Entries for April 2009

Fight Over Balancing Budget May Extend Hawaii Legislative Session Beyond May 7

GOP halts ads: (Media still covers up Rouse's current employment with Rida Cabanilla)

SB: Specter's defection reveals GOP flaw

Litany of Tax Hikes Soon to Land on Hawaii Governor’s Desk

Private property, public money (no bid leasing)

Hawaii County Internet abuse may go public

House plan to abolish rural hospital system vanishes

Hawaii on the Front Lines of the Universal Healthcare Battle

Hawaii swine flu: Zero cases--plenty panic

Pilots union puts Hawaiian Air 'on notice'

Kapolei center put on shelf 

Coco Palms granted three year extension

Lingle: Power plant ban a critical step forward

DOE budget discord fails taxpayers (Advertiser pines for return of one-party rule)

Lingle's lack of plans spawns speculation

Arrivals down 13th consecutive month

Hawaiian Air parent posts profit

Gloomy forecast for Isle auto sales

U.S. Trustee calls for Hilo Hattie liquidation

Biotech seed company to plant crops on Kauai

Summit has been marred, Rep. says

3 Native Hawaiians finalists for trustee of Kamehameha Schools

Lawmakers restore protect DoE spending cuts from accountability

State leaders no closer to reducing budget shortfall

Maui Panel upholds budget, rises ‘to the occasion’

Young Bros.: Pasha’s aim is cherry-picking (INTER-ISLE BARGE COMPETITION!)

Power plant ban splits environmentalists

Sierra Club: City water moves must respect isle's unique ecosystem

Kauai County employees get to the heart of customer service

Hawaii County furloughs gaining traction

Hawaiian Home Lands and County of Hawai‘i Partnership Dedicates Keanalehu Drive

Colleagues fear Inouye may get rolled by Obey

No swine flu in Hawaii: DoH issues health alert

Legislators struggle to deal with failing state hospitals

Advertiser: Audit of DBEDT demands serious response

Sword-slashing lunatic escaped before

Recession drives rise in crowded homes

Police chief considers the future

Duke Bainum:  Street-level rail worth a look

ACLU: Uphold students' pushers' right to privacy sell drugs to your kids (And make sure those sniffer dogs don't find the teacher's roach clip)

Measures would enable MMMC to call the shots

SB: Tax bills, layoffs near face-off

Hawaii County workers "Thriving in Tough Times"

Ford calling for county furloughs

Developer lowers affordable housing units, fails to produce

Kalapa: Opportunity missed if downsizing ignored

OHA gets zip from Senate (no funding for the next Hokulia)

Hawaii plans 16 new schools while others are consolidated, shut

Cataluna: Voters sent a message to Felix

Meetings outline strawberry guava 'danger'

Tax-Delinquent List: Athlete, Capitol Lawyer, Doctors

Maui: Pared-down budget gets preliminary OK (no TAT)

DBEDT: A high-tech agency might be the target of another state audit

Hawaii unlikely to ban new power plants

Residents question new wind turbine site

Bills would avert Kahana Valley evictions

Las Vegas airline studying Isle flights

Officer's use of Taser on Keaau High student was caught on video

State to build new Waimea-Kawaihae road

Suit looms in procurement snafu

Habitual criminal gets prison instead of drug treatment

Hawaii State Legislature Set to Raise Taxes by $1 Billion

Hawaiian Ceded Lands Dispute Nearing Settlement

Hawaii income tax increases aimed at state's richest

SB: Don't raid tobacco fund

Anderson wins Council seat

UH Law school to pioneer new type of Eco-Lawsuits

UH Hilo cheers eco-terrorist pirate

Eco-Snobs whine about Lanai windfarm

Judge cites fraud in rejecting workers' suit against Dole

Task force united in vote to shutter Wailupe school

Reserve $90M for schools bureaucrats, board chairman tells Lingle

Poll: State wants tourists back 

Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Under Fire – Again (Dem. Leg vs Gov, part 479)  

Legislature: $300M in tax hikes to avoid a few days off for HGEA

Police respond to Maui Rep Bertram’s criticism of drug programs

Plummeting revenue and profits leave isle businesses reeling

Hawaii Reporter: More Court Drama Expected from Pflueger's Attorneys

Mufi's push to amend state water quality standards dump O`ahu's poop in the Ocean

Hokulia Bypass: Both sides claim win in latest ruling

Council one step from suspending 2 percent contributions

Big Isle cattle shoot draws criticism

SB: Ready, aim, time for firearms control

Honolulu City Council passes ban on drivers' cell phones

New law allows couple to reunite

Borreca: "Local GOP poised for mix of religion into politics"

Sides brace for tourism-tax vote

Don't dismantle DBEDT

Maui Mayor: Removing TAT sends wrong message

Hawaii County sells dozer then rents it (your tax dollars at work)

Senate Bill 199 Would Kill Act 221

Sword slashing lunatic escapes state hospital: Kahaluu Resident Helps Nab (soft on crime) 

Judge hears 2 manslaughter motions in Pflueger case

Fort Barrette Road's name becoming a heated issue (secessionists seek to trample military road-names) 

Hawaii GOP sees spirited race for top spot

Advertiser: Felix business, civic records set him apart

Rasmussen: 51% View Tea Parties Favorably, Political Class Strongly Disagrees

Taxing Old Hawaii: Firework fees could skyrocket 50%

Pflueger motions to be heard today

DBEDT takes heat (Leg vs Gov round 47...or is that 48?)

Hawaii rail transit will create jobs but estimates of how many vary (rail vs highway construction)

Conference Committee makes early agreement on improvement projects

Maui Council omits TAT revenues from 2010 budget planning

OHA to dole out money to secessionists

Lowell Kalapa analyzes Hawaii Internet Tax

Are Hawaii homes at risk?

State to begin posting names of tax scofflaws online Friday

SB: Isle students should not expect locker privacy (next target of ACLU and Mr Kim Coco Iwamoto)

Bill to ban pit bulls in the islands dies

Looming cuts renew debate on size of Hawaii education system

Hawaii Pension tax plan worrisome

Vote for Council seat comes down this week

Praise for Obama splits along party lines

Tourism: Cleaning needed

Kapi'olani homeless will have to find new digs beginning today

Subaru donates to 'Imiloa

40,000 to begin recycling (propaganda of the deed)

Charter School Battles State Over Land

Tax Increases: Hawaii lawmakers attack tourism, productive people

Lawmakers: TAT proposal won’t make it (County tax increases coming?)

Hawaii's largest retailers may be required to redeem containers

Outdoor Circle opposes transit blight

Molokai Ranch: A year after closure, times are hard but spirit is alive

69 old burials dug up in construction for Kawaiaha'o's $17.5M center--project halted

Hawaii State Senate Passes Massive Tax Hikes, Card Check Bill

State Senate passes taro bill

Taro: Council weighs sunshine issue against expediency

Kenoi confirms Internet investigation, Yagong seeks reports

Big Island: Rally for Education Stimulus Money

State concerns lead homeless shelter to suspend director

Hawaii GOP Promotes Republican Candidates Running for Honolulu City Council Seat

Oahu police no longer blocking sign-waving but urge caution

After Rebranding, Small Business Hawaii Gets Name Change

Bankruptcy judge OKs $6 million in bonuses at HawTel (158% increase in bonuses for next year)

Mark Dunkerley, received $3.3 million in total compensation last year

U.S. nuclear monitors leave N. Korea

Hawaii jobless rate 7.1% in March — highest in 31 years

NPR: Higher hotel taxes may come with aloha

Memo to Legislature: Pay cuts better than no job

Hawaiian Airlines Traffic Up while U.S. airline traffic drops 10 percent

State can divert funding for schools

SB: Hawaii no small-biz paradise

Tavares reports ‘sobering’ tax assessment total

Commissioners find Coco Palms extension a tough nut to crack

Waiawi control ban fails to move

Hawaii Tea Party Updates: 100s at Capitol, 250 at Kahului, 300 on Big Island

KITV Exclusive: City Workers Accused Of Bogus OT

Hannemann says rail route won't be altered to bypass 'Banana Patch'

Hawaii foreclosures soar 503% in March

GGP Bankruptcy: Ala Moana Center and Ward Centers will continue operating

SB: Budget showdown demands sane deal

HR: Honolulu City Council Proposes Substantial Tax and Fee Hikes

Maui: County preps for loss of TAT

Hawaii Legislature passes $4 Billion in new taxes and fees ($13,000 per family of four)

Card check bill goes forward at Capitol

Maui Proposal includes some fee increases

EPA wants Honolulu to change rail route to save tiny community ('Banana Patch')

Hawaii Retail Vacancy Highest Since 2007

Lawmakers Debate Limiting Funds To Abstinence-Only Programs

Head of Hawaii homeless shelter put on leave amid complaints

Kauai Council debates solid waste strategy

Election financing delay sought

State rejects notion that special law was written solely for the Superferry

Borreca: Abercrombie anxious for campaign Swan Song to begin

Spending way up in race for Honolulu council:  Felix, Holmes, Anderson top list

Movement to possibly ban herbal hallucinogen

Oahu: Hawaii land fund may conserve 5,700 acres

Hawaii Co: Second hearing on new housing impact fee held

Kauai: Council questions Planning Dept.’s planning progress

Tax hike on 'inevitable' track

Economy puts seniors on edge

WHT: SB1622 card-check upends level playing field

Advertiser: Stimulus requires reform (Obama tougher than NCLB!!!!  BoE/DoE squirming)

Don't block preschool funds

Unhappy Hour: Chinatown residents try to shutter a bar they say is ground zero for the area's crime woes

Maui: Ray of hope in gloomy isle real estate

Effort to get docs hangs in balance 

PUC considers Sierra Club Plan to quadruple cost of electricity

OHA Water grab: Plan could strangle last sugar plantation

Borreca: Legislature meets Lingle in a battle of the budgets

Price of Obama: Hawaii should be a gathering place, even in recession

Volunteers overcome Government (again): Hana dialysis center dedicated 

MMMC gets $10 million loan from state

MMMC expands heart options:  (Socialism: Capital consumption to fund operating expense)

Pork Dreams: Land prices for Hawaii rail route jump $100 million since 2006

Campaign signs: Lawmakers Outdoor Circle can't contain themselves

Cataluna: Cayetano memoir a candid tell-all

Mauna Kea plan is approved (years to go until activists can be bought off)

GMO bill sidelined by Mike Gabbard (legislature chooses to allow Counties to attack the fastest growing sector of Hawaii Agriculture...for now)

Lingle-Aiona Dividend: Child welfare system gains have cut foster-care numbers

Proposed budget includes funds for emergency center  ($19.2M to backup computers???)

Price of Obama: Bishop Museum cutting hours, laying off and furloughing staff

Maui police officer describes beating outside his home

Soft on Crime: Makiki man is charged in second shooting

Honolulu takes steps to clean up Chinatown crime problem

End of a Column: Church people worthy of regular coverage

Election fund plan in peril

Police block sign waving by Honolulu City Council candidates

Advertiser: Hawaii civil unions bill, hike in sales tax unlikely to pass (Tort Reform also dead)

SB: Sales tax proposal a way for legislators to pass the buck  (No GE increase, but .....)

Business leaders oppose raising excise tax, check card, bankruptcy jobs rules

(Trial lawyer) Legislators Kill Bills Requested By Law Enforcement (Leg refuses to overturn Supreme Court's 1998 Con-Con vote counting trick)

Hawaii unemployment fund in good shape despite high demand

Advertiser: Ceded-lands pact can help defuse conflict

Midweek's Bob Jones blasts HRA

Maui: Nonprofits ask to keep pieces of pie

Lingle vows veto on taxes

Senators aim to cut pay from top

Bertram, GOP spar over child abuse ad

SB: Maui legislator has entrapped himself in online sex issue

Mauna Kea plan draws mixed reactions: OHA backs CMP

HB 444 - Civil Unions Bill- Dead for The 2009 Legislative Session

Settlement proposed in battle over Hawaii ceded lands

HMSA seeks major rate hike

SB: Sonar's effect on dolphins minimal

Water rate hikes on Molokai 

Laupahoehoe considers Charter School status 

Parents urge panel to save small school

Hawaii County Council delays action on GMO bill

Kona: Target expects flood of applicants

Maui: Off-duty detective was struck 19 times with baseball bats

Layoffs and Taxes -- Senate budget proposal raids hotel tax, foresees counties imposing sales levy

Chances weaken for passage of altered civil union measure

LA Times: Hawaii, suffering tourism drop appeals to Obama

Be careful in listing tax delinquents' names online

Pork Dreams: More than $100M in earmarks for Hawaii sought in U.S. House

Broken Trustee still not going to jail: Lanikai man (Jervis) gets probation for car chase of Hawaii teen vandals  (soft on crime)

Land fund raid step closer to reality

Hidden tax increase on outsiders?--New value allocation approach applied to Kaua‘i condominiums

Parents rally to preserve Wailupe Valley school

Hawaii civil-union bill revision is proposed

Lingle: Stick with me to keep TAT (option 1)

Transient accommodation tax payment bill sent to Senate (TAT increase offered as option 2)

Legislators Consider Internet Sales Tax Collection

KITV Report Shows 9 Transit Jobs Make More Than $100,000/Year

Police Union will not sway Correa's evaluation, panel leader says

Residents on Kauai work for free to fix road to Hawaii state park

February occupancy rate for Hawaii hotels worst since 1991

Shakedown: Future of aquaculture discussed in Kawaihae (activists keeping Hawaii's economy in the tank)

State-funded clubhouse centers for Hawaii's mentally ill are at risk (push for tax increase, rinse, wash, repeat)

Honolulu hiring for rail transit division (why taxes are increasing)

SB/Haugen: Akaka Bill: Hawaii could become No. 1 in Native American population (If Hawaiians become reservation Indians)

Ceded Lands OHA, DHHL: Heen vs Kawananakoa

ACLU to defend school drug pushers again--as Schools chief may get more power (to close your school)

SB: 150 Kaneohe Marines leave for Iraq

AP: GOP legislators struggle with little political clout

Kaneohe man arrested after attempted rendezvous with 14-year-old girl

NK missile launches: Not shot down (Obama calls for US disarmament)

Omnibus tax measure likely unless public employees give

SB: Ceded Lands commentary

Colorado groups fund both sides in Civil Unions debate (SB headline only calls attention to anti-civil unions funding)

Extinction crisis?  East Maui survey finds unknown plant species

Hawaii will post list of biggest tax scofflaws on new state Web site

Honolulu's Chinatown residents want more police to cut violence

Sentenced to 20 years; Thief to serve at least 40 months (24 priors)

N. Korea set for launch

Hawaii Lawmakers Consider New Sales Tax (this is where they've been aiming all along)

Hawaii governor urges pay cuts for herself, lawmakers, judges

Oshiro apologizes for deleting disability board

Hawaii drug gang dispute linked to Chinatown murder

Zippy's lays off 47 workers on Maui amid recession

SB: Instructions to Democrats,"Place Stevens' cloud over Bush prosecutors"

Gang Cesspool violation hamper home financing

U.S. on alert to protect Isles

AP: More on Rep Joe Bertram (D-Maui) defending molester

Damage done to Hawaii by Obama: $97.6 million--and counting

SB: Legislator offers proposal to raise taxes on the rich

UH cuts may jeopardize jobs (case for tax increase)

School board opposes governor's budget plan

Bottom? Oahu home prices continue to slide, down 4.5% in March

HMSA, Medicare squeeze suppliers

Civil union supporters hopeful despite failure

Woman, 35, shot after allegedly threatening police in Pawaa

Audit finds state IT department lacking

Rep Joe Bertram in court supporting Maui child molester

Supreme Court asked to clarify Superferry ruling

North Korea Fueling Long-Range Rocket

SB: Raid Hurricane fund, raise taxes (global cooling?)

Views on school funds unchanged (DoE fears accountability)

SB: Accused Chinatown gunman was free on bail at time of shooting

The Price of freedom: $10 a week

Tourist numbers and spending down

Economic recovery for Hawaii may depend on tourism

Economist: Hawaii Tourism 'In Crisis Mode'

Hawaii health centers brace for rise in uninsured patients

SHOPO Finds More Officers Want Chief Ousted

Sovereignty activists disrupt Maui ATV park meeting

Ruling leaves state among defendants in Kaloko suit

Charley Foster: Ceded Lands Debate - What Next for Hawaiians?

Ted Hong: Hawaii v. OHA We’re All in This Together

OHA's Ceded lands grab shifts to Legislature

SB: HGEA demands Tax Increase: Legislators reject Lingle's bid to cut salaries of state workers

Advertiser: Higher taxes, massive layoffs would be the alternative (HGEA busted lying again)

Taking sides on superstore ban

Police get to weigh in on chief

County departments could be cut

Hawaii Medals of Honor remember 23 troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

Report: Chinese kill weapon can destroy aircraft carrier

North Korean missile-launch news