May 22, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Saturday, May 22, 2010

May 22, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 10:36 AM :: 7710 Views

Special race draws 50% of voters

Results are expected to be announced shortly after today's 6 p.m. deadline to get ballots in to the state Office of Elections.

As of yesterday about 159,000 (50.2 percent) of the 317,000 ballots sent to voters in the 1st Congressional District had been returned. Ballots are still being accepted up until today's deadline at drop-off boxes at the Office of Elections in Pearl City and on the Beretania Street side of the state Capitol by the St. Damien statue….

Veteran University of Hawaii political scientist Neal Milner said the high voter turnout is likely to benefit Djou.

"I think Republicans are more likely to turn out -- solid Republicans -- and I also think that independents are probably leaning a little bit to the right, and they're the most likely to vote," Milner said….

But even the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has conceded the race, having pulled out its resources after spending $300,000 in attack ads against Djou. The DCCC cited the inability of the local party to rally behind a single candidate and said it would concentrate on trying to win back the seat in November.

"Yeah," was Rep. Chris Van Hollen's blunt response Thursday when asked whether the DCCC was writing off the special election. Van Hollen is chairman of the committee.

New Congressional Hawaii Poll Shows Djou Slightly Ahead of Democratic Rivals

On May 20, 2010, ccAdvertising completed a survey in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District regarding the special election taking place. The surveyed numbers used were from ccAdvertising’s nationwide database of landline and mobile phones. There were 1,082 participants in this survey.

In the three-way race for Hawaii’s First Congressional District, Republican Charles Djou has pulled slightly ahead with 35.78% of the vote, while Democrats Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa have 31.03% and 17.67%, respectively. The Undecideds, who will determine the winner of this race, remain at 15.52%.

(This 'poll' is designed to stampede a last minute surge of Democrats to vote for Ed Case. It is only reported on HawaiiReporter.com and in a mass email from Ed Case's campaign. The poll is slanted by the survey sample consisting of "surveyed numbers" rather than "registered voters" or "likely voters". See next article for Hanabusa complaints about polling.)

KITV: Congressional Candidates Campaign on Election Eve

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Rivals in special election find that traditional rules of campaigning don't apply (Hanabusa blames media for publishing polls)

Hanabusa, however, had the most difficult week of her campaign just as voters were receiving ballots.

The Advertiser published a poll on May 2 showing Hanabusa in third place. A few days later, a private poll and memo prepared for the Democratic National Committee found Hanabusa lagging behind in third and Case with the best chance against Djou.

Hanabusa held a press conference on May 5 to announce that she would not drop out of the race.

Two of the three televised debates also aired that week, so voters tuning in to the campaign for the first time saw Hanabusa against a backdrop of the negative poll numbers.

"All of that was really out of our control," said Eric Hamakawa, Hanabusa's campaign manager. "I think from the media perspective, you guys have got to take a look at whether — if elections are run this way again — whether or not you guys actually do these polls so late in the game. I think it does have a factor in influencing voters."

(Yes, the media is supposed only to publish polls showing it to be hopeless for any Republican, but this time they needed these polls to stampede Democrats into supporting Case. Did it backfire? We will see tonight.)

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Civil-unions factions weigh in: Governor to meet with advocates, opponents of bill awaiting signature

Gov. Linda Lingle will meet with parties on both sides of the controversial civil-unions bill next week to help her decide whether to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without her signature.

Lingle has said she will not rush her decision on the measure and indicated she wants to meet with supporters and opponents before taking action. The governor has until July 6 to decide, but must provide lawmakers with a list of potential vetoes on pending bills by June 21.

Regents OK new hires at Hilo, Manoa (Gay mafia picks a Don, Broken Trust figure to lobby Leg)

Donald Straney's appointment disappointed supporters of Pharmacy School founding Dean John Pezzuto, one of the finalists. They had urged the regents to delay Straney's selection.

Others, including the alumni association and native Hawaiian faculty and staff, supported him.

* * * * *

J.N. Musto, executive director of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, told the regents that (Lokelani Lindsey’s KSBE gofer) Freitas is a friend and has done a good job at HCC. But Musto expressed concern about the expansion of UH administrators and said it was his understanding that Freitas' position was going to remain unfilled.

Freitas previously has served as vice president of university relations for the UH system and associate athletic director for UH-Manoa. He also held leadership positions at Kamehameha Schools before becoming chancellor at HCC.

In his new job, Freitas will be responsible for systemwide student affairs policies and university and government relations, including lobbying the Legislature. He also will assist with the completion of an HCC-West Hawaii campus and the new UH-West Oahu campus.

(Memorable Frietas quote from Broken Trust p111: “If a kid gets into college, what do we care if he can write effectively?”)

PBN: University of Hawaii Hilo names chancellor

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Isle Democrats can no longer rely on party loyalty (Gay Marriage?)

The Big Five companies, controlled by the Republican Party at that time, formed counter "strikes" consisting of employers, Republican Party members, and wives and ladies of the Big Five. I will never forget the viciousness and arrogance I personally saw and experienced. At that time, I vowed that I would never vote for a member of the Republican Party — ever. I will be forever grateful for Sen. Daniel Inouye, Sen. Spark Matsunaga, Gov. John Burns, and others who revolutionized the make-up of Hawaii's government structure. They gave us, the people of Hawaii, a voice in the laws of Hawaii.

But times have changed. In the most recent legislative session, I have watched and seen how misleading and arrogant today's politicians can be. These politicians do not care about the public majority. Because the Democrats control the House and Senate, it seems that they can act without regard of the people they are supposed to represent. I will no longer vote for a person just because he or she is a Democrat. I will only vote for those men and women with high moral integrity, regardless whether they are Democrat or Republican.

(Is this about HB444?)

Aiona: Hawaii's future lies in space exploration

Duke Aiona: “We signed a Space Act Agreement last month with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that will help bring critical research funding and technical resources here.

“In addition, President Barack Obama announced a new strategy for space exploration predicated on public-private partnerships and multinational alliances.

“These two events will help position Hawaii as a global leader in aeronautics and space exploration.

“As a vice chairman of the national Aerospace States Association, I know of exciting aerospace research that seems like science fiction. For instance, imagine Hawaii as a site for testing and evaluating aviation technologies, such as small spacecraft and small spacecraft systems. Imagine field experiments to test exploration technologies for lunar missions. Also imagine Hawaii as a hub for commercial space transportation.

“These are already taking place in our state.”

SB: CEO of Planned Parenthood Hawaii believes comprehensive sex-ed is vital to students' health

"My family is first generation from Denmark, so we were raised very openly with those Northern European values, where sex is just part of the everyday discussion. That was sort of an anomaly in the Midwest," said Anderson, 41, who moved to Oahu from Michigan in January to become chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Hawaii.

(Now providing abortions to as many dark-skinned people as possible.)

Human Trafficking Bill Threatens Strip Club Industry, says transsexual

HONOLULU -- The intent of Senate Bill 2045 is to toughen up prostitution laws that some said don't adequately address the problem of sexual human trafficking, a problem that is only getting worse in Hawaii.

But critics said the bill threatens the adult entertainment industry.

"If you read what's written there the bill does, in fact, create felonies out of what are legal activities," said (Mr) Tracy (Ahn) Ryan, (transsexual) executive director of Harm Reduction Hawaii, (associate of transsexual BoE member Mr Kim Coco Iwamoto, and former chair of Hawaii Libertarian Party).

Shakedown: Labor Union Sues Over Hotel Redevelopment Project

Some have called it a major improvement to this aging side of Waikiki, but Local 5, which represents hotel workers, has filed a lawsuit against Kyo-ya to stop the project until the company clarifies exactly what it wants to build. The union said the environmental impact statement that the company gave to the city isn't clear.

(And Hawaii law gives them the ability to stop this development indefinitely until they are ‘satisfied’.)

"It does not disclose in particular the mix of units that will be built between hotel room, condo hotel and residential condominiums," said Local 5 attorney Greg Kugle.

(But the real issue is…)

Hotel workers said they are worried because the development of private high end condos means their jobs won't be needed any more.

"We feel the way it's designed right now, there's going to be no job security for us, " said Princess Kaiulani waiter Ilia Patlidzanov.

SB: Local 5 sues Kyo-ya Hotels

Hawaii state tax director Kurt Kawafuchi leaving his post

Kurt Kawafuchi will leave his post as director of the state Department of Taxation on June 15, according to Russell Pang, spokesman for Gov. Linda Lingle.

“They mutually agreed that Kurt would be leaving,” Pang said.

Kawafuchi, who has led the department since 2003, was unavailable for comment Friday.

His departure will come less than six months before the Lingle administration hands over the reins to her successor on Dec. 6.

Stan Shiraki, the department’s deputy director, will take over as interim director, Pang said.

VOUCHERS: OHA education grants could yield useful data

Demand is high for grants that help needy native Hawaiian families send their children to private schools or obtain other educational opportunities, such as after-school tutoring or special-education services.

While the program funded by the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs is a boon to individual families, it also presents a broader opportunity to assess the impact of a relatively small and highly targeted financial investment on educational achievement in a student population historically underserved in Hawaii's regular public schools.

Administrators expect double the number of applications by the June 30 deadline as were received last year, the first year of the two-year pilot project. Then the $500,000 annual allotment was split among 172 families, for an average award of about $2,900; the maximum is $5,000 per family.

Students arrested in bomb blast at Lanai High School

WAILUKU — Two Lanai High School students were arrested last month for setting off a homemade pipe bomb that destroyed lockers at the school in March, Maui County police said….

During a Maui Police Commission meeting Wednesday, Assistant Chief Danny Matsuura credited Lanai school resource officer Kimberly Masse with doing good investigative work to identify the suspects. She was investigating the theft of a phone at the school and talking to a suspect when she learned he was involved in the pipe bomb case, Matsuura said.

He said the students at first had planned to leave the pipe bomb under a 124-gallon propane tank in the center of the campus. But one suspect talked the other one out of doing that, and the pipe bomb was instead left by the lockers, Matsuura said.

(Isn’t the DoE wonderful? We must raise taxes immediately to help this glorious educational institution.)