The public will be able to testify on HB793 SD 1 (Proposed) in a scheduled hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wed. April 6, 2011, 9:30 a.m. in Conference Room 211 at the State Capitol.

Ralph Nader had filed this case in 2004, challenging Hawaii law that requires an independent presidential candidate to submit approximately six times as many signatures as are needed for a ballot-qualified political party with its own primary.

Abercrombie's DoE is already trying to postpone the 180-day school year law, balance its budget on the backs of disabled children, end testing until after Abercrombie faces reelection, delay Race to the Top reforms, sell off schools to rake in bucks from the real estate market, and boost Matayoshi’s salary....

Waialua High School robotics team competed again today at the Las Vegas Regional among 39 teams from across the country.  Waialua finished as a Regional Finalist and was recognized with two awards....

 Street lights crowd roadside on installed section of project. 

Abercrombie today announced his appointments for the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai'i (UH) and the Board of Governors to East-West Center....

The Hawaii Republican Party filed an ethics complaint against Honolulu City Councilman Nestor Garcia for failure to comply with ethics rules.  HRP will also call upon Garcia to step aside as Council Chair pending the investigation.

Abercrombie today announced the appointment of Mary Alice Evans as Deputy Director to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism....

 If the moneys in the hurricane reserve fund are insufficient to pay claims and other obligations when an event occurs, the fund “shall levy a surcharge not to exceed seven and one-half percent a year on premiums charged for all property and casualty insurance policies issued for risks insured in this State.”

Ever since I visited the decrepit wind project at South Point on the Big Island I realized that wind farms are investment schemes, not reliable energy production plants. So did T. Boone Pickens with his multibillion dollar order of GE wind turbines for his “Pickens Plan,” a plan that has been abandoned because wind energy makes no business sense....

We strongly believe that no one should be able to tell the people of Hawaii that they have no choice but to raise taxes. There are choices and these worksheets provide real numbers taken from real budgets.

The Board’s duties include overseeing the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates allegations of attorney misconduct and incapacity, and recommending appropriate action to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Ninety-six. That is the number of days one must work each year in Hawaii to pay Uncle Sam before taking home their hard-earned dollars. That means the first three months of the year you work not for yourself, but for the government. This number includes federal, state, and local taxes, for a grand total of 26.3% of your income.

"...because of an unresolved situation with my law firm, I have decided to withdraw my nomination to prevent any distraction for the Abercrombie Administration and disruption for my family.”

“The explicit sovereign immunity and exemption from regulation provisions in the present bill allow the Native Hawaiian governing entity, and its leaders, to conduct activities anywhere in Hawai‘i (and potentially any other state) in a way that is inconsistent with State criminal statutes.... It is not clear how the State could enforce its interests against unlawful or irresponsible actions by the governing entity or its elected leaders or employees."  - Gov. Linda Lingle, March 24, 2010

(L-R): Abercrombie, Broken Trust, Sandwich Isles/OHA (From Broken Trust, pg 202)

On one hand, Section 4(a)(4) of the Senate Akaka Bill states: "Native Hawaiians have an inherent right to autonomy in their internal affairs (and) and inherent right of self-determination and self-governance (and) the right to reorganize a Native Hawaiian governing entity...."

But Section 8(a) recognizes only: "The right of the qualified Native Hawaiian constituents to reorganize the single Native Hawaiian governing entity...."

Who are allowed to become "Qualified Native Hawaiian Constituents" will be determined by a "commission" of nine members.  There are exactly nine OHA Trustees.

Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced his appointments to the new Board of Education (BOE).  The board consists of nine members – three from O'ahu, three at-large, and one each from Hawai'i Island, Maui and Kaua'i. 

The bill language makes the false claim that HPV vaccination results in "few or no side effects" when, in fact, there have been documented serious adverse effects worldwide, including many deaths. HPV screening prior to vaccination is not routinely done.

Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos/SEIU (3/24-27, Hawaii voters, no trendlines)

Did they leave a bunch of checks in the box ‘til March 1?  Anyone want to lay bets on March coming in as “surprisingly high" when CoR meets next time?

• Rep. Fontaine Address SB 1269 Retirement System
• Reps. Fontaine and Thielen Addresses SB755 Gambling
• Rep. Cynthia Thieln Address SB1274 Health Insurance
• Rep. Pine address SB1088 Baked Goods

...right now, our main concern is for the Japanese people and helping them recover from this tragedy. We encourage others to join us in supporting the 'Aloha for Japan' fundraising efforts....

In February, 2010, GAO was asked by eight members of Congress representing Hawaii, Arkansas, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa to review issues related to the migration of citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands(RMI), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of Palau (ROP) to the U.S....

It has been almost eight years since the wars on terrorism began. Between March 29, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2010, we in Hawaii have lost 284 service members.

This year, we formally induct 16 service members into the roll for the Hawaii Medal of Honor. All 16 gave their lives for our freedoms in 2010.

This is the prepared text of Rep Tom Brower invocation given today before the State House.  Question: Which god is he invoking?

"I look forward to supporting Gov. Lingle," Djou told the more than 50 people who attended his two-hour speech. "I believe she will make a very good U.S. senator."

  Senator Dick Durbin Visits Mosque Foundation

To address an estimated state budget shortfall of more than $1.3 billion over the current fiscal biennium, the Department of Education (DOE) is in the process of closing down schools, explaining to the public that such steps will save a few hundred thousand dollars per school....

CD1(Blue): 47.6% Kerry 16/9/53/20 W/H/A/O
Most of Oahu, particularly the more Republican parts.

CD2(Green): 58.4% Kerry 29/9/42/20 W/H/A/O
South-eastern Oahu and all of the other Hawaiian islands.

We at Hawai`i Free Press would like to take this opportunity to speak up on behalf of “pessimism and civic decline” – they are better than tax increases.

After decades of drug-running, extortion and prostitution, the Mafia appears to have found a rather more ecological way of laundering their money: green power....

Waialua High, McKinley High and Kealakehe High School robotics teams won this year’s FIRST in Hawai‘i Regional Robotics Competition, qualifying them to move on to the 2011 FIRST Robotics Championship at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri, April 27-30. 

The state requested proposals March 1 for bids for the housing of 1,800 prisoners on the mainland for three years once the current contract ends in June. The deadline for bids is at the end of this month.

Philadelphia Inquirer expose on the same Gulen Cult which is now attempting to win favor in the Hawaii Legislature via HR30 and the nearly identical HCR37 and is attempting convert Mokapu Elementary School into a Gulen-controlled Charter School.

I ... prevailed in the Democratic primary matchups (for example, Case 47%, Hannemann 35%, Unsure 18%), and did best among the Democrats in a general election against presumed Republican nominee Linda Lingle (Case 49%, Lingle 37%, Unsure 14%).

In the current Libya crisis...leadership has come from the president… of France.

Obamacare prohibits insurance companies from excluding children with preexisting conditions under any circumstances. This creates the incentive for parents to delay purchasing insurance for their children until they get sick, leaving insurance companies to pick up steep medical costs. Many insurers have thus opted to forgo offering these risky child-only policies rather than face the ruinous effects they could have on their ability to stay in business.

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Full Tilt Poker, one of the world’s top Internet poker sites—and potentially a key beneficiary of SB755--is now under Federal investigation for money laundering.

Hawaii jumps one spot to the top of the list this month. Leisure travellers are taking advantage of recent airfare sales to Honolulu, driving hotel demand and increasing rates....

...

 The assumption that political and social progress will increasingly marginalize religion has dominated many academic circles. However, data on religious belief and practice in the U.S. and around the world defy that theory.

If the majority of the lawmakers and Hawaiian Electric Co. get their way under Senate Bill 367 — the bill designed to finance an interisland cable — the Oahu ratepayer will be solely responsible for the cost of the project, predicted to cost somewhere between $500 million to $1 billion.

Residents and business owners should report any damage to their property, home or business to Aloha United Way by dialing 2-1-1 (Monday through Friday) or to the State Civil Defense toll free line at 855-211-7456 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

For years the Hawaii Republican organization has been controlled by Lingle loyalists—even Lingle herself.  But in 2009 Republican delegates elected Jonah Kaauwai GOP Chair.... 

The Commission on Water Resource Management is extending its nomination period until Wednesday, April 6, 2011.  The original application period (October 17 - November 22, 2010) ended before Governor Neil Abercrombie took office.

SB1078: Specifies that the benefits of the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund are subject to negotiation. Clarifies that a decision of an arbitration panel shall be final.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission gave final approval to a general lease agreement allowing Hawaii DeBartolo LLC to develop 67 acres for the Ka Makana Ali‘i Center in East Kapolei. Under the agreed upon terms, Hawaii DeBartolo will pay more than $140 million in rent, over the course of 65 years, to DHHL for use of the land.

Democrat members of two House Committees voted to gut a bill that would have helped parents buy school supplies for their children and inserted language to legalize gambling in Hawaii.

SB 755, which started as a proposal by Senator Carol Fukunaga to help school-age children, was completely rewritten behind closed doors.  Further, the bill was allowed to pass without the standard 48 hour notice to give the public time to comment on this measure.