Environment

Please come and join us in Makawao on Saturday, July 2nd for the Annual Makawao Paniolo July 4th Parade. TEA Party Maui plans to enter a patriotic float in the Parade....

The new contract, at a cost of $45.5 million a year, begins July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2014, (in other words, until the next gubernatorial election)....

The new fiscal year begins on July 1st with a mission to change the direction of Hawai'i....Last night we held a community forum at Washington Middle School.... Stay tuned for details about more upcoming forums around the state.

I have introduced resolution 11-109 to start the bidding process over again that could result in saving the taxpayers $250 million and put 150 residents here on Oahu to work building the rail cars.

Representative George Fontaine, HD 11, Kīhei, Wailea, Makena, talks with Peter Rosegg with the Hawaiian Electric Company and Maria Tome, Renewable and Transportation Energy Program Manager /Hawaii State Energy Office about Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.

We were doing a cleanup of Kea`au Beach Park along the Waianae coastline when past Councilman John DeSoto of this area gave a tour of what you see in the video....

Without policy changes, contributions to state and local pension systems in the United States would have to immediately increase by a factor of 2.5, reaching 14.2 percent of the total own-revenue generated by state and local governments (taxes, fees and charges).

Three Progressive schemes Hawaii legislators are trying to implement--and ten more they haven't thought of yet....  

• Raising the retirement age for certain new employees from 55 to 60 years old, and for most others from 62 to 65 years old
• Increasing the number of years for state employees to be “vested” to receive retirement benefits from five years to 10 years.
• Raising the employee and employer contribution rates

Substantial discussions took place at the marathon June 3rd Council meeting concerning the borrowing of more than a hundred million dollars (Bill 40) for the rail system due to offset cash flow problems with the rail project and sagging tax revenues. 

"I have asked all departments to work together in a deliberate and thoughtful process that will identify programs that may be affected. In recent weeks, our administration began discontinuing financial support of programs that are valuable but can no longer be sustained, such as Vanpool Hawai'i and the State Pharmacy Assistance Program. These cuts and others that follow will be difficult but the financial constraints we face allow for no other course of action."

Our office held the meeting on rail because I believe the public has not had an adequate forum to sound off on the project’s blunders. 

This new study explains how states can most effectively drive economic growth, create jobs, and improve the standard of living for their citizens.

Vanpool Hawaii has announced a new monthly rate of $985 per vanpool group, effective Aug. 1. For a vanpool group of 6 or 7 passengers, that equals a per-person cost of approximately $164 or $141 per month, respectively, or less if shared between more participants.

Why the sudden addition of broadband to the Big Wind cable?

President Barack Obama's health care law would let several million middle class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed....

In the below Abercrombie Administration news release—which we have annotated for clarity--there is no mention of any union officials meeting with the US DoE representatives here to evaluate Hawaii’s alleged progress towards RTTT benchmarks.

The key provisions of this act exempt broadband infrastructure improvements from state or county permitting requirements for five years.

Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) ... received $45,000 from her state's pension program in 2010.

...the Land Use Commission changed the land use boundaries from "urban use to agricultural use while affordable housing was being constructed on the property."

Starting with HB953, a big fat raise for DoE bureaucrats. 

the HECO Companies' proposed Biofuel Surcharge Provision clearly results in an increase in rates that triggers the contested case and public hearing provisions of HRS §269-16(b).

Recent Congressional Votes

• Senate: Ethanol subsidies amendment
• House: Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations, FY2012
• House: Agriculture Appropriations, FY2012

When Hawaii Reapportionment Commission members went into closed executive session during their June 15th meeting at the State Capitol, they discovered something rather disconcerting. A small recording device had been left on a chair and it was turned on, recording their every word.

There are 10 basic dimensions that account for the reasons that big projects succeed or fail.... 

Please be sure to join us for a public forum on June 23, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Washington Middle School. In addition to words from and Q&A with the Governor and Lt. Gov., there will be brief presentations from Bruce Coppa on our efforts to improve the economy ....

what happens when sea level in the real world does not rise nearly as much as alarmists predict? If you are a NASA-funded gatekeeper of sea level data, you merely doctor the data....

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced international visitors spent an estimated $12.3 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States during April. This represents a 19 percent increase from April 2010. Travel and tourism-related exports have increased, on average, nearly $1.4 billion a month in 2011.

The Robotics Organizing Committee (ROC) will host the events in coordination with robotics supporters and community partners throughout the state, beginning on June 21 and running through August 28, 2011.

 Sunday 26 June, 2:00pm at the Naniloa Hotel's Polynesian Room in Hilo. Featured speakers are UH School of Law Prof. David Callies, author of the definitive book “Regulating Paradise” and Big Island real estate broker David Turner.

Moody's Investors Service placed the stand-alone bank financial strength rating of First Hawaiian Bank on review for possible downgrade....

The hot water backup system installation is a first step towards ensuring a permanent solution. The state budget for fiscal year 2012 includes $5.6 million in capital improvement funds for a long-term solution to the water heating system at Mayor Wright Homes.

the agreements appear to boost manufacturing exports above the overall trend while having no discernable impact on manufacturing imports....

Film tax credits fail to live up to their promises to encourage economic growth overall and to raise tax revenue....

Expansions of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are designed to extend access to high-quality medical care to all U.S. children. However, evidence suggests that the 37 million children covered by Medicaid-CHIP are less likely to receive specialty care than children covered by commercial insurance....

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has approved a 20-year contract for Maui Electric Company to purchase 21 megawatts (MW) of wind power from Sempra Generation's Auwahi Wind project on the Ulupalakua Ranch in southeastern Maui. 

"$36,000 for improvements of reconfiguration to the cafeteria stage at Mililani Uka Elementary School"

Electric cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries....

The ahupua'a of Honolulu and Kapalama have been proposed as a future National Heritage Area (NHA) site, a permanent federal designation which was introduced in Congress as S. 359 and H. 1297.

The Treasury acquired the shares this year as part of the Hawaii-based bank holding company's recapitalization. The stock was trading around $29 a share at the time of the Treasury's investment...and closed Tuesday at $14.13.... The stock is down 64% in the past year.

The downgrade reflects the state's minimal financial cushion against risks inherent in an economy dominated by the volatile tourism sector following the depletion of previously large balances as well as the state's significant and growing long-term liabilities.

...the state of Hawaii has temporarily suspended many general excise tax exemptions. The suspended exemptions include certain transportation and maritime support services such as stevedoring. This means that the state will tax carriers for a portion of the cargo costs that had previously been exempted, and the cost to carriers serving the state will increase.  Effective July 10, 2011, Matson will implement a General Excise Tax Arbitrary to recover these extra costs.

According to Christoph Gabler, Senior Vice-President for AEGON USA Realty Advisors, LLC, the Towers at KPT are the first phase of a 1,025 community being redeveloped by the Michaels Development Company in partnership with Vitus Group and the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

Despite governmental mandates for renewables, if their electricity production is converted to equivalent tons of oil, then their share is only 1.3% in 2010....

Please join me this Wednesday evening, June 15th, from 7pm to 9pm, for a very important town hall meeting at the brand new Ewa Makai Middle School in Ewa Beach....

Under the law, all children are required to be proficient in math and reading by 2014—a standard that could leave three-quarters of U.S. schools labeled as failures, leaving them at risk of losing federal funding.

Senator Slom addresses a luncheon at the Hawaii Venture Capitol Association – May 26, 2011 at the Plaza Club, Honolulu Hawaii. The subject: State budget, deficit, spending, taxation, economy, more.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s statements against the Pro Bowl last Thursday revealed the severity of the vision deficit facing our state.