Entries for January 2015

The report is being made available in accordance with Hawaiʻi’s public records law....

If the Legislature fails to grant MMMC permission to negotiate a partnership agreement with HPH and MMMC goes bankrupt, this interview will be the smoking gun....

“The bottom line of this bill is to start saving lives."

Voting has been compulsory in Australia since 1912 and appears to have reached about 94% voter turn-out in most elections....

...a new state-by-state comparison puts Hawaii as #1 in terms of the gap between the income residents earn and the cost of housing....

...Nebraskans pay one of the lowest rates for electricity in the nation and revenues are reinvested in infrastructure to ensure reliable and cheap service for years to come....

The deadline to apply is February 20, 2015....

...In nearly any other state, the inter-island cable project being considered in Hawaii would be subject to various federal rules and regulations designed to ensure consumers receive the benefits of robust competition....

...see the status and progress of planned renewable generation projects, including customer-sited rooftop solar as well as mid-sized and utility-scale wind and solar projects....

The defendant is the former executive director of the Hawaii Centers for Independent Living....

...dishonesty and financial carelessness by the managers of the Hawaii Health Connector have been so rampant as to be criminal in nature....

Okino was the principal advocate for rail when the City Council originally authorized the project. Djou lead the opposition to rail on the council....

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will host community meetings throughout Hawai‘i, February 17 – March 3....

... 8,282,680 visitors came to the Hawaiian Islands in 2014, exceeding the 2013 record of 8,174,461 visitors by 1.3 percent ....

...Totally unrelated story -- Dec 17, 2014: Corruption: Al Hee Indicted on 13 Counts--Could Get 39 Years in Federal Prison (Indictment announced on 2nd anniversary of Dan Inouye's death)....

Highlights of the application include a commitment to not file a request with the PUC for a general base rate increase for at least four years post-transaction close and approximately $60 million in quantified customer savings...

...the cost of a U.S.-manufactured ship is about four times that of foreign competition....

...Hawai‘i has the largest gap in the nation between residents’ income and housing costs, ranking dead last....

...We noted numerous questionable travel and entertainment costs as well as unsupported severance pay. These questionable costs may be disallowed by the funding agency....

Pass-through businesses pay a significant role in the US economy. They account for 95 percent of all businesses, more than 60 percent of all business income, and more than 50 percent of all employment....

For more information, go to www.keephawaiisheroes.org .... 

Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald delivered the State of the Judiciary address today at a joint session of the State Senate and House....

With the onset of another snowstorm hitting the Northeast, New Jerseyans are shaking their snow shovels at a federal law that causes them almost yearly fits.... 

Representative Fukumoto Chang on Mike Buck Jan 20, 2015 – Audio Only....

...With ambulance chasers in positions of power, both the House and Senate are poised to advance HB189 and SB137 in separate hearings on Friday....

Overall Yellow Tang abundance has increased 58% (over 1.3 million fish) from 1999/2000 to 2012-2013 to a current population of 3.6 million fish....

...Correcting this problem and allowing businesses to deduct the full cost in the first year is known as “full expensing”....

...America's public debt "exceeds the value of the economy's annual production."....

Among 15-year-old students in the United States, 20.7 percent live in single-parent families....

...the share of all income held by the top 1% is on a three-decade upswing....

...if the new contract extends longer than three years, that will be a surprise to many....

“Serving on your Neighborhood Board presents the opportunity to create real change in your community, build a legacy, and network with other leaders.”

...millions went to some of the nation’s most prominent and politically active environmentalist groups. The Sierra Club, the Natural Resource Defense Council, Food and Water Watch, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Center for American Progress....

...Monday, Feb. 2, at the Aliamanu Middle School Cafeteria, 3271 Salt Lake Blvd., from 5:30-7:30 p.m....

...he eventually became the Sea Shepherd regional director in Hawaii....

Making excuses for price-gouging rail contractors, HART Director Daniel Grabauskas points to the “red-hot construction market” as the cause for HART cost overruns....

...the measures proposed stop short of what is needed for long-term reform and robust development of the Hawaii economy....

...moving to a new time slot of 4-6 p.m....

Senator Jeffrey Flake from Arizona, who attended BYU will keynote our evening. He knows our state, our people and our customs.  He sits on important committees in the U.S. Senate which affect our state.....

Maximum penalties in this case already exceed $100 million, and the meter is ticking at a rate of over $100,000 per day....

Governor David Ige today delivered his first State of the State address....

• Senate: Keystone XL Pipeline - Climate Change
• Senate: Keystone XL Pipeline - Energy Efficiency Standards
• House: Gas Pipeline Permit Deadlines – Passage
• House: Federal Abortion Funding Ban – Passage

...more than 20 states have introduced so-called "Right to Try" bills in the hopes of allowing terminally ill patients to access experimental—and potentially life-saving—treatments more easily....

“The next round of high prices is likely to start later this year, as crude rebounds to the $80s and $90s, perhaps pushing to the $100 level by late in the year or early next.”

Carl Bonham presented this 2014 economic recap and 2015 forecast on January 20, 2015 at an event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii....

...the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has released a report. ranking the states in terms of how progressive their tax systems are....