August 1, 2009 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Saturday, August 1, 2009

August 1, 2009 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:54 PM :: 9444 Views

SB: Hannemann leads political fundraising (Democrat Psy-ops)

(A more accurate headline: "Aiona leads Abercrombie nearly 4-1 in fund race" but this is the Star-Bulletin and they are doing everything in their power to make the Republicans seem insignificant.)

Mayor Mufi Hannemann, a Democrat, led the pack with $1.17 million (none of which is rail pay-to-play money of course because Mufia would never stoop to such a level) as of June 30, while fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie could have $1.15 million, if he is allowed to transfer $900,000 from his federal campaign accounts.

Meanwhile, Republican Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona reported having $871,000.

(And so Aiona's third if Democrats count all the chickens which haven't hatched yet--(Abercrombie's unauthorized illegal transfer from Federal to State moneys and Hannemann hasn't even committed to the Gov's race)

Yesterday was the deadline for candidates to file reports with the Campaign Spending Commission for the first half of this year.

Hannemann raised about $580,000 of his total in June, apparently at a fundraiser on June 29.

The rest was already in his campaign chest before this year.

Abercrombie raised $486,000 over the same period and spent about $97,000, with a debt of $141,000.

The Campaign Spending Commission will discuss Abercrombie's request to transfer the $900,000 on Aug. 11, Abercrombie campaign officials said.

Aiona raised $309,000 during the first half of this year.

City Councilmen Donovan Dela Cruz and Rod Tam, both Democrats, and Republican Charles Djou said they did not raise any money or little money for the race so far this year. Dela Cruz had $38,000, Tam had $25,000 and Djou had $133,000.

(Since Djou is running for Congress, the SB's choice to include him with the Council candidates is obviously designed to avoid admitting that Djou is leading the pack in Congressional fundraising.)

HA: Hannemann ahead in fundraising for Hawaii governor's race (More Democrat Psy-ops)

Putting an early stamp on fundraising, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann raised $583,000 in June for a potential run for Hawai'i governor, surpassing rival U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who brought in $486,000 since he announced his campaign in March. (Cookie-cutter article: "Look at the Democrats exciting contest" "Republican? What Republican?"

Hannemann said in June that he was exploring a run for governor and held one major fundraiser. The mayor also transferred $659,000 left over from his mayoral campaign last year to his governor's campaign, bringing his fundraising total to $1.2 million.

(Paragraph #6) Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, a Republican candidate for governor, raised $308,000 during the first six months of the year and has collected $1.9 million overall.

(So Aiona has raised 158% of Hannemann--but the headline was "Hannemann ahead in fundraising" That's not just spin it is psy-ops.)

Rail in trouble--EPA blasts Mufi's plan in EIS statements

(Buried lead begins in paragraph 4)

The $90 million Draft Environmental Impact Study further studied only what was in the Alternatives Analysis; again leaving out light rail or BRT. That’s $100 million for two non-objective studies where the outcome was known before the study began.

The Mayor has gotten away with this hoax for the last three years. Well, now the Environmental Protection Agency has foiled his plan. The EPA, in their comments on the Draft EIS for Honolulu’s rail project, has asked why all the alternatives for a fixed guideway (remember the City Council choose a Fixed Guideway for our transit project) were not studied. Here is a selection from their comments:

Hanabusa fails again: Ruling keeps Leeward Oahu landfill open

Opponents of the landfill have argued the site should be closed, as previous administrations have promised.

The permit application was contested by state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa and state Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, who represent the district, on behalf of the Ko Olina Community Association.

"I was surprised at the fact that they did not put in a time limit," Hanabusa said.

(Hanabusa does fine legal work for her client Jimmy "Ka Loko" Pflueger, why do her legal skills always fall short for her constituents? Could it be that she is just going through the motions to con her voters?)

Kauai Planning Dept. defends shoreline bill

Draft Bill No. 2319 would waive the requirement to certify the shoreline for some of those “minor” activities — such as lifeguard towers or an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant wheelchair ramp.

The bill was deferred for two weeks at the urging of Planning Committee Chair Jay Furfaro to allow the Office of the County Attorney to evaluate a letter from environmental advocacy law firm Earthjustice regarding the questionable legality of amending an ordinance in a way that could put it into conflict with the state’s existing shoreline setback legislation.

Kauai Frustration: Farm worker housing bill deferred again

Draft Bill No. 2318 garnered testimony and discussion during the County Council’s Planning Committee, but members determined they needed to get additional information from Bernard Carvalho’s administration — including the Planning Department, Building Department, the Office of the County Attorney and maybe even the Department of Water — before moving forward.
“I’m feeling very frustrated with a system that seems to be so convoluted that we can’t insert common sense into it,” said Moloa‘a farmer Scott Pomeroy during testimony. “It’s my job to grow food and protect the soil, and in my opinion, it’s your job to write a law that supports us and makes it legal.”
Farmer David “Makana” Martin said the bill had largely been tied up in trying to determine enforcement and closing loopholes rather than making life easier for farmers.
“This sounds more like a policing mechanism than a support,” he said.
Council members, however, said they want to balance their commitments to farming and those who work the fields against the need to write the ordinance carefully by defining in the law who qualifies as a farmer and who is eligible for the additional building permits in order to preserve agricultural lands for agriculture and prevent them from being abused by “speculators.”

Foreclosed: Sheraton Keauhou sold to Bank of America for $8M

The dozen or so auction attendees just wanted to see if anyone was in a rush to bid on the 521-room resort. In the end, only the lender, Bank of America, submitted an offer. The bank's representative won the auction with a bid of $8 million; Koa Hotel LLC defaulted last year with about $60 million remaining unpaid on its loan.

Hawaii County: Firm's suit groundless (Retaliation by County Department Director)

"Plaintiff HMP Inc.'s damages, if any, were proximately caused or contributed by HMP's own negligence, through its agents, employees and/or representatives, and therefore, HMP cannot recover for said damages, if any," Kamelamela said in the response.

(Yeah, right. Meanwhile while HICO plays games, several miles of potholes have Saddle Road running thru them.)

GTMO Greenwell lobbies for federal lobbyist

HILO -- North Kona Councilman Kelly Greenwell wants Hawaii County to get a bigger chunk of the nation's $800 billion in federal stimulus money, and he thinks hiring a lobbyist is the way to do that.
The federal lobbyist is one of two new positions the County Council's Finance Committee will consider when it meets Tuesday in Hilo.

(But since Porkulus funds are disbursed through the States, how can they divert to the County? Maybe GTMO Greenwell's lobbyist will be paid to pitch the Big Island as a retirement home for alQaeda.)

HA: Time to quicken pace on District 5 voting

Ballots must be received at Honolulu Hale one week from today. So far, only about 13,000 ballots had been returned in the first two weeks of the mailout. That's about 26 percent of the registered voter tally: 49,851.

That count's running at about the same pace as the previous vote-by-mail balloting. Earlier this year, the special election to fill a Windward council vacancy drew about half its ballots in the early days, a voting pattern that the District 5 is, so far, repeating.

But just as good is not good enough. Even with a final rush in the Windward race, the ultimate voter turnout was 45 percent, a distressingly low figure.

(And if this election also produces low turnout, it will be more difficult to peddle Larry Mehau associate Brian Schatz' proposal for 100% Vote-By-Mail elections.)