Entries for May 2014

...the name of Okimoto's interim replacement, Ford Fuchigami, pops up on page 14 of the sex-harassment lawsuit ....

"...have the members of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, Trustees and staff of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs incurred criminal liability under international law?” -- OHA

Kim is the first mother from Hawaii to be named the Young Mother of the Year....

"The Governor should follow the recommendations of his committee and should immediately seek an exemption from the Jones Act, particularly the ship build requirement."

...the greatest defense of liberty is an informed citizenry....

This draft study report is available for public review for 60 days, with comments due to us by July 15, 2014....

Excluding Hawaii and the District of Columbia, which were outliers, the state Exchange with the highest cost-per-enrollee was Massachusetts, at $5,681. Hawaii’s cost-per-enrollee was 32 times California’s....

The report indicates improvements by public school students at every step of the college-readiness pipeline....

Horizon and Matson control Hawaii’s shipping market because of Jones Act requirements, but a task force said the energy market is better served with foreign competition....

Comments on the Draft PEIS should be submitted by July 17, 2014....

...the amount of land required to grow food has decreased by 65 percent over the last 50 years across the world....

Just one 25-gallon tank of ethanol requires 450 pounds of corn -- the same amount of calories it would take to feed one person for an entire year....

The 2014 Congressional Pig Book Summary gives a snapshot of each appropriations bill and details the juiciest projects culled from the complete Pig Book....

Over the last several years, the Ethics Commission has faced an increase in complaints of unethical conduct by these individuals....

So many reliable, dedicated people have been keeping our ship steady as we plan for the coming elections....

...students had been exiled to a “free speech zone” in a remote area of the campus....

House Republicans are moving to set up a select committee to investigate the Benghazi attacks....

...same-sex couples in a “second-tier marriage” that demeaned and humiliated such couples and their (sic) children....

When Valmoja objected to the continued harassment and retaliation by other HDOT-Airports employees, including managers, her employment was terminated....

Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in the Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel, from 8 am to 2 pm....

What might be the situation if one or both refineries closed ....

Janice Pechauer passed away last week after a courageous battle with cancer....

...real property tax rates were reduced by 3.1 percent across the board from fiscal year 2014 rates....

• Senate: Friedland Nomination – Confirmation
• Senate: Minimum Wage Increase – Cloture
• House: Mil Con/Veterans Affairs Appropriations – Passage
• House: Legislative Branch Appropriations – Passage

“As a practice that has long endured, legislative prayer has become part of our heritage and tradition...That a prayer is given in the name of Jesus, Allah, or Jehovah, or that it makes passing references to religious doctrines, does not remove it from that tradition.” -- US Supreme Court

Here are nine of our predictions that have come to pass—and it’s not over yet....

Monday, May 05, 2014 10:30 a.m. Room 229

This week we look at the term “stable funding source.” In business, there is no such thing....

UH Interim President David Lassner and Retired Lt. General Francis Wiercinski....

On Thursday, May 1, the Hawaii Legislature adjourned its 2014 regular session....

The half-percent GET surcharge for Oahu, which by law can only be used for Honolulu's rail system, began in January 2007 and is set to expire at the end of 2022....

The Hawaii State Senate today adjourned the 2014 session passing more than 240 bills....

The Hawaii Election Commission has released its candidate report for the week ending May 2, 2014....

...Hawaiian Electric is seeking proposals for one or more large-scale energy storage systems able to store 60 to 200 megawatts for up to 30 minutes....

...designed to bring large prime contractors together with local companies, and to provide the latest information about upcoming construction contracts....

Hawaii spent $920 per enrollment, and $87 per uninsured person and enrolled the fewest people in the USA.  Nobody spent more and nobody achieved less.... 

House Majority floor leader Rida Cabanilla, D-Ewa, controls a nonprofit that got a $100,000 grant from the Legislature, even though it was out of compliance with the Internal Revenue Service....

Under Hawaii law, police don’t need to have physical contact with prostitutes to make an arrest, though they must prove someone is willing to exchange sex for money....

The Hawai‘i Health Connector Hawai‘i concluded its first open enrollment period, which included a grace period that ended on April 30, with 9,785 enrollees....

...a handful of senators are working hard to make sure the government stays in the housing finance business....

... 7.5 million gallons of contaminated water, toxic soil, trash, fecal matter and human medical waste poured into west Oahu’s ocean waters on Jan. 13, 2011 ....

...Measures relate to state budget, minimum wage, TAT, Health Connector, seniors, invasive species, mandatory kindergarten, police misconduct, abuse of minors....

But Slom is a figure of unique solitude, comprising the only single-member caucus anywhere in the country....

...according to the Feds, Apple's 'random audit' story is bunk....

...In the midst of these world crises—and a U.S. military readiness crisis—we have a president who questions “the efficacy and even legitimacy of American power”....

A federal grand jury in Honolulu returned a 13-count indictment today charging Waste Management of Hawaii Inc....