· DATE: Tuesday, December 18, 2012

· TIME: 2:00 PM

...amid the splendor of an investiture ceremony attended by an estimated 500 guests....

...designate the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — including the portion of the enormous imaginary Pacific Garbage Patch within United States waters — as the nation’s newest Superfund site....

...Trust for Public Land assembled the $25 million purchase price from a variety of sources, including $13 million from a Hawaii state bond; $4.5 million from the U.S. Army; $4 million from the City and County of Honolulu; $3 million from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and $500,000 from D.R. Horton....

Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too. It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions....

North Korea successfully launched a missile early Wednesday—a big step toward achieving the capability to hit targets in the United States.

The loss of Senate Seniority will not completely sink Hawaii and Alaska’s economy, but it will definitely have a big impact....

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According to the 23rd Edition of United Health Foundation’s 2012 America’s Health Rankings, Hawaii is No. 2 this year, up from No. 3 in 2011, in a ranking of all 50 states’ health data....

...the Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, filed a legal challenge in state circuit court to the Hawai‘i Department of Taxation’s recent decision to cut back on tax credits....

The lawsuit claims the methodology and rules that were adopted and used did not comply with proper rulemaking....

...there's still lots of room for Mr Obama's administration to do more, and the US Travel Association has a great plan to further improve the situation....

"...it's certainly not unconstitutional for a public school orchestra or other singers to go to a religious venue like, in this case, New Hope Church and have a concert."

In November, Michigan voters rejected a ballot proposal that would have amended the state constitution to prevent the legislature from passing a right-to-work law and elevated union contracts above state law....It lost by 15 points.

... an advisory committee, including HSTA representatives, to review the new teacher evaluation system ....

Our federal lawsuit will have what is most probably its final hearing before Judge A. Wallace Tashima this coming Wednesday, December 12, at 10:00AM in the Federal Courthouse....

• Senate: Disability Treaty – Ratification
• Senate: Defense Authorization – Final Passage
• Senate: Russia/Moldova Trade Relations – Final Passage
• House: Energy Efficiency – Suspension
• House: Global Internet Governance – Adoption
• House: Amending Language in Federal Law – Suspension

As they did at the previous 17 conferences, developing nations demanded that the United States and other developed countries pay them for the climate’s effects....

Insurance premiums could increase by thousands of dollars because of a new tax in President Obama's health care law....

State-based health exchange selects IT contractor and names agency of record for research, communication strategy and public relations...

...members of the Akaka Tribe will not be guaranteed free speech, due process, or other civil rights....

With less than a week left for the White House and Congressional negotiators to come to some sort of compromise, it is time to put all of this debate into perspective.

“Yesterday, HSTA and the State resumed negotiations. While this is only our second bargaining session, talks were the most productive in months.”

“Ben Jay brings an extensive background in management and financial experience from big-time college athletics, has numerous valuable contacts, and possesses the vision, leadership skills, passion and integrity to take UH Athletics to the next level."

Hawaii Police Department (HPD) is assisting school officials with security measures and made eight student arrests ....

... several deficiencies expose the Program to fraud, including the over-reliance on self-reporting by Program personnel and lack of systematic compliance inspections....

Abercrombie has announced that the state will build a gigabit network statewide by 2018....

· INTEGRATED RESOURCE PLANNING MEETING

· DEC 13, 2012 from 5 - 7 PM

· Mitchell Pauole Community Center, Kaunakakai

Saturday morning at Ewa Field on Saturday, December 8, at 9 AM....

This informational briefing will cover the topic of food safety as it concerns and relates to farmers, wholesalers and retailers in Hawaii....

· DATE: Tuesday, December 11, 2012

· TIME: 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

· PLACE: Conference Room 229, State Capitol, 415 South Beretania Street

Higher income Asian economies have suffered the most from the trade falloff. At the same time, labor markets and fiscal conditions in East and Southeast Asian developing countries remain far stronger than in the developed world....

In his prior role at the Department of Attorney General, Wisch served as special assistant to the Attorney General....

Yesterday’s announcement that Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is leaving the U.S. Senate to replace Edwin J. Feulner as president of The Heritage Foundation surprised the political establishment in Washington and underlined Heritage’s role as a key institution for America’s future....

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates the impact of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on the chain restaurant industry....

The volunteers that were supporting Moanalua have decided to put on a charity concert to benefit Mercy Ships. It will take place at the New Hope Ministry Center (290 Sand Island Access Road) on Friday, December 7th at 730pm

They do not want to protect fish. They only want to eliminate fishermen who stand in the way of their ocean based businesses....

Hawaii this year will collect $186 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 4.8 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs....

“This argument over what is covered by the contract and what isn’t, is a distraction and a deflection from the real issue - the fact that teachers have been disrespected by the governor.” -- Wil Okabe, HSTA President

... this wave of scientific progress faces opposition from anti-science and anti-technology groups. Consider these examples that have been hampered by activism ....

...every day now brings another business owner in the news talking about cutting workers’ hours or making other cost-cutting moves in anticipation of Obamacare’s impact in 2013....

Taxes on wages, dividends, interest, and partnership/sole proprietor income would exceed 50 percent only in Hawaii, California, and New York City….

The move being considered by Congress to raise the eligibility age from 65 to 67 would leave 26,893 seniors without health coverage (based on current beneficiary data), forcing them into the private insurance market, which is estimated to cost them an additional $2,200 per year*.

President Obama wants to do away with Congress when it comes to raising the country’s legal debt limit....

The UH BoR and Greenwood reviewed the findings of the Senate Special Committee regarding the oversight, accountability, and transparency of the operational and financial management of the university and agree with its recommendations calling for greater transparency and accountability (two out of three ain't bad).... 

Over 200 teams from schools statewide came to the Neil Blaisdell Center this weekend to compete and showcase their robots in the 2012 Hawaii FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Championships....

The spending ranges from less than 8 percent in Hawaii, where nursing home use is low, to more than 60 percent in North Dakota....

When President Obama put forth his first offer on the fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said, “You can’t be serious.” We could say the same thing to the Speaker after his counteroffer yesterday.

Full Council Hearing This Wednesday Dec. 5th Includes Rail: The Final Vote....

•             Senate: Sportsmens Access to Federal Land – Motion to Waive

•             Senate: Disability Treaty – Motion to Proceed

•             Senate: Defense Authorization – Amendment

•             House: STEM Visa Program – Final Passage