National Debt Hits $16T--up 50% in Four Years
1948: Communists Decide to Enter the Hawaii Democratic Party
Duke Aiona Urges Support for Lingle in General Election
Mizuno Demands Criminal Investigation of Reporter, Denies Gun Control Plot
Mayor’s 9-11 Remembrance Walk Sunday
Chinese Navy Deserves Payback
Aiona, Kobayashi, Berg: Anti-Rail Slate for Honolulu Council
CB: Former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano won’t be the only anti-rail candidate on Honolulu ballots come Nov. 6.
There are three contested races for Honolulu City Council, and each one has a candidate who has spoken out against the $5.26 billion project.
Cayetano is running for Honolulu mayor and has vowed to kill rail if elected. He was the clear frontrunner in the Aug. 11 primary, winning 44 percent of the vote.
Initially, there were only supposed to be two anti-rail council candidates on the upcoming general election ballot — Tom Berg and Ann Kobayashi. But when Tulsi Gabbardresigned from the council last month it cleared the way for Sam Aiona.
The former state legislator and Hawaii GOP chairman has already characterized himself as the anti-rail choice for District 6, which includes parts of Makiki, downtown Honolulu, Punchbowl, Liliha, Pauoa Valley, Nuuanu, Alewa Heights, Papakolea, Kalihi Valley and some of Kalihi.
In a press release announcing his candidacy, Aiona also appeared to be piggybacking on Cayetano’s assertion that this election can be seen as a referendum on rail.
“Voters are sending a clear message to city officials that they do not want the project and I believe the voters from Makiki to Kalihi deserve an opportunity to voice their opinion at the ballot box,” Aiona said. “I would rather lower people’s car registration and sewer fees, fix their sidewalks and restore funding to our bus system than spend over $5 billion on a train that will arguably not relieve traffic.”
But even if Berg, Kobayashi and Aiona can ride the anti-rail push into office, it might not be enough to sway the rest of the council in the opposite direction.
All the other council members have voted for the project, leaving a six-member majority on the nine-person governing body. That’s the magic number, especially if Cayetano is elected. Six votes can override a mayoral veto.
That’s not to say that’s how the votes would turn out should the anti-rail slate take office in January.
Council Chair Ernie Martin, who is a supporter of the project, has said if there’s that much pushback in the ballot box, the dynamics might be forced to change.
That will only be true, however, if Cayetano is elected. He would have to be the conductor.
read ... Sam Aiona Stop Rail
UH Search Committee Rejects Freitas Hustle
HNN: The 15-member search advisory committee held its first meeting early Tuesday morning in a conference room at the UH Manoa chancellor's office in Hawaii Hall. The meeting, which began at 7 a.m., lasted nearly two hours, with most members present in person and some joining the group by conference call.
Sources said a majority of the committee disregarded calls by committee co-chair and head football coach Norm Chow to appoint Freitas as AD right away. Fellow search committee member UH women's basketball coach Laura Beeman also advocated for Freitas' immediate appointment, a source said. Chow and Beeman worried that as an interim department head, Freitas could not make key decisions about the budget and hiring.
But sources said other committee members felt if Freitas wants the job, he needs to apply and get the post legitimately, through a search process in competition with others. Freitas, a former associate UH AD, has applied for the UH AD post twice before over the years and never got the job.
Chow, Beeman and UH women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji, all search committee members, joined more than 40 other coaches last week in signing a petition asking for Freitas to immediately be given the job. Sources said Chow championed the letter drive and at least half a dozen coaches claimed they signed the document under pressure from other coaches.
Shoji did not attend the meeting Tuesday.
Some people complained the coaches' move has tainted the process, so the coaches should step down from the search committee.
Bonnyjean Manini, the head of the UH Manoa faculty senate who also serves on the search panel, said on Friday the process already looks and smells unfair.
Manini, Chow and the other members of the selection committee declined comment Tuesday because they had too had signed confidentiality agreements in which they pledged not to talk in public about the candidates or the process. Karr, a former Board of Regents chair who is not a UH employee, threatened committee members if leaked information was tracked back to them, they would never serve on a UH search committee again, sources said.
The advisory committee reports to UH Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple, who decides who will be hired as AD, with the approval of UH's all-volunteer Board of Regents.
Asked about the coaches who backed a candidate serving on the search committee, Apple told Hawaii News Now, "This is not totally unusual to see this kind of support for someone who has proven to be very capable."
Asked if Apple believes the coaches' petition should preclude them from serving on the search committee, Apple said, "I'll leave that to the committee to decide. I didn't want to make that call. I think that's pre-empting the committee."
Apple delivered his "charge" to the committee Tuesday morning, giving them their instructions for the AD search.
"I want us to get the best person who can take us to that level where we garner the support of the state so that athletics does not compete with academics, it's not a drain so that we compete at the highest levels in all sports," Apple said.
The committee is still deciding whether to hire a search firm or consultant, sources said.
The committee planned to use private, donated funds from athletic boosters to hire search professionals, according to people familiar with the process.
"UH needs to be concerned about public perception because the public is worried about what's happening at Manoa," said one source, explaining why search money will be at least partly privately funded.
HNN: UH-Stevie Wonder Concert Chronology
read … Rebuffing coaches' call for Freitas to be named AD, UH search panel begins search
DoE May Stop Paying $100/day “Idle Bus Fee”
KITV: L'Heureux said one of the modifications that can be made almost immediately is how contracts are awarded to companies providing bus service to students. Some of the current contracts contain a provision that pays contractors $100 per day, for up to 180 days, for any school bus that remains idle.
"Why should we expect the taxpayers of Hawaii to be saddled with an idle bus fee when we knew that there was going to be perhaps instances in time that a bus might be idle," L'Heureux asked rhetorically.
Board members also want the Department of Education to think toward the future. De Lima suggested the staggering of school start times could be a low-cost initiative to consolidate routes and bring the bus program under control.
"To me that makes reasonable man theory and common sense, and why not look at it," said L'Heureux.
Hawaii State Teachers Association president Wil Okabe said the staggering school start times would be something the union is willing to examine.
Related: Audit: DoE School Bus Failures Waste Millions, Endanger Students
Read … Cut to the Bone
Day 63: Since Hirono has been in Congress, the national debt has increased by more than $7 trillion, breaking the $16 trillion mark.
Since Hirono has been in Congress, the national debt has increased by more than $7 trillion, breaking the $16 trillion mark. [1]
Day 64: All Talk, No Action: Hirono’s Campaign Talked About Job Creation While Campaigning, But in the Same Week Hirono Skipped an Important Vote to Encourage Job Creation.
All Talk, No Action: Hirono’s Campaign Talked About Job Creation While Campaigning, in the Same Week Hirono Skipped an Important Vote to Encourage Job Creation. On July 23, Hirono’s campaign said ” [Hirono] has been out in the community meeting …
read … Continue reading
Old Boys Continue Push to Reinstate Tainted Election Official
HTH: The Hawaii County Council on Thursday will discuss legislation addressing the county’s primary election day problems.
Vice Chairman Angel Pilago has introduced a resolution that requests the state Office of Elections set up criteria for intervening in the management of county elections if it believes local governments aren’t up to the task. That request would be made through the state Association of Counties, which would decide whether to lobby the state Legislature to take up the issue.
Pilago said Tuesday that he thinks the state should have stepped in during the Aug. 11 primary after hearing concerns over Hawaii County’s readiness.
Those concerns stem from the firing of Elections Administrator Pat Nakamoto and three other employees last January following an investigation into allegations of drinking, storage of alcohol and running a private business out of the county elections warehouse on Makaala Street.
Nakamoto was reinstated but has been on paid administrative leave since July 16.
Kawauchi has declined to comment when Nakamoto (who has been active in the council campaign of Ken Goodenow) may return to the job. Her position has been filled by Arlene Boteilho.
Yagong said Nakamoto and Kawauchi have a meeting scheduled for today, but he didn’t know if it could result in Nakamoto returning to the job.
read … Retaliation Successful?
Kakaako agency too secretive
SA: The state agency responsible for development of Kakaako is taking a major step toward what may be the first of numerous skyscrapers and should invite extensive comments about the plan. Instead, it is keeping details away from the public while proceeding with underpinning support from the Abercrombie administration, which controls much of the process.
The plan to build a condominium tower up to 650 feet high — 50 percent taller than Honolulu's highest existing building — was announced last December.
When Friday's deadline for project submissions came and went, the Hawaii Community Development Authority would not even say how many developers had submitted bids or characterize the response for its request for proposals.
That information won't be made public until hearings in December or January, when the agency board expects to select the winning proposal. This is ludicrous.
The eye-opener is the building's height and that of other buildings on HCDA's agenda. Of the 16 parcels that are said to be suitable for buildings 400 feet tall or above, four are to be put to the test in Kakaako over the next two decades.
read … Blocking the View from Round Top
Hawaii State Government did big things once upon a long time ago
Shapiro: Hawaii saw great strides in state-building and social legislation in the two decades after statehood, but since then, major lasting achievements by our state and county governments are few and far between.
The politics of our time are defined by a self-entitled class of career elected officials, a corrupt prevalence of special-interest money, a lust for blood sport, partisan obstructionism, ideological buffoonery and a disengaged electorate that doesn't care enough to take out the trash….
read … Once Upon a Time
Republican and Democrat 2012 National and State Platforms Regarding the Akaka bill
HR: It's often said that political party platforms are a waste of time, because voters don't pay attention to them and candidates don't feel bound by them. But sometimes particular platform planks are the focus of intense infighting among party loyalists. A party's platform can provide a sense of the values and programmatic intentions of party activists.
This essay is a short summary of a webpage which provides links to the Republican and Democrat platforms for 2012 (both the national and Hawaii platforms), along with quotes in context, analysis, and details about the positions of Hawaii candidates for U.S. Senate and U.S. House. See http://tinyurl.com/bo6um6m
The 54-page Republican national platform for 2012 expresses strong opposition to creating any new race-based governments (i.e., the Akaka bill), explicitly linking that opposition to a fundamental commitment to racial equality as grounded in the Constitution. But that's tempered by a contradictory pledge to maintain government tribal handouts generally and to include Native Hawaiians in such programs on an equitable basis (even though there would be nothing equitable about providing handouts to Hawaiians since they are not a recognized tribe).
Here are the only two sentences directly applicable to Native Hawaiians: "As a matter of principle, we oppose the creation of any new race-based governments within the United States." (page 9) "We support efforts to ensure equitable participation in federal programs by American Indians, including Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and to preserve their culture and languages that we consider to be national treasures." (page 27)
The Hawaii Republican Party adopted a strongly-worded resolution opposing the Akaka Bill at its convention in 2011, which remains the state party's position going into the election of 2012:
read … Akaka Bill
EPA Stadards: HECO Must Comvert to LNG or Pay $1B
HB: HECO thinks so. Robbie Alm, executive VP for public affairs at Hawaiian Electric Co., puts gas prices in context. “We’ve seen $2.98/MMBtu on the mainland,” he says, “but, by the time you made a contract, got it here and added in the shipping and building the regasification facilities, I think the numbers will be much more like the numbers discussed at the recent Hawaii Clean Energy conference: $11/MMBtu to $17/MMBtu. And most of the people in that room leaned toward $17/MMBtu.” (Quick IQ Test: Do you accept his word at face value?)
On the other hand, he notes, $17/MMBtu might be low enough. For example, Japan and South Korea, the world’s largest consumers of LNG, are paying about $18/MMBtu for long-term contracts. “$18/MMBtu is the equivalent of $100-a-barrel oil,” Alm says. “We’re at $130 a barrel now, so those types of numbers look pretty attractive. Maybe they don’t look $5/MMBtu attractive or $10/MMBtu attractive, like some people are pointing to, but not bad, especially if you could get a steady supply, and you were able to take 25 percent or 30 percent of our power and devote it to LNG instead of oil for the time being. That’s a huge hedge.”
This isn’t the first time Hawaii has discussed LNG. Fesharaki and his company have already written two reports on LNG for the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, one in 2004, and another in 2007. In both instances, the economics of LNG didn’t make sense. (Uh huh. Sure.)
What’s changed is the price, of course, but there are also changes in the way the LNG industry is structured. Traditionally, LNG developers have needed long-term, high-volume contracts to justify building a liquefaction and export facility. In 2005, HECO’s Alm says, “the LNG people basically said we’d have to give them virtually all our capacity for 20 years, plus all the capacity of our largest independent power provider, Kalaeloa. That meant we wouldn’t have been able to do any renewables. We couldn’t take any wind, solar or geothermal.” (I just wanna cry.)
That didn’t jibe with Hawaiian Electric’s goal of reducing its reliance on fossil fuels, especially the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative’s standard of getting to 40 percent renewables by 2030. But the glut in shale-gas has made the natural gas industry more flexible, Alm says. “Now, the LNG folks are coming to town saying, ‘Oh, we don’t need all your capacity anymore. We need a much smaller increment.’ That means we can simultaneously pursue our renewable goals and use LNG to substitute for whatever portion of our portfolio that was going to be left in oil.”
Changes in environmental laws have also made the capital investment for LNG less daunting. Ron Cox, HECO’s VP for generation and fuel, says that to comply with new EPA air-quality standards, expected to take effect in 2014 or 2015, HECO will have to install expensive scrubbers and precipitators on its old boilers. But, Cox says, if the utility switched to cleaner-burning natural gas, those upgrades wouldn’t be necessary. “We’re looking at $900 million to $1 billion” to comply with upcoming EPA regulations, he says. “That would be a huge expense. When you compare that kind of number to the potential costs of the infrastructure to support the delivery of LNG, LNG doesn’t look so bad – especially if the fuel is cheaper and cleaner.”
read … Is Liquefied Natural Gas a viable option?
Shippers Eye LNG For Fuel, As Economics, Fundamentals Move In Its Favor
GC: When MS Selandia made her maiden voyage from Copenhagen to Bangkok in February 1912 she transformed the shipping industry, launching an era that would see the end of coal’s role and its replacement by oil as the dominant fuel for ships.
Now, 100 years later, a few shipping companies are moving towards a new fuel source, deep-chilled liquefied natural gas, driven by tougher environmental standards, higher oil prices and a growing natural gas supply. Many in the industry see it as the ship fuel of the future, given seemingly vast and largely untapped reserves of shale gas worldwide, although its take-up may well be slower than oil’s.
Stricter shipping pollution standards mean ship-owners need either to install expensive scrubbing equipment to cut emissions or use costlier low-sulfur oil at a time the global refining industry is ill-equipped to meet a big increase in demand, or perhaps turn to gas.
Major players taking a serious look at LNG include France’s CMA-CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping firm, which is working with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (042660.SE) to develop an LNG-powered container ship.
“The first vessel could be built within 5 years when a solution has been finalized to supply the vessels with LNG, either using a small vessel alongside, in a container terminal or even in an LNG tanker terminal,” said Ludovic Gerard, Vice-President of CMA Ships.
read … LNG is the Future
First Lingle-Hirono Debate September 6
MN: “an extremely partisan Washington insider with no record of accomplishments, who believes this election is about President Obama and difficult childhoods.”
…measured by her votes, Hirono may not have many examples of bipartisanship to point to. A statistical analysis by GovTrack (a legislative tracking service) ranks Hirono to the left of both Barney Frank and Charles Rangel in terms of ideology.
A check of Hirono’s record in the US House shows that she has in fact missed 127 opportunities to cast a vote this year.
Much noise has also been made by Lingle over Hirono’s reluctance to participate in televised debates, a criticism often repeated by Hirono’s primary opponent, Ed Case. But Hirono appears to be emerging from her shell for the general election.
Both Hirono and Lingle have agreed to five debates, the first of which will be held by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce this Thursday, September 6th.
read … Lazy Mazie
Hawaii has the third lowest rate of new entrepreneurial activity in the nation
HB: I’ll save you some time in case you are looking for the most depressing number in this month's edition of Hawaii Business magazine. It appears in our story, "How much does it cost to start up a business?"
That’s where we quote from an annual report by the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs in America and 17 other countries. In 2011, the report says, Hawaii had the third lowest rate of new entrepreneurial activity in the nation, beating only West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The foundation counted all the individuals between the ages of 20 and 64 who did not previously own a business as their main job, but launched such a business during 2011 or turned an existing sideline business into their main work. In Hawaii, only 180 people out of every 100,000 did that in 2011; the national rate was 320, almost double Hawaii’s rate.
The Kauffman report is full of interesting facts, and you can download copy of it online
read … Few Apply for Suicide Mission
Clinton Supporters Spread Rumor Obama Planning Post-Defeat Move to Kailua, Oahu
From Hillary Buzz: Democrats are already working to locate an acceptable property in Hawaii for the Obamas to live; this land and its complex of buildings must be ready to move-into in January and must meet all the requirements the Secret Service demands since the Obamas will be granted continued protection, by law, for nine years after Barack leaves office. The Reagans, Clintons, and second Bush family all had their post-presidential homes purchased quietly on the side by friends when their times in office were coming to an end. The Obamas are doing the same thing now.
They are not talking about building a complex on vacant land because there is not time for that. They will need a place to live come January, and they are not returning to their home in Chicago that was purchased with the help of convicted felon Tony Rezko. Chicago served its purpose in Obama’s life and moving back here provides him no additional benefits. As a former president, he’d always be the second most powerful man in a town where the Mayor of Chicago is essentially a feudal king. In Hawaii, the Obamas will hold court as a new royal family on the islands.
WT: A new home in Hawaii for Obamas: "The Times They Are a Changin'
read … Who Is Funding the Purchase of the $35 million Beachfront Hawaiian Estate for Barack and Michelle Obama to Move into Come January 2013?
VA spent millions on six days of Hawaii games
WE: More than $2.5 million was spent last year by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on a six-day series of sporting events for aging veterans at a posh Hawaiian resort.
The VA's Golden Age Games in May 2011 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu attracted an estimated 900 veterans who paid their own way and participated in events that included air-rifle shooting, dominoes, table tennis, golf, swimming, horseshoes and shuffleboard.
The biggest single expense was more than $1 million for an event planning firm, Alaska Destination Specialists, Inc., based in Anchorage….
read … Games
Gabbard gives speech at Democratic National Convention
HNN: U.S. Congressional District 2 candidate Tulsi Gabbard spoke on Tuesday in what may have been the most-watched speech of her life, and perhaps the shortest.
Gabbard was tapped to speak on the opening night of the DNC after a phone call from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
SA: Smug Soetoro Ng Also Appears
read … Gabbard
Case Study: Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard's 65-point turnaround and how vets helped make it happen
CE: For those of us who served in the military, Sun Tzu is probably the most oft-quoted military strategist—and for good reason. The philosophy he laid out in his “Art of War” still dictates much of our military strategy today. It’s something I brought with me when I began my work in politics, specifically when I co-founded VoteVets.org.
Sun Tzu wrote, “One who knows when he can fight and when he cannot fight will be victorious.”
Since 2006, VoteVets.org has helped numerous veterans and progressive Democrats win seats in Congress—Patrick Murphy, Joe Sestak, Tim Walz and Gary Peters, just to name a few.
She took a strong position opposing the counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, which was a marked contrast from other veterans who have approached VoteVets for support.
Hannemann has taken hits before thanks to his social conservative positions, so we knew that a primary challenger with the backing to take him on could change the dynamic of the race.
We also think VoteVets appeals to certain segments of voters like no one else in the progressive arena. Polling done by Lake Research suggested that our voice goes beyond veterans’ issues and is strong on the economy, too. That’s important at a time when progressives continue to seek a credible voice on those issues. So we can appeal to base progressive voters, swing voters, and can actually cross-pressure conservative voters who might typically support Republican candidates.
We saw that working to our advantage in this contest given that Republican and Independent turnout was expected in opposition to a rail project backed by Hannemann. These voters would become prime targets for VoteVets. And unlike many other progressive messengers, we can have a greater impact when it comes to sharing messages with male voters—particularly white men.
read … Case Study
Kawika Crowley, Homeless Handyman, Runs For Congress In Hawaii
HP: A handyman and painter who lives out of his car and is a familiar figure on a busy Oahu highway is the first homeless person in Hawaii -- and possibly any state -- to run on a major party ticket for Congress.
Kawika Crowley, 61, earns about $15,000 a year as a self-employed fix-it man, an income that puts him among the ranks of the "working homeless." He's also has had jobs in radio and ad sales and says he received public assistance in the 1980s when he was raising his three children as a single parent. He says he's off the dole now.
While many politicians talk about homelessness in their campaigns, Crowley is living it. Home is a 1995 Plymouth Voyager with 133,000 miles that he often parks on the side of the Kamehameha Highway as he waves to passing drivers. It's also his campaign headquarters
WHT: Kawika Crowley: A GOP underdog
read … Crowley
Is Federal Agent Immune from “Vindictive, Frivolous” State Murder Charge?
CB: Honolulu attorney Brook Hart argued that the case against his client should be dismissed based on the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution. Hart believes this provision protects his client from prosecution because he was acting in his official capacity as a law enforcement officer when he killed 23-year-old Kollin Elderts….
Hart said in his latest legal brief that the Supremacy Clause is different from a claim of self defense or justifiable use of force that is sometimes raised as a defense during trial. He said the reason it’s in place is to protect an officer from having to “run the gauntlet of standing trial” and therefore should be ruled upon by Ahn before a jury is selected.
He also noted that it’s within a judge’s job description to make a ruling on a supremacy clause motion because it can act as “a substantial safeguard against frivolous or vindictive charges against federal officers.”
read … Lynch Mob
Hunt Cos. gets clearance for West Oahu solar farm
PBN: Texas-based Hunt Cos. Inc. and Norway-based Scatec Solar hope to move forward with plans for a 5-megawatt solar farm called the Kalaeloa Renewable Energy Park in West Oahu on land being leased from the U.S. Navy.
A revised draft of an environment assessment has been released for comment. An environmental impact statement is not required, since the project is being built on federal property.
read … Hunt Cos. gets clearance for West Oahu solar farm
Tax Credit Scammers Giving Each Other Free Electricity
CB: Volta Industries plans to triple the number of free electric-car charging stations in Hawaii by the end of this year, as well as expand nationally, thanks to a $200,000 investment by Hawaii Angels.
Scott Mercer, co-founder and CEO of Volta, says Hawaii residents can expect 20 more free electric-car charging stations by the end of 2012.
The company is pioneering a business model of providing free electric-car charging stations that are supported by business sponsors. Mercer said the company places charging stations in locations with high traffic, such as shopping malls, and finds advertisers to sponsor each station. This allows consumers to charge their vehicles for free.
read … Welfare Queens Helping Each Other
South Korean National Accused of Laundering Money for Hostess Bars, Massage Parlors
HR: A Korean national with multiple passports and identities has been indicted on federal fraud charges and has admitted laundering money for hostess bar and massage parlor employees here and in Los Angeles.
From 2009 through May of this year, Young Mo Sun illegally “structured” more than $5 million in bank deposits by parceling them into 254 transactions averaging about $6,000 each, according to an indictment returned last week….
“Korean females working in the bar and massage parlors would contact Young Mo Sung to assist them in the movement of their funds from Hawaii to Loa Angeles and/or from Los Angeles to Hawaii,” the affidavit said.
Young said that he bought a phony social security card in Los Angeles under the name of De Jin for $1,200 and then used that id to buy a false Maryland driver’s license.
Young also told law enforcement that the paid $7,000 to a “facilitator” to obtain another false Korean passport and visa, then traveled to Chicago with a group of 7 or 8 other individuals “to take the (Illinois) driver’s license exam.”
The FBI later recovered the Illinois license, according to Malana’s affidavit.
Young was indicted on five criminal counts, including passport and visa fraud and money laundering offenses at five Honolulu banks.
read … South Korean National Accused of Laundering Money for Hostess Bars, Massage Parlors
Study Reveals Hawaii as 3rd Largest Supplier of Wildlife for Aquariums
HR: One way to understand Hawaii’s aquarium trade is to look at the big picture and compare it to the trade in other island states and nations.
A new study published in May makes it possible, for the first time, to do just that.
Examining U.S. import documents from 2005, the report revealed a snapshot of the U.S. appetite for reef fish, which accounts for 60% of the wildlife captured worldwide for saltwater aquarium hobbyists and for-profit and non-profit public display aquariums (e.g. Sea World, Disney/Epcot, New England Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium…).
The Hawaii trade was excluded from the report, because there are no similar records for inter-state commerce. However, Hawaii aquarium collectors are required to report their catch to the state and must also document international exports. Despite widespread fraud and underreporting, these mechanisms provide valuable minimum volume and species estimates for the wildlife captured on Hawaii’s reefs for the U.S. mainland market: in 2005 it was over 500,000 fish (plus 283,000 hermit crabs, shrimps and other invertebrates).
read … So they want to ban it
Matson, Inc. Honored with Second CIO 100 Award
NR: "Over the past decade, Matson Logistics had expanded through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth," said Peter Weis, vice president and chief information officer. "As a result, the company found itself needing to support four disparate and increasingly obsolete IT operating platforms. With the miLogistx initiative, we successfully designed, developed and implemented our own internet-based logistics platform to support its 17,000 domestic vendors and 8,000 customers. Matson Logistics now has a single platform for its highway, intermodal and expedited (less-than-truckload) lines of business, and customers are able to view and analyze all key shipping documents through every stage of the shipment process in near real time. With this initiative, Matson Logistics also developed a proprietary optimization tool that selects the most cost effective transportation mode and routing, based on customers' unique needs. Equally important, miLogistx achieved 99.96 percent availability during 2011, delivering a dependable and reliable platform for customers."
"As an asset-light business, Matson Logistics can truly differentiate itself in our markets by offering customers industry-leading shipment information management tools," said Rusty Rolfe, president, Matson Logistics. "As the domestic third party logistics marketplace matures into a more internet-based world, logistics providers who are able to effectively connect customers and carriers via technology will be best positioned for growth opportunities. Matson Logistics is proud to be honored by CIO magazine for its IT initiatives with such a distinguished group of global companies."
read … Substitute for JA Reform?
Punahou Leads ‘Educators’ in Chase After Latest Fad
SA: This June, 400 teachers from public and private schools across Hawaii and the nation, and from schools in China and Bali, convened for Punahou's third annual Brain Symposium, keynoted by Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and author of the best-selling book "Brain Rules." Medina opened with a neurological fact that has significant implications for the environments in which children learn.
"Humans are natural explorers," he said, "and our brains are wired to solve problems related to survival in an outdoor setting under unstable conditions, and to do so in near constant motion."
This raises important questions for educators: Are the sedentary conditions of the typical classroom compatible with basic human neurology? Are students regularly engaged in challenging, meaningful and highly interactive problem solving that leverages the brain's natural capacities? Complementing Medina's talks, 40 workshops with practitioners ranging from pediatric neurologists and child psychologists to art and movement instructors, explored the educational applications of neuroscience.
For example, Medina talked about movement as an essential ingredient of memory, priming the brain for learning at the molecular and biological levels. The neurological benefits of exercise linger for 2.5 hours, suggesting that interspersing movement throughout the school day can improve academic performance. Instead of seeing PE as a purely recreational activity, what would happen to student learning if schools integrated regular exercise into children's daily schedules?
read … Sad Little Lemmings Discover new Cliff
QUICK HITS: