The Aloha Order of Merit was established by the Hawai'i State Legislature in 1993 to honor individuals who have distinguished themselves nationally or internationally in their fields of expertise and who contributed to the attainment of statehood or who have provided extraordinary service to, devoted themselves to the betterment of, or brought honor to the State.

Public Comment Period for the Proposed Rule to Revise Critical Habitat for the Hawaiian Monk Seal Closes January 6, 2011

"I am so happy to see former employees of HMC, recently out of work, find new employment at this urgent care center." -- Rep Pine

The Supreme Court in a unanimous 5-0 decision today ruled that too many of the human beings living in Hawaii were included for purposes of Legislative reapportionment.... Only a Federal suit can right this wrong. 

All Republican Presidential Caucus Voting Locations are Open Tuesday March 13 from 6-8PM.  District and Precinct boundaries are based on the State House District and Precinct lines used in the 2010 elections.

States are trapped between excessive regulation on one side and financial bankruptcy on the other....

After finishing 6th in Iowa, Michelle Bachmann suspends her Presidential campaign.

According to PPFA’s annual report for fiscal year 2007-2008, in 2007 Planned Parenthood’s “adoption referrals to other agencies” totaled 4,912. In Fiscal Year 2010 that number was 841, a decrease of 82.8 percent....

Last night’s nail-biter in Iowa marked the beginning of election year 2012. And with Americans heading to the polls — next in New Hampshire, then South Carolina and beyond — they will hope to rely on the integrity of the election system to ensure that every legitimate vote counts and that fraud is not the deciding factor....

• Romney: 30,015 votes
• Santorum 30,007 votes

We shocked the world last night in Iowa. We did it with a coalition of conservatives, Tea Party members, and values voters who recognized that my successful conservative record gives the GOP the best chance to defeat Barack Obama....

As your current City Councilman, I thrive 24/7 on serving our district and have no other interests, no other ventures, no other business at hand but to be dedicated, reliable, and available to you....

This is to suggest that the Democratic Party of Hawai'i host a series of statewide joint presentations with Mazie and me before primary election voting starts at the end of June....

Ha recently traveled to Iceland where he observed how the country recovered from the biggest financial crash in modern history. Ha stated, “They are recovering because they inoculated themselves from high oil prices by using low cost hydro and geothermal for 100 percent of their electricity and house heating.

Mr. Okamura previously served as House Majority Leader for nine years while a state representative from 1980 to 2000. He chaired committees on Hawaiian Affairs; Policy; Rules; and Energy, Ecology and Environmental Protection....

Lingle sees in the nation’s tourism industry an opportunity to bring immediate positive impact to the economy.

Two Christian churches filed a federal complaint to stop Hawaii's new civil union law in its tracks, claiming the legislation is unconstitutional.

Voters in Iowa will caucus today to select their choice for the 2012 presidential nominees. As the rest of the nation watches, Iowa's choice could help frame the debate for this election year.

PREL, the profitable non-profit which in 2001 helped then-DoE Sup’t Paul Lemahieu hire his semi-literate mistress as a DoE education contractor, reports the unsurprising fact that the DoE is continuing to fail native Hawaiian students. Its conclusion: “Further re$earch i$ needed.”

Let us reclaim the mantle of equality from those who've perverted it in the pursuit of equal outcomes.

"I would like you to be the first to know that I do not plan to run for Mayor of Honolulu in 2012."

Yet another task force has come forward to recommend that lawmakers raise the “barrel tax” on all imported petroleum products by another dollar per barrel....

The meeting is at Dave and Busters Show Room in Kakaako, Tuesday January 17, from 11:30AM to 1PM ....

The 36th Annual SBH Business & Investment Conference will be held January 11, 2012, from 8am to 2pm at the Ala Moana Hotel....

On January 3 and 4, 2012, at 1:00 and 7:30 p.m. each day, the Honolulu Academy of Arts Doris Duke Theater is presenting the Hawaii premiere of Battle For Brooklyn, the Academy Award-contending documentary about the Atlantic Yards eminent domain fight....

The ICA relied on County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P'ship, which held that if an eminent domain action is dismissed or otherwise fails, the property owner is entitled to recover the attorneys' fees and costs it incurs in the case....

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"These projects were identified by members of the State Legislature."

Americans perceive Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul as closest to themselves ideologically, and Michele Bachmann and Barack Obama as furthest away.

President Obama told Bill O'Reilly, "I think the Muslim Brotherhood is one faction in Egypt. They don't have majority support in Egypt."

Another piece of the Leeward Community Benefits scandal all of which leads right back to Ernie Martin and Mufi Hannemann.

Your ACT221 Tax Dollars at Work building the clean energy future, Hawaii ....

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is inviting applications from interested persons to become members of two of its forestry programs in Hawai‘i -- the Forest Stewardship and the Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Programs.

...the Legislature has entrusted the Commission with increased authority and discretion in implementing the State's clean energy policies...the majority of the Commission‟s time and resources are devoted to this sector.

The news release is the usual HART fluff. The real information is found in the FTA's letter to HART....

The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, providing passage for some 15.5 million barrels of crude oil per day, amounting to one third of the world's seaborne oil shipments.

Misuse of openly accessible social media by elected officials or their staff should be dealt with by voters at the ballot box, not censors in the Communications office....

Chief Operating Officer Richard Pezzulo was named interim Chief Executive Officer. The appointment takes effect Dec. 31 until a search for a permanent CEO concludes....

By shifting away from failed policies of central planning toward a consumer-driven program, the program has been successful on a number of levels.

The average buyer in Hawaii, based on the average loan of $677,299 and an APR of 4%, would have a monthly payment for a 30 year mortgage (1 point) of $3,234 before taxes and insurance. The average payment for Mississippi would be $655 based on the closed loan amount ....

In Cardiology, for example, a left heart catheterization costs about $2,200 in Alaska and only $400 in Washington. In orthopedics, a knee surgery costs $6,400 in Alaska and only $1,700 in Washington....

...now comes the lapse of several federal supports or incentives which allowed people/companies/governments to install the charging stations necessary to keep these care running. No chargers, no driving....

...by relying on a technical system of price controls and complicated payout formulas, Congress is continuing to play the same game that it has for years in which it drives down direct costs in one area only to see them spring up elsewhere....

Supporters of assisted suicide tried to use a 1909 law that permits the use remedies not typically authorized for terminally ill patients, but Hawaii Attorney General David Louie has responded in a legal opinion that the state law "does not authorize physicians to assist terminally ill patients with dying."

Yesterday we were a great team. We showed the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization's Policy Committee how important it was to secure the $1 million in funding for a new study to advance a secondary access road to serve the Waianae Coast.

 Just in time for the opening of the Hawaii Legislature, a US DoJ memo released December 23 overturns decades of legal interpretation and effectively legalizes intra-state online gambling....

Question: Does Hawaii want to be saddled with a partisan hack like Hirono when Democrats are in the minority?

For President Barack Obama, 2011 began with a bang -- a bold pronouncement that his green dream for America would bring forth a jobs explosion and a new economy fueled by alternative energy, a vision he likened to President John F. Kennedy's "moon shot" in the 1960s....

Would you be outraged if the Department of Justice shut down The Foundry without any warning and blocked access for more than a year?  That's exactly what happened to a hip-hop blog called Dajaz1.com, which was falsely accused of criminal copyright infringement....

A terrorist wanna-be from Staten Island ratted out dozens of people he called pro-jihadists in New York and Hawaii after he was arrested by the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force, it was revealed Tuesday....