Lingle counteroffer to state workers: 7% pay cut, 18 furlough days

The administration met with the leaders of the Hawai'i Government Employees Association, the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly at the state Capitol. The leader of the United Public Workers was on the Mainland and could not attend.

Sources familiar with the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are confidential, said the administration's offer involves a 7 percent pay cut and about 18 furlough days a year for two years. The administration's proposal is in response to a union offer last week of a 5 percent pay cut. The combination pay cut and 1 1/2 furlough days a month would save the state roughly the same amount of money as Gov. Linda Lingle's initial goal of three furlough days a month.

RELATED: (articles missing the story)  Talks between public-worker unions, state end, but called 'substantive' , No gains in labor dialogue ,

HGEA members protest on Kauai (only 12 show up)

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Kauai: OHA continues effort to steal home from owner

Attorney Alan Murakami of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, representing Nani Rogers and Jeff Chandler, argued unsuccessfully that Brescia was ignoring her October 2008 order by continuing to build his home atop known Native Hawaiian burial sites near the YMCA Camp Naue.

Watanabe said she heard no evidence Tuesday that continued construction, which she in October warned Brescia was at his own peril and should not destroy, alter, disturb or deny access to burial sites, is doing anything to damage or deny access to the burial sites.

Murakami said building a home over known Native Hawaiian burials is akin to allowing home construction to occur over known graves at the Mainland’s Arlington National Cemetery, or Punchbowl Cemetery, O‘ahu’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

(WRONG.  Building a multi-purpose center at Kawaiahao is like allowing home construction at Arlington Cemetery... BTW where is OHA on that fine mess?????  Oh yes, they recently agreed that the church yard there is indeed "a cemetery."  Just "a" cemetery???  No property available to steal there, eh OHA?)

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Private school rolls drop, forcing teacher layoffs

(Successful schools are cutting back -- And we're not going to cut the failing DoE budget?)

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Link: Thirty Meter Telescope Selects Mauna Kea (let the looting begin!) 

Kalaupapa residents caught in middle of Pacific Wings-DOT dispute

The state and the airline have had rocky relations for a decade. The latest dust-up began on July 7, when Securitas airport police attempted to deliver three citations for a June fuel spill and insisted on giving them directly to Pacific Wings President Gabe Kimbrell.

Stories differ about what happened July 7, but Kahlstorf said five airport police "stalked" Kimbrell all day, trying to set up another confrontation.

Morioka said several officers were sent because in past incidents there were disputes about what happened, and the Airports Division wanted more than one witness.

Eventually, someone — never identified — tried to enter Pacific Wings' offices and either pushed a woman employee, bruising her leg, or didn't touch her, depending upon who tells the story.

Photographs provided by Pacific Wings show bruises, but state reports suggest the woman knocked her leg against a desk. It is undisputed that a state agent was pushing against the door, and the airline employee was blocking him out.

Kahlstorf briefly suspended operations, and when they resumed, he had pruned back to just the three essential air service locations the FAA requires him to serve — Kalaupapa, Hana and Kamuela on the Big Island. He automated his operations, because he said his employees were not safe.

This also meant ending cargo service. Richmond said The Maui News is no longer available in Kalaupapa, but mail is delivered by a small plane and medicine is also being delivered specially.

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Oceanic may cut TV service at Kuhio Park Terrace over assaults

Oceanic Time Warner Cable is threatening to cut service to Kuhio Park Terrace, saying its employees have faced continuous harassment at the public housing project and in several cases have been spit on or urinated on and had objects thrown at them from upper floors.

(Freeloaders demanding free stuff.)

Residents of the project, along with their neighbors have long raised concerns about security, vandalism and backlogged repairs.

In December, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of its tenants, alleging unsanitary and substandard conditions at KPT.

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SB: Mail could curb voter apathy

(Another recycled editorial alleging that ANY scheme which makes voter fraud easier must be a way to reduce "apathy".  Wrong.  Only a two-party system with strongly contested races can reduce apathy.)

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