Tucson Shooting: After blaming Palin, TEA Party, Hawaii media liberals seek to end discussion
REALITY: Fingers point at Self-styled “King of Hawaii” in Tucson shootings
More Reality: Alleged Tucson Shooter: Flag-burning Leftist, dope smoking atheist
But 9th Circuit rules that Honolulu Muslim with guns, detained for 5150 mental health exam, had rights violated because someone mentioned terrorism
Arekat went to the FBI about a month before his arrest about his concerns that he was under surveillance by business competitors and that those competitors were involved in organized crime.
Engle told police about Arekat's behavior at his apartment a month before the arrest and alleged that Arekat assaulted him when he tried to collect a paycheck after being fired, the majority said.
In dissent, appeals court Judge Consuelo Callahan said the jury's verdict "should not be set aside because two appellate judges, on the cold record, would have weighed the evidence differently."
She said the police made "a courageous decision to detain Arekat."
"If the officers had done nothing and Arekat had proceeded to shoot someone, defendants undoubtedly would have been sued for failing to detain Arekat," Callahan said.
(Now Seitz will get $$$ for his non-lunatic client. Soon Abercrombie will appoint Seitz to the Supreme Court.)
READ DECISION:
AREKAT v. DONOHUE
read more
SA: Not clear DOE will obey 180-day law
It's not entirely clear that all the people charged with the public education of Hawaii's kids are going at this challenge with the can-do attitude that inspired the DOE's winning Race to the Top federal grant award.
Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi describes the job of changing schedules as "a scramble" and the DOE position confronting both the new mandate and union pushback as being "between a rock and a hard place."
That's not exactly a rallying cry, but at least Matayoshi acknowledges that the DOE will "make the effort for the kids to make the schedule work." And it exhibits less of the defeatism on display from the Hawaii State Teachers Association.
Wil Okabe, HSTA president, expressed skepticism last week that extra instructional time can be inserted into the teachers' contractual seven-hour workday.
He will have a tough time making a persuasive case of that. As parent activist Melanie Bailey points out, the schedule also includes about an hour of "miscellaneous" time that could be redirected to instruction. Given that the teachers will still retain their half-hour lunch break and 40 minutes for class preparation, it's hard to argue that the schedule has no give.
(Perhaps the legislature needs to impose criminal penalties for violators of this law. 20 years hard labor seems appropriate.)
read more
Kalapa: Abercrombie may eliminate all vacant positions
As noted earlier, the new administration promised as part of its campaign rhetoric to restore public employee pay and eliminate "furlough Fridays" and more recently promised to bring back all those who are incarcerated on the mainland. This all against a backdrop of another looming budget shortfall.
So, one might ask, how can these incongruent promises versus fact be reconciled? Where is the new administration going to find the money to accomplish all those campaign promises? Rumor has it that the money will materialize when all the vacant positions in government are eliminated. While this may just have to happen over a period of time, immediate elimination of ALL vacant positions will only result in bringing state government to a grinding halt as employees are already complaining that they are overwhelmed with the added work burden.
CB: Hawaii Tax Debate: Shaping Good Tax Policy
read more
Democrats nominate three to replace Kokubun
Local Democratic Party officials chose Russell Ruderman, Anthony Marzi and Gilbert Kahele from eight candidates seeking appointment as Hawaii's next 2nd Senate District member.
(ruderman was involved in the disappearance of Hawaii free Press newsracks. Marzi is a close challenger to Hanohano in the last Primary. Kahele chaired Abercrombie’s E Hawaii campaign.)
read more
Does Abercrombie’s DCCA pick have a conflict of interest?
(After 15 paragraphs of pure unadulterated flattery, the Star-Advertiser drops this in at the end. Pathetic.)
The state Senate must approve Lopez's appointment, and the question of a conflict of interest could arise since 'Olelo has public-access contracts with DCCA, which determines how much money is allocated to each public, educational and governmental access television operator on the four major islands. A portion of Oceanic subscribers' bills is designated to fund the public access channels.
The state attorney general's office has reviewed the issue along with Lopez. Both separately sought an opinion from the state Ethics Commission, which does not see a problem with the appointment, according to James Nagle, deputy attorney general.
According to Nagle, the Ethics Commission said "so long as (Lopez) severed all ties, has no substantial financial interest, is not an officer or director, then it's probably OK for her to act even in matters relating to 'Olelo."
read more
Lee transfers command of Hawaii National Guard, state Civil Defense
KALAELOA (HawaiiNewsNow) - Gov. Neil Abercrombie and other dignitaries gathered at Kalaeloa Sunday afternoon to watch retiring state Adjutant General Robert Lee transfer his duties to Maj. Gen. Darryll Wong.
If confirmed by state lawmakers, Wong will wear many hats as the director of Hawaii's Department of Defense. He'll oversee the National Guard, state Civil Defense, Office of Veterans Services, and the Youth Challenge Academy.
SA: Lee at ease
read more
Maui News: Starting Tuesday, customers should bring bags to markets
Masaki said he will have paper bags available for his customers, but these won't necessarily be large paper bags. Rather, the store has small bags a bento and a soda can fit into. But he will have some large paper bags on hand, just enough for the early days of the ban for those who forget their reusable bags.
Robert Loera, owner of Maui Toy Works at the Lahaina Cannery Mall and Whalers Village, said (without divulging numbers) that he has ordered paper bags to comply with the new law, even though they cost four times what his small, local business was paying for plastic bags.
(Yes, our rhetoric is so powerful hat we can make tree-huggers into tree-choppers.)
MN: County turns its focus to getting community to change its habits on bag use while shopping
REALITY: Calif. EIS shows plastic bag ban harms environment
read more
Census: Idle Youth swarm Maui, Kauai, Kona, Volcano, North Shore
In Paia 74% of 16-19 year olds are in neither school nor employment. This is up from 7% in 2000.
Now we know where anti-Superferry protesters come from.
SA: Addiction treatment deserves more support
read more
There goes the neighborhood: Rosanne Barr describes her “Nut farm’ on Hamakua Coast
Said Roseanne: "I'm with my hippie freak writer musician boyfriend eight years. He lives on my nut farm in Hawaii but won't marry me. I read him portions of my new book during the 2½ years I rewrote it 100 times. Then editors made me cut 200 pages."
Nut farm?
"It's on Hamakua coast. I raise macadamias, ride tractors, make roads, cut trees. Living there's less pressure, more control, even though my phone rarely works. I take eggs each morning from the chickens, make omelets, feed the goats, cook every day, do my own housekeeping and laundry, do as I like, don't venture out, get along with neighbors when I see them. I love cleaning. I've done friends' houses.
(Totally Unrelated Factoid: When Hawaii was a Territory, the Territorial gov’t had the authority to deport undesirables back to the Mainland.)
read more