October 15, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

With a new public poll indicating a dead heat in the race for governor, candidates Neil Abercrombie and James "Duke" Aiona faced off on public television last night in the latest of a series of public debates.

The candidates agreed for the most part on a governor-appointed Board of Education… (FALSE. Abercrombie said he was AGAINST the proposed constitutional amendment for an appointed BoE)

Amid several strategic concessions of agreement, the candidates did express mutual support for an appointed Board of Education, which Abercrombie said would help decentralize the education system and empower educators at the school level.

(The Democrat media must be very worried that Abercrombie’s opposition to an appointed BoE and his opposition to a DoE audit will become widely known to voters.)

REALITY: Abercrombie comes out against appointed BoE, Abercrombie campaigns to shield DoE from Audit

Aiona rips Abercrombie on need for DoE Audit

Abercrombie and Aiona sparred over whether there needs to be a comprehensive audit of the public school system, which hasn't undergone a detailed management review since 1973. Aiona favors what he calls an “independent” audit of the Department of Education, while Abercrombie said it would “not be useful to take time away” from the daily work of improving public schools in the state to respond to an audit.

“We have the same amount of students now that we had thirty years ago and the budget has increased by over 200 percent, which includes inflation, cost of living, etc. Why wouldn't you want to know where that money is?” said Aiona, a Republican. “So we could make the changes that we need to make in regards to the administration of the department of Education.”

Djou, Hanabusa to Hold Third Debate

Djou and Hanabusa will spar Friday in a live broadcast that begins at 7 p.m. on KITV.

The debate will be their third this week. They have two more televised forums scheduled next week.

Djou: Hanabusa’s supporters have nothing good to say about her

Djou, the Republican incumbent, noted the DCCC has spent more than $700,000 already "on negative attack ads against me."

"They haven't spent one penny saying a good thing about Colleen Hanabusa, their second-choice candidate in the congressional race," he said, referring to the DCCC's support of Democrat Ed Case in the special election last May….

Djou said "We're in the middle of an economic recession," he said. "The worst thing to do is raise taxes and suck more money out of the private sector."

Aiona Camp Calls The Mainland Govs Ad 'Desperate'

The Aiona Campaign said Thursday the ad misses the mark -- that Aiona was criticizing the kind of policies Abercrombie supports…..

The Republican Governors Association this week began its second attack against Democrat Abercrombie.

The ad begins, "Neil Abercrombie says that people in Hawaii are not interested in how politicians will balance the budget. Really, Mr. Abercrombie."

That statement is from a booklet Abercrombie published to explain what he calls his recovery and reinvestment plan.

HGEA money pours in to aid Hanabusa

A group called Working Families for Hawaii is spending $99,970.74 for television ads in support of state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa as she tries to unseat incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Charles Djou. The ad buy is classified as an independent expenditure with the Federal Election Commission, and is not coordinated with the campaign.

Although Working Families lists the same mailing address (888 Mililani St.) as the Hawaii Government Employees Association, and names (HGEA staffer) Derek Mizuno as its treasurer, an HGEA spokeswoman says it is a non-connected, independent federal PAC made up of different unions.

West Hawaii’s Democrat rag attacks GOP candidate over funeral expenses

"I had filed an extension on my taxes," Leau said, adding she did so after her son died in 2008.

Funeral and hospital expenses were high, and her income as a construction contractor has been low -- so low that she claimed no income for services rendered in 2009 on her candidate financial disclosure form.

Her accountant was also sick during the last two years, leading to additional delay.

Abortionists campaign against Maul Senate candidate

Mr. Seibert's blatant misrepresentations and inflammatory language demonstrate his shameless mendacity and complete disregard for Hawaii's laws. This kind of hateful politics has no place in the Aloha State. Please keep him out of public office. -- Melinda Wood Planned Parenthood of Hawaii Action Network

LINK>>> Siebert for Senate

Maui mayoral debate: Frustration with economy in the spotlight

Asked what the many donations he received from businesses said about his campaign, Arakawa noted that he also had received a number of endorsements from the building and trades industries, and said it reflected the groups' frustration with the economy.

"Most of the business community has been hurt very badly by the economic downturn and by the decisions of this administration," he said. "They're trying to make sure the current administration is changed out."

School board candidates vie to block state's reforms

The Oahu at-large candidates are:

» Melanie Bailey, 48, human resources manager at Duke's Waikiki, who decided to run for the board after protesting teacher furloughs at the state Capitol.

» Kim Coco Iwamoto, 42, a transsexual BOE incumbent, pro bono civil rights attorney and affordable-housing property manager.

» Roger Takabayashi, 62, a teacher at Farrington High School and former president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

» Brian Yamane, 63, the former state lawmaker, who now works in insurance and is a part-time employee at the state Capitol.

» Randall Yee, 51, an attorney and former Board of Education member who also serves on the Charter School Review Panel.

» Pamela Young, 54, an HGEA department chair, city government accountant and longtime Mililani Mauka/Launani Valley Neighborhood Board

Abercrombie comes out against appointed BoE, Poll: Majority of Voters Back Appointed Board of Education

Absentee ballot trend complicates campaigning

For those of you who are voters, 44 percent of you are golden.

You are the absentee voters. There are more of you every year.

This year, a total of 129,824 votes cast during the primary election were absentee votes.

In the 2008 primary, absentee voters were just 38 percent and in 2006 they were 37 percent of the primary tally.

The last really pivotal state election was 2002, when Gov. Linda Lingle won her first statewide race; then, the absentee voters comprised 25 percent of the vote.

Oahu voters appeared to have the largest percentage of absentee voters, at 45 percent.

Foreclosure rate 'unreal' in Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Foreclosures in Hawaii have reached alarming levels. It's as bad as some experts have ever seen and in some cases for homeowners they're forced to choose the best of a bad situation and that still doesn't keep them in their house. The website RealtyTrac reports more than 1,600 foreclosure notices in the last month across the state.

Distressed properties account for 24% of all Kaua‘i RE sales

LIHU‘E — Between January 2009 and October 2010 there have been 1,036 sales of homes, land, condos and commercial properties on Kaua‘i.

Of those, 162 were real-estate-owned properties (bank-owned foreclosures) and 90 were short sales. Distressed sales represented 24 percent of the market during the last 20 months, and it’s a rate that’s growing rather than declining.

Aloun Farms owners get $192,000 returned

Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway ruled Thursday that the money should be returned to brothers Alec and Mike Sou, operators of Aloun Farms, to help them pay for their defense.

The money was to have been divided among the farm workers - about $8,000 each - under the Sous' plea agreements.

But Mollway rejected the deal last month because the Sous disputed some of the facts they had previously acknowledged. They then changed their pleas to not guilty.

$1.7M penalty placed on the city for putting concrete in a waterway is "appropriate," the Department of Health says

The city had appealed the decision and fine, and even yesterday continued to maintain that the violation was unintentional and the fine excessive.

The department issued the $1.735 million fine in July after it determined that the city Department of Facility Maintenance had placed 257 truckloads into the channel on 257 occasions between February 2008 and May 2009.

The city said employees decided to put the concrete waste, left over from sidewalk paving projects, into the channel to support heavy equipment used to help clear vegetation to reduce the potential for flooding.

“Calleen Hanabusa” Obama mispronounces

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT CALEEN HANABUSA.

It’s COlleen sir. Not CAlleen. Since you’re on the phone we both are wondering…

I KNOW CALLEEN.

Apparently not well enough to know her name.

Waikiki Democrat Rep Brower keeps pushing for tent city disaster

The reality is we will never be able to build enough shelters to house the State’s 4,000-plus homeless (FALSE) and it is inhumane to keep shuffling them around. “No loitering” laws only work when people have a place to go. (So in other words, Brower has tacitly admitted that ‘no loitering’ laws DO work BECAUSE there IS shelter space available.)

BROWER’s DREAM: Homeless tent cities: Seattle’s decade-long nightmare coming to Honolulu?

Soon to be unemployed: BoE Chair Toguchi whines about “handful of critics”

Unfortunately, instead of celebrating ~~achievements~~ the glory that is me, a handful of critics embarked on a well-funded campaign to perpetuate a negative and inaccurate picture of our schools. Calling themselves Hawaii’s Children First (Children First), they want to convince people to give up their basic right to vote or run for the Board of Education, allowing the governor to unilaterally appoint and remove BOE members without true ~~public~~ union involvement.

REALITY: Majority of Voters Back Appointed Board of Education

Electrical Workers Taking Strike Vote: Both HECO, Union Say Strike Is Unlikely

HONOLULU -- Hundreds of workers at electric utilities on four islands were taking strike authorization votes Thursday night.

The workers are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker Local 1260 and employed by Hawaiian Electric Company and its neighbor island subsidiaries on Maui, Molokai and the Big Island.

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