Entries for 'News Release'

Honolulu, HI — Congressman Charles K. Djou (HI-01) personally congratulated selected nominees for respective United States Service Academies at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building today.  The following individuals will be nominated by Congressman Charles Djou of Hawaii’s First Congressional District:

Representative Gene Ward (R-Hawaii Kai – Kalama Valley) tonight expressed cautious optimism about the State of Hawai'i’s economic future today following the Council on Revenues' announcement of a projected $44 million increase in general-fund revenues for this fiscal year.

Rather than create wealth, crony moguls form a coalition with political officials to plunder wealth from taxpayers and other citizens.

December 28, 2010 ---(Honolulu, Hawaii) The funeral service for retired federal Judge Samuel Pailthorpe King will be held tomorrow at St. Andrews’s Cathedral. A gathering will begin at 1:30pm, followed by the service at 2:30pm with the Order of Kamehameha entering the Cathedral on Beretania and Queen Emma/Alakea St.

Wendy Clerinx, of Hilo, serves as Policy Director, Tammi Oyadomari-Chun and Michael Ng as Policy Analysts and Debbie Shimizu as Legislative Liaison.

The 111th Congress adjourned sine die on Wednesday, December 22, 2010. The first session of the 112th Congress is scheduled for Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 12 p.m.

HONOLULU - Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced two appointments to the State Senate:  Rep. Maile Shimabukuro to represent Senate District 21, and Malama Solomon, Ph.D., to represent Senate District 1.

When I arrived, Dudley was just leaving and Espero told me what happened. As I was picking up and replacing my signs as well as Ms. Martinez's signs...Dudley drove by pointing and laughing like a mad man as he drove back up towards his home in Makakilo. It was really disconcerting.... It seems that Dudely also cursed out Espero's elderly grandfather while they were sign waiving near one another too.

Governor Neil Abercrombie today submitted the initial version of the state’s budget with a call to legislators, businesses, nonprofits and all community members to work collaboratively throughout the legislative process to address fiscal challenges and accelerate the state’s economic recovery.

• Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010
• Cloture Motion; DREAM Act
• Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010

The 35th annual Smart Business Hawaii (SBH) Business and Investment conference will be held Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at Honolulu’s Ala Moana Hotel from 7am to 2pm.

The following are some of the laws (those most likely to impact the general public) slated to take effect on January 1, 2011. Click on the bills to get more information.

Honolulu, Dec 19- Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the appointment of David M. Louie as Attorney General.

Meet the Candidate Forum for the District #1 City Council Race scheduled for Tuesday, December 21st, 2010; 6-9pm; at Nanakuli High & Int School Cafeteria.  The forum is sponsored by the Nanakuli Neighborhood Board #36 and the Nanakuli High and Int. PTSA. 

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has announced the team leading the Department of Health: Dr. Neal Palafox, Director, Loretta Fuddy, MSW, First Deputy Director, and Gary Gill, Deputy Director for the Environment.

Rep. Djou voted in favor of the Obama tax proposal that the President announced last week. Rep. Mazie Hirono was the only member of the Hawaii delegation who voted to oppose the President on this critical bill.

Honolulu, HI – Hawaii Right to Life is sponsoring the 38th annual March for Life Hawaii with co-sponsors Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference. The grassroots rally is open to the public and will be held Saturday, January 22 from 10:30am to 1:30pm at the Hawaii State Capitol grounds.

Toxics managed, treated or released into the environment from facilities operating in Hawai’i decreased 9 percent in 2009 when compared to 2008, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Is the school closing guidelines being taken so seriously that we should punish rather than reward such things as Koko Head Elementary’s performance as a 2011 Hawaii Distinguished School and as a Hawaii representative in the 2011 National No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program?

Hawaii joins the 32 other states who already have borrowed money from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits during the current economic downturn. DLIR anticipated the insolvency and proactively took the steps to request advances from U.S. Department of Labor last September. Currently, Hawaii pays out $25 million in regular unemployment benefits a month through the trust fund. 

Executive Director Janet Grace stated “It makes no difference if a candidate is running at a federal, state, or local level. What matters is the moral compass of those elected to serve. There are ethics and standards of living that apply to all public servants because they help guide society in doing what is just and right. I believe most voters would agree with us that the men and women appointed to serve us must be held accountable to advocate for all innocent human life.”

Overall, states achieved the highest scores ever for health emergency preparedness with 14 states scoring nine or higher. Three states (Arkansas, North Dakota, and Washington State) scored 10 out of 10. Another 25 states and Washington, D.C. scored in the 7 to 8 range. No state scored lower than a five

• Cloture Motion, Defense Authorization Act
• Continuing Resolution
• DREAM Act
• Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010

Apparently Hirono is catching hell from her Obamabot base.  So she sent this email out today.... 

Highlights:

For those who have been party members for a while, you know that he does this every year and you may already be disregarding them.  For those who have recently joined, these accusations may be alarming and that is why although most of what is said should be disregarded, we feel it is necessary to address a few of the points....

The Hawaii State Board of Education approved the following committee leadership assignments at a meeting Thursday night at Radford High School....

In the case of Queen Lydia Lili’uokalani School, history and tradition argues even more strongly against closure.  It would indeed be ironic to shut its doors on the 100^th school year since the Queen dedicated its opening.

“Hawaii’s projected shortfall is $201.9 million, or 3.6% of its total budget, according to NCSL data.”

The NCSL report also projects a 2.6% budget gap for 2013, this adds up to $145M.

60% of individuals lack a "rainy day" fund to cover expenses for three months, in case of emergencies such as sickness, job loss or economic downturn.

 "We are disappointed that, despite bipartisan efforts to achieve real results for the American People, Congresswoman Hirono continues to cater to the ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party. We hope that Congresswoman-elect Hanabusa does not follow her lead and will instead call upon Congresswoman Hirono to end her opposition on this critical compromise and join the rest of Hawaii's delegation in supporting President Obama."

The PEIS will examine the program-level impacts of the development of up to 400 megawatts (MW) of wind energy on Maui County, the transmission of the energy to Oahu via an undersea cable, and the integration of that energy into Oahu’s electrical grid.

Tam, 62, a lawyer who specializes in water, natural resources and land use law with Alston, Hunt, Floyd & Ing, will serve as Deputy Director of Water. He joins Interim Chairman William J. Aila and First Deputy Director Guy Kaulukukui as the team leading DLNR.

We understand that there is a possibility that the new and significantly revised version of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act will be tacked onto the spending bill in the next week or so. We hope that this does not happen. A bill as important as this deserves careful consideration. It would be a matter for concern if it were to be made law without a hearing on its new provisions.

The release fulfills the agreement reached to restore 17 instructional days for teachers. This does not bring an end to teacher furloughs on non-instructional days.

The Meth Project has been named the third most effective philanthropy in the world by Barron’s magazine, one of the country’s premier business and financial publications. The announcement was made in the magazine’s cover story this week, “The 25 Best Givers.” This is the second year in a row the Meth Project has been named to the Barron’s list; it was ranked number five in 2009.

"The charter school accreditation process involves using national standards and best practices to improve the management, policies, and procedures, including anti-nepotism practices in our charter schools," Rep. Gene Ward stated.

"Today the talk ends and the work begins.  We will hold the Governor accountable for these commitments.  The people of Hawaii can count on us to keep a watchful eye and if necessary provide reminders from time to time on what was said and what gets done."

Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced today that he would release $67 million from the state's hurricane relief fund to cover the cost of ending teacher furloughs and more than $23 million from the state's rainy day fund to help social service programs.

HONOLULU – One hundred and twelve teams of middle and high school robotics students from Hawai‘i, California, Nevada and China put their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to the test for the past three days in a friendly, spirited competition that pitted robots against robots, and showcased students’ ingenuity, teamwork and ability to think analytically under pressure.

(Media release) — Governor-Elect Neil Abercrombie today appointed five department directors and two deputy directors to the Abercrombie Administration.

I was just informed that Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle used strong language against IMG and Thomas Rubin, preparers of the State’s Rail Fiscal Analysis Report, and that he alleged that I helped the governor’s consultants with the report. This is consistent with Peter Carlisle not knowing what he is talking about.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle announced today that she granted pardons to 44 individuals in the final five months of her term in office, bringing the total number of individuals pardoned by the Governor this year to 55.  In July, Governor Lingle announced she had pardoned 11 individuals in the first half of 2010.  In total, Governor Lingle pardoned 132 individuals during her eight years in office. 

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle announced today that the leading tour operator in China, China Youth Travel Services Holding (CYTS), intends to offer special flights that will bring visitors from China to Hawai‘i for the celebration of the 2011 Chinese New Year. 

While BPC has focused primarily on federal policy issues – including energy, health care, national and homeland security, transportation and economic policy – during its first three years, it is increasing its efforts to draw upon the policy and political experience that exist at the state level.