Rick Santorum Wins Three States -- CO, MO, MN
Hawaii Catholic Conference: Obama Admin Threatens Religious Liberty
Advisory Council Gives Abercrombie 12 Nominees for UH Regents
Kamehameha Schools Jumps in With Act 221 Scammers
CB: “Innovative social enterprises are demonstrating promising results from efforts to integrate economic opportunities into initiatives that also promote community engagement, land stewardship, cultural revival and knowledge generation. These social entrepreneurs have reversed the inputs and outputs of unsustainable economic development paradigms. Rather than consume a community’s human and natural resources in building commerce, they are creating sustainable commercial ventures (doublespeak for windfarms) that restore the health of communities and environmental landscapes.” —Neil Hannahs, Director, Kamehameha Schools Land Assets Division
The Hawaii Impact Investment Conference will serve as a catalyst for dialogue and action as we to begin to create our own impact community, reflective of Hawaii’s unique place in the world. We look forward to harnessing our collective resources for good. (And driving your electric bills up up up!) Visit http://www.hiimpact.org
About the author: Chenoa Farnsworth is the founder and chair of the Hawaii Impact Investment Conference. She has more than 15 years experience in business strategy and private equity investing. Farnsworth is the managing director of the Hawaii Angels, Hawai‘i’s only angel capital investment network. n 2006, she co-founded Kolohala Ventures, a Hawaii-based venture capital firm that has invested (sic!) $50 million into Hawai‘i-based technology start-ups. (Act 221 Scam Companies) Farnsworth currently co-manages the state funded Hydrogen Renewable Energy Fund.
read … Danger!
Without FTA Rail Approval City Would Have Faced $9M monthly Cost Overruns
SA: The city asked for the letter of no prejudice in December so it could proceed with construction this month. Without the FTA letter, the city would have faced a cost of $9 million for each month of delay in compensating companies that had mobilized their crews but were unable to begin construction work. Recent delays already have cost at least $15 million, and further setbacks could add significantly to the ultimate cost. (In other words, they rushed to sign contracts so they would be forced to rush to begin construction. In the end there will be a massive train wreck.)
A federal lawsuit by opponents of the rail project will not stop the early construction; even a talked-about possible preliminary injunction will not be materializing to block the start of construction. However, if a federal judge were to permanently halt construction at some later date, the city would have to eliminate all it has accomplished. Such an outcome would be devastating, especially for families who bought homes in and around Kapolei in anticipation of the rail connection with downtown Honolulu.
If the anti-rail forces prevail, taxpayers still would have to pay for what has been spent on the project. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scrapped a commuter-rail tunnel project between New Jersey and New York City's Penn Station in October 2010. As a result, the New Jersey transit took a $297 million loss for engineering and design work that had begun in 2009 and forfeited a $3 billion federal grant, the largest FTA grant ever made. A similar turnaround in Honolulu would be dreadful, not only financially
read … Rush brings more rush
California same-sex marriage ruling Gives Abercrombie Even More Excuses to Present Weak Defense against gay Marriage Suit
KHON: "I guess now it makes it a little more difficult for the attorney general to have a vigorous defense,” said Sen. Clayton Hee, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, “and we'll see where this takes us."
"I spoke to the attorney general today," said Rep. Gilbert Keith-Agaran, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “I mentioned that maybe the caucus wants to meet with him in light of the decision by the 9th Circuit. I asked him what do you intend to do at this point? And he said, well, we still intend to mount a vigorous defense on behalf of the health director."
“I have the greatest respect for Gov. Abercrombie and Attorney General David Louie,” said attorney John D’Amato, representing the plaintiffs in the Hawaii case. “They have extremely difficult jobs to do, and I understand that they've got to consider all of the segments of the population in the decision that they arrive at. I would say, though, that when all is said and done, they need to think in terms of what is pono, what is just for a segment of this population that has been deprived of a right that should have been theirs 15 years ago.”
The attorney general's office said it won't have any comments on the Jackson v. Abercrombie case until they file their answer. The range of options remains broad. In a Connecticut constitutional challenge several years ago, the attorney general sent a deputy to mount the defense; its state supreme court ruled its civil union law wasn't strong enough, mandating same sex marriage rights. Last year on the day of the civil unions signing, the Obama Administration announced it would no longer defend the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. In the California case just decided, prior Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former attorney general and now Gov. Jerry Brown both refused to defend the state's gay marriage ban.
“At first blush it looks like now there's a precedent that's binding on the U.S. District court here in Hawaii, but this was decided on such narrow grounds that I think they're still going to have to take a look at the facts of our case,” Keith-Agaran said. “For one thing it doesn't decide that under the Constitution that marriage is a fundamental right. Secondly the Proposition 8 stated that marriage was limited to 1 man 1 woman. Our amendment just said it was up to the legislature, and so it was the legislature who decided that we would not have same-sex marriage here. At this point, I think that there are still reasons to defend our law as it is.”
SA: Ruling buoys couple in civil unions suit
Reality: Broken Trust Gang finally Imposes Gay Unions on Hawaii
read … Gay Marriage
Religious Freedom: Obama Admin May Adopt Hawaii Model as State Legislature Considers Discarding it
ABC News: There is a lot of chatter in the administration about “the Hawaii Model,” raised perhaps most prominently by the former chair of the White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Melissa Rogers, who wrote in The Washington Post last October that Hawaii:
“appears to have taken some noteworthy steps to ensure that employees of objecting religious organizations may readily gain access to affordable coverage of contraceptives. Under Hawaii law, religious employers that decline to cover contraceptives must provide written notification to enrollees disclosing that fact and describing alternate ways for enrollees to access coverage for contraceptive services. Hawaii law also requires health insurers to allow enrollees in a health plan of an objecting religious employer to purchase coverage of contraceptive services directly and to do so at a cost that does not exceed ‘the enrollee’s pro rata share of the price the group purchaser would have paid for such coverage had the group plan not invoked a religious exemption.’”
Obama administration officials say that insurance company officials say it’s actually cheaper to provide women with birth control than not – because of unintended pregnancies and complications. Meaning: insurance companies may want to help find a compromise here because it can help their bottom line.
Meanwhile, State Legislators seek to abandon the Hawaii Model: HB127: Will Legislature Vote to Keep HMC Hospitals Closed?
read … Hawaii Model
Healthcare industry interested in reviving closed hospital facilities
HNN: "We see a need to provide some kind of a community hospital in that area. It's a growing area and we are very interested and we feel we could do an excellent job," said Dr. Virginia Pressler, Hawaii Pacific Health Executive Vice President.
Hawaii Pacific Health, which includes Kapiolani, Pali Momi, Straub and Wilcox, would like to add a fifth hospital to its network.
"We're waiting for the opportunity to have those discussions," said Dr. Pressler. "If we were given the opportunity we're very interested in acquiring the hospital out at the former Hawaii Medical Center West."
Lawmakers were also briefed on the possibility of turning the Liliha hospital into a long term care facility.
"We have entered into some very preliminary discussions with the sisters at St. Francis and we are finding our missions are well aligned. I think there are opportunities there to work together and try to meet the states needs. I'm optimistic at least we can make something happen if we can get the legislature and others to support this," said Bruce Anderson, Ph.D. Hawaii Health Systems Corporation President and CEO.
The state has a long wait list to get into long term care. Right now many patients are taking up hospital bed space when they really need long term care resulting in about $180 million in lost revenue a year.
Related: Kapolei Town Hall Meeting to Discuss Hospital Closure
SA: 2 possible buyers emerge for HMC's Ewa campus
read … Reopen HMC
Representative Kymberly Pine comments on HB 1953
Representative comments on Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 152-12 H.B. No. 1953
RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE. (Emergency Medical Care)
PASS SECOND READING, REFER TO FINANCE The purpose of this part is to appropriate general funds to the department of health to assist the city and county of 6Honolulu emergency medical services division with expanding emergency medical services and ambulance services in communities 8 on Leeward Oahu.
Contact: reppine@capitol.hawaii.gov
View … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgdo9l4ymp8
Sick of Work? Legislature Considers Ordering Businesses to Give Everybody 9 Annual Paid Days Off
HTH: Business and labor interests are mobilizing on opposite sides of bills pending in the Legislature that would mandate paid leave for employees who are sick, victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault.
If either bill becomes law, all people who work a certain minimum number of hours per year in Hawaii would be granted "the right to sick and safe leave."
Both, by coincidence, are scheduled for committee hearings Thursday in their respective chambers.
House Bill 2089 would apply to virtually every worker in the state of Hawaii who works more than 80 hours in a year.
Those employees will accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick and safe leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 72 hours.
In other words, a full-time worker could accrue up to nine days of paid leave per year.
For small business, defined as a company with 10 employees or less, a maximum of 40 hours leave may be accrued.
The similar Senate Bill 2507 does not include specifics of how many hours would be accrued. Both bills are set to become law July 1 if approved.
read … Why stop at 9?
Redistricting Plan May be Ready Feb 23
SA: Beginning this year, the primary election will be held the second Saturday in August in every even-numbered year. This year that means Aug. 11.
Previously, the Hawaii primary was held the second to last Saturday in September in every even-numbered year.
The date was moved up to comply with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, signed into law by President Obama in 2009, which says ballots must be mailed to overseas voters at least 45 days before an election.
The September primary election date did not provide enough time between elections to comply with the new law.
General Election Day this year is Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Question: What is happening with reapportionment? Also, what is the deadline for candidates to file for running for election?
Answer: A new reapportionment plan for state legislative districts is expected to be filed late this month, possibly Feb. 23.
Candidates for congressional and county seats could begin filing nomination papers Feb. 1, but those wanting to run for seats in either the state Senate or state House are in limbo until the 2011 state Reapportionment Commission realigns district boundaries to meet constitutional standards.
The deadline for candidates to file nomination papers is 4:30 p.m. June 5.
read … Redistricting
Hawaii Lawmakers, Abercrombie Aim to Dilute Gift Rules — Again
CB: Fed up with the state's ethics chief over advice they haven't liked about whether they can accept certain gifts, a handful of Hawaii lawmakers recently decided to go over his head. They lobbied the Ethics Commission chairwoman behind closed doors.
The unusual appeal highlights the disdain some lawmakers have had for the past year with Executive Director Les Kondo's hard-line stance on accepting meals and gifts. Some legislators have not been shy about sending emails to lobbyists or otherwise voicing their annoyance about how Kondo's rulings are affecting their customary way of doing things.
"YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING ILLEGAL!" one lawmaker wrote to a lobbyist after having to give back a gift-pack of wine valued at $55.
Lawmakers' latest pushback has culminated in legislation to change or clarify the Ethics Code, including a move that would allow lawmakers to accept tickets to charitable fundraisers, regardless of value.
Under House Bill 2457 — introduced as part of Gov. Neil Abercrombie's legislative package — the charity giving the ticket does not have to be the event host, meaning a nonprofit lobbyist or union could buy the tickets and give them to lawmakers. The bill defines a charity as basically any organization that has been granted tax-exempt status. That could include unions, nonprofits and some business groups.
CB: Leaders or Freeloaders?
ILind: A handful of legislators lead by example on financial disclosures
MW: Oshiro Balances The Guv’s Bluster
read … Small Bribes
Kauai Mayor Testifies Before Closed Meeting of Police Commission
KGI: The Kaua‘i Police Commission met behind closed doors in an executive session Tuesday to hear testimony from Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. regarding personnel and disciplinary actions related to a complaint filed with the county Police Commission on Jan. 31….
Local resident Ken Taylor told The Garden Island he was allowed to address the commission during a brief open meeting before the closed session. His concerns were that the county was in violation of its charter in placing the chief on leave, he said.
“I didn’t think the mayor had the authority to do what he did, and that the county council should be telling them what the charter says.” Taylor said by phone Tuesday afternoon.
Read … Secrecy, Retaliation?
Hanabusa, Hirono, Akaka Travel Log Published
CB: Hawaii's congressional delegates collectively made dozens of roundtrips between Washington and Hawaii in the past year — nearly 40 such trips among Sen. Daniel Akaka, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Rep. Mazie Hirono alone.
While that means as a group they logged nearly 200,000 miles of airtime, each of Hawaii's congressional representatives made it home about once a month on average.
CB: Campaign Ads Now Hitting Hawaii Airwaves
read … Travel Log
Hawaii Law Allows Students to Work in Schools
CB: a state administrative law that allows this happen:
§8-37-10 Use of student help in the cafeteria. Students shall assist in the cafeteria as part of their duties in school services. Not more than one full day of cafeteria duty in any one month or more than a total of seven full days in one school year shall be required of any student. Any exception must be approved by the complex area superintendent.
This column was from a HSTA teacher who complains bitterly about the “little slaves” and denounces the use of students to work in the cafeteria. But numerous commenters spoke of their own experiences working in school and the valuable lessons they learned from that work. For Instance: “Decades later I still remember important lessons learned working in the cafeteria. It gave me and my student workmates the opportunity to have some responsibility outside the classroom at an early age. Our crew prided itself at being the most efficient, least wasteful and funnest of all the different crews.”
read … The Comments!
Accountability for DoE Principals: Eight Years of Empty Talk
Shapiro: State Rep. K. Mark Takai finally asked a question that has been years in the making: Why hasn't a 2004 legislative mandate that public school principals be put on performance contracts been carried out by the Department of Education?
Takai raised it in relation to a current proposal to require evaluations for public school teachers that could be tied to performance pay.
His point was that it does little good for the Legislature to pass laws that the DOE feels no obligation to carry out, as with principal contracts.
"It's just puzzling for me to know that we have a law on the books and it's not being followed," he said.
Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi replied, "We know that is an IOU."….
Takai's puzzlement should extend to why legislators, after putting such a big public sell on Act 51, have done so little follow-up on the law's spotty implementation.
More recently the DOE has issued IOUs on moves in the Legislature to increase school instructional days and hours in the wake of the Furlough Friday fiasco.
Hawaii is at risk of losing a $75 million federal Race to the Top grant essentially because the DOE gave the feds IOUs instead of meeting the goals it promised when applying for the grant….
In a poll of 200 Hawaii principals conducted two years ago by the Principals Planning Group, principals listed more highly qualified and effective teachers as more important than greater funding in improving the public schools.
They've pushed for modernizing teacher tenure and giving principals more flexibility in hiring and evaluating teachers.
But it was telling that in the same poll in which they called for more teacher accountability, principals were lukewarm about performance contracts for themselves.
Responsibility starts at the top, and this IOU is long past due.
More IOUS: BOE policy plan would include new evaluations of educators
And Even More IOUS: Measure to revamp teacher evaluations advances
read … Eight Years
School Bus Watch: Ed Board Establishes Action Group to Examine Costs
CB: The Hawaii State Board of Education today set in motion plans for a Primary Action Group (or “PIG,” as Chairman Don Horner calls it) to address the school district’s transportation crisis.
read … School Bus Watch: Ed Board Establishes Action Group to Examine Costs
Hundreds pay respects to fallen police officer
SA: Hundreds of law enforcement officers gathered at Borthwick Mortuary today to pay respects to officer Garret Davis, whom colleagues, friends and family described as living his dream when he became a Honolulu police officer just more than three years ago.
Davis, 28, had pulled over along a narrow shoulder of H-1 freeway in Aiea to assist stranded motorists on the night of Jan. 21 when his patrol car was struck by a pickup truck. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene.
read … Funeral
Hawaii Land Development Corp Still Controversial
CB: An agency tasked with developing public lands that has raised concerns from environmentalists and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is under attack by lawmakers this session.
A dozen bills have been introduced that aim to restrict the powers of the controversial Public Land Development Corporation, an agency that passed quietly into law last year. But it's unlikely that anything will come of them because they have to go through Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the Senate Committee on Water, Land and Housing, who created the corporation.
The senator has also introduced five bills of his own, most of which would expand the PLDC's powers. This despite telling Civil Beat just before the session started that he wasn't planning to sponsor any PLDC bills. Asked in January whether he expected any bills to be introduced this session that would amend the corporation, Dela Cruz said, "I don't know, but I'm not introducing any."
But he apparently was in the middle of drafting his own measures. That obfuscation raises concerns about Dela Cruz's intentions when it comes to public perception and the transparency of public debate about the agency's operations.
read … Land Development
Okinawa Marines going to Guam, Australia, Hawaii and Philippines
AP: Japan and the United States agreed Wednesday to proceed with plans to transfer thousands of U.S. troops out of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, leaving behind the stalled discussion about closing a major U.S. Marine base there.
The transfer, a key to U.S. troop restructuring in the Pacific, has been in limbo for years because it was linked to the closure and replacement of the strategically important base that Okinawans fiercely oppose.
The announcement Wednesday follows high-level talks to rework a 2006 agreement for 8,000 Marines to transfer to the U.S. territory of Guam by 2014 if a replacement for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma could be built elsewhere on Okinawa.
read … Marines
Hazing trial is attributed to influence of politician
SA: "I think the government feels a lot of political pressure to charge Sgt. Johns," said Honolulu attorney Timothy Bilecki, who is representing Johns. "I think in any other case, had Judy Chu not been involved and this didn't make it all the way up to (Washington) D.C., this would never be on trial."
Chu, a California Democrat who attended a hearing at the Kaneohe Bay Marine base Jan. 30 for another Marine charged in the case, said the Marine Corps system "broke down" in the hazing of her nephew, and called for congressional hearings into military hazing.
The general court-martial trial of Johns was to start Monday but was postponed for a day when Bilecki objected to new charging language that he said the government, acting as the prosecution, introduced that morning.
Johns is accused of ordering Lew to dig a new foxhole late at night after Lew had fallen asleep that night and on several previous occasions while on sentry duty, Bilecki said. Lew, 21, from Santa Clara, Calif., shot himself at 3:43 a.m.
"Sgt. Johns pulled him out of that fighting position, and he ordered him to dig what's called a supplemental fighting position, basically a foxhole," Bilecki said. "Our position is that was an operational necessity — that that foxhole was going to be dug anyway, and it was going to be used by all of the Marines, not just Lance Cpl. Lew."
The defense was told that was the basis of the hazing, Bilecki said.
read … Political Influence
$3M Emergency Appropriation for APEC Security Expenses
KITV: Three months after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the state is asking legislators for an emergency appropriation of nearly $3 million to help cover its costs.
The Hawaii National Guard was out in force during APEC.
State Adjutant General Darryl Wong says his department alone spent $2 million dollars to help city police provide security around town as world leaders gathered for meetings on Oahu.
"We expended all our fourth quarter funds to provide for APEC," said Wong.
Read … Emergency
State Proposes Absurd Tax on Electronic Cigarettes
HM: If you’ve successfully replaced cigarette smoking with electronic cigarettes, take note, the Hawaii state Legislature would like to tax you as if you were still smoking. Both the House and the Senate have introduced bills to classify electronic cigarettes as tobacco products, in order to do two things: prohibit their sale to minors and levy the same 70-percent tax on them that the state levies on actual tobacco products, such as real cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, etc.
One small problem with the bills: electronic cigarettes do not contain tobacco. At all. Dismantle one and all you’ll find is a battery, a heater and solution of water, glycerin and nicotine. The fluid, when heated, creates a smoke-like vapor that is odorless and non-toxic and decidedly not smoke. Nicotine comes from tobacco, but is not itself tobacco—otherwise, why else are nicotine gum, lozenges and patches routinely sold as safe alternatives to smoking and as stop-smoking aids? (Of course, none of these nicotine-laced products are included in this anti-e-cig bill, a telling detail).
What the state really seems to want is the tax revenue. I’ve written about this before: governments have perversely immoral incentives to make sure as many smokers keep smoking as possible, because governments are hooked on cigarette tax revenue. For example, see my September 2006 column, “Double Bind,” about Hawaii’s dependence on cigarette taxes to fund trauma services.
If these bills pass and electronic cigarettes and all their accessories (batteries, chargers, etc.) are subject to the same taxes as actual cigarettes, then a certain number of smokers will choose to stay with tobacco cigarettes. A certain number of those people will, with statistical certainty, die needlessly of heart disease or cancer. If the state actually cared about our health, it would offer tax incentives to smokers who switch to electronic cigarettes (or, to be fair, nicotine gum, patches, lozenges, etc.) Instead, I think some legislators have panicked over the prospect that people are successfully replacing taxed cigarettes with a un-taxed non-tobacco substitute and are in a hurry to redefine that alternative as tobacco for the sole purpose of grabbing the cash. Heaven forbid you should find some pleasurable activity the state hasn’t found a way to tax! ….
There’s a public hearing on the bills tomorrow, Feb. 8, at 9 a.m., conference room 211 at the Legislature.
read … Tax The Cure
Pretending to act, Lawmakers consider Less rigorous inspections of zip lines
AP: The measure, sponsored by a group of Senate Democrats and heard by committees in each chamber, would require the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to conduct $100 inspections. But many in the industry question whether the proposal goes far enough.
"A fee of $100 is incredibly unrealistic at the majority of courses and may set a bad precedent," said Jeff Baldwin, operator of Piiholo Zipline.
Baldwin, who is in favor of the measure, said inspections generally cost $5,000 and stretch across multiple days. He said he's concerned the Labor Department "may be biting off more than they can chew."
The Labor Department opposed the measure as it was written, suggesting an audit might be more appropriate.
Director Dwight Takamine raised concerns about not having experts who can conduct the inspections. He also said the department doesn't have the funding to travel to remote neighbor island areas where most zip line tours are located.
MN: Inspections for Hawaii ziplines under evaluation
read … Zippy Regulations
Star-Adv Gives Space to Another Socialist UH Prof.
The column isn’t very interesting, just a re-hash of the usual rhetoric, but the comments are great so here’s the first one:
Tom Dinell was careful not to mention the "S" word but why not say it? SOCIALISM. Using government coercion to redistribute the wealth. The problem with anti-capitalists is they don't believe in the free market. And that goes without saying because capitalism can only operate in a free market. As free from government coercion, regulation and manipulation as possible. The anti-capitalist is always concerned about percentages and trying to figure out who should get what part of the pie. That thinking is born of an erroneous assumption that wealth and wealth creation is a zero sum game. Their belief is that wealth is static and if someone becomes wealthy it is because they "stole it". The possessions and wealth came at someone else's expense. In this static world, if there are ten people in a village and one person accumulates 10 times the wealth of the other villagers, it means that the other 9 people must be poor because the one wealthy person took, stole or accumulated the wealth unfairly. Anyone who accumulates more than his "fair share" is determined to be "GREEDY" and is labeled as such. On the other hand, the capitalist is not bothered or concerned by percentages of wealth or who has how much of whatever. They are interested in GROWING the pie! They are interested in MAKING more pies! How do you accomplish this? You become more productive or you produce more productive workers. Bill Gates is worth around $40 Billion dollars. Does that mean he has made millions of people around the world poorer? No, what he accomplished was to make more people more productive with the products and services he created and developed. Being more productive, developing ways and means for more people to become more productive is the key to wealth creation. Fighting over the percentage of the pie IS the zero sum game. Those efforts to redistribute the wealth after it has been created is the domain of the socialist, the inefficient, the unproductive. It is the domain of Communists whose only glory is to steal from others to dole out what they never earned then audaciously claim credit as if they earned the money, goods and services they are redistributing to the masses. The truth is they create nothing!
KITV: City Crews De-Occupy Honolulu (Perfesser’s paradigm heads for City Dump in Back of Trucks)
read … Complete Debunk in the Comments Section
Hawaii’s Really Scary Development Bind
Fidell: it’s really scary on two levels when the legislature talks about fast track development. On the one hand, it reveals and acknowledges how impediments to development have clogged the system. Yes, we can be sympathetic to all those developers who have been stopped. They do need relief and hopefully there will be a better day for them sometime before the 22nd Century.
On the other hand, it raises the prospect of unrestricted development without any controls, which is deep water all by itself, and something we cannot afford. The answer is more difficult than status quo or knocking off all regulations. The answer is a thoughtful reevaluation of the planning and permitting process in general. We don’t need so many agencies making the same decisions. We don’t need so many bureaucrats all blocking the way. But we do need qualified and trained government officials with an understanding and a vision of how things should be, with due regard for environment and process.
That we simply don’t have. A “fast track” at this point seems more like a punt, and is not likely to make any progress toward doing the homework we should have done years ago.
read … No Solutions
Penn State Child Molestation Perjurer Helped NCAA Dump Oahu Bowl
SA: Former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley was a key witness for the NCAA last year in a case in which a Honolulu jury found that the NCAA did not engage in anti-competitive practices that led to the demise of the former Oahu Bowl in 2003.
The Oahu Bowl was purchased by ASI in 1999 and relocated by ASI from Honolulu to Seattle for 2001 and '02. It was scheduled to be sold to California-based Pro Sports & Entertainment and moved to San Francisco in '03, pending NCAA recertification. But the game was decertified by the NCAA.
Curley served as chair of the NCAA's Football Certification Subcommittee in 2002 when ASI was attempting to sell the game.
ASI filed suit against the NCAA in 2004 seeking more than $2 million and punitive damages.
Curley testified here in September of 2011, less than two months before he was charged with perjury in Pennsylvania for statements made about the Penn State (molestation) case. Curley resigned as athletic director shortly after the charges.
(And Abercrombie wants to replace the Pro Bowl with a gay marriage festival. Hmmmmm. Maybe Curley could get a job in the Hawaii Legislature.)
read … Oahu Bowl
Desperate Hawaii Democrats try to Make Issue of Michigan Advert
CB: In response, Lingle campaign Manager Bob Lee said, ”Governor Lingle believes that any advertisement which denigrates any ethnic group is both offensive and doesn’t reflect Hawaii values.”
Lee continued with a dig of his own: “I am very surprised that Dante Carpenter, who knows Gov. Lingle very well, would allow Chuck Freedman to release a Democrat Party statement that is false, and is nothing more than political gamesmanship.”
Unrelated: Enough for 35 Pro Bowls: Abercrombie’s $140M gift to Dante Carpenter
read … Gamesmanship
Rep. Hirono Introduces Bill to Direct Feasibility Study of Ka'u Coast Designation as National Park System Unit
News Release: Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, has introduced legislation (H.R. 3908) to "direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Ka'u Coast . . .
read … Showboating
Roseanne for Pres: A chicken in every bucket, a pie in every face
LA Times: In a review last year of Roseanne Barr's new reality TV series "Roseanne's Nuts," Times TV critic Mary McNamara noted that the show sometimes played like a satire of "Sarah Palin's Alaska,"another series following the life and adventures of a larger-than-life heroine. While viewers on TLC could watch Palin butchering salmon in Alaska's bear country, on Lifetime you could see Barr tramping through her macadamia nut farm on the Big Island of Hawaii, blasting away at wild pigs with a hunting rifle -- at least until the show was canceled in September. "Perhaps she is considering a run for president," McNamara concluded about Barr. How right she was….
read … President Barr