October 19, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

October 19, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:29 PM :: 13425 Views

Early Voting open TODAY: Find your polling place

Abercrombie becoming desperate, agitated

Kona Debate: Abercrombie flip-flops again on appointed school board

Obama has difficulty citing any Abercrombie accomplishments

Losing streak: Mufi, Kirk, Colleen, Dan?

Aiona, Abercrombie square off at Kealakehe High School

Aiona said he won't raise the state's income tax, general excise tax or allow the state to retain the counties' portions of the transient accommodations tax.
"If that means furloughs have to continue or some kind of wage salary cuts must be made, then I'm going to have to make those decisions,"

Aiona also raised questions about Abercrombie's claims of balancing budgets while in Congress, noting that the federal government is not required to have, and does not have, a balanced budget.

Aiona said the administration had tried to address those problems, running into opposition from the Legislature, particularly when it came to the state's semi-public health care system.
"The answer that you're looking for is something we've been frustrated with for many years, that is the Legislature taking control and taking proprietorship (of Hawaii Health Systems Corp.)," Aiona said. "When it comes to labor, we're talking about union contracts. That is a big albatross around the administrators' necks right now."

Alleged $40M Graverobber Waihee—exotic lifestyles, luxury automobiles and more

by Jim Dooley -- The court filings are latest shots in a six-year legal war over recovery of $40 million taken from the funeral trust accounts of 50,000 RightStar Hawaii customers.

A court hearing on the new charges set for Monday, October 18, was delayed indefinitely because one of Waihee’s co-defendants in the case filed bankruptcy papers late last week.

(John Waihee is just a typical Hawaii Democrat Governor, that‘s all)

The bankruptcy was filed by local businessman Reed B. Rohrer, who served as co-trustee with Waihee and two other men from 2001 to 2004 for millions of dollars held for RightStar customers in “pre-need” and “perpetual care” trust accounts.

Comerica Bank and Trust, the new trustee for RightStar customer accounts, said in court papers last month that Waihee, Rohrer and the other trustees, as well as RightStar principals, “wrongfully withdrew and invested more than $40 million from the trusts.”

The new legal complaint by Comerica alleges that the former trustees “agreed to permit trust funds to be used for luxury automobiles, for exotic lifestyles, to make millions of dollars of RightStar loan repayments and for other improper purposes.”

Comerica charged, “RightStar agreed to pay the trustees enormous fees using funds from the trusts.”

(Jim Dooley was not retained by the Star-Advertiser. Now you can see why.)

Hanabusa took pay raise while cutting DoE positions

The NRCC's TV ad brings up some old criticism of Hanabusa. The ad said, "Politician Colleen Hanabusa took a 36 percent pay raise while demanding punishing sacrifices from everybody else to address Hawaii's worst budget crisis. Less for schools and more for politicians. Even worse, Hanabusa got caught running a boldly deceptive and misleading ad."

The NRCC ad said 400 school positions were cut in Hawaii implying Hanabusa and other lawmakers were responsible for the cuts.

As a fact check, (this is by Democrat hack Denby Fawcett) 400 school positions were cut by the Hawaii Department of Education in its budget proposal later approved by the state Board of Education. All but 40 of the positions were vacant. (Where is Fawcett’s ‘fact check’ on the DCCC ad that’s been lying about Djou and school jobs for almost a month now?)

"Those positions were cut in the DOE budget before it even got to the Legislature," said Hanabusa. (I’m just the Senate President. I know nothing.)

It is true that in 2009, Hawaii state lawmakers, including Hanabusa, received a 36 percent pay raise.

REALITY: Hanabusa: “Legislators work very hard and deserve the raise”

Hawaii Democrats hope this isn't the year of 'change'

It is a funny thing about this "hope and change" thing. Sometimes to voters it looks like the same old thing.

This year both the Republicans and Democrats are selling "hope and change," but after a half century of Democrats being in charge of most things in Hawaii, it is a little more difficult for Democrats to run as anything but the establishment.

Today the poll numbers for both big races, governor and 1st Congressional District, are upside down…. (right side up)

Both Democrats are now polling even with their GOP opponents and nobody has a poll showing them with 50 percent….

nearly half of the voters are leery of promoting Abercrombie and Hanabusa.

As for "hope and change," Abercrombie and Hanabusa today are hoping that in blue state Hawaii things don't change.

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Cavasso says support is growing quickly

Cavasso, 60, said the poll shows his support is growing quickly.

"In this particular case it's a reason for rejoicing," he said.

Cavasso said polls showed he was 39 points down three months ago and 23 points down 12 days ago. He said he thinks the reason for his rise in the polls is a difference in values with Inouye.

"I absolutely believe that the values he stands for are unacceptable to the majority in Hawaii," Cavasso said.

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Illegal? BoE using DoE resources to campaign against its abolition

Former BOE member, Paul Vierling, has expressed his own concerns about board interference and competence: "More than a few board members have axes to grind, and the culture seems to be, 'I'll let you grind your ax if you let me grind mine.' They act like politicians, constantly making deals to get their pet programs approved. They get into details that shouldn't concern them, and then manage by crisis and reaction rather than vision and proactively."

Despite its limited role under Hawaii's Constitution, the 14-member BOE has its own staff of 13 employees, an executive director whose pay at $123,600 is more than the governor and rivals that of the superintendent, and an annual budget of almost $1 million.

Its seven standing and three ad hoc committees tied up the superintendent, her deputy superintendents and dozens of DOE staff members for countless hours at 87 meetings last school year. (Board members, by the way, are paid for each meeting.)

Also disturbing is how the elected BOE is using DOE resources to campaign against the ballot proposal to change to an appointed board. Such use of public funds is self-serving and may be improper. At the very least, it suggests a callous disregard of a public schools system reeling from huge budget cuts.

MAUI NEWS: 'Yes' on school board measure

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Djou out raises Hanabusa in September

Reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show that Republican incumbent Rep. Charles Djou collected about $352,000 between Aug. 30 and Sept. 30. He was left with about $395,000 in his treasury.

His Democratic foe, state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, garnered nearly $336,300 and had about $547,500 in her war chest

SA: Djou, Hanabusa each raise $2M

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Star-Advertiser joins Hanabusa’s whining about accurate photo

The ad, called "The Season," began airing Oct. 11 and was scheduled to end its run today. It featured a Honolulu Advertiser library photo from a 2004 story that can be found with a Google image search of Hanabusa's name.

"We were not asked permission to run this photo," said Frank Bridgewater, vice president/editor of the Star-Advertiser. "And if we had been asked, the answer would have been no."

“We only allow use of our paper by Democrats. That’s why we’re known as the Hawaii Democrat Advertising Bulletin. What part of ‘Democrat’ do you not understand”, the red-faced Bridgewater bellowed.

He then grew suddenly quiet. And in an almost childlike voice he asked, “Dan isn’t really down to 53% is he?”

Here’s a story the Star-Advertiser isn’t writing about: Alleged $40M Graverobber Waihee—exotic lifestyles, luxury automobiles and more

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Abercrombie, Aiona to debate on Kauai TONIGHT

The Kauai Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for the contenders on Tuesday, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The first hour will be devoted to Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Brian Schatz and Republican contender Lynn Finnegan.
The second hour will feature gubernatorial candidates James "Duke" Aiona, the Republican, and his Democratic foe, Neil Abercrombie.
The event will take place at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall on Harby Street in Lihue. Admission is free.

Hirono $368K, Willoughby $1,900

Her report filed with the Federal Election Commission shows that she had more than $368,000 left in her treasury as of Sept. 30.

The commission's website did not list a report from Hirono's Republican foe, airline pilot John Willoughby. He was not immediately available for comment.

Willoughby's most recent report, filed in early-September for the two-month period that ended Aug. 30, showed he had about $1,900 remaining in his campaign treasury.

Political newcomers seek East Oahu HD 18 seat

To date, Republican Baron has raised $36,777 and spent $10,254, while Democrat Hashem has raised $13,455 and spent $13,555.

Baron, whose parents met while East-West Center students, has lived in the Kuliouou area for the past 35 years after returning to the islands in 1973. He graduated from Punahou School in 1987, Duke University in 1991 and then received a master's degree from the University of Hawaii in 2000. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 2002, Baron worked as a legislative aide for state Sen. Sam Slom and as a Pentagon intelligence analyst specializing in Asian affairs. He joined the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism as a special assistant for international affairs in 2007 after working a legislative session for Rep. Gene Ward.

Robert "Bob" Chuck, chairman of the Kuliouou-Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board, said "overdevelopment" of the area -- which encompasses one private high school, one middle school and eight elementary schools -- is a concern that comes up regularly at monthly meetings. Issues include worries over an increasing number of bed-and-breakfasts and live-in adult care homes, possible upzoning of Paiko Ridge and a proposed cemetery in upper Aina Haina.

Chuck added there are concerns that developers have tried to restrict beach access by closing rights of way that have long been used by residents.

Hashem said he…supports some development on a smaller scale "because people need to live someplace."

Baron said he will work to retain the area as "a peaceful, beautiful residential district."

Baron and Hashem are on opposing sides when it comes to civil unions. Baron said he would not have voted for the bill passed by the Legislature, which he describes as "same-gender marriage by another name." Hashem said he is opposed to discrimination based on race, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation. (And apparently thinks that marriage is somehow ‘discriminatory’ when in face every unmarried adult has exactly the same right to marry one willing adult member of the opposite sex.)

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle returns from D.C. after lobbying for rail funding

More than $1.5 billion of federal money could be going to the rail project if all goes well. But the mayor says Hawaii's political leaders have to continue to show a strong commitment to pushing mass transit through.

"We have this unfortunate history of getting started with the transit, then stopping and we don't want that to happen again because that will put us completely at the end of the line for heaven knows how long," said Carlisle

The project has been delayed. Right now the governor is still waiting for a third party opinion on the finances of the city project….

(Rail will be killed by the incoming Congress. This article exists solely as preparation to blame the GOPs 2012 Senate candidate Linda Lingle. The Democrat media will claim that Gov Lingle’s delay of the project destroyed it and had she acted in time, Congress would not have had a chance to kill the project. You have been warned)

Maui News: Couch the pick for South Maui

We think former Arakawa administration official and businessman Don Couch is the right choice for the South Maui residency seat on the Maui County Council.

Couch has been an active member of the Kihei Community Association and is approachable and available to residents. Within the Arakawa administration, he served as executive assistant to the mayor and as deputy planning director.

He served on the county Board of Ethics for four years, two of them as its chairman. He also has been active by serving on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maui and was one of the founding members of Akaku: Maui Community Television.

Kauai Candidates debate ‘green’ priorities

An entire debate on how to serve the eco-religion. When will there be a debate on Christian priorities?

Man's legal battle forces DHHL to lease ag lots

HILO -- Thanks to the perseverance of a retired state airport firefighter, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands will be awarding leases for three Panaewa agricultural lots that have remained fallow for nearly a quarter-century.
Jimmy Helenihi settled his lawsuit against DHHL and the Hawaiian Homes Commission late last month. The settlement agreement, filed in 1st Circuit Court in Honolulu on Oct. 6, required the DHHL to notify by Oct. 10 at least 100 wait-listed applicants that it intends to lease the lots. It also requires that the first three eligible applicants be awarded leases to the lots by May 31, "in order of their respective dates of application."

Helenihi said he was inspired by the late Sonny Kaniho, the Waimea man who was among first to publicly protest Hawaiian Homes leases being awarded to businesses and big shots while eligible Hawaiians were wait-listed and ignored.

High On The Agenda: Amend Spending Limit

The 1978 Constitutional Convention adopted a limit on general fund spending that provides that growth in spending could not exceed the growth in the economy.

And the legislature pretty much abided by that constitutional provision through much of the following decade until the end of the 1980’s when the general fund surplus began to swell due largely to the new transient accommodation tax that was supposed to have been earmarked for the construction of the state’s convention center but instead went into the general fund because no site had been agreed upon. Of course, lawmakers and the administration at the time didn’t want to give the growing general fund surplus back to taxpayers. So enter the birth of the special fund….

Hawaii #1 “wanna move to” state for baby boomers

Younger and older people had divisive differences in opinion. While California tops the list of most popular states among Echo Boomers (now aged 18 to 33 years) and Gen Xers (aged 34 to 45 years), Hawaii is the top pick for Baby Boomers (now aged 46 to 64) and Matures (aged 65 and over). Among Echo Boomers, Hawaii drops out of the top five.

Democrats make pre-election pitch to bribe seniors

Would you sell out your country for $250?

Abercrombie’s gay Local 5 threatens giant $40M Waikiki Convention

The fate of Oahu's largest fall convention, which could potentially generate some $40 million in economic activity, hung in the balance yesterday as a five-day union worker strike at the Hilton Hawaiian Village came to a close along with related strikes in Chicago and San Francisco….

The Wisconsin-based International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, which counts the International Brotherhood of Teamsters among its largest clients, has threatened to cancel its Nov. 14-17 conference in Honolulu if labor issues are not resolved.

The event, which has been on the books since 1986, would bring 28,000 room nights (the number of visitors times number of nights booked) to Hawaii hotels and 9,200 to Hilton Hawaiian Village alone, said Jerry Gibson, Hilton Hawaiian Village's area vice president and managing director, who along with Gov. Linda Lingle and other tourism officials was scrambling to preserve the booking.

"If you extrapolate the taxes and how many people the conference would put to work, it means a whole lot to the state," he said.

Lingle sent the group a letter on Friday, urging them not to cancel the conference and reassuring them that union activities would not disrupt their gathering. In her letter, Lingle said that she had spoken with Eric Gill, the financial secretary-treasurer of Local 5 (An early Abercrombie endorser and a big gay marriage backer), and that he had assured her that the union would not engage in strikes, pickets or boycotts during the conference. However, union officials have said that Gill never promised not to strike.

The International Foundation could not be reached for comment yesterday.

(Preview of the Abercrombie economy?)

Bank of America to restart foreclosures in Hawaii

The bank asserted its legal right in spite of allegations that flawed documents were used in the process.

Other main financial institutions are also expected to follow suit and foreclosures will restart in 23 states in the nation.

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Teen gets life with parole for killing woman

Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall sentenced Bartley, 18, to life in prison plus 10 years, with the opportunity for parole, for the May 2007 strangulation of his Ewa Beach neighbor Karen Ertell, 51.

It is the sentence to which Bartley had agreed to avoid the possibility of a life prison sentence without parole.

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Teacher raped, robbed at Wahiawa Elementary School

at around 6:30 a.m. That's when a 59-year-old woman says she was preparing for class.

Two men, who she thought were maintenance workers, entered the classroom and demanded money from her.

She told them she didn't have any and that's when they started to beat and kick her. One of the men held at her at knife-point, sexually assaulted her and then they fled, taking her laptop along with them.

($2 Billion dollars and no security. Isn’t the DoE magnificent! We must elect Abercrombie and reject the appointed BoE to protect this fine institution from the Evil Audit.)

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Teenager arrested for alleged assault of teacher

Police said a 41-year-old woman teacher intervened to break up a fight between several groups of students at about 3 p.m. yesterday.

The girl ignored the teacher's commands to stop fighting. The teenager then confronted the teacher and hit her multiple times, police said.

(Isn’t the DoE magnificent! We must elect Abercrombie and reject the appointed BoE to protect this fine institution from the Evil Audit.)

Movie: Gay lobby seeks to make school bullying a gay issue

Camaron Miyamoto, coordinator of LGBT Student Services at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said more gay students are coming out at younger ages than in the past -- in middle school or high school -- when bullying is most prevalent, rather than at college. But the bias begins as early as preschool and kindergarten. (This is the sales pitch. A bully calls your kid a fag therefore we need to teach your kindergartner that is is OK to be gay.)

Teens who have hidden their gay identity from family and friends can feel even more lonely. A sense of isolation, in addition to the bullying, can lead one down the road to suicide. (All those kids who are attacked by bullies really are gay and we want to make sure they understand that.)

Besides slurs, other, more subtle ways students denigrate gays without necessarily knowing it, he said, is with the use of phrases like "That's so gay," the word "sissy" or slang like "no homo." Many students also are harassed just because they are perceived to be gay, whether they are gay or straight. (The gay mafia will control all aspects of your children's speech and thought.)

REALITY: The transsexual agenda for Hawaii schools

Police net another ‘large-scale’ drug haul

According to court records, in 1998 Ibara was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison on drug charges from a case in 1997. Ibara was ordered to serve a mandatory minimum of 10 years before he was eligible for parole. (Got out in 2008 and already back at work. Need longer mandatory minimums.)

In that case also, police arrested Ibara after finding drugs and money in a truck he was in.

On May 27, 1997, after a brief standoff outside his Pukalani Street home, when Ibara refused to get out of his customized truck, police found crystal methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, glass pipes and $16,400 cash.

Matsunaga said police have been investigating Ibara's recent case for around five months and the investigation continues.

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