Ratepayers could be on the hook for as much as $3.5B of HECO's so-called "stranded costs" if SB120 becomes law....

The Ball Corporation is the only manufacturer of metal cans in the islands. The company employs 45 people and the beverage tax places their jobs directly at risk.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 from 7:15 - 8:30 p.m., at the University of Hawaii Law School ....

The Obama administration issued its long-awaited final rule on essential health benefits that insurers must offer consumers in the individual and small-group market beginning in 2014....

“When you’re home, we’re more than a family. We are a nation that is whole again.”

Approximately 11.4 percent of Hawaii’s graduating class scored a 3 or higher on an AP exam, compared with 19.5 percent nationally....

... 6:30 PM Thursday, February 21, 2013 ....

It certainly is heartwarming that Desiline Victor, the 102-year-old voter whom President Obama recognized in his State of the Union speech, continues to vote and take part in our democratic process....

An obsolete U.S. law known as the Jones Act makes people in Puerto Rico poorer, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York....

Senior U.S. administration officials held secret talks in North Korea on at least three occasions in 2011 and 2012....

Uncle Sam and Kanoho have a talk about Sen. Kalani English, his busy schedule and his latest pet cause — the Steven Tyler Act....

$964 million in fiscal year 2013 will be withheld from more than 3,000 hospitals....

While the United States is on the verge of an energy revolution, an obsolete law threatens to stall oil production and already inflates the price of gasoline....

... his vision for dealing with other nations is dangerous for America ....

Making them grovel over less than a 2% increase (when health care costs are factored in), while at the same time proposing an expensive new preschool program is breathtakingly insulting....

AARP joins more than a dozen veterans’ groups in opposing adoption of the chained CPI, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America and Disabled American Veterans....

SB 69 leaves several things open to question or interpretation. For instance, it fails to define what constitutes an “extensive background check” or what constitutes a “mental health concern”....

We’re giving you a sneak peek of AFP’s Congressional Scorecard....

"It doesn't make sense to exclude the USW on the governor's committee when we represent the majority of workers who will be affected by the refinery closure." -- USW

...cases of voting fraud are more likely to be through absentee ballots, The New York Times reported last fall, citing comment from some election officials. Compared to in-person voting, an absentee ballot also is more likely to be rejected....

• Senate: Gender-based Violence Prevention – Final Passage
• Senate: Defense Secretary Nomination – Cloture
• House: Disaster Aid for Houses of Worship – Suspension
• House: Hydropower Regulation – Suspension
• House: Federal Pay Freeze Extension – Final Passage
• House: North Korea Nuclear Test

... he only selects his friends from a pool of hundreds of qualified Architects and Engineers in Honolulu ....

...Greenpeace is already protesting that “the next ‘golden rice’ guinea pigs might be Filipino children.” The 4.4 million Filipino kids with vitamin A deficiency might not mind so much....

If upheld the sentencing that is available to the committees range from censure to reprimand to expulsion from the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i....

...we ignited a flame in many young Republicans across the state who are mobilizing to lead for future generations....

...Hawaii also is looking to boost its use of natural gas, and it will need a Jones Act exemption as well. It's time to strike on this issue now!

...summary of the major project components, including the gas pipeline, gas treatment facilities and the liquefaction, storage and terminal facilities....

The electricity that is produced from natural gas is 43 percent the cost of solar power, 68 percent the cost of wind power and 57 percent the cost of biomass....

It would be better to replace them with smarter cuts, but the reality is that Washington has to start cutting spending now....

...Hawaii could see layoffs and reduced income growth, which in turn would weigh on economic growth....

“A coterie of insiders run the program, with a handful of doctors and others deciding what the public may know." -- The Oregonian

Jeff and his wife Laurie Stone contributed $3000 to Kirk Caldwell's recent Mayoral campaign....

The exchanges create the appearance of private-sector delivery but instead create politically favored monopolies....

Instead of celebrating George Washington’s birthday, today we’ve lumped him in together with no-names including Millard Fillmore and William Henry Harrison as we celebrate a generic “Presidents’ Day.”

I was surprised by the interest in -and frankly awareness of- the big issues we are facing in Micronesia....

On a hillside in Hawaii sits a lavish home — a six-building estate that looks out over dark lava fields, the Pacific Ocean and a championship golf course....

Presented by the Environmental Law Program and the Federalist Society at 12:15 p.m. in CR1 at UH Richardson Law School Thursday, February 21....

Recognizing the need to help the state balance it books, the hotel industry agreed to a temporary increase in the TAT rate which was increased two percentage points from 7.25% to 9.25%. The temporary increase is supposed to expire on June 30, 2015....

In 2004, Nopphon Fuchumpa was promised a great opportunity in the United States.... 

The bills would provide economic relief to American consumers and businesses who have been forced to pay a $14 billion hidden tax over the past four years alone in order for the federal government to provide a special interest subsidy to sugar producers....

Selected details from SunshineReview.org review of State, County, and DoE websites....

Candidate filing closed Friday, February 15.  The election is conducted entirely on-line and by telephone. Voting runs from April 26 through May 17....

... California, Alaska, Guam, Guess Who’s Next ....

Legislative Recess - A Perfect Time to Meet with Your Legislators at Home.  The state legislature goes into a mandatory five-day recess from February 21-26....

“Taxes shouldn’t be a tool for social engineering or an instrument to penalize Hawaiians for doing nothing wrong....”

...market withdrawal of select Organic Baby Spinach products with the potential to be contaminated with Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC)....

It is also possible that LGBT adults make conscious choices to reside in certain states rather than others....

...Colleen Hanabusa underperformed Obama by the most of any incumbent in the nation....

Air carriers have optimistically boosted scheduled seats from Japan, although in our view yen depreciation and higher room rates will act to limit further Japanese market gains....

...it appears that over 301,000 government record requests were routinely fulfilled by the reporting agencies....