Honolulu City Council to Honor December 7 Vets at Ewa Field
Hire the Handicapped? Hawaii One of Only 5 States Without 'Medicaid Buy-In'
Governor Appoints Joshua Wisch as Deputy Director of Taxation
UHERO: Developing Countries Buoy Asian Growth
House Ag Committee to Consider 'Food Safety'
Earful: HECO Community Meeting Set for Molokai
Japan poised to shoot down North Korean missile Monday
UKT: The Japanese government has ordered its military to shoot down the missile that is expected to be launched by North Korea as early as Monday.
AP: NKorea says it may change rocket launch window due to snow
read … NORKS
Blowback: Concert Ticket Sales Skyrocket after Drudge Report Picks up Atheist Attack
HNN: Attention on the cancellation resulted in an increase in ticket sales for a backup event….
News of the cancellation went viral and gained national media attention, and New Hope has since decided to reschedule the concert….
"That's one of the things about Hawaii-- it doesn't matter what goes on, the Christmas spirit is alive and well, and we're going to help people. So the concert is going to continue here at our office," says Cordeiro.
New Hope says charity donations and ticket sales for the rescheduled concert have skyrocketed.
"The Bible talks about that how God will take something evil and turn it into something good. We believe that God is a part of this and God knows what's going on. So it helped ticket sales, it helped the profits, it helped the benefit to the people there in Africa. And we're just happy that it's gonna continue and that people will be helped" says Cordeiro.
Click HERE for more information on charity donations….
read … Atheist Attack backfires
Ohio State's Ben Jay accepts UH athletics director job, according to reports
HNN: Jay is also the Chief Financial Officer for the Buckeyes in Columbus, overseeing a budget of more than $100 million per year. He helped rebuild several athletic sites and oversaw the construction on a new softball stadium, according to the paper.
OSU: Ohio State athletic department says 'aloha' to Ben Jay
CD: Jay leaving Ohio State to become athletic director at Hawaii
read … Ben Jay
Senator seeks $15M for tsunami debris
TS: Japan has pledged $5 million for tsunami debris cleanup, more than the entire National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration budget for dealing with marine debris in general in fiscal year 2012. Begich said he considers a three-to-one match of the Japanese funding “the very least” the federal government can do to help cleanup efforts in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington.
It's not clear just how quickly Congress will take up the aid package, or how big it might be. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said he hasn't taken a position yet on how much money may be needed for debris cleanup. “There are significant discussions yet to be had but I agree that there is a need for funds to help mitigate the effects of tsunami debris impacting our shores,” he said in a statement.
Some states haven't yet used their $50,000 grants provided by NOAA earlier this year. In Washington state, for example, after seeing an increase in debris from May through July, officials say things have quieted down and the state's plan for dealing with the debris calls for conserving resources where possible. NOAA announced the grants to the five West Coast states in July
SA: $15M sought for tsunami debris cleanup
read … Profitable!
Pro-Se Sideshow Fails, but Hawaii Concealed Carry Case Still Before Courts
SA: A federal judge has rejected the latest challenge to Hawaii gun control laws by dismissing a lawsuit filed by a Hawaii island man who claimed the statutes violate his rights under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor follows a line of Hawaii federal court decisions rejecting similar challenges to state gun laws.
Jonathan Lowy, Brady Center Legal Action Project director, hailed the ruling Friday and said the decision is also the latest nationwide upholding state restrictions on carrying guns in public.
George K. Young Jr., 62, a nonlawyer representing himself, filed his lawsuit in June claiming that state laws violate his constitutional right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.
He contended his rights were violated when Hawaii County police denied him a license to carry a concealed or unconcealed gun in public.
Young earlier filed two similar federal lawsuits that were thrown out by the federal court….
A similar challenge to the state gun control laws is now before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case involves Christopher Baker, who sought a court order permitting him to carry a handgun in public.
Senior U.S. District Judge Alan Kay denied Baker's request earlier this year.
read … Pro-Se Sideshow
Own Roadside Property? Maui Tomorrow Wants to Take it Away
MN: Council Member Mike White had pushed for two greenways that would create buffers along highways in Upcountry and West Maui in an effort to preserve open space. The designations were aimed at prohibiting development in those buffer zones, which raised legal concerns over potential lawsuits from existing landowners, and prompted the council's General Plan Committee in October to remove the green space off of the directed growth maps.
read … Thieves
Hilo Boys Re-Take Kona at $21/vote
WHT: Mayor Billy Kenoi spent $21.50 for each vote he garnered in his re-election bid, more than twice what was spent per vote in a contentious Honolulu mayoral race, according to final campaign spending reports filed Thursday.
In sharp contrast, former Mayor Harry Kim, who came up just 1,438 votes — 2.3 percent of the total vote — short in his challenge, spent just 79 cents per vote.
Kim on Friday declined to second-guess whether more money could have pushed him over the edge in the hotly contested race. He said he may not have gotten his message out to as many West Hawaii voters as he’d have liked to, and perhaps more money could have helped there.
Kenoi didn’t lose a single precinct to his former boss Kim in North Kona, North Kohala or South Kohala. The more populous areas of South Kona also went his way, according to a West Hawaii Today analysis of precinct-by-precinct results
read … After demolishing the Republicans
After Kealakehe Fights, ‘Marshallese Cultural Awareness’ Needed?
WHT: The investigation into what caused the violence and lockdowns continues, Souza said. He said arguments between involved students were a misunderstanding between local, Micronesian and Marshallese cultures and lifestyles.
The consequences for students involved on each side will range from suspension to expulsion, Souza added.
“This is serious enough of a matter that I know expulsion is being considered,” he said. “Nothing will be handled lightly.”
On Friday, Souza, Murakami, police and faculty members met at the school to discuss the incidents, their handling and how the school will move forward when it reopens Monday. They will reassess additional security needs at the school after Monday.
At the meeting, which was not open to the media, Souza said they also discussed consequences that should be in place for students involved and how the school can better mitigate such incidents in the future.
Souza said school officials had been aware of cultural and racial tension between groups at the school, however, the issue is not confined to the perimeters of Kealakehe High School.
He said he does not believe these incidents will spread to other schools, despite “the element of cultural friction that may be present at many schools.”
“What happened at Kealakehe High School is a larger community issue, and unless we address this community issue, it could happen elsewhere,” Souza said.
Souza encouraged community leaders to attend a Wednesday Marshallese cultural awareness forum, which requires registration, that starts at 8:30 a.m. at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. If interested, contact Marianne Okamura at 327-4787.
“We need the community leaders to really come together and figure out how we can move forward,” he said. “It’s going to take community action. We need to put a support program, a plan, in place.”
read … Your Magnificent DoE
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