NRA: Gun Bills to Watch Out For as Hawaii Legislature Picks up Steam
Abercrombie Releases $15.6 Million for CIP Projects
Applicants Wanted for Ethics and Campaign Spending Commissions
VIDEO: Prostitution at Home of Leftist UH Perfesser since 2007
HNN: "Go back and do some basic investigation," said Boyd, in an interview on Tuesday. (He’s soooo enlightened, conscious and progressive.)
We did. It turns out there was already an arrest for prostitution in Boyd's condo back on May 15, 2007. Boyd denies any knowledge. (Uh huh)
He also says he rents one of his bedrooms out to a woman named Lorraine Drake who he called a distant relative.
"You know what you ought to do is Google Lorraine Drake.
We did that too. It turns out there is a wedding announcement between a Lawrence William Boyd Jr. and Michelle Lorraine Drake in the September 2, 2007 Star Bulletin. Boyd said in the interview earlier this week that Lorraine Drake is paid to help care for disabled wife, but not his actual wife. (Happens all the time.)
"Lorraine is a very unusual person. She is extremely bright. I can't picture her doing this. It doesn't sound like, the, the person you describe," said Boyd.
Is the professor playing dumb? Or is it an incredible coincidence he is married to a Michelle Lorraine Drake and also rents a room to a Lorraine Drake and really doesn't know his condo is being used for prostitution rendezvous?
"I'm actually kind of glad, you know there were some things... there were some things about this but I just can't believe she'd do that," said Boyd, referring to the roommate.
Police continue to look into the case.
Also Lawrence Boyd does work for the Center for Labor Education and Research or CLEAR, which is under the University of Hawaii. However we've also learned he hasn't taught a class with students in seven years. (Not in the retail brainwashing business any more?)
HR: Prostitution Bust At University of Hawaii Professor's Apartment
Hidden camera video of the encounter can be seen at: youtube link
More coverage is available here:
read … About the enlightened, conscious, and progressive Elite
Marc Alexander admits Affair With Consenting Adult Female
Letter to HNN: Thank you for the opportunity to appear on Hawaii News Now, to discuss my recent resignation as the Governor's Homeless Coordinator. However, I must respectfully decline.
I resigned when the news of an affair I had with a consenting adult woman, while I was an ordained member of the Catholic priesthood, became public. Clearly, my conduct violated my vows of celibacy, which I deeply regret.
I was not asked to resign but in light of the circumstances regarding this matter, I offered my resignation to Governor Abercrombie and he accepted it. I felt then and continue to think that it was the right thing to do.
I ask for forgiveness for my lapses and ask that these personal matters remain private. I now wish to put this behind me. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely, Marc Alexander
Note: Since it is not yet illegal for an adult male to have consensual sex with an adult female, what has happened here is that a gaggle of atheists have de-facto imposed Canon Law on the 'secular' state of Hawaii.
read … HNN Story
After Raising Legislative Pay, Hanabusa Pretends to Ask for Congressional Pay Cut
Volcanic Ash: And the quote of the week … from U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in support of a bill that would cut congressional pay by 5 percent: "As responsible public servants, we should be willing to sacrifice to solve our nation's financial problems, just as we are asking others to do the same." That sounds a lot like what the rest of us said when she avidly defended 36 percent pay raises for Hawaii legislators at the height of the recession.
Related: Hanabusa: “Legislators work very hard and deserve the raise”, Hawaii Legislators’ pay tops nation
read … Volcanic Ash
Bag Tax to be Heard Next Week
Political Radar: The committee deferred the bill indefinitely because HB 2260, a similar bill that extends the fee to one-time use paper bags and is much more comprehensive in scope, was preferred by those who testified.
Mark Fox, the director of external affairs at the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii of The Nature Conservancy, suggested to the committee that a recycling provision outlined in HB 1828 be rolled into HB 2260. That provision states that if a business operates a plastic bag recycling bin during all business hours, the business can keep 25 percent of the fee charged to cover any costs related to managing the bin.
HB 2260 was also deferred, but not indefinitely. Rep. Denny Coffman, chairman of the committee, said he believes a bill of similar subject matter that will possibly be heard next week will clear up many testifiers’ concerns, and he wants to hear that one first.
CB: Here is a breakdown from the Sierra Club on how much revenue the fees could bring in for things like watershed protection.
HTH: Bag tax weighed
read … Paper and plastic
100 Energy Bills in Legislature: Complete Rundown
Henry Curtis: Three dozen legislators have introduced 100 energy bills for this January-May 2012 legislative session
read … Electric Rates are Headed up, up, and further up
SB2240: Taskforce Members Need not be Ethical
Senate Bill 2240 — which would exempt members of task force members appointed by legislators or the gov from the State Ethics Code — passed out of Senate Judiciary and Labor Friday (Jan. 27). The vote was 5-0, with Les Ihara voting with reservations.
SB 2240 was introduced by Clayton Hee, who chairs Judiciary. Because the bill, which has been amended, has no other referral, it heads to the full Senate for consideration. The Attorney General supports the bill….
Political Radar: Exempt
read … Clayton Hee at Work
Hawaii lawmakers are considering extending businesses unemployment tax relief through 2012
That way they can use the U-Comp issue to distract business while raising other taxes again next session.
SA: Lawmakers cautiously eye tax break for businesses
read … UComp
Legislators Wouldn’t Give Money to HMC, but they will Pay $1.5M for Extra Ambulances
The Senate committee gave approval to Senate Bill 2409, which provides $1.5 million for additional emergency services in West Oahu.
A second measure, House Bill 1953, also received broad support and offers $1.2 million for ambulance service in the region as well as an additional $500,000 for Wahiawa General Hospital, where the medical center's shutdown is also taxing emergency room services.
read … Anything to get rid of HMC
Will Legislators Clean Up Last Year’s Mess?
read … EAs
Bill calls for mandatory meal breaks for full-time workers
KHON: Many employer groups say it would be problematic.
"Right now I do my deliveries, I run here I run there, I pick up lunch along the way, I eat along the way and I get paid for that, I don't have to punch in and punch out, plus, when i'm on my run, if it's time to take a lunch break, where the heck can I park," said Gareth Sakakida of the Hawaii Transportation Association.
"We're an operation that's open anywhere from 12 to 24 hours a day with varying types of schedules that need to work for the needs of the employer. We can't fully staff a store," said Carol Pregill of Retail Merchants of Hawaii.
The Labor Department said some flexibility would have to be worked into the law to fit various employer scenarios.
"There are particular circumstances under which there are real practical difficulties in terms of implementing a mandate such as this," Takamine says.
read … Meal Time
Gov’s Request Would Mean No School Buses on Oahu
CB: Even if the Legislature were to give the Department of Education 100 percent of the amount that Gov. Neil Abercrombie has requested for school buses next year, the district would have to end student transportation on Oahu. (Unless the Lege forks over another $17M to the Corrupt School Bus operators.)
Radcliffe: School Bus Lobbyist: ‘Their Lives Are Shattered By This Bullshit’
SA: As school bus costs rise, so do lawmakers' concerns
HTH: School busing costs questioned
read … Take The Bus
Superferry to Come Back -- With Deck Guns?
SA: The Navy's Military Sealift Command in Washington, D.C,. said one of the superferries will replace the leased 331-foot Westpac Express based out of Okinawa, Japan, a vessel used to transport Marines and equipment around the Western Pacific, sometime before the end of the calendar year.
Sealift Command officials said no decision has been made whether that will be the 338-foot Huakai or 321-foot Alakai. The mission of the second vessel is still being determined, officials said.
Separate from the two former superferries, the Pentagon had plans to build and operate 10 additional Joint High-Speed Vessels, and said in 2010 that it was looking at basing up to three of the speedy cargo and troop carriers at Pearl Harbor.
But new defense budget priorities released Thursday call for reducing that number by eight. Officials with the Sealift Command, which will operate the high-speed vessels, could not be reached for comment about the reduction.
The Army talked for years about the advantages of having one of the big Joint High-Speed Vessels in Hawaii to transport Stryker armored vehicles and troops to Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii island.
read … Missing Deck Guns Found
ACLU: Luddites have 1st Amendment Right to Porta-potties, Sleep-Overs
In the ACLU letter, the foundation states, “there is evidence to suggest that the county is singling out the Occupy protesters for harassment based on the content of their speech.”
The ACLU letter states that “vague safety concerns” were used “in justifying statements that protesters must leave at night.” It further states that, “No government official has given any basis for the statement that the safety of the protesters, the drivers, or the general public is at risk.”
A response letter from Deputy Corporation Counsel Moana M. Lutey states, “It is my understanding that the protestors leave of their own volition and not as a result of any threats by the MPD. In fact, it would make sense to leave at nightfall because the two protest areas are not well lit at night.”
OWSM protester, Brady Townsend said members of the group spent months planning the event. He said, “We researched it thoroughly, and got permits for our marches, but were told after a long run-around we did not need one for the site itself as it is on public property.”
OWSM members say they had planned to maintain a visible presence on the site 24 hours a day for the week; however, when rented portable sanitary facilities arrived, they say Maui police officers “turned them away.”
The group released two videos saying police actions contradict the county’s position. The videos are posted on the OWSM Facebook page at: http://tinyurl.com/MPD-Kihei1, and http://tinyurl.com/MPD-Kihei2.
read … How Homelessness is being made into a Free Speech issue
A Look At How the City's Storing Homeless Property
CB: Sugihara said the process is working well. Clothing, bedding, tents and personal items are being stored in waterproof bins and are available for pickup for free. Perishable items, drug paraphernalia and building materials were disposed of.
"I think that the city has been taking a really conservative approach," Sugihara said. He said service providers have been getting some homeless people into shelters, "which we're really excited about. And a lot of people have come up to us and expressed their appreciation because they're getting their sidewalks and their parks back."
After the items are stored for 30 days, the city can dispose of them, though Sugihara and DFM Director Westley Chun said they won't do that immediately on the 30th day. For unclaimed items appraised at more than $1,000, the city will initiate an auction. For everything else, the city's Department of Environmental Services will take them to the H-POWER waste-to-energy facility and the landfill.
read … Recycling Project
Hawaiian singer pleads no contest to sexually molesting 2 Carson girls in 1990s
AP: Cecilio Rodriguez - of the group Cecilio and Kapono - was ordered to serve a year in jail and to complete 52 weeks of sexual offender counseling and five years probation, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Compton Superior Court Judge Gary Hahn suspended a six-year state prison term that the 67-year-old entertainer will not have to serve if he complies with the terms of his probation
(If he had done boys, he could get a job at the legislature.)
read … Molester
Guard Convicted for Giving Cellfone to Dope Pusher
SA: Ramirez pleaded guilty to providing inmate William Clifford use of her cellphone from March 14 to April 30 last year and to providing him another cellphone from May 5 to June 2.
Clifford was at the detention center awaiting trial for a charge of attempted methamphetamine possession.
He pleaded guilty March 17 and was sentenced Dec. 9 to 20 years in prison.
read … Meth
Ocean report: Polluted waters off Hawaii
KGI: DOH is doing a DNA study of the bacteria at beach sites to determine if they are from human or animal sources. Each source presents a different public health risk.
A comparison of DOH data from 2010 and 2011 reveals no major changes in geomean or percent exceedance values among the 16 sites that were collected, both years, except for the Hanalei River, which increased in both values. Changes in the other sites probably reflect changes in rainfall over the years.
The most recent values from the DOH are posted on their website at http://emdweb.doh.hawaii.gov/cleanwaterbranch/waterqualitydata/default.aspx.
Read … Fecal Matter
2% land fund amendment on ballot
WHT: Hawaii County voters will once again get the opportunity to weigh in on a 2 percent land fund, now that Mayor Billy Kenoi has signed a bill putting it on the ballot.
The County Council Committee on Governmental Relations on Tuesday will take the final step in the process when it considers a resolution directing the county clerk to send ballot language to the state chief elections officer. The amendment would go into effect Nov. 7 if approved by voters in the Nov. 6 general election.
read … Do Over
Pro Bowl deserves to be 'leid' to rest
Newark Star-Ledger: …Nor is the thought of spending my first Sunday "off" as a fan and sportswriter sitting in front of the television tweeting facts and useless information about a game whose final outcome will be forgotten before the last player gets to the locker room.
It's time for the NFL to bid adieu to the Pro Bowl. Or, put a different way – Aloha….
read … Newark
SA to Kona Farmers: Sit Down and Shut Up
SA: When coffee growers succeeded more than 20 years ago at distinguishing pure Kona coffee by law from mixtures that only partially include the Hawaii-grown beans, they came up short on the clarity they now seek. They now want blenders to include all the coffee types and percentages in their recipes — but that would be excessive.
read … Shut up already