Malama Solomon’s meth connection
In the rubble of 2010, Hawaii GOP finds “foundation for future success”
VIDEO: Djou farewell speech before US House
Special Election: Only 17% turnout so far
The all-mail special election is being held to fill the final two years of the term vacated by Todd Apo, who resigned Nov. 8 to take a job with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Only 7,985 of the roughly 47,000 ballots mailed to voters in the district had been returned as of yesterday, according to City Clerk Bernice Mau. Ballots were mailed on Dec. 6 and must be received by 6 p.m. Dec. 29, when results are to be announced.
SA: No more Waianae landfills, say most District 1 candidates
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Rep. Djou Gives Farewell Speech
Djou, a Republican, on Tuesday thanked his family and the voters of the state's 1st Congressional District for electing him in a May special election over two major Democratic candidates and several other lesser-known contenders.
He reiterated his belief in limited government, a vibrant two-party democracy, and open and responsive public officials. But Djou also said that voters have the final say.
He said he may be disappointed by his loss in November's special election, but he recognized that his views may be in the minority in his district
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OHA Cronies gather at St Andrews to prey
REALITY: OHA driving Hawaiians out of Hawaii
Abercrombie appoints Malama Solomon, Maile Shimabukuro
He word “methamphetamines” appears nowhere in any of the coverage….
Rep. Shimabukuro (D-Waianae, Makaha, Makua) represented the Waianae Coast district since 2003. She is also an attorney with Legal Services Organization, where she specializes in family, housing, public benefits and consumer court and administrative proceedings. Prior to that, she was a law clerk at the State of Hawaii District Court. Rep. Shimabukuro is also involved in many community organizations, including Ma`o Organic Farms (ties her to Omidyar/Civil Beat), Leeward Community College Waianae Community Advisory Board, and "People's Path."
HTH: State Senate veteran returns
REALITY: Malama Solomon’s meth connection (Be sure to check out the cool pics of Solomon in Larry Mehau’s barn>>>LINK)
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Gay atheist Democrats look for three of their own to be appointed to the Senate
Big question, though: Does the new senator have to fully embrace the party's platform? Remember what happened to Gary Okino, who was rejected by his party for endorsing Republican candidates who held conservative views on matters like gay rights. (Read the party's rules here.)
A similar process applies to filling the seats of Colleen Hanabusa and Russell Kokubun. Which raises another big question: Will all the new blood lead to more changes in Senate leadership and legislation under the young presidency of Shan Tsutsui?
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Census: Hawaii's Population Increases 12%: State Now Home To Nearly 1.4 Million Residents
The 2000 census indicated Hawaii's population was 1.21 million. The new figures show that number has grown to 1.36 million. In 1960, just after it became a state, Hawaii was home to about 632,000.
RELATED: Voting with their feet: Census confirms Americans continue to flee liberal states
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Hawaii falls $900M further behind in pension funding
Hawaii’s liability for public worker pensions ballooned by $900 million during the latest fiscal year, raising the possibility that lawmakers will have to increase funding for the state pension plan.
A new report prepared for the Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System shows the funding gap between what the ERS currently has in its pension fund and what’s needed to cover future payments jumped to $7.14 billion. A year earlier, it was $6.24 billion.
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Justice in Jeopardy: Judiciary continues campaign for more money
Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald's report that was featured in a recent article by Ken Kobayashi identifies some of the tragic consequences of the administration's "across the board" budget cut mentality on the state Judiciary ("Lack of funds cut Judiciary," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 14).
Among the most troubling developments is that sex, drug and spouse abuse probationers are not monitored as well as they were before the cuts.
It wasn't said, but certainly if this results in more physical harm to anyone who has sought protection through our system of justice, the so-far unmeasured cost of this budget cut becomes incalculable.
The full online report, "Justice in Jeopardy," cites other impacts. For example, divorce hearings and drunken driving trials take twice as long to be heard and many people may never have their day in court, which is the foundation of our society of laws.
Report is available at www.courts.state.hi.us/justiceinjeopardy.html.
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SHOPO: More Police needed in Hawaii County
Writing in the November issue of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers chapter newsletter, Officer John Stewart, chairman of the union's Big Island chapter, said that a new police recruit class starting in late January or early February should bring the department up to its full complement of sworn officers, 432, by September.
"Even with these numbers I do not believe we will have enough manpower to serve the public 24/7," Stewart wrote.
(Part of the TAT fight in the Legislature.)
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Kauai Open governance resolution passes
Councilwoman Nadine Nakamura asked for a change in the opening paragraph of the resolution, which stated, quoting in part from the state Sunshine Law, that “in a democracy, the people are vested with the ultimate decision-making power and an informed, aware and engaged electorate is an important component of good governance.”
The amended version took out the first part of the sentence. The opening paragraph on the approved resolution now states that “an informed, aware and engaged electorate is an important component of good governance.”
Nakamura’s reasoning was that we live in a representative democracy, and elected officials should be vested with the ultimate-decision making power.
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Big Fleets Resist Greens’ Plan to kill fishing industry
HONOLULU, Hawaii, U.S., Dec 21, 2010 (IPS) - Eight Pacific island nations that are leveraging their contracts with foreign fishing fleets to save the world's last great stocks of tuna are getting little sympathy from the countries representing those fleets.
The islanders, gathered in the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, have told the fleets that get 85 percent of the region's canned tuna from their Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends out 200 nautical miles from their coast, that starting next Jan. 1, they can no longer fish in an m-shaped body of international waters south of Hawaii.
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Takamine’s DLIR: Growth anticipated in green jobs
"For the purposes of this report we consider a green job to be one that engages in economic activity that makes a positive impact on the environment or energy sustainability, either on a full- or part-time basis," according to the report released yesterday.
The 74-page report was paid for by $1.2 million in federal stimulus funds provided to the state last December under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funds paid for three full-time and two part-time positions for 18 months, as well as other program costs, including licensing rights for software.
(And the projections are just as accurate as the claims about jobs created by stimulus.)
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CB: IMG's Rail Operating Cost Off By Miles
When it comes to long-range financial projections, there's only one thing we can be sure of: They're all wrong. But finding out who's closest requires a look at the methodology and assumptions each employed in coming to their conclusions.
We've already explored the city's optimistic projections for tax revenue to pay for construction, the state consultant's $227 million error in comparing construction costs and arbitrary federal funding estimates. This story, the fourth in our series, explores how mileage and hours will impact the cost of the transit system.
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NYT profiles Mauna Loa CO2 scam observatory
The numbers just keep going up, up, up and nobody notices that there is something inherently wrong with that.
REALITY: Greenhouse Gas Observatories Downwind from Erupting Volcanoes
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SA reposts Eric Ryan drivel
"Your attempt to once again brand (Ryan) as a 'loose cannon' doesn't hold much water, especially among those of us who have been paying attention throughout the past campaign season, and who have openly questioned many of the actions of the state GOP leadership all along," Rhonda Glass, a tea party activist on Maui, said in an e-mail.
(How many times is the Democrat media going to recycle this garbage?)
REALITY: In the rubble of 2010, Hawaii GOP finds “foundation for future success”
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