July 2, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, July 2, 2010

July 2, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:39 PM :: 13562 Views

Could force Hannemann out of race: Admits AtomicMonkey site produced by Mufi campaign worker

Rep Pat Saiki endorses Ramsay Wharton for Congress--District 2

Maui, Big Island TEA Party rallies July 3, 4 and 7

Shapiro: Abercrombie, Hannemann grapple over AtomicMonkey

Hannemann campaign spokesperson Carolyn Tanaka said Keith Rollman, a senior city IT adviser, was asked to take down the site because “given his volunteer status with the campaign, it was pointed out to him that this type of website could be misconstrued.”

That wasn’t good enough for the Abercrombie campaign, which released a statement that said in part, “This is typical of a Mufi Hannemann campaign. The Mayor’s campaign is launching into distortions, attacks, and denials. When he’s caught, it’s never his fault; he even blames his supporters. Voters can expect more of this from the Hannemann campaign in the months ahead.”

The statement accused high-level members of the city administration and Hannemann campaign, including chairman Dean Okimoto, of promoting the offensive website on Facebook, Twitter and other online venues….

“Should we say anything goes? In my mind, it could be more revealing than a fight under the ‘Marquess of Queensbury’ rules.” -- Dean Okimoto

HNN: Abercrombie accuses Hannemann of distortions through website

read more

Civil Beat launches attack on America for July 4

Who are the employees of billionaire pez-dispenser salesman Pierre Omidyar celebrating Independence Day? With essays on whether Hawaii should be a State or not and whether Hawaiians should celebrate July 4 or not. Starting with the predictable pap from UHM Perfesser Jon Osorio: A Hawaiian National on Independence Day. How dull.

REALITY:

Hannemann acknowledges poll showing Aiona in lead—but Star-Advertiser continues censorship

Hannemann said he's seen polls showing Abercrombie ahead of him and even heard of polls favoring Republican candidate James "Duke" Aiona. He said he prefers to campaign like he's behind.
"The only poll that matters is Election Day," he said.

REALITY: Poll Panic: Star-Advertiser censors poll showing Aiona in lead--New survey asks about wrong Senate candidate, Poll: Aiona beats Hannemann in one-on-one matchup

Late donations save Kailua fireworks for July 4th

A late flurry of donations will enable a community group to stage the annual Kailua Fourth of July fireworks display, keeping a 62-year-old tradition alive.

Save Kailua’s Fireworks! has met its goal of raising $50,000 to hold the pyrotechnic show, which will begin at 8 p.m. Sunday off Kailua Beach Park, chairwoman Brook Gramann said.

On Monday, the group reported it was $17,000 shy of its $50,000 goal. Hardware Hawaii then gave $10,000 and the group received an outpouring of donations from individuals.

A couple in Maryland sent a $250 check and a person in Georgia contributed $100, Gramann said. The group placed donation boxes in 24 Kailua businesses, raising $2,000, she said….

Tom Likos of Fireworks by Grucci-Hawaii is donating additional fireworks to extend the 12- to 14- minute show.

Aiona calls for Education Department audit

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona called yesterday for a "comprehensive, independent" audit of the state Department of Education and said if elected governor he would make sure schools get 90 cents out of every dollar that goes to the department.

"It's easier to build strong children than it is to fix a broken adult," said Republican Aiona at a news conference at his Nimitz Highway campaign headquarters.

The lieutenant governor said there has not been an independent audit of department since 1973.

Molokai Ranch Attempts to Legalize Water System after being robbed by Hawaii Supreme Court

For almost 40 years, Molokai Properties Limited, also known as Molokai Ranch, has been using an irrigation system, intended for agriculture and Hawaiian homesteaders, to transfer water to west Molokai. In September 2007, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that Molokai Properties Limited (MPL) be required to complete an environmental study before continuing its use of the Molokai Irrigation System (MIS). Since that time, MPL has been using the system under an expired agreement with the State Department of Agriculture (DOA).

REALITY: Molokai Ranch: Protesters to Cash in with Takeover Plan?, Moloka`i activists seek control of ranch

Kauai Mayor: Drug-treatment facility to be sited in 2010 (after being blocked by OHA)

LIHU‘E — Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. said he still intends to site a residential, adolescent, drug-treatment facility on the island before year’s end.

It will take three years to become operational, and it won’t be at the old Hanapepe Kaua‘i Humane Society site, he said via e-mail through Mary Daubert, county public information officer.

~~Funding and community opposition~~ OHA halted the Hanapepe plan, Daubert said.

REALITY: Office of Hawaiian Affairs Blocks Kauai Drug Treatment Facility, OHA Drug Policy: Treatment no, pushers yes

House Democrats use war funding bill to gut RTTT education reform

The thirteen senators — 12 Democrats and an Independent — said they oppose Obey's plan to reduce funding for the Race to the Top program, Teacher Incentive Fund and charter schools by $800 million.

"In short, the proposed Department of Education cuts are unacceptable," the senators said in a letter. "Using these programs as offsets for teacher jobs presents us with a false choice between supporting teachers or supporting these critical reform efforts."

The group was led by Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who has been a strong backer of the administration's reform efforts, and included Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The letter was addressed to Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).

"By taking money from these programs in the midst of the competitive process, we would not only derail bold education reform efforts, we'd also be breaking faith with the states, districts and schools that relied on the existence of this funding as an incentive to undertake reform," the senators said.

Former Hawaii PTSA president sentenced for $34,000 theft

Michael J. Nathan, who has been active with two other nonprofit organizations and runs a Maui accounting company, was sentenced yesterday to 30 days in jail to be served on weekends.

Cataluna: Hannemann copies Jeremy Harris’ Sewer policy

The city still disagrees with the EPA about the necessity of secondary treatment of waste water, but Hannemann said he pursued a settlement to end the years of costly litigation. He also managed to buy more time for the city to put in secondary treatment facilities. The city had received waivers from the EPA in the past, but their time was up.

Sure, this is more about politics than public works. Hannemann settled the sewage litigation in time to move on to campaign for governor without giving Neil Abercrombie that stinky mess to use against him. Hannemann is leaving it to the next mayor to pay for the cost of the upgrades, a legacy that got passed down to him from the Jeremy Harris administration….

Better late than never, but dragging this out has only enriched some lawyers and stuck taxpayers with a bigger bill than if the case had been settled years ago. Hannemann has had to raise sewer fees because Harris didn't want to be the bad guy, and now the next mayor will have to raise them even higher, which is hard to imagine when we already pay more for flushing a toilet than filling the bowl. And where's the love in that?

Waimanalo homeless await rumored sweep

Olsen said the influx requires his miniature community to carefully police itself lest it draws unwanted attention from area residents and police. Last month, Honolulu police arrested four people for outstanding warrants during a sweep of the coastline.

"When somebody comes (to the park), we welcome them and try to take care of them," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're local or haole, but if you're an alcoholic or a drug user, we don't tolerate that because there are kids here. If you act like a pig and make things hard for everybody else, 'Bye, have a good day.'"

Olsen, who worked as a roofer for 26 years, used to earn money from the Department of Human Services for performing chores for his father, who was stricken with cancer. When his father died, the checks stopped, and Olsen found it difficult to get roofing jobs at his age. (Isn’t welfare wonderful?)

HGEA job trust continues assault on tax collection contractor

As the state auditor and Legislature look into controversial contracts between the Hawaii State Department of Taxation and the information technology company CGI Group Inc., one tax department employee has filed a grievance saying she was retaliated against for speaking up within the department.

The unnamed employee claims she was publicly reprimanded by acting director Stanley Shiraki for speaking out about something she saw as wrong within the tax department, according to the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA). Shiraki, who was the department's deputy director at the time of the incident, allegedly called into question the employee's competency in an email to the employee and to legislators after the employee voiced her concerns.

(If the HGEA wins this, tax revenues will drop and the State will have to either raise taxes or lay off HGEA members.)

Inouye to hold Hawaii hearing on stimulus spending

The Senate Appropriations Committee, which Inouye chairs, will hold the session Wednesday, starting at 9:30 a.m., at the state Capitol.

Inouye is to question government officials and private sector representatives. Among the witnesses is state Department of Transportation chief Brennon Morioka. His agency has or will spend a large portion of the more than $1 billion slated for the state.

CB: Djou Explains 'No' Vote On Campaign Finance Bill

Djou explained his vote to Civil Beat in an e-mail statement June 25:

"It is ironic that so close to Independence Day, when we as a nation celebrate the freedoms that make this land unique, the majority in Congress would bring a bill to the floor that strikes at the core of our Constitution’s freedom of speech," said Djou.

"While the bill is ostensibly concerned with transparency and fairness, the very manner in which it was fashioned — behind closed doors and in the dead of night — and the numerous carveouts for unions and select special interests, make the cry of fairness ring hollow.

"This measure carves out too many special exemptions for too many special interests. Instead of a fair campaign finance disclosure bill, the 'DISCLOSE Act' has become biased legislation that favors the Majority’s special interests to the exclusion of all others."

Moon's involvement in Broken Trust cited in naming of new court

Q: I heard that they will be naming the Kapolei Court Complex after Chief Justice Ronald Moon. Don't you have to be deceased before a government building is named after you? I believe there was an exception in honoring Coach Les Murakami, whose vision was instrumental in building the UH baseball stadium. What is Moon's legacy? If you read "Broken Trust," it hints at his inability to do anything about the Bishop Estate debacle. Besides, it wasn't his vision to build the Kapolei Court Complex. The vision started during the terms of Chief Justices Herman Lum and William Richardson.

A: While other government entities might have a policy of not naming a building after someone still living, the state Judiciary has no such policy or law, a spokeswoman said.

As it stands, the Kapolei Court Complex, which was dedicated in May, will be renamed the Ronald T.Y. Moon Judicial Complex at a ceremony in August.

The renaming of the complex is said to be pursuant to a resolution adopted by the state Legislature this year that outlined Moon's accomplishments.

(This is like reading Pravda.)

Anti-GMO activists attacking Hawaii Papaya farmers?

It was second known case in two months of a papaya farm being vandalized. In May someone chopped down 397 of 500 papaya trees at a Mililani farm operated by Jerry Punzal.

But William Julian, Laureto's brother and a former papaya farmer himself, speculated that the destruction was the work of people who oppose GMO crops or the use of chemicals to control weeds and pests. A strain of genetically modified papaya was developed in part by the University of Hawaii to be resistant to ring spot virus.

"It's people who are against the way we grow our crops," said William Julian, who said he left the papaya growing business two years ago because someone was destroying his crops.

HNN: Thousands of papaya trees destroyed on Big Island

REALITY: The Future of Fraud

Pacific Garbage Patch: There's a what?

The development of the next great eco-scam continues….

School impact fees postponed: Hawaii County won't cooperate

In a letter to Mayor Billy Kenoi dated June 18, DOE Assistant Superintendent Randy Moore wrote, "I understand that Hawaii County will defer implementation of this requirement until the Board of Education has designated school impact districts in other counties. ... Without the county's assistance, the DOE will not be able to implement fully the West Hawaii school impact district."

DoE News release: School Impact Fees for West Hawaii Postponed by DoE

County deal revives stalled Molokai veterans center

How Democrats keep themselves in power. First have your bureaucracy create an artificial problem:

On May 11 Herbert Chang, water supply engineering program manager, told the veterans group that there is inadequate water pressure in the existing 4-inch waterline to fight a fire.

Then let the community get riled up—they will come to the (Democrat) elected officials demanding help.

Several Molokai veterans met yesterday with Tavares' aides at the Maui Veterans Center while another group of 10 veterans from Molokai, led by Helm, took their protest to the municipal building in Kahului, where they were joined by a dozen more veterans from Maui….

Maui County Council Chairman Danny Mateo, who represents Molokai, said he understands that the legislation would be submitted by the Tavares administration today. "I support any move to move this process forward," Mateo said. "This is absolutely ridiculous to have gone on so long."

Then magically solve the fake problem.

Helm said the Maui Fire Department approved the organization's building plans, noting a hydrant at the site—where there are now 11 businesses and other buildings—had sufficient flow for firefighting.

RESULT: Votes for Tavares and Mateo on Nov 2. What a scam!