August 23, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Monday, August 23, 2010

August 23, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:44 PM :: 8570 Views

Voters react to Abercrombie, Hannemann personas: "I'm just really tired of all of this BS"

The Hawaii Poll asked voters five questions about the qualities of the two Democrats to see whether some of their main campaign messages were registering. Abercrombie and Hannemann have mostly made the primary about leadership and chief executive experience, rather than specific differences on public-policy issues, so how voters assess these qualities might influence a close election.

Audrey Watson, who works at a utility and lives in Kaneohe, is searching for authenticity.

"I'm just really tired of all of this BS," said Watson, who is undecided in the primary. "Like in the past, you like someone, you vote for them and they just let you down. I think the focus really has to be on our state and what is good for the people.

"I don't care if anyone leaves a legacy. I don't care," she said. "I want what's best for our children. So I don't know."

SA: Abercrombie gets backing from Case

Case acknowledged that endorsing Abercrombie may be a surprise to some of his supporters, since Abercrombie denounced Case for his primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, in 2006.

Carolyn Tanaka, a spokeswoman for the Hannemann campaign, said Case is entitled to his opinion.

"We put our faith in the voters of Hawaii to see past the inflammatory rhetoric and judge Mufi Hannemann on his record," she said in a statement. "In 2006, Case asked for then-Mayor Hannemann's endorsement when he ran against Senator Akaka. He did not get it. One has to wonder if Ed's action today is based on philosophy or personal politics."

Case said last night that he did not ask Hannemann for an endorsement against Akaka four years ago. He said his conversation with Hannemann came after Hannemann had already decided to back Akaka.

"It's a standard Hannemann tactic to discredit the messenger," Case said.

(Derrick DePledge managed to write this entire article without mentioning what Ed Case said about Duke Aiona. That takes skill.)

KITV: Case Put Support Behind Neil Abercrombie

HNN/SA Poll reports Lt Gov numbers (It’s Schatz vs Sakamoto)

The Hawaii Poll also asked voters about their choice for lieutenant governor and all the candidates have work to do with name recognition.

Brian Schatz is in the lead with 27 percent. Norman Sakamoto is second with 21 percent. Then there is Bobby Bunda at 11 percent followed closely by Gary “anti-Superferry protester” Hooser at 10 percent. Lyla “Islam Day” Berg and Jon Riki “DWI” Karamatsu were next at seven and two percent respectively. None of them are giving up and all plan to maximize each day before the September 18 primary. (Excellent. Hooser and Berg both quit their Legislative positions for his race.)

(No reporting on the Republican LG contest? Typical Hawaii Democrat media.)

SA: Schatz tops lieutenant governor's race

Shapiro: The LG candidates: From bright beacons to space cadets

Jon Riki Karamatsu (2 percent) says his short-term goals are to make Hawaii a top 100 economic power, grow 40 percent of our food, produce 10 percent of our energy and reduce violent crimes by 40 percent. He also lists “long-term and far-fetched goals for the world” that include reducing the violence in the world by 75 percent, uniting 90 percent of the world’s countries and expanding space exploration beyond our galaxy.

REALITY: Drunks, tax cheats, and other wannabees: Scary Democrat Lieutenant Governor candidates (be sure to check out the cool pic of Schatz hanging out with his political pals in Larry Mehau’s barn) , Great news: Rep. Lyla Berg still taking grief for “Islam Day”

SA: Ruling on burials highlights need for careful planning (could kill rail)

with the city's immense Honolulu rail project looming on the horizon, the fact that contested case hearings will remain wide open as an avenue of appeal strongly suggests potential trouble for large, complex construction projects.

Among the final T's to be crossed in the environmental impact statement for the proposed project will be a programmatic agreement with the state over the treatment of burials and historic sites.

Repeated appeals over the displacement of buried remains all along the 20-mile route could be the death knell for the rail itself, as well as all the related redevelopment projects that would ensue.

As the rail lines are planned and transit oriented development blueprints are drawn up, they need to include extensive archaeological surveys before the final design phase to minimize disturbance of burials.

And, because displacement of some burials will be impossible to avoid in some of the more historically dense population areas, contingency plans must be mapped out well in advance with interested family advocates and Hawaiian groups, who should acknowledge that reburial with respect doesn't have to be a nightmare scenario.

State cuts 97 polling places: Some worry that fewer sites will sink voter turnout even lower

That leaves only 242 poll-ing sites: 137 on Oahu, 40 in Maui County, 19 on the Big Island and 17 in Kauai County. Oahu lost the most sites, at 75.

"The decision had to be done," said Rex Quidilla, spokesman for the state Office of Elections. "It was obvious with all of the issues that we didn't have the ability to actually manage all 339."

Hawaii already has one of the worst voter turnout rates in the nation, with only 42.2 percent of registered voters casting ballots in the last presidential midterm primary election in 2006.

So Johnson worries that the turnout will be even worse for the Sept. 18 primary with people like her wondering where they are supposed to vote.

(This is all calculated as part of a push for all-mail-in elections.)

REALITY: Vote By Mail: “Tool of choice for voter fraud”

Hawaii Has 6th Lowest Unemployment Rate: Hawaii Labor Force Fell By 1,700 In July

The state unemployment rate in July was 6.3 percent -- the same as the previous month.

But there is some unsettling news. The Hawaii labor force fell by 1,700 in July.

Experts said that could mean discouraged job seekers have stopped looking for jobs and are no longer being counted among the official unemployed.

Hotel revenue up for first half of 2010

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii hotels brought in $1.21 billion in revenue during the first six months of 2010, Hospitality Advisors LLC reported Monday.

The wrap-up report on June hotel performance, with running totals for the entire first half of the year, attests to significant improvement in Hawaii's lodging industry, especially since it does not include the even stronger performance of July and August.

Statewide occupancy for Jan. 1-June 30 was 69%, up 4.8% from 2009, more than offsetting 5.2% lower average room rates to produce a 3.1% increase in revenue.

SA: Occupancy up but rates down

Panos Prevedouros: ‘A civil engineer is the perfect professional for the job’

Besides rail, what issues would you tackle if you are elected?
The City faces three grand issues besides rail: 1. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent decree. 2. Dilapidated condition of roads, parks and water mains. 3. Large mounting long term debt.

The EPA consent decree for fixing the sewers and building two secondary treatment plants comes to a minimum total cost of $7.2 billion before overruns. It is far larger than rail and it is a “must do,” so rationally the sewers flushed the rail down the toilet. To upgrade parks, roads, and water mains from a poor to medium condition we need $4 billion more and we already have over $1 billion in past debt, bringing our total to over $12 billion or over $13,000 in extra taxes for each and every resident on Oahu. Who in his right mind would add another $6,000 per resident for rail to that tax burden?

What do you have to offer that the incumbent does not?
There is really no incumbent in this race. Caldwell will be acting mayor for about two months, hardly an incumbency and that’s good because it evens out the race.

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7 vie for Djou's old Council seat

The top two candidates advance to a runoff in the Nov. 2 election, unless one of the candidates receives a majority of votes on Sept. 18. County elections are nonpartisan contests.

Republican Beth Fukumoto tries to find a middle ground with Hawaii voters

MILILANI—Republican candidate Beth Fukumoto is running for State House District 37, which includes Mililani and Waipio Gentry. Fukumoto is one of many new young faces under Hawaii’s Republican banner reaching out to voters this year. The Hawaii Independent’s Steve Jackson talked in length with Fukumoto about her background, the economy, and other key issues in Hawaii.

OHA considers legal action to protect cultural sites against Army Stryker vehicles?

MOLOKAI—The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is using a “balanced approach” to hold the Army accountable for protecting cultural sites from further desecration on its Stryker Brigade locations, according to OHA’s CEO Clyde Namuo at a board of trustees meeting on Molokai yesterday.

A member of the community complained that the letter OHA sent to the Army on August 13 had no legal teeth because no clear-cut demands or timelines were made.

Kauai Utility offers millions to protect seabirds

LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) Kauai's electric utility has agreed to spend more than $11 million on measures designed to minimize and mitigate potential impacts of its facilities on endangered and threatened seabirds.(That’s about $200 per person on Kauai or $800 for a family of four. Wonder why utility bills are so high?)

Hawaii Passes on Chance of Female Chief Justice

Hawaii's highest court is likely to grapple with same-sex civil unions, following Lingle's veto of a bill legalizing them earlier this year. It's not known how Leonard would have ruled on such an issue; she's been careful to keep her opinions close to the vest.

But her judicial record to date shows a deliberative rather than an activist judge who leans heavily on the law and constitution. In prior opinions, she's come down on both sides of a criminal's obligation to pay restitution to victims, opined in favor of absent fathers and said minors must knowingly and voluntarily waive their rights to testify.