Djou Endorses Mitt Romney for President
Mufi Hannemann announces Congressional Campaign
Mufi’s Republican Army: The Bush Family Connection
Lawyer: US Supreme Court needs to Hear Hokulia Bypass Case
Time Has Come for States to Take Strong Action on Iran
Nominees Sought for UH Board of Regents
National Journal: Case against the Base, Hirono against the Voters, Lingle Wins
Case, who has in the past found himself opposite the state's Democratic establishment looks like he is headed for a similar spot this cycle….
The former congressman has already ruffled some feathers by releasing the results of an internal poll showing him faring better than Hirono against former Gov. Linda Lingle, prompting pushback from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Meanwhile, Hirono already has the support of EMILY's List, and is working to coalesce local establishment support.
Still, addressing concerns over electability may be more pressing for Hirono, who lost to Lingle in the 2002 governor's race after defeating Case in the primary.
read … Hirono Rallies The Base In Hawaii
Hawaii Politicos: Hirono can’t beat Lingle, Campaign will be Expensive and Brutal
"Ed needs to get union help," one adviser said, adding that while he doesn't know what Case will do to get support, he only knows Case needs it.
"Mazie needs to get a personality," the adviser continued. "Before people are going to election Mazie Hirono, she has to show that she deserves it because of what she has done."
"Lingle can win it all," the same consultant said. "What she needs to do is straddle the middle and get those people to vote for her."
Another consultant and former office holder worried that Hirono may not be strong enough to win a race against the savvy former GOP Gov. Lingle.
"It won't be because of her; Mazie can only win if the labor groups and progressives rally like they did for Sen. Akaka against Case," he said….
And Lingle? "She will have to come up with answers to deal with two disasters that happened on her watch: the Furlough Fridays and losing the Superferry."…
But the question all four consultants toyed with, is whether Hirono or Case is strong enough to beat Lingle in what is expected to be an expensive and brutal general election.
"If the question is, can Mazie beat Lingle, the answer is no. But, I don't think she (Hirono) can beat Ed," one consultant said.
Others question whether Case has paid enough attention to the grassroots of the Democratic Party and is acceptable to the progressive wing.
"He is attractive, he is as smart as a whip, but during his entire career, he has never courted those people," the consultant said.
Progressives: Hirono will rescue us from Xenophobic Warmonger and Corporate Shill Ed Case
read … Hirono is a loser
Building Trades endorse Gabbard for CD2
Gabbard, who is from a well known politically active family, is a Democrat who worked for U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka. She was the youngest person ever elected to Hawaii's legislature, and in fact, the youngest woman in U.S. history elected to a state office.
Today she announced six unions that have come out to support her candidacy – the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186 (IBEW 1186); International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1260 (IBEW 1260); International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers, Local 132; Plumbers and Fitters, Local 675; Boilermakers Union Local 627; and Elevator Constructors Union, Local 126.
Political Radar: CD2 Endorsement
read … Hannemann: For Some, Bad Memories Still Linger
HSTA to Supreme Court: Force HLRB to Issue Ruling
The teachers union turned to the state Supreme Court on Monday in its bid to seek relief from the wage reductions and higher health insurance premiums imposed July 1.
The union's filing asks the court to order the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to rule on the union's petition for interlocutory relief, in which it asks for reinstatement of the teachers' previous contract terms.
The labor board wrapped up discussions on the petition Aug. 10, but has not issued an order.
Hawaii State Teachers Association President Wil Okabe said the Supreme Court filing does not seek a ruling on the constitutional questions before the labor board, that is, whether the state has the authority to unilaterally implement a "last, best and final" contract offer.
Rather, he said in a statement, "This filing asks the court to order the executive branch agencies to do the job our laws require them to do. Once they do, we will then have the opportunity to bring the significant constitutional questions to the Supreme Court."
Full Text of HSTA Suit: http://www.hsta.org/upload/mandamus.pdf
Related: Four of a Kind: UPW, UHPA get big Fat Pay Raise—and HSTA suit could give one to HGEA
read … HSTA
Activists: Ethics Rules shouldn’t apply to us
At the federal level, President Obama issued an order in 2009 barring lobbyists from serving on federal advisory committees, prompting calls from nonprofit groups to be exempted from the ban.
(That’s because non-profits are enlightened, conscious, and progressive. They are Gods who deign to walk amongst the lowly common mortals.)
read … Many Approaches to getting us out of this
2 a.m. takeover challenged: Marriott says it will fight the "illegal" ousting of the hotel's management team
Marriott International Inc. said Monday it will fight "aggressively and vigorously" to retain management of the former Waikiki Edition hotel after the owners replaced Marriott with a new management team at 2 a.m. Sunday.
"The owner and its partners raided the hotel literally under cover of night, forcibly taking over the property and threatening our employees with dismissal unless they immediately agreed to a change of management," Arne Sorenson, Marriott's president and chief operating officer, said in a news release. "This is a deeply unfortunate, regrettable and illegal event."
"We will aggressively and vigorously pursue all remedies against the owner and its partners in this illegal act," Sorenson said….
Background: 2AM Raid: Hotel owners Boot Marriott from Waikiki Edition, strip signs, change locks
read … Waikiki Edition no more
Aulani Ribbon Cutting
Hotel room rates: $399 to $1,340 per night; kamaaina discount is 25 percent subject to room availability
» Access for non-hotel guests: Restaurants and retail are open to the public, but not pools and other entertainment amenities
» Parking: Hotel guests $35 per day; visitors free with $35 purchase
» Employees: 1,200 at full employment, though the present staff totals 875
read … Aulani
Feds Allege Violence, Extortion At Waikiki Nightspot
Charged in the case are Tory Windward, 44, alleged by the FBI to hold a secret controlling interest in The Shack Waikiki; Curtis Swanson, 44, a longtime member of the security force at the bar; and Jesse Yoshino, 30, also a bouncer at the bar.
Windward and Swanson have lengthy criminal records for numerous crimes committed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s….
Special Agent Joe Yum said in a criminal complaint unsealed Monday that Windward originally was a “silent partner” in the Kuhio Avenue restaurant-bar, holding a nine per cent share of the business.
State law prohibits ownership of 25 per cent or more of a licensed liquor dispenser by a convicted felon….
According to the criminal complaint, one of the original owners of The Shack, identified in the court papers by the initials A.L., gave up a 51 per cent interest in the business in September 2010 because “he felt he was forced by Windward to leave the business partnership without receiving any compensation for his share.”….
When Shack managers complained that Windward was hiring personnel “who rarely came to work,” Windward became angry at another of the company’s owners and arranged for him to be beaten in the nightclub, according to Yum.
read … The Shack
50 soldiers in Hilo-based National Guard helicopter unit to deploy to Iraq
The soldiers are scheduled to leave the islands in coming days for a month-and-a-half of training at Fort Hood, Texas.
About 60 percent of the unit has been to Iraq before — they were part of Company C when it deployed to Iraq for a year beginning in August 2007.
The unit launched over 1,100 missions and logged over 4,800 combat hours that year. They also flew top Iraqi and U.S. officials.
read … Hilo National Guard
Rail Opponents: DLNR Statement on Burials 'Patently False'
DLNR Director William Aila was wrong when he said FTA required segmented archaeological survey….
read … Aila did it, not the feds
Straney: California Justifies UH Tuition Hike
Straney said that by keeping its increases modest, UHH hopes to capitalize by attracting more students to the school to cover its costs.
"At some point in the next five years ... it will be cheaper to come here and be an out-of-state student from California than it will be to be an in-state student there," he said.
And who drove up California’s costs? Executive compensation at UC: MRC Greenwood and the $871 million dollar secret
read … California justifies UH Tuition Hike
Lanai at risk of losing what makes it special
Castle & Cooke has applied for the demolition of 15 to 20 historic buildings to make way for a large-scale commercial development. Rather than preserving the historic buildings and incorporating them into a development, it hopes to erase them.
Castle & Cooke also intends to destroy one-fourth of the island to make way for a mega-industrial wind turbine power plant. All energy produced will be transferred to Oahu. The turbines do not reduce carbon emissions or significantly reduce oil dependence.
read … Lanai
Lege Asks School Bus Contractors For Answers
Hawaii lawmakers held a private meeting (a private meeting?) with school bus companies last week to talk about how to rein in prices that have more than doubled in the last six years.
Civil Beat reported earlier this month that a lack of competition and at least one company's practice of rebidding for its contracts instead of extending them contribute to the runaway prices. Some of the increased costs are being passed on to students, whose bus fares went up almost 70 percent this summer.
read … Bus Contractors
Maui Lawmakers Want Answers On Vacant Housing
The state has a $583,000-per-year contract with management company Realty Laua LLC to oversee Honokowai Kauhale.
Property manager Lisa Faleafine, whose family owns Realty Laua, moved to the Maui project in 2003 after managing another state-owned affordable housing project in Kona on the Big Island.
Residents in the Kona project, Kamaaina Hale, complained repeatedly to state officials about squalid living conditions and mismanagement when Faleafine was in charge there.
“There’s a lot of red flags here,” McKelvey said.
He also said he thinks Honokowai Kauhale and eight other affordable housing projects owned by HHFDC should be transferred to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, which owns and operates the bulk of public housing facilities in the state.
“I think we should get these remnant projects out of HHFDC and over to HPA,” he said.
read … Vacant Housing
State Seeks Executive Director to Spearhead Public Land Development
The Public Land Development Corporation kicked off its first meeting Monday, attended by four of its five board members and a couple dozen community members and representatives of environmental groups.
Not much was clarified about the state agency, an arm of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
But it's just getting started. And a top priority is finding an executive director to lead the corporation.
The law that created the corporation allows for hiring three people: an executive director, a planner and project-development specialist. But with a budget of $135,000, board members decided that the funding could only cover a single employee. They plan to ask the Legislature next session for money to fund the latter two posts.
Applicants have until September 6 to apply.
SA: New agency targets public lands to raise revenue
read … Land Development
Profitable non-profits hand out $10K Bonuses to top Execs
The Hookele award recipients, Tony Krieg, chief executive officer of Hale Makua Health Services; Lea Hong, Hawaiian Islands program director for The Trust for Public Land; Leslie Wilcox, president and CEO of PBS Hawaii; and Robert Peters, head of school at Hanahauoli School were recognized Monday at the 10th annual Hookele Awards for being outstanding leaders in the nonprofit sector….
This award is different from other recognition programs since it gives each recipient $10,000 to use for professional development and personal renewal. (Or make a downpayment on a Mercedes)
The program was created in 2002 by the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and is based on research about Hawaii executive director tenure issues and burn-out.
read … $10,000 spiffs
City to install 34 security cameras for APEC meeting
Committee members raised concerns about how the cameras may affect free speech and civil rights during the conference but nonetheless advanced a resolution approving the use of the cameras.
After the conference, most of the cameras will be turned over for use as traffic monitoring cameras by the city Department of Transportation Services, said Gordon Bruce, city chief information officer.
The resolution also would clear the way for the Honolulu Police Department to monitor about 200 existing traffic cameras on the island for security reasons.
DN: US First Circuit affirms constitutional right to video cops
SA: Cameras must eye safety and privacy
read … eye spy
Former Campbell Estate trustee Fred Trotter dies
For over twenty years Trotter served as trustee with the Campbell Estate. He was a direct descendent of James Campbell. Trotter was prominent in business and politics, working closely with DG Andy Anderson on several campaigns.
"He was one of Hawaii's finest - a brother I will, as will many, miss dearly," Anderson said.
"I think the underlying fact is that if Fred Trotter was your friend, if he gave you a commitment, his word was his bond," said Anderson's nephew and city councilman Ikaika Anderson.
read … Fred Trotter
Big Island fish farm says experiment going well
The company sold its operation growing fish in anchored pens and is now pursuing new technology by growing the fish -- amberjack or Hawaiian yellowtail -- in a large unanchored, underwater pen in federal waters off the Kona Coast.
Only one quarter of one percent of the 2,000 Kona Kampachi fish stocked in the pen on July 20 have been lost, said Neil Anthony Sims, the head of Kampachi Farms. The fish are eating vigorously and growing "very well," he told media in a teleconference call from Kailua-Kona.
The fish are being kept in a pen 30 feet below the surface that is tethered to a boat that has traveled between seven and 75 miles offshore over the past several weeks. The fish expected to be ready for harvest in March.
WHT: On the Ocean
read … Big Island fish farm says experiment going well
Establishing a County-Run Religion: Maui County seeks Department of Sustainability
Mayor Alan Arakawa said Monday that Maui County should create a new division to focus on sustainability issues, and that adding "sustainability" to the Department of Environmental Management was one of his top priorities for charter amendments.
Reality: Crichton: Environmentalism is a religion
read … It’s a Religion
Federal Agents Raid Maui Animal Sanctuary because it doesn’t Kill Endangered Birds
The Boo Boo Zoo has provided a home for orphaned, injured, and distressed creatures of all shapes and sizes. The non-profit which has been around for three decades has a no-kill policy. It is also Maui's only wildlife rehabilitation center. State and federal inspectors began taking a hard look at the practices of the Haiku refuge and last week paid a surprise visit.
Sylvan Schwab, the executive director of the East Maui Animal Refuge said federal law requires that wildlife be put down if they can’t be returned to the wild within 180 days. Schwab said that conflicts with his organization’s no-kill policy.
On Monday Wildlife inspectors returned.
“They have confiscated all the animals that fall under federal jurisdiction, said Schwab. The list included 17 birds from Hawaiian pueo, barn owls, cattle egrets, sparrows, finches and a cardinal.
read … overcriminalization
Mexican Salmonella Sends Papaya King Running to Hawaii for help
Nation's Restaurant News reports that a salmonella outbreak associated with fresh Mexican papayas has left New York's iconic juice and wiener chainlet struggling with cost increases and suitable replacement recipes for its papaya drinks. The company has been "in chaos" for almost three weeks now, and is currently subsisting on papaya purée from Hawaii.
Right now, there's no indication of how long the problem will last, but given that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found salmonella contamination in fruit from 28 firms selling papayas from Mexico's major growing regions, it could be awhile.
read … Papaya King Is Having Some Papaya Issues
Agent Orange Deadline Tomorrow
Rep. Mazie Hirono released a statement on Monday reminding Vietnam veterans that tomorrow is the deadline to file disability claims related to Agent Orange exposure.
Those who may be eligible for benefits include service members who were deployed to Vietnam or in-land waterways between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975. More information is available on the Veterans Affairs website.
read … Agent Orange