March 22, 2011 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

March 22, 2011 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:11 PM :: 8806 Views

Kucinich, Nader: Obama could be Impeached for Libya War

Tsunami Roulette: Are Kahului fuel tanks and sewage plant at risk?

Regime Change is goal of Obama’s Libya War

The Manoa Liberal-in-Chief Barack Obama becomes Bush! Any day now the protesters will start chanting Obama is a Fascist!

Hanabusa still lives at Ko Olina

“She has found several places in downtown Honolulu and will be deciding on one very soon. Her current home (a Ko Olina condo) will also be going on the market soon.” (Uh-huh. She’s just waiting for reapportionment.)

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Subcontractors, airlines, others would pay the GET

Contractors would pay the most if their exemptions are repealed - $33 million next fiscal year and $86 million the following year.

The exemption allows primary contractors to deduct amounts paid to subcontractors from gross receipts when calculating their general excise tax burden. Without the deduction, primary contractors and subcontractors would both pay the tax.

Eliminating the deduction would be ''probably one of the truest forms of 'taxing the tax,' '' said Tim Lyons, a lobbyist who serves as president of the Subcontractors Association of Hawaii.

Removing the airline exemption could cost Hawaiian Airlines $73 million through 2015.

Exemptions on subleases and on loading and unloading of ships also are being targeted.

HB799: www.capitol.hawaii.gov

UHERO: We still think the economy is going to recover

"Essentially, we still think the economy is going to recover — just when it happens has shifted," said Carl Bonham, a council member and executive director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.

Bonham pointed to job growth late last year in the tourism, professional services and construction sectors as a strong indicator of the economy making a comeback.

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Borreca Joins Abercrombie’s Doom and Gloom Brigade

Back in 2003, Hawaii had a two-year general fund operating budget of $7.6 billion and a $152 million deficit. Today the budget is $11.6 billion in general fund expenses and the deficit is soaring to nearly $1 billion.

Back then, America had just gone to war with Iraq, a deadly respiratory disease dubbed SARS was blocking travel in Asia, and the state Council on Revenues again lowered the estimate of tax collections. Still, Lingle was optimistic. She said there was no need to raise taxes or lay off state workers, or raid the Hurricane Relief Fund and the rainy day fund. Later, of course, all those things would have to happen.

In between the mildly gray days of 2003 and the dark days of 2010, Lingle saw the state's economy bounce back with a surplus of more than $700 million. (It is amazing what effective leadership can accomplish) …

Today's news is much worse. The three-pronged Japanese disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis is going to show up in Hawaii in the form of fewer visitors from Japan. The local effects of the tsunami will mean neighbor island residents will lose their hotel jobs. (The sky is falling! We must raise the GE Tax to the sky!)

In past administrations, both Democratic and Republican, sharp economic drops were a time for the governor to announce budget cutbacks, hiring freezes and travel restrictions. So far the Abercrombie administration has remained publicly silent and has not revealed how it will deal with this new financial crisis.

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Delta: Japan travel decline a 6 to 9 month one time event

Delta Air Lines Inc. will cut capacity on its Japan routes by as much as 20 percent through May, joining Asian carriers that have trimmed services after an earthquake and radiation leaks from a nuclear power plant.

Singapore Airlines Ltd. will suspend one of its two daily services to Haneda from March 27, and Jetstar, the budget unit of Qantas Airways Ltd. will redirect half of its 14 weekly Tokyo-bound flights to Osaka, the carriers said. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Korean Air Lines Co. and Singapore Air have ended temporary Tokyo capacity boosts as demand cools.

Carriers added seats out of the Japanese capital last week as overseas governments advised residents to avoid the city after the earthquake and an accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.

About $2 billion of Delta’s total revenue, or 8 percent, “touches Tokyo” and there has been “some drop-off in bookings,” President Ed Bastian said …

The decline in travel demand to Japan is “somewhere between a 6- and 9-month one-time event” and will probably rebound when the government puts more money into the economy for rebuilding efforts, he said.

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Hawaii’s February unemployment holds steady at 6.3%

Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in February, unchanged from January and down from the 6.8 percent recorded in February 2010, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

That compares to the nation’s February unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, down from the 9 percent recorded in January and 9.7 percent in February of last year.

(Oh-oh. This will make it harder for Abercrombie to justify the GE Tax hike….)

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SA: Reject Abercrombie’s assault on travel media

State and federal courts have ruled time and again that authors and publishers of tourist guidebooks cannot be held liable for the injury or death of their readers. A bill floating in the Legislature would give readers false confidence that writers and publications could be held accountable in such cases. A Senate committee should reject the House-approved threat against the travel media after hearing testimony today.

Landowners, the tourism industry and the Abercrombie administration are backing the proposal to require publishers to warn the public of an area's dangerous conditions "if the conditions pose a risk of serious injury or death." Furthermore, the bill would require publishers to defend and compensate the landowner, private or state, in the event of a lawsuit.

Is Wildman a Pay-to-Play Judicial Appointment?

When I did a Google search to find out more about Joseph L. Wildman, appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to be a Maui Circuit Court judge, the first two items of interest were that Wildman came out of the law firm of Rep. Gil-Keith Agaran, the House Judiciary chairman, and donated $1,610 to Abercrombie’s campaign for governor.

Does anybody detect the scent of politics?

That’s the problem with Abercrombie’s decision to keep secret the names of candidates provided him by the Judicial Selection Commission, abandoning the transparency practiced by the two previous governors from different parties and the last two chief justices, who all made the lists public when appointing judges.

It naturally breeds suspicion when the governor appoints a campaign donor or somebody with other obvious political connections and the public can’t see how the candidate’s legal credentials compare with those passed over.

News Release: Abercrombie picks Wildman for Circuit Court, refuses to name nominees

Another Keith-Agaran Connection: Hawaii 2011 Reapportionment Commission includes Jeff Stone's Wife, Hannemann Staffer married to Rail Contractor

Hawaii reapportionment commission forms

Democratic appointees include Clarice Hashimoto, a former state representative who worked for former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann; Harold Masumoto, a former director of the state's Office of Planning; and attorney Anthony Takitani, who served as emcee of Gov. Neil Abercrombie's inauguration.

Republican appointees include state Republican Party Executive Director Dylan Nonaka and Cal Chipchase, who was former Rep. Charles Djou's chief of staff.

SB367: Oahu electric customers would pay for undersea power cable under pending legislation

Two House committees approved the bill Monday, sending it to the House Finance Committee for further consideration. The measure already passed the Senate.

The undersea cable would link proposed wind farms on islands of Molokai and Lanai to the population center in Honolulu…. estimated cost between $500 million and $1 billion

Seeking Alpha: Hawaiian Electric Industries: Regional Banking and a Utility in Paradise

SB367: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/

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Green Energy Scammers Panic over 2016 Sunset (HB1270/HB566)

HB1270 would repeal all tax credits and exemptions within five years, requiring the Tax Department, of all people figuratively, to assess each one and determine whether it should be reinstated, with all the disruption that that would bring. HB 566 would sunset the energy credit in 2016 and require in the interim that refunds be delayed for two years. Whatever the lipstick, its purpose is to eliminate the credit.

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Honolulu Contracts for 80 rail cars at $574M

Question: After the enviros shut down rail, who will we sell these rail cars to? (See next article)

HR: City Says Rail Contracts Coming in Under Budget; Critics Not Convinced

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City Says Rail Contracts Coming in Under Budget; Critics Not Convinced

But critics took issue with the city’s announcement, saying they are incredulous that contracts could be let out for bid without a final design being available. Panos Prevedouros, a former Honolulu mayoral candidate and who campaigned against the project, said it would be difficult to get exact contract estimates with just the preliminary engineering.

“This is really a joke that (former Mayor Mufi) Hannemann started and Carlisle is perpetuating,” Prevedouros said. “This is totally outrageous.”

Moreover, he said that contracts often jump above bid amounts because of change orders. He said some of the rail project designs may be for just essential work with more to be added in later.

“Costs rise with change orders,” said Cliff Slater, one of the project’s staunchest critics. “Ask anyone in the construction business, that’s how you make money.”

Slater said he believed the letting of contracts at this stage was for public relations purposes designed to get people thinking the project was a done deal. He said he and others will announce shortly a third lawsuit that will be filed against the 20-mile rail plan.

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House Has Approved Government Purchase Of State-Run Superferry

The idea of the state taking over the system came from Maui Rep. Joe Souki. The bill requires at a minimum the service run between the islands of Maui County.

The full House passed the legislation, Monday it was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee Chairman J. Kalani English….

Paying for what we could have had for free: Why Hawaii Lost the Superferry

SA: Senate committee approves measure for state-run ferries

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Luddites Frantic as First Application For Factory Fish Farm in U.S. Waters Poised for Approval

On March 18th, NOAA published a notice of a fishing permit application from Kona Blue Water Farms, a fish farming corporation located in Hawaii. The agency gave a mere 10-day comment period for ~~the public~~ us Luddites to ~~weigh in on~~ attack the first ever deployment of mobile fish cages that will “fish” for yellowtail (seriola rivoliana), in a 7,200 square mile area off of Hawai`i Island. In reality, these wandering cages will be growing fish in open ocean waters. (Amazing. Just as humans went from hunters to cattle ranchers, we now go from fishers to fish-farmers.)

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BoE Chair Toguchi calls for suspension of 180-day law

The Board is gravely concerned about additional proposed cuts to education amounting to $110 million in the next two fiscal years. Such drastic funding decline would … (insert rhetoric here)

While revised revenue projections may reflect an even greater shortfall, I urge the Legislature to do all it can to protect public education, including potentially delaying the implementation of Act 167. (The 180-day law)

Typical example of “Washington Monument Gambit”

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“Worse than Furloughs” DoE, BoE promise chaos if Legislature Cuts Budget $110M

getting rid of school bus service on Oahu, slashing the amount of per-student funding that schools receive by up to 6 percent and eliminating $11 million for special programs (athletics)….

The proposed cost-cutting options were drawn up to show lawmakers what a $110 million reduction in funding would mean….

(Chortling gleefully), BOE member John Penebacker enthused: "Everyone was worried about (teacher) furloughs. This is going to be even worse."

Typical example of “Washington Monument Gambit”

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Legislature pushes plan to close school, convert to prison

SB 1358 Reopening of Kulani Correctional Facility. Requires the Department of Public Safety to, by 12/31/2011, develop a plan to reopen Kulani Correctional Facility and implement transfers.

Near the end of 2009, the Kulani Correctional Facility on the Big Island was closed. Its approximately 120 inmates were transferred to the Halawa Correctional Facility, the federal detention center in Honolulu, or to mainland prisons….

(Now it is a School, but Legislators are trying to seize it back from the National Guard Challenge Academy to convert back to a prison….)

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Still Celebrating Islam Day on September 11, Muslims give away shoes in Kalihi, SA helps them raise money

The Muslim Association of Hawaii and the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, the alumni group of the FBI’s citizen academy, (FALSE) began their Islam Day fundraising project in September….

Hawaii began recognizing Sept. 24 as Islam Day in 2009, (FALSE>>>Islam Day was a one-time thing) and each year the Muslim association has undertaken a new fundraising project. Money was raised last year for the Hawaii Foodbank, and this year the organization decided to work with the FBI’s community outreach program (payback for cooperation with FBI investigation of Honolulu terrorist) to identify an area of need. (Goal: See who is craven enough to accept September 11th shoes as part of the big celebration)

its next effort in September will likely be centered around disaster relief for the victims of this month’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan….

The Star-Advertiser even provides info for how to send money to celebrate Islam Day on Sept 11th)

REALITY: Hawaii “Islam Day” secretly marks September 11

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Hawaii County Cuts Spending, Holds line on taxes

Mayor Billy Kenoi has promised no new property taxes in his proposed budget, but several County Council members have criticized it because it postpones $29.1 million of expenses into future years. The budget, a 2.6 percent decrease from the current budget, will be amended and approved by the council before going into effect July 1.

The proposed budget also unfunds 100 vacant positions, eliminates worker furloughs, restores the 2 percent land fund and adds a $1 bus fare.

Kenoi plans to keep tax rates stable even though property taxes are expected to decrease by $9.7 million, or 4.5 percent, because of a 4 percent decline in property value. The mayor's final budget, to be submitted in May, will include more specific information after the tax rolls are certified in mid-April.

Raising taxes doesn't seem an option for council members, either. Yagong last week identified $17.8 million in possible budget cuts, and he's looking for an additional $11.3 million so expenses won't have to be postponed.

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OHA $329K buys favor from Hawaiian Orgs

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has just announced the award of $329,000 in “Community-Based Economic Development” grants to nine programs that will help make Native Hawaiians “~~economically successful and self-sufficient~~.” weak and dependent on the Akaka Tribe.

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GRASSROOT INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 2011 PORK REPORT COVER DESIGN CONTEST

by Frances Nuar, Policy Analyst at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii—Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is pleased to announce the second annual Pork Report cover design contest. After the overwhelming response from last year's contest, Grassroot Institute is once again reaching out to the creative community to design a cover for the 2011 Hawaii Pork Report. Dubbed “The Book Hawaii’s Government Doesn’t Want You to Read” the booklet will highlight waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Winner takes home a $250 prize. Entries are being accepted through March 26, 2011.

Specifications for the contest and more information can be found at www.GrassrootInstitute.org.

Good luck and may the best pig win!

Hokulia Plaintiff: “My Mom, an Eighty Eight Year Old Bar Fly in Kailua-Kona”

By Jack Kelly: “Our mother, Mary, is an eighty eight year old bar fly in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. I am her chief enabler. Every evening I come to town from my coffee farm twenty miles to the south, to find mom and help her get home. I’ve been on this watch for about six years now. Kevin has just recently arrived to help, her steady deterioration necessitating increased supervision….”

ALSO READ: I Trusted Jim Medeiros by Pansy Medeiros, mother of another Hokulia Plaintiff

AND: Hokulia Settlement Exposed

Officer probed for crash Sunday after license was revoked

Police have launched criminal and administrative investigations into an accident involving a 54-year-old police officer whose license had been revoked last year and who was awaiting sentencing for striking a 61-year-old woman while driving drunk.

Police learned officer Boyd Kamikawa was involved in another motor vehicle accident after the driver of the other vehicle filed a police report, said Michelle Yu, spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department.

Yu said the two drivers had agreed to settle the matter between themselves, but the other driver changed his mind and filed a report.

Hawaii News Now reported the accident occurred in downtown Honolulu at 8:30 a.m. Sunday on Bethel Street near Chaplain Lane.

Hawaii Doper Church defeated: Idaho Supreme Court rules against claim that marijuana is a religious sacrament

Fluewelling is a member of THC Ministry, a Hawaii-based organization that believes cannabis, the active ingredient in marijuana, is a fundamental right protected by God and the U.S. Constitution. Last week, the Idaho Supreme Court unanimously rejected Fluewelling’s appeal that his religious rights were being violated.

THC Ministry formally stands for The Hawaii Cannabis, according to the group’s website. THC is also the abbreviation for the psychoactive substance found in marijuana.

HMSA applies to raise plan premiums by 4.2%

Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state's largest health insurer, is seeking to boost premiums 4.2 percent in July for its 89,110 small-business members.

NLRB: OK To Spy on Your Boss

On Valentine’s Day this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued an order that was far from a sweetheart deal for most employers. In Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 356 NLRB No. 63, the Board found that an employee could not be discharged for secretly tape-recording a meeting with a supervisor….

(OK, now use this to show the true nature of Abercrombie administration appointees.)

Threat to internet links? “We need to go out and find out what the hell is happening in Hawaii”

Australia is heavily dependent upon a network of fibre-optic cables that cross the Pacific Ocean carrying to 99 per cent of Australia's voice and data traffic.

Around 70 per cent of this traffic flows through Hawaii, the rest flows through 'choke points' in Indonesia and Guam - all of which are subject to major natural events, says Goff….

"We need to go out and find out what the hell is happening in Hawaii, what the hell is happening in Indonesia to try to find out the implications it has for us," says Goff.

125th Anniversary of ILWU

That union is celebrating its 125th anniversary today with a memorial at Old Tacoma Cemetery in South Tacoma and a celebration at International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 23 hall in the Tacoma Tideflats.

The union prevailed after five days when the company’s efforts to hire nonunion workers to load the ship failed. The reluctance of other workers to cross the union’s picket lines was understandable. One of those “scabs” was stripped, tar and feathered and chased down Tacoma’s Pacific Avenue by three striking union members.

Mufi: 'CNMI could learn from Hawaii strategy'

Be afraid. Be very afraid….

Pacific troops get new leader: The crisis in Japan is a top priority as Francis Wiercinski takes charge

Mixon expressed “deep regrets for the tragedy that has occurred in Japan” and added that the U.S. military and people of America “stand behind the people of Japan.”

Wiercinski said after the command transfer that units under U.S. Army Pacific control are part of the evacuation planning for military dependents on Honshu island.

“It’s voluntary right now, but we are also helping to coordinate all of that effort,” Wiercinski said.

“We have over 7,000 dependents that are there in Japan. If they all wish to come back, that is a large contingent to be bringing out of the country — and that’s just the Army part of that,” he said.

CNN reported yesterday that the U.S. military is considering the mandatory evacuation of thousands of U.S. troops and their families from Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, with worries that radioactive particles could blow over Navy bases there.

The Navy is providing potassium iodide for all U.S. military members at Fleet Activities Yokosuka and Naval Air Facility Atsugi.