Energy

 It will now be up to the “super” commission to come up with a strategy or game plan that will set a course for the financial affairs of the nation.

She voted against a...proposal to mandate he inscription of a religious message at the Capitol Visitor Center....  A non-practicing Buddhist, Mazie would be the first non-theist to serve in the Senate.

One losing bidder in the procurement process advocated building the rail cars here- creating 150 local jobs on Oahu instead of in California. The losing bidder could also build and maintain the rail cars for $250 million less than what Ansaldo proposed. 

After being a territory for so long, achieving statehood represented a “coming of age” for Hawaii to many. To others, statehood also represented less positive aspects.

The states most dependent on federal spending could also see their credit ratings fall in the wake of a major deficit reduction deal if they fail to adapt accordingly.

“This contract will be the largest installation of photovoltaic solar energy facilities in Hawaii’s history....”

HSTA’s leadership has alleged that the leaders of other public unions have made agreements with the Governor and that UHPA conspired against Hawaii’s teachers and prohibited their right to bargain. As a result, more than 88 individuals, some representing the leaders of UHPA, HGEA and UPW, have been subpoenaed to testify at the HLRB hearings. The notion of a conspiracy is an insult.

...Abercrombie's solutions focus on spending more on government services rather than growing our economy and creating jobs. His statement today didn't even mention our small businesses or entrepreneurs ....

Governor Abercrombie outlined ... major challenges facing the state...

• Potential program cuts from Washington, D.C. and inadequate federal funding to address the federal government’s responsibility to Compact Migrants in Hawai'i.

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 At stake is whether our children will find good jobs, whether our families will be able to stay in Hawai‘i, whether we will have the resources to protect our environment and provide the social services we pledged to provide.

The 22nd annual KIDS COUNT Data Book profiles the status of children on a national and state-by-state basis and ranks states on 10 measures of well-being.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta held a joint press event in Washington in which they cautioned that U.S. debt is jeopardizing America's ability to ensure national security and preserve its interests abroad.

Djou: “Hawaii, in particular, has become exceptionally isolated and vulnerable in Washington D.C because of the lack of a bipartisan congressional delegation...."

I will not run for Congress in 2012.... When the time is right, I will decide whether to run for Governor in 2014.

• Where: Midway Street between Hangars 110 & 111 on Kalaeloa Airport, Kapolei, Hawaii
• When: Saturday, September 10, 10 am-6 pm and Sunday, Sept. 11, 10 am-4 pm
• Special: 10th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at 10 am on Sunday, Sept. 11 

Financial issues with a new Walt Disney Co. resort scheduled to open this month in Hawaii prompted the company to suspend all time-share sales for the project and force out three executives, including the president of its Celebration-based time-share business...

Featuring dinner and a solo performance by the country music icon known best for “God Bless the U.S.A,” the event is set for Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. in the Koolau Ballrooms at the Koolau Golf Course, 45-550 Kionaole Road, Kaneohe, Oahu.

Honolulu – Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced Deputy Public Defender Karen Tooko Nakasone as his nomination to the judicial seat on the First Circuit Court.

Every year, Americans for Tax Reform Foundation publishes its Cost of Government Day report, which calculates the day on the calendar year until which the average American must work to pay for the full costs of government spending and regulation....

Governor Neil Abercrombie and his Coordinator on Homelessness, Marc Alexander, today concluded the 90-Day Plan on Homelessness....

Busted, named, and shamed by the Honolulu Ethics Commission, Honolulu Planning Commissioner Andrew Jamila has turned State’s Evidence and fingered others involved in a conspiracy to keep Waimanalo Gulch open....

While we may benefit from those generous federal dollars and programs, if spending is not reined in now, the situation will get even worse. If political leaders don’t have the courage to rein in spending, then perhaps voters should find elected officials who will make those tough decisions.

Widely panned by local political commentators, the DSCC screed bizarrely tagged Lingle as a “hyper partisan…Republican bomb thrower.”

But there is a ticking time-bomb buried at the bottom of their rambling diatribe.....

Obama approval has dropped by 12%.  A year ago Obama’s approval was 68% in Hawaii....

In 2010, seat belt use in the United States ranged from 72.2 percent in New Hampshire to 97.6 percent in Hawaii and Washington....

The entire press staff of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee is in Maui, even though a field hearing there won’t happen until next Wednesday....

Faleomavaega long has prided himself on being the voice of the Pacific in Washington (when he's there) and an influential senior policymaker. Apparently Hawaii's two House members bought this load of baloney because when the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to abolish the Hawaii-based East West Center, they turned to their Samoan colleague, a member of the committee, to save the day.

The Board examines, recommends and records applicants for admission to the Hawaii State Bar and gives written examinations to test the legal and educational qualifications and knowledge of legal ethics of each applicant.

On January 25, 2011, Winnipeg priest Father Bohdan Borowec arrived in Hawaii for the first time in his life....

Hawaii shows the largest advantage for the Democratic Party over the Republican Party among U.S. states, along with the District of Columbia, in the first half of 2011. The most Republican state is Utah.

“Some years back a Greek finance minister, fed up with his country's waste and extravagance claimed that he could save money by shutting down the national railway and driving around its passengers in taxis.”

These results are consistent with recent research on managed care among the privately insured, which finds that HMOs and other forms of managed care achieve their savings largely through reduced prices rather than lower quantities....

"Unless students limit their debt burdens, choose fields of study that are in demand, and successfully complete their degrees on time, they will find themselves in worse financial positions and unable to earn the projected income that justified taking out their loans in the first place."

"With the new school year fast approaching and still no bill to reform the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, the Obama administration will provide a process for states to seek relief from key provisions of the law, provided that they are willing to embrace education reform."

...the fact that the energy utilities and, to some degree the communications utilities, have to pay these additional taxes is not very widely known....

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Click to view video....

"Energy costs certainly are affected by public policy measures at the federal, state and local levels. When policymakers focus on reining in taxes and removing regulatory burdens, that works to reduce energy costs to the benefit of entrepreneurs, businesses and consumers. But when focused on increasing energy taxes, expanding regulations, and creating governmental obstacles to energy development, the economy suffers accordingly."

During her 30-years of public service, Governor Lingle has always run issue-oriented campaigns. Should there be a future campaign, it too would be run on the issues, rather than based on personal attacks.

There is no place in Hawaii for these deplorable tactics by national partisan political staffers. The voters of Hawaii deserve better.

A Site Analytics report shows that Hawai`i Free Press has surpassed 1 million hits a month every month this year.

The Hawaii Supreme Court recently completed a three-year evaluation of the progress made by the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission toward the goal of increasing access to justice in civil legal matters for low-income Hawaii residents.

The boundaries pit two Big Island Democrats against each other: Jerry Chang, D-Piihonua-Kaumana, and Mark Nakashima, D-Hawi-Hilo. On Oahu, Rida Cabanilla, D-Waipahu-Ewa, would face Kymberly Pine, R-Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point; and Mark Hashem, D-Hahaione Valley-Aina Haina, would compete against Barbara Marumoto, R-Kalani Valley-Diamond Head.

(Handy Tip: Deposit $100M and make OHA give you $400M. Not only will you prosper, but by bankrupting OHA, you will make Hawaii a better place.)

...good government means more than just saying what people want to hear. It means identifying problems that concern our community and proposing constructive solutions....

• Senate: Confirmation of Robert S. Mueller III to be Director of the FBI
• Senate: Budget Control Act of 2011
• House: North American-Made Energy Security Act
• House: Budget Control Act of 2011

The Employer-Union Trust Fund (EUTF) has completed the periodic process of selecting providers of life, vision, dental, medical and pharmacy insurance—with significant savings for employers, active employees and retirees....

In a Washington Post article published this morning, the national Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee takes the unusual step of attacking a Democratic Senate Primary candidate--Ed Case....DSCC is working hand in glove with Sen. Dan Inouye. Even DSCC’s choice of words -- “not honest” -- echoes Inouye’s lengthy record of attacks on Case.

The poll shows Ed Case ahead of Mazie Hirono in the Democratic primary 53%-37% and ahead of Linda Lingle in the general 48%-38%, and Lingle ahead of Hirono in the general 48%-43%.