Environment

At 2:43 PM local time today, North Korea fired artillery rockets at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong setting dozens of residential homes ablaze, wounding three civilians and fifteen soldiers, and killing two South Korean Marines....

...the greatest gift he gave them was their transformation from a disordered, lawless throng exiled in desperate anarchy into a living community built on Jesus Christ, a community in which they learned to care for one another.

November 22, 2010 Recent Congressional Votes:

• Senate: Cloture Motion; Paycheck Fairness Act
• House: Telework Improvements Act
• House: Emergency Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act 

HONOLULU – The Hawaii State Board of Education will hold an induction ceremony on Monday, Nov. 29, for seven candidates elected on Nov. 2 to serve a four-year term as members of the Board.

When Hawaii became a state, the Department of Justice sent two attorneys to enforce the antitrust laws. I was one of them....

In spite of the GOP’s losses at the top of the ticket, re-integrating faith-based voters into the GOP has produced gains at the ballot box for legislative campaigns and made all the difference in 2010 candidate recruitment. 

It is sad to see Gary Okino leave the Democratic Party. I happen to be a life long Democrat, but I don't put the party ahead of what is morally necessary for our community to thrive. To be truly Democratic, as its name implies, the party should welcome divergent views.

The proposed price hikes came in response to Act 26, which was passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Linda Lingle in 2009. It mandated the Department to set breakfast and lunch prices at no less than half the cost of preparing the meals due to escalating food, energy and labor costs.

Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi called for the Legislature to repeal Act 26, and provide sufficient funding for the school food program....

Complete list of Hawaii State Senate Leadership and Committee Assignments 2010-2011.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle announced today that the State of Hawai‘i Department of Transportation – Harbors Division successfully sold $201.39 million of Harbors System Revenue Bonds to fund various capital projects for the State’s Harbors Modernization Plan and to refinance existing bonds for debt service savings. 

Since 2005, at least 479,000 personal records have been breached in the state of Hawaii – records on one out of every three residents – according to a report by the Liberty Coalition.

Our long national nightmare is over. Phusion Projects, the makers of Four Loko brand caffeinated malt beverages, announced yesterday that it will remove the caffeine from its products. Phusion’s decisions came just one day after Senator Chuck Schumer (D–NY) pushed the Food and Drug Administration to ban “these dangerous and toxic drinks.” ...

A new version of the Akaka Bill was introduced yesterday in the US Senate by Sen. Dan Akaka (D-HI).  In accordance with Senate rules, the new bill, designated S. 3945, was read twice on the Senate floor and then referred to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.    A text of S. 3945 is not yet available.

WSJ: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut its rating on Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (HE) and its electric utility subsidiaries by one notch to the brink of junk.

So much for Neil Abercrombie’s “more federal funds” refrain, eh? If this holds, Inouye will no longer be able to buy off his cronies and the corporatist state will starve.  Hawaii Democrats will be relegated to peddling marijuana, assisted suicide, and gay marriage as substitutes for pork barrel projects.

--A chunk of independent voters said they want the government to do less after two years of Democratic domination in the nation's capital. That's almost a direct reversal of how this voting group behaved in 2008. Majorities of independents in each state surveyed except Democratic-leaning Hawaii said the government is doing too many things better left to the private sector and individuals.

The state of Hawaii’s lawsuit against pharmacy benefit manager McKesson (MCK) and drug database manager First DataBank could signal the end of drug price manipulation, at least as we currently know it....

Facing a $25 billion deficit for their next two-year budget cycle, Texas lawmakers are considering closing the gap by dropping out of Medicaid. “This system is bankrupting our state,” State Representative Warren Chisum told The New York Times. “We need to get out of it. And with the budget shortfall we’re anticipating, we may have to act this year,” he said.

And Texas is not alone....

The denial of cert by the U.S. Supreme Court means that until the Hawaii Supreme Court confirms or rules otherwise in a future case, the ICA's rule that "unvested" rights or "contingent future interests" are not property and are subject to uncompensated acquisition by the legislature, is the law.

In the instant appeal, we hold that the County’s asserted public purpose for Condemnation was not a pretext for a primarily private benefit....

I am currently in London attending World Travel Market (WTM) for eTurboNews.  Don't expect business from wasting our tax payers promotional money that paid for the Hawaii Tourism Authority stand.

Volcanic Ash columnist David Shapiro describes Hawaii Democrats as “a party where the sun rises and sets by civil unions these days.”  If there is any doubt, take a look at what happened to gay marriage opponent, former Honolulu Councilman Gary Okino....

Over the past week, Charles has received hundreds of emails from people all over the state and the nation expressing their sorrow and disappointment over Tuesday’s election results.  While we share your pain, we prefer to instead focus on all that we were able to accomplish together in the last year.

Contrary to most of what is being reported in the media, efforts to register voters at Hawaii churches powered a substantial increase in voter turnout by church-goers.  The drive produced swings in favor of Republican House candidates of 5% or more in 16 out of 51 house districts.  The GOP gained a total of 15,322 new Republican votes in these 16 districts....

Minority Leader Representative Gene Ward said, "Our new Caucus is excited and united and ready to do the people's business, particularly regarding fiscal responsibility and job creation in the 2011 Session.  We are very pleased to have grown 33 1/3 percent representing the first net-gain in the size of caucus in 10 years." 

It appears that the Kim/Baker Senate Democratic faction has gained ascendancy.

The new Transportation Chair will probably be Rep. John Mica (R-FL).   KGMB asks: “He says he's in favor of cost effective rail transportation but Republicans campaigned on cutting costs and smaller government, so where does Honolulu's $5.5 billion rail fit into that?”  It doesn’t. 

I collapsed into bed at roughly 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, and awoke, groggily, some hours later to find that Rep. Charles Djou, Republican of Hawaii elected in a special three-way election earlier this year, had been defeated....

The Republican candidate won outright in only one House District HD40 Kapolei.  Aiona effectively tied Abercrombie, losing by only a handful of votes each in HD 46 Schofield-N Shore and HD43 Ewa Beach. 

Grace also noted that Hawaii is currently listed 48^th among the 50 states in the “Defending Life 2010” rankings compiled by the pro-life public policy organization Americans United for Life.

Republicans in Hawaii may have taken a drubbing Election Day, but the sudden reassertion of Republican control of Congress means that Hawaiians and Hawaii may be saved from the Akaka Bill.  

HONOLULU - The State is seeking nominations to the Commission on Water Resource Management.  A Nominating Committee will screen the applicants and send to the Governor the names of at least three individuals for one open position. 

Aiona: "I congratulate our opponent on his victory, and will join all of you in supporting our next Governor by working to hold our government accountable to our citizens."

There were more local Republican challengers than in a decade, and they were well informed, well qualified and had charisma, yet one by one they went down ....

Even in defeat, Republicans have laid an organizational foundation for future victories.  The Democrats are working to convince Republicans to dig that foundation up.

Republicans win Maui Mayor's race, one Hawaii County Council seat, and add two State House seats -- while losing the Governor's seat, the First Congressional District Seat, and one State Senate seat.

To locate your assigned polling place, visit the online Polling Place Locator by clicking HERE.

I invite you to join us after the polls close for an Election Night Watch Party at the Dole Cannery Ballrooms. Click HERE for more information.

Click a link and find out what the rest of Hawaii media has not been telling you....

Dennis Prager (radio) Show Today Tues. Nov. 2nd between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM

John Peschong describes a tight Governor’s race with the Aiona-Finnegan campaign's ongoing internal polling consistently running about 45%-44%, “just like 2002”—the year Linda Lingle swept into the Governor’s office. 

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2 

Nov 2 Polling Place Locator: http://www4.honolulu.gov/vote/

Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan today toured the Roberts Hawai`i office with President Robert Iwamoto where he met and talked story with Roberts Hawai`i employees. Duke and Lynn also visited Pioneer Plaza to meet and greet with supporters and walk through small businesses to connect with voters.  In addition, Duke and Lynn visited Island insurance Company, Bank of Hawai‘i, Matson, Alexander and Baldwin and a medical building in Kapahulu.

The election will be over, and we'll either elect balanced, honest and fiscally responsible leaders who have a detailed plan for more jobs, a stronger economy and better education, or we'll allow the big government, big spending, tax increasing political culture of Washington into Hawai‘i.

Get out to vote.  Contact your family and friends in your contact list and make sure they get out to vote and vote values.  This year’s election is too important to assume that they did.

Janet Grace, executive director of Hawaii Right to Life stated, “We do not believe a person can be qualified for public office if he has no respect for the most innocent and vulnerable people in Hawai'i. Gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie’s voting record is crystal clear: as a U.S. Congressman, he consistently voted against every piece of legislation that would have protected innocent human life."

HONOLULU - Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan today launched a new radio ad, "Twice," to highlight recent endorsements, such as the Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald, Maui News, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawai‘i, Maui Chamber of Commerce and Hawai‘i Island Contractors' Association.

HONOLULU - Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan today announced the launch of their closing television ad, “Crowd Surfing,” in response to the negative campaigning of their opponents. "Crowd Surfing" focuses on the issues, highlighting Duke and Lynn’s plan to create job opportunities, strengthen the economy and reform public education, and asks Hawai‘i voters for their support on Tuesday, Nov. 2.