June 21, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Monday, June 21, 2010

June 21, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 1:04 PM :: 9102 Views

Democratic chief takes Mufi to the woodshed

In a 2 1/2-page letter to Hannemann, Carpenter complained that the mayor and his campaign committee decided not to sponsor a breakfast it was expected to host, “created turmoil” by hosting a competing campaign event that drew delegates away from Resolution Committee meetings, breached an agreement on the time for the mayor’s speech to the convention, ignored the time limit on the speech despite repeated warnings and tried to bamboozle hotel audiovisual people into playing an unauthorized campaign disc after the Hannemann speech….

As party chairman, Carpenter says he’s neutral in the primary contest for governor between Hannemann and former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie. When Carpenter served in the state Senate in the early 1980s, he and Abercrombie were both members of a faction led by Ben Cayetano.

SA: Djou defends call for Jones Act waiver

Yesterday, after a blessing of his new Honolulu office, Djou said he agreed with President Obama "that we need to do whatever it takes to stop this leak, clean up the mess and hold BP accountable. I'm in agreement with the president. That's exactly what we need to do. We should not leave a single arrow in our quiver to make sure we stop this environmental disaster. One of the things that's important to do is waive the Jones Act. And that's why I was happy in joining my colleagues from the Gulf Coast states in calling for this waiver."

Djou campaigned on promises of controlling federal spending and yesterday defended his use of automated phone calls to Hawaii voters as the most junior member of Congress.

"Of course, I'm very newly elected," Djou said. "For a lot of my constituents, they don't know how to contact me. ... As soon as I got in, I needed to communicate with my constituents."

Djou saw his Honolulu office for the first time Saturday.

Rep. Djou opens Honolulu office

Djou has been in Washington, D.C. for about a month now, and says he has a lot on his plate. But the main thing he wants to tackle is the budget deficit.

"I think this is the number one policy challenge of our nation today," said Djou. "If we do not get control of the enormous budget deficit and ballooning national debt that our United States Congress is putting on the people, this problem will take care of us."

And the fact that Congress has not decided on a budget is a significant problem.

"I think this is the basic fundamental abdication of responsible government, and I am going to be very strong about Congress' failure to do this," said Djou. "I think this is a complete travesty."

Part of Djou's plans is having an open communication with Hawaii residents. He will hold a series of talk story sessions in July throughout the islands.

Djou says his office is open to the public and he plans to fly to Hawaii every weekend until August.

Gov. Lingle to consider veto of civil unions bill Monday

The civil unions bill is likely to be on Governor Linda Lingle's list of potential vetoes when it's released Monday.

According to a draft list of bills, House Bill 444 is among measures the governor will reserve the right to veto.

She has until July 6 to either veto, sign or let the measure become law without her signature.

SA: To have ... or to hold (More propaganda right out of The Overhauling of Straight America.)

QWERTY: Linda Lingle Has Seen Through You Hawaii Gays Ditching the Word 'Marriage'

(This is from a gay magazine)

Guys, c'mon. You thought getting Hawaii's governor to sign the civil unions bill, which finally eeked its way out of both state legislatures, was gonna be an easy task? Not when Gov. Linda Lingle has the whole "But same-sex marriage is illegal" line to fall back on.

With Hawaii's gays just a single signature away to actually receiving some marriage benefits (minus the word) — and an upgrade to the current domestic partnership band-aid — you've got the one woman who can make it happen saying things like, "It does appear to me on reading it, that it really is same-sex marriage, but by a different name."

Which, let's be honest, it so is! And what, you want to give marriage rights to college twinks who jerk off on school property? What kind of society do you gays think you live in.

QWERTY: Gov. Linda Lingle Teases Hawaii's Gays Over Civil Unions

SA: Don't waste stream water (OHA must grab more water)

Na Wai Eha is the commission's first and, so far, only surface water management area, so named in 2008. It's a good start, and the commission needs to find ways to expand this means of stricter water control. This Maui region was seen as a good candidate because of all the competing demands in an area of diminished supply, with recent drought conditions exacerbating the situation.

Surely there are other areas that deserve this special care (at the hands of OHA/NHLC).

(Why yes, OHA could go after Honolulu’s water. As a compromise, lets give HA control over the Star-Advertiser’s water supply. That would be amusing.)

REALITY: OHA Trustees claim ownership of your drinking water

CB: Time Running Out for Akaka Bill

After a 10-year slog, supporters of the Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill think they have their best chance yet to pass the legislation.

It also may be their last chance for many years.

Democrats are expected to lose seats in both the U.S. House and Senate this fall, making it even more difficult to scrape up the votes to pass the bill in the next Congress. Republican support is necessary, even now, to pass the bill….

Peter Boylan, press secretary for Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, deferred questions on the bill to Akaka's office. "It's their game, though obviously we are working together," said Boylan. "But they have the lead on this bill." (Hmmm…did Inouye sabotage the Akaka Bill by allowing Akaka and Abercrombie to change it?)

REALITY: Akaka Bill: More than 73% of Hawaiians not "Qualified" for membership in Akaka Tribe

SA: Perk of incumbency: Unequal time

All of this has become very topical in Hawaii because two of the three declared candidates for governor still have regular spots on Honolulu radio on the basis that they -- Democrat Mufi Hannemann and Republican James "Duke" Aiona -- are, respectively, the sitting mayor of Honolulu and lieutenant governor of the state. The third, Neil Abercrombie, lost his claim on any of his radio spotlights because he gave up his seat in Congress to run for governor.

To say Abercrombie is unhappy, particularly about the relative advantage of his primary rival Hannemann, is an understatement.

(Almost as much of an understatement as saying the SA is flacking for Abercrombie.)

ilind: State Ethics Commission deserves more credit for dealing with administrative problems

Perhaps the commission’s actions wouldn’t appear so “mystifying” if either the Star-Advertiser or its predecessors had actually been reporting on the commission and its activities, or if any real reporting had been done beginning early this year when Dan Mollway’s possible termination first became public.

Without any real reporting on what was happening behind the scenes at the commission, the editorial writers’ feeling of being “mystified” by events is self-inflicted….

The commission has not had an effective presence at the legislature for some years, and its legislative initiatives have floundered….

I’ve also been critical of the commission’s lax enforcement of existing lobbying disclosure requirements….

Army seeks better ties with Native Hawaiians

Now the Army is trying to narrow the gap. In a series of firsts, the Army Garrison Hawaii commander hired a liaison for Hawaiian issues, formed a council of Hawaiians to advise him, and brought Army and Hawaiian leaders together to sign a covenant in which both sides vowed to respect and understand one another.

“Instead of going back and rehashing the past, I’m trying to make a fresh start, trying to make that relationship positive, make things better down the line,” said Col. Matthew Margotta.

But the Army did not invite several Hawaiians embroiled in ongoing disputes with the Army to join the council or sign the covenant, prompting critics to question how effective these initiatives will be.

“You want to work together but you only want to work with people who don’t disagree with you. How good is that?” said William Aila, whose uncle was ousted from Makua during World War II and who is fighting for the Army to return the valley…

(It’s very good. What is needed is a ‘support the troops’ movement and professional activist Alia sure isn’t going to be part of it.)

Hawaii Home Price Index Up 13.4% in April—tops nation

Hawaii lead all states in year-over-year price appreciation at 13.4%, followed by Massachusetts (7.4%), California (7.3%), Virginia (6.5%) and New Hampshire (5.2%).

Link: Chart

Report: Hawaii personal income increasing

Personal income in Hawaii has grown at the sixth-fastest rate in the country through the first quarter of this year.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports Hawaii residents' cumulative personal income increased by 1.35 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Military earnings jumped the most, at 0.37 percent.

Retail trade, construction and federal civilian earnings all went up 0.13 percent.

The industry with the largest earnings decrease was real estate, at a minus 0.05 percent.

California fraud case allegedly cost First Hawaiian Bank over $2.5 million

According to an Justice Department press release, Stephen M. Kraut, the general manager of a Tracy, California auto dealership, was indicted on multiple counts of fraud that allegedly took place between 2005-2007.

A sealed indictment was issued on April 30, 2009 and made public two weeks later following Kraut’s arrest. It alleges FHB had a financing agreement with a Tracy Chevolet in Tracy, California. The deal with First Hawaiian gave the dealership a $12.1 million line-of-credit to buy new and used cars from third-party dealers. The dealership would submit paperwork for cars it was purchasing for its inventory and eventual sale to consumers, and FHB would advance the funds. When the cars were sold, FHB would be repaid.

But the government alleges many of the cars identified in the financing applications were never actually purchased, and the money instead diverted to the dealership’s operating expenses and personal use by the general manager.

Big Island progressive musician guilty in kiddie porn case

… Greggory "Gregg" Perry, 61, of Hawaiian Paradise Park was a member of the band Kumanu, performing and recording socially and environmentally conscious music.

See for yourself: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kumanu