economic and governmental impacts of gay marriages in Hawaii.
1,174 / 3,262 = 36% of gay couples got married
According to Gallup 5.1% of Hawaii residents identify as gay. Do the math:
- 1.4M x .051 = 74,000
- 6,524 / 74,000 = 8.8% of gays in couples
- 2,348 / 74,000 = 3.2% of gays in 'marriages'
While the few gay marriages hog the media spotlight, real gays are dying in greater and greater numbers: World AIDS Day: Gay Inc Drops HIV for Marriage, Military & Money
Meanwhile, billionaires think they can use gay 'marriage' to impose censorship: New McCarthyism: Civil Beat Randomly Targets Mitch D'Olier for Opposing Gay Marriage
read ... Nobody Wants a gay marriage
State Will Run Deficit For Rest of Ige Administration
Borreca: It is reporting a carryover balance around $500 million, according to Rep. Sylvia Luke, House Finance Committee chairwoman.
At the same time, though, nobody in state government is getting what they want.
On Kauai last week, Gov. David Ige, in his first formal speech on the island as governor, essentially repeated his January State of the State speech saying the state checkbook is in trouble.
That has been Ige's single message since becoming governor.
"We have fully committed our current funds to existing programs and services and we are spending more than we are taking in," Ige said both five months ago and last week.
That imbalance shows up in things like money for Hawaii's school kids.
The Department of Education, for instance, said it needed an extra $78 million to run the schools, but the Legislature added only $38 million.
That is a tiny slice of the state school system's more than $1.5 billion annual budget, but DOE officials said it meant a $22 million technology request for things such as more laptops for students will be put off.
Last month the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. announced that 87 workers at three Hawaii island hospitals would be laid off because of a $7 million deficit in its new budget. In 2014, another 35 Hawaii island health workers lost their jobs because of the deficit.
Ige's advisor and chief of staff, Mike McCartney, said Hawaii's expenditures are still projected to exceed revenues for three years or more....
June 10, 2015: Ige: State will Run Deficits for Duration of my Administration
read ... Thanks to HGEA
Hawaii Kai: Protesters Reject Federal Control of Maunalua Bay
SA: A cadre of recreational ocean users and water-sport business owners demonstrated Saturday afternoon in opposition to a proposed expansion of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
Bearing signs that read "No Fishing?" and "Say No to NOAA" — referring to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — protesters lined Kalanianaole Highway in Hawaii Kai.
Introduced in March, the NOAA proposal called for increasing the size of the sanctuary by 17 percent and expanding its focus to the protection of all marine species within its boundaries.
Demonstrators expressed concern that the plan and its associated regulations would unduly restrict recreational ocean use and negatively affect businesses that operate in coastal areas....
read ... Once the Feds Get in You'll Never get them out
HB321: Mainland Dopers Expect to Sell Average Hawaii Family $185 Worth of Weed Annually
SA: ..."It's the beginning of a new era in Hawaii," said Michael Patterson, a medical marijuana consultant with the U.S. Cannabis Pharmaceutical Research. "It's a historic moment for so many different reasons. It's truly becoming legal in peoples' eyes and it's a turning point for how this is viewed in Hawaii."
Ige's representatives have said he's open to signing the dispensary bill into law, and members of his Cabinet worked with legislators in crafting the measure.
There are roughly 13,000 Hawaii residents registered to use medical marijuana. Under the current law, they have to grow their own pot or buy it illegally.
"That number is expected to quadruple once dispensaries are open," said Michael Visher, owner of Colorado's Green Man Cannabis Dispensary. "Right now there's no point in getting a medical marijuana card if you're growing it yourself."
Even with just 13,000 patients, the potential market for medical marijuana is large, according to Visher. In Colorado, medical marijuana sells for an average $150 per ounce and a typical patient uses one and a half ounces a month, he said. That translates into a $35 million a year business. With the anticipated growth in number of patients signing up for medical marijuana cards, the total sales in Hawaii could grow quickly to $65 million a year, said Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association.
The bill allows for each licensee to operate two dispensaries and two grow centers for a total of 16 dispensaries: six on Oahu, four on Maui, four on Hawaii island and two on Kauai.
($65M / 1.4M = $46 per person or $184 for family of four per year)
read ... Thought Control Drug
New Arnold generation brought worse woes to UH
Shapiro: When Gib Arnold became University of Hawaii basketball coach in 2010, he called it a dream chance to restore his family’s name locally after the dismal 11-45 run by his father, Frank Arnold, as UH coach in 1985-87.
“The Arnold name here — to the basketball people here in Hawaii — (it) was a tough time and a tough era,” Gib Arnold said then. “As a son, I get the opportunity to change that … to build a program that the people of Hawaii can be proud of.”
Great job, Gib!
He won more games than his dad, but UH forfeited 36 wins from 2012 to 2014 following seven NCAA citations for irregularities in player recruitment and benefits.
SA: Board of Regents will conduct review of athletics funding
read ... Woes
Could an energy co-op be a viable alternative to NextEra-HEI merger?
HTH: The pending $4.3 billion sale of Hawaiian Electric Industries to Florida-based NextEra Energy has put Hawaii Island’s energy future at a crossroads.
The two paths being discussed: Takeover by a mainland-based, investor-owned corporation, or public, local ownership in the form of a cooperative.
While HEI — the parent company of Hawaii Electric Light Co. on the Big Island — and NextEra continue to work their way through the regulatory acquisition process, those exploring the idea of public ownership are looking at an example at the end of the state — Kauai.
read ... Co-op?
Hawaii Business Roundtable releases sales pitch for 'high tech' corporate welfare
IM: Hawai`i Business Roundtable published “Hawai‘i Innovation Assets Report 2014–15” with an emphasis on expanding the high tech industry. The idea is not new....
One useful tool in reading reports is to flip the report over and open it from the back end. The final page of the Hawai`i Business Roundtable report is the only place where the authors are listed as well as the three primary sponsors: the Hawai`i Business Roundtable, Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) subsidiary American Savings Bank, and the University of Hawai‘i.
read ... Hawaii Business Roundtable releases report on high tech innovation
Speaker Souki stocked up on shares of Hawaiian Electric before merger announcement
ILind: ...on February 25, 2014, well after the filing deadline, Souki then submitted an amended disclosure. This time around, he reported the value of his Hawaiian Electric investment had jumped to category “E”, meaning it was worth at least $50,000 but less than $100,000.
The company’s shares at that time were trading just slightly over $25, which meant that he now owned between 2,000 and 4,000 shares, far more than the 729 shares valued at just $20,000 he reported back in 2012 and 2013.
The increased investment came in the period between July 2013 and February 2014.
The HEI/NextEra merger was not publicly announced until December 3, 2014....However, the deal began to fall into place much earlier....
ILind: A legislator’s failure to disclose doesn’t appear to violate ethics law
read ... Speaker Souki stocked up on shares of Hawaiian Electric before merger announcement
Man dies following police-involved shooting in Wailuku
KHON: Police say the shooting occurred at about 4:30 p.m. during a traffic stop conducted by Wailuku patrol officers on Lower Main Street and Hookahi Street.
A male passenger in the SUV immediately exited and there was an exchange of gunfire.
The passenger was struck and was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition, where he later died.
HNN: “I think the cops got him in the leg, and he fell down, when he fell down, that's when he turned the gun on himself”
read ... Wailuku
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