August 27, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, August 27, 2010

August 27, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:50 AM :: 9533 Views

Rep Pat Saiki challenges Adrienne King’s endorsement claim

Oshiro and Okino vie for chance to face Republican Kong Nov. 2

Gary Okino is a leading opponent of gay marriage and Blake Oshiro is the sponsor of HB444. If voters tune into this, Oshiro is toast. So the gay-atheist Advertiser blows past "civil unions" in the lede and then makes sure the phrase “civil unions” does not appear again until paragraph 13. That’s the best Oshiro could hope for. Organized electoral forgetfulness.

MEANWHILE: Legislative races: Mainland “Gay Victory” money flowing to molester’s buddy Joe Bertram and HB444 sponsor Blake Oshiro, Hawaii Progressives target Gabbard, express “enthusiasm” for molester’s buddy Rep. Joe Bertram

Lieutenant governor's job has potential -- for irrelevancy

And since it is meaningless and irrelevant, it is easier to vote for an anti-Superferry protester like Gary Hooser or a useless idiot like Lyla “Islam Day” Berg. That is why the progressive Advertiser is running this column. The less seriously voters take the process, the more likely they are to vote for a progressive. Amusingly, Borreca said there are six Democrats running, but there are seven.

ILind hits same theme: Lt. Governor: Out of sight, out of mind

Candidates for governor criticize forged letter

Abercrombie said Thursday the forged letter is a despicable, juvenile act that degrades the political system. Hannemann spokesman David Wilson said the letter is a last-minute smear against the former mayor, just a few weeks before the September 18 Democratic primary.

Wilson called the letter an "organized hit" because it was funded and mailed to many voters. He didn't name who he thought the letter came from.

Shapiro: Carlisle and GOP agree: He’s not a Republican

Shapiro criticizes Republican leaders for sticking up for Republican candidate. Amazing.

Birds of a feather: Family of former mayor Frank Fasi endorse Mufi Hannemann

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The widow of former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi and his son David Fasi announced Thursday that they are endorsing the campaign of another former mayor, Mufi Hannemann. The announcement came Thursday morning at Hannemann's campaign headquarters.

Inouye Says Lingle Wrong To Call Him Overly Dramatic: Senator Says He's Truthful About Rail Transit Jeopardy

(He appeared at the news conference in a puff of smoke, wearing a cape… in order to reiterate his excuse for Rail’s impending failure.)

Lingle said she might run out of time to do all of that before she leaves office Dec. 6.

Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann (D), now running for Hawaii governor, on Thursday urged Lingle to stop dragging her heels on transit approval.

"We are this close now and we can't afford to fumble. All she has to do is release the EIS and we are good to go," said Hannemann.

"If we have to wait until Dec. 6, hopefully with the support of the people of Hawaii, I will be the next governor. If I am elected, there will be no equivocation on my part, there will be no second guessing on my part. I will move forward with signing the rail EIS. We need the jobs now," said Hannemann.

(He might discover that there is more to an EIS than just writing “Rail EIS” at the top of the page and signing his name at the bottom. And yes, the incoming Republican Congress will be expected to stop Obama from bleeding the country into debt so Rail and Big Wind are both toast. With or without an EIS.)

Mufi’s going away present: Honolulu to study how to pay for $5 billion sewer upgrades

HONOLULU (AP) - Honolulu will be hiring a consultant to study ways the city can pay for nearly $5 billion in upgrades to its sewage and wastewater treatment systems. The yearlong study will follow in the wake of a consent decree the city recently entered into with the US Environmental Protection Agency.

(Answer: Tax and fee increases.)

Star-Advertiser wants Green Police to inspect your trash

Given all the time lost on this enterprise, finding another such partner hardly seems worthwhile at this point. The focus should be on seeing that the planned H-POWER expansion finishes up on schedule, at the end of 2011.

Timing is utterly crucial. The city is supposed to quit dumping municipal waste at Waimanalo Gulch, with the exception of residual H-POWER ash, after July 31, 2012. That leaves virtually no room for error.

The next city administration should proceed on the assumption that Oahu has to take custody of all its own trash. That means officials must persist in the quest to reduce waste and boost recycling rates. Once homeowners are fully acclimated to curbside recycling, this may mean imposing penalties for those who don't separate their trash, as other cities have done.

The failure of the waste-shipping experiment was not the outcome anyone sought. (Yes it is.) But now that Honolulu finds itself at that juncture, it's time to accept that this is where we should remain. Self-reliance is the best policy, after all, and Oahu residents simply must embrace it. (Or else they will be sent to reeducation camps)

SA Oi: Trash cruise gone bad more cause to lose trust (Good. People need to be distrustful of government.)

REALITY: Nanakuli Park: Hannemann pounds Hanabusa in proxy fight between Waimanalo Gulch and PVT landfill

Suit against state over autism case is reinstated (What the DoE doesn’t do)

A federal appeals court reinstated a lawsuit yesterday by the parents of two autistic daughters seeking money for what they say was the Department of Education's failure to provide them with appropriate special-education services.

The family's lawyers said the decision is important because it recognizes that the parents can seek recovery under the federal Rehabilitation Act when their kids are the victims of "deliberate indifference" by the department in failing to provide the services.

"This is a very far-ranging decision that clearly articulates the standards and opens the door to recover damages," said Susan Dorsey, managing attorney of the Levin Education Access Project.

The lawsuit filed by the parents alleges that the department failed to provide the two children with services as a result of "deliberate indifference" during the girls' formative years in the 1990s. The girls, now teenagers, were diagnosed as autistic when they were 2 and 3, can hardly speak and have limited ability to interact with people, according to the opinion.

KITV: Makiki Family's Special Ed Suit Against State Revived

Year could be school's last: A vote in November might decide the fate of Queen Liliuokalani Elementary in Kaimuki (What the DoE does do)

In the Kalani complex, where Liliuokalani is situated, five schools have enrollments below capacity. Only one school is above capacity: Wilson Elementary School, which has an enrollment of 550 students (15 students above capacity).

Liliuokalani does not have the largest disparity between its enrollment and capacity, but it is the smallest school in the complex.

Wai'alae School, a charter school, is 210 students under capacity, and Kahala Elementary School is 165 students under capacity.

A draft consolidation study for the Kaiser complex weighed the pros and cons of closing Koko Head, Kamiloiki or Hahaione elementary schools. Officials have not decided which school, if any, the department will recommend be closed.

Later this year the Farrington High complex will also be studied for possible consolidations.

Report: Hawaii's hotel occupancy up 4.4%

Statewide hotel occupancy, which came in 12.7 percentage points ahead of the national average of 65.3 percent for the week, was up year over year on all the major islands.

Oahu maintained the highest occupancy rate at 85.8 percent, up 3.2 percentage points from a year ago.

It was followed by Maui at 75.9 percent, up 7.5 percentage points from a year ago. Kauai recorded 68.1 percent occupancy, up 4.8 percentage points from a year ago, and the Big Island recorded 61 percent occupancy, up 3.4 percentage points.

In Hawaii, and on the mainland, credit card debt is declining

TransUnion reported Tuesday that the second quarter - April, May and June - saw average Visa and MasterCard debt fall below $5,000 for the first time since the spring quarter of 2002.

Some states still have higher average bank credit card debt than that, and Hawaii is one of them. The Hawaii figure, $5,594, is third highest in the nation after Alaska and Tennessee. Iowa, the lowest, has less than $4,000 average credit card debt.

The delinquency rate for Hawaii was 5.71%. California was 10.45%, Arizona 10.59% and Nevada 15.86%.

West Maui council candidates meet voters at community forum

The forum’s final candidate presentation was from businessman Paul Laub, who has made over-regulation of Maui businesses a key issue in his campaign. Laub views this policy as having a direct and negative effect on the ability of Maui businesses — including home-based businesses — to create needed jobs in a down economy

Maui County Council Says No! to the New York Times

Maui County Council today heard testimony on a New York Times Home & Garden feature encouraging marine aquaria as "a way to add movement and fluidity to an otherwise arid space." A sidebar gave examples of reef wildlife and retail prices. The council then voted unanimously to pass into law regulation on aquarium extraction for the first time in Maui County….

Reef-based tourism generates 40 times more revenue than aquarium extraction, yet aquarium collectors have no limit on their catch, no limit on the number of catchers and no constraint on rare or endangered species. They're killing the goose, and outrage is the common reaction, but business in Hawaii is often political. With $800 million annual in reef-tourism revenue -- and a host culture too long ignored or disrespected, many eyes are rolling. Informed voters are rapidly growing in number, and the lame duck governor's chief policy adviser, a former wholesaler to the aquarium trade, will soon be gone.

Honolulu Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott Bell is Named “Prosecutor of the Year”

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Scott Bell, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, has been recognized as “Prosecutor of the Year” for 2009 by Llorente SIU™, a leading Contract SIU service provider. The award is given annually to a prosecutor who does an extraordinary job of fighting insurance fraud.

Caught on tape: Fire tornado on Hawaii's Big Island

LINK>>>VIDEO

NJ schools chief fired after Race to the Top gaffe

Its called accountability. Meanwhile the Hawaii DoE made a similar mistake in the first round of RTTT and there is nary a peep. Tat’s the attitude that keeps the DoE winning in the Race To The Bottom.