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Wednesday, July 20, 2011
July 20, 2011 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:52 PM :: 16042 Views

DoE hasn’t met Race To The Top Standards, but will apply for another grant

Boylan: Ernie Martin open to run for Mayor

Martin admits that his ambition goes beyond the chairmanship of the council: “I always thought, even when Fasi was mayor, that one day I could sit in that seat. If I felt I could be effective, I could do it.”

Will he be a candidate for mayor in 2012? 2014? 2018?

“Never say never,” says Martin….

Related:

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Big Island Marine killed in Afghanistan

A Waimea Marine who died Friday from wounds suffered in Afghanistan came from a military family, said an aunt.

Lance Cpl. Christopher L. Camero, a 2010 graduate of Honokaa High, died of injuries he suffered July 6 during combat operations in Helmand Province, the U.S. Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Camero was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. He had joined the Marines after high school.

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VIDEO: Nonaka Squares off with Power Hungry Politicians seeking to disenfranchise Military personnel 

Big Island Democrats are up in arms over a recent statewide Reapportionment Commission decision to count military members and their dependents when considering population totals as they redraw the state’s political boundaries.

The decision will likely prevent the Big Island of Hawaii from getting a 4th senate seat.

At a recent Hawaii County Reapportionment Advisory Council meeting held in Waimea, members of the Democratic Party voiced their disapproval of the state commission decision.

In attendance at the meeting: state-wide commissioner Dylan Nonaka, who corrected the record by saying he is not one of 8 Oahu residents on the nine member commission, but a resident of South Kona.

Nonaka explained the reasoning behind the commission’s decision in an interview with Big Island Video News.

What this is all about: Malama Solomon wants to disenfranchise military so she doesn’t have to face Lorraine Inouye in 2012 State Senate race

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Eco-Terrorism? Puna papaya farms attacked, one year after mass vandalism

Some farmers suspect a group of at least four people carried out the destructive raids, because they were so widespread. Some people in the farm industry theorize it's a case of environmental terrorism, perhaps carried out by people opposed to genetically modified fruits, like the papayas cut down overnight.

KHON: Vandals destroy 10 acres of papaya trees

SA: Decapitation of papaya trees unnerves Hawaii isle farmers

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Animal Liberation Nuts whine about Hawaii Fish Farms

Star-Advertiser makes room for a nine-paragraph rant by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. 

Here’s something worth reading: PETA Kills Animals 

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Protest by one of two losing city rail car contract bidders tossed out

The protest of one of two losing bidders for the city rail car contract was thrown out today.

An administrative hearings officer with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs rejected Bombardier Transportation's arguments that it was unfairly disqualified during the bidding process….

On Wednesday, the state Office of Administrative Hearings will hold a hearing between the city, Ansaldo and the other losing bidder, Sumitomo Corp. of America.

CB: State Denies Bombardier Rail Contract Appeal

PBN: Bombardier loses appeal of Honolulu rail contract decision

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Star-Adv sues HPD for release of 911 Tapes

Hawaii state law requires that police departments' 911 and dispatch tapes be made accessible to the public, for the good purpose of making police accountable. The Honolulu Police Department now refuses to do so over one tragic and horrific case, leaving the Honolulu Star-Advertiser no alternative but to file a lawsuit this past Monday to demand that HPD obey the law.

The department has records of 911 and police dispatch tapes involving a 17-minute shooting rampage on June 3 from the intersection of Kapahulu Avenue, Kapiolani Boulevard and Waialae Road to the H-1 freeway, where police arrested suspect Toby Stangel. Tammy Nguyen, 54, of Palolo, died from a gunshot wound and two other people were injured. Stangel, 28, is accused of shooting at and missing two police officers.

When the Star-Advertiser and other news organizations requested access to the 911 tapes following the shooting, police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said the tapes were part of "an ongoing investigation" and thus not available to the media.

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Leadership Camp Helping Hawaii's Kids Bring Out the Winner in Them

Delorese Gregoire has dedicated nearly three decades of her life to what many parents dread -- those teenage years.

Since founding Winners’ Camp two decades ago, Gregoire has taken more than 15,000 teenagers and 800 support staff and molded them into leaders through her 7-day camps by helping them find and use their talents.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm92sNXArSw

To get involved or to sign up a child for Winners’ Camp and the Hawaii Leadership Academy, call (808) 306-8008, email success@Winnerscamp.com or log onto http://www.Winnerscamp.com Camps are scheduled during Spring break and in the summer months. The next camp is July 24 to July 30, 2011.

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Larry Price: Teachers Union Gaining Strength

So when the smoke clears, there could be an expensive consequence for the governor’s slap in the face of HSTA. The teachers have always been in the Democrats’ protective custody, and it has always been a good coalition that has made each side stronger….

The public must understand that the status quo or past precedent enjoyed by the public school system is valued because predictability is what parents and the public want.

Also, there is an assumption that exists, or used to exist, that previous behavior was acceptable or became the expectation for future behavior.

As of right now, all bets are canceled.

The years of favorable past precedent are gone, hopefully not forever.

CB: Abercrombie vs. Hawaii Teachers: What's at Stake

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Agenda 2012: OIP Will Seek Clarification of its Authority from Legislature

During the next few months, OIP will be busy getting input on and developing proposals for its legislative package for the 2012 session. While OIP’s main priority is to seek clarification of its authority and appeal rights and responsibilities, OIP is also developing a proposal to allow government’s use of social media as a means of increasing public participation and government transparency.

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Hawaii School Bus Fares Go Up, Some Meals, Too

The approved hike raises the one-way fee from 75-cents to a $1.25 - closer to what the Oahu's city bus charges.

So while middle and high school students will be paying 15 cents more for their school lunch, elementary students will end up paying ten cents less.

CB: Hawaii School Bus Fares Go Up, Some Meals, Too

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OHA Operatives continue seeking Ways to Shake Down Haleakala Telescope

Part of the day was spent by Kilakila attorney David Kimo Frankel trying to get Maberry to explain how various mitigations (aside from the altars) would make Hawaiians whole for their loss of the view planes and quiet necessary for their traditional and customary practices.

For example, Native Hawaiians are being offered 2 percent of observing time on the telescope. How, Frankel asked, does that make traditional practitioners whole?

Maberry admitted finally that, at least as regards to view planes, it wouldn't.

The final half-day of cross-examination is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. or noon today (depending on witness availability) in the Mayor's Lounge on the ninth floor of the Kalana O Maui building.

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City councilman defends firing of chief of staff

"This guy would wake up every morning looking to hurt people," Tom Berg said.

The city councilman said he fired his chief of staff Eric Ryan Friday because Ryan failed to do his job.

"His pay was cut weeks ago to get with the program. And he chose not to get with the program," Berg said.

But in an e-mail to Hawaii News Now, Ryan said his work was "exemplary." He claims he was canned because he blew the whistle on "waste, fraud and abuse" in Berg's office.

Ryan took photographs of fellow staffer Philmund Lee, sitting at his desk with his eyes closed and head bowed. One photo shows Lee with his shirt off.

Ryan said Lee sleeps at his desk "at all times of the day instead of working" and walks around his office "half-naked."

"I don't condone sleeping on the job. But I know why this person is exhausted and I know why this employee is resting their eyes," Berg said.

He said Lee worked fourteen hour days to finish jobs Ryan didn't complete.

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After Kauai Charter Commission kills proposal to move to County Manager-based Government, Politicians consider making it Permanent

With the Charter Review Commission’s workload winding down, county officials are weighing whether to make the commission permanent or let it sunset in 2017 as planned.

At the heart of the debate is concern over the severe learning curve new members would experience when the commission resumes its work in 2027….

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Judge sides with Sierra Club against Koa Ridge development

The developer of Koa Ridge, a planned community with 5,000 homes between Waipio and Mililani, was dealt a major setback today by a Circuit Court judge who said the project's approval in October by the state Land Use Commission was invalid.

The ruling was a victory for the Sierra Club's Hawaii Chapter over Castle & Cooke Homes, though the developer is clinging to some hope that a last-minute argument raised by an attorney representing the Land Use Commission could restore the project's approval.

The Sierra Club filed an appeal with Circuit Court in November challenging the Oct. 15 decision by the Land Use Commission to reclassify 576 acres of agriculture land in Central Oahu for an initial 3,500-home phase of Koa Ridge and conditionally approve a second phase with 1,500 homes on another 192 acres of agriculture land nearby.

The environmental organization argued that the LUC decision did not receive the necessary number of votes for approval because Duane Kanuha was ineligible to serve as a commissioner.

No surprise: Enviros win 90% in Hawaii Supreme Court

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Maui TEA Party Leader: State retirement system is a Ponzi scheme

A longtime businessman here on Maui was sentenced to nearly a dozen years in prison for doing precisely what the state-mandated Employee Retirement System is doing to state and county employees across Hawaii - "taking money collected from later customers to pay initial clients." The only difference is that we government employees are forced to keep paying into ERS as a condition of employment; Lloyd Kimura's clients gave their money voluntarily.

Adding insult to injury, the ERS will be increasing the percentage that is stolen from our paychecks beginning next July….

In the meantime, state legislators need to take immediate action to repeal the legislation that allows for this mandated Ponzi scheme. I would much rather take the money that is being deducted against my will and put it into a retirement plan of my own choice that I have control over and that I can be reasonably sure will still be there when I decide to retire.

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After Years of Bureaucracy Getting in the Way, Kauai's Kilauea River, Wailapa Stream Clean-Up Completed

When more than 400 million gallons of water held by the Ka Loko Dam breached on March 14, 2006, eight Kauai residents, including Christine 'Sunny' McNees’ unborn child and 2-year-old Rowan Fehring-Dingwall, were swept to their deaths, and an estimated $100 million in private and public property was destroyed.

More than 5 years has passed, and finally, the once vibrant, sparkling river, one of only five navigable rivers on Kauai, that had been filled with potentially toxic metals and waste, along with rotting trees after the breach, has been cleaned up.

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Hawaii Radio Station giving away free Breast Implants

In a bizarre promotion, a Hawaii radio station is giving away one pair of free breast implants. To enter, listeners must send in a picture of their current breasts.

Not naked, mind you. According to the website of 102.7 Da Bomb, "Images containing nudity will automatically be disqualified." So basically, you send in a photo of your clothed boobs, then Da Bomb will "turn it over to Hawaii to vote on who they think deserves to win the $7,500.00 cosmetic breast enhancement procedure courtesy of Aesthetica Plastic & Laser Surgery Center! The photo with the most votes wins!"

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