Inouye backs UHH's Straney

(letter to a constituent, name removed by request--Link to pdf)

Dear ___,   June 9, 2010 

I wish to acknowledge receipt of a copy of your recent communication addressed to the members of the University of Hawaii's Board of Regents expressing your concern regarding the appointment of Dr. Donald O Straney as the new Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.  Personally, I am quite confident that the recommendation of President MRC Greenwood for Dr Straney is an appropriate one given the recommendations that she received from her search committee.  However, I appreciate your sharing your concerns with me.

Aloha and Mahalo,

Daniel K Inouye

United States Senator

cc: President MRC Greenwood

RELATED: Greenwood Mafia grabs two power positions in UH system

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Blind Teacher fired by HPU

Dear Editor,

In US District Court, an amended complaint was filed in early May in the case of John T. Hays vs. Hawai‘i Pacific University, Chatt Wright et al, U.S.D.C Hawai‘i CV10-004 JMS/KSC. The amended complaint seeks injunctive relief and damages for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehab Act of 1973, and the Hawai‘i Whistleblowers Protection Act for discrimination by Hawai‘i Pacific University against John T. Hays based upon his blindness.

Mr. Hays is legally blind and sought an accommodation from HPU, so that he could continue his employment as an instructor. Instead of providing Mr. Hays with a reasonable accommodation (software and a scanner), HPU terminated his employment. Hays had been a full time instructor for eight (8) years prior to his wrongful termination and a part time instructor for seven (7) years prior to that. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Wabash College and has an MBA from Harvard University. He taught Economics, Finance and Management at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels

HPU receives federal funds for it Military Campus Program and in recent years Hays has been teaching in HPU’s increasingly prominent Military Campus Program. Hays has been a successful instructor on the military bases and (increasingly) online under the Military Campus Program, teaching almost exclusively in that program for the past five years. He is severely vision-impaired and an active member of the Honolulu Chapter of National Federation of the Blind of Hawai‘i. The amended complaint seeks an injunction against any more discrimination by HPU against Mr. Hays or any other persons with disabilities working at HPU.

Kyle Laconsay, President

National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii

Honolulu Chapter

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Panos Prevedouros = Johnny Wilson

AN OPEN LETTER TO RESIDENTS OF LEEWARD OAHU... From Panos Prevedouros
Dear Leeward Oahu resident and voter,

I know that many of you do not yet realize this, but I am stopping the rail for you.  You need traffic congestion relief.  You aren’t getting any!  Not now, and not ever if this rail is built.
This article in Hawaii Reporter explains why >"Stopping the Rail for You." Please take a minute to learn more.

Here is the path to congestion relief for Leeward Oahu: Vote Panos for Mayor, Stop the Rail, Plan and Install Express Lanes and Express Buses.

A SUPPORTER SHARES...
We need an engineer as mayor
Geoffrey Paterson, Architect (Retired), Committee Member, AIA-Hawaii

It is so evident that the politicians in office today have created the problems and financial shortfalls that have plagued Oahu during the last few years.  Honolulu is deteriorating through the neglect that our present mayor has inflicted on our island. There are problems with sewer and water line breaks with many of our roads mired in a state of unacceptable condition.

It is time that we should reflect on the incredible life and achievements of John Wilson, a former Mayor of Honolulu. As a civil engineer that brought Oahu into the twentieth century. Mayor Wilson was probably the best Mayor that Honolulu ever produced. His engineering background enabled our city to achieve great things during his terms as Mayor. These included Aloha Tower, Honolulu Hale and the Pali Highway.   Five years after his death the Wilson tunnel was named in his honor in 1961.

It is time to reject the money and developer input that has become a part of Hawaiian politics and revert to the ideals of caring about our communities and concentrating on sensible development and repair of our deteriorating infrastructure. The general public realizes that the proposed overhead rail system is a complete disaster, financially and aesthetically that will totally destroy Oahu as we now know it without doing anything to reduce traffic congestion.

We could learn a lot from the legacy of John Wilson, by voting for Panos Prevedouros for our next Mayor who, like John Wilson is a civil engineer, who will recreate the energy and care for Oahu that John Wilson achieved many years ago. What is needed today is practical rather than big money political solutions and Panos is the one candidate that can achieve those goals.

John “Johnny” Henry Wilson (1871-1956), was a civil engineer, founder of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and Mayor of Honolulu three times from 1920 to 1927, from 1929 to 1931, and from 1946 to 1954. Mahalo Geoffrey Patterson for sharing your note. >Read more about Mayor Wilson!

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