"I respect the President of the United States. He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help a country we both love."

Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) ... received $45,000 from her state's pension program in 2010.

...the Land Use Commission changed the land use boundaries from "urban use to agricultural use while affordable housing was being constructed on the property."

Starting with HB953, a big fat raise for DoE bureaucrats. 

the HECO Companies' proposed Biofuel Surcharge Provision clearly results in an increase in rates that triggers the contested case and public hearing provisions of HRS §269-16(b).

Recent Congressional Votes

• Senate: Ethanol subsidies amendment
• House: Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations, FY2012
• House: Agriculture Appropriations, FY2012

 Here is complete video of Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaking today at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. When he finished, the crowd was on their feet chanting, "Run, Rick, Run!"

When Hawaii Reapportionment Commission members went into closed executive session during their June 15th meeting at the State Capitol, they discovered something rather disconcerting. A small recording device had been left on a chair and it was turned on, recording their every word.

There are 10 basic dimensions that account for the reasons that big projects succeed or fail.... 

Given the tremendous personal, social, and economic costs of broken families, national leaders should seek ways to promote the importance of marriage so that more children can grow up in a stable household and experience the unique benefits of a married mother and father.

Our next town hall meeting will be July 12, 2011 at Makaha Elementary School from 6-9pm.  We will discuss the one-step-up housing feature as is contained in my resolution 11-54 CD1. The Nanakuli Neighborhood Board will also discuss this resolution at their meeting next week.

Please be sure to join us for a public forum on June 23, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Washington Middle School. In addition to words from and Q&A with the Governor and Lt. Gov., there will be brief presentations from Bruce Coppa on our efforts to improve the economy ....

what happens when sea level in the real world does not rise nearly as much as alarmists predict? If you are a NASA-funded gatekeeper of sea level data, you merely doctor the data....

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced international visitors spent an estimated $12.3 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States during April. This represents a 19 percent increase from April 2010. Travel and tourism-related exports have increased, on average, nearly $1.4 billion a month in 2011.

The Robotics Organizing Committee (ROC) will host the events in coordination with robotics supporters and community partners throughout the state, beginning on June 21 and running through August 28, 2011.

 Sunday 26 June, 2:00pm at the Naniloa Hotel's Polynesian Room in Hilo. Featured speakers are UH School of Law Prof. David Callies, author of the definitive book “Regulating Paradise” and Big Island real estate broker David Turner.

Moody's Investors Service placed the stand-alone bank financial strength rating of First Hawaiian Bank on review for possible downgrade....

The hot water backup system installation is a first step towards ensuring a permanent solution. The state budget for fiscal year 2012 includes $5.6 million in capital improvement funds for a long-term solution to the water heating system at Mayor Wright Homes.

the agreements appear to boost manufacturing exports above the overall trend while having no discernable impact on manufacturing imports....

Film tax credits fail to live up to their promises to encourage economic growth overall and to raise tax revenue....

Expansions of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are designed to extend access to high-quality medical care to all U.S. children. However, evidence suggests that the 37 million children covered by Medicaid-CHIP are less likely to receive specialty care than children covered by commercial insurance....

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has approved a 20-year contract for Maui Electric Company to purchase 21 megawatts (MW) of wind power from Sempra Generation's Auwahi Wind project on the Ulupalakua Ranch in southeastern Maui. 

Freedom of expression is the life source of our Western civilisation.  Do not let that source go dry just to cosy up to a totalitarian regime.

Columns and articles by several of the writers and researchers named by al-Qaeda have been and will continue to be posted on HawaiiFreePress.com.

"$36,000 for improvements of reconfiguration to the cafeteria stage at Mililani Uka Elementary School"

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4–3 in favor of upholding the state's new collective bargaining law, reversing a lower court decision that sought to stamp out the will of the people, the authority of the legislature, and a major movement toward fiscal reform. And at three this morning, following a nearly 13-hour floor debate, the Wisconsin Assembly approved a budget aimed at wiping out the state's $3 billion structural deficit.

The first-ever film to tell the entire story of the conservative woman in her own words, "Fire from the Heartland" is a powerful statement about America at a crossroads and the women who have awakened to the crisis.

Electric cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries....

...President Obama failed to consult Congress in an appropriately deliberate manner. The President has ill-served Congress, and there is no reason Congress should stand for it. As it responds, Congress should be mindful of its obligations: to uphold the Constitution, act in America’s interests, and not unduly put the lives of American allies at risk....

The ahupua'a of Honolulu and Kapalama have been proposed as a future National Heritage Area (NHA) site, a permanent federal designation which was introduced in Congress as S. 359 and H. 1297.

The Treasury acquired the shares this year as part of the Hawaii-based bank holding company's recapitalization. The stock was trading around $29 a share at the time of the Treasury's investment...and closed Tuesday at $14.13.... The stock is down 64% in the past year.

The downgrade reflects the state's minimal financial cushion against risks inherent in an economy dominated by the volatile tourism sector following the depletion of previously large balances as well as the state's significant and growing long-term liabilities.

...the state of Hawaii has temporarily suspended many general excise tax exemptions. The suspended exemptions include certain transportation and maritime support services such as stevedoring. This means that the state will tax carriers for a portion of the cargo costs that had previously been exempted, and the cost to carriers serving the state will increase.  Effective July 10, 2011, Matson will implement a General Excise Tax Arbitrary to recover these extra costs.

As everyone who follows news about energy knows by now, in the last decade the technique of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," long used in the oil industry, has evolved to permit energy companies to access reserves of previously-unrecoverable “shale gas” or unconventional natural gas.

Five days from now, our country will reach the 90-day mark from the notification to Congress regarding the commencement of the military operation in Libya, which began on March 18, 2011.

According to Christoph Gabler, Senior Vice-President for AEGON USA Realty Advisors, LLC, the Towers at KPT are the first phase of a 1,025 community being redeveloped by the Michaels Development Company in partnership with Vitus Group and the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

As President Barack Obama swung through North Carolina yesterday, he did all he could to show that he cares about the U.S. economy, its 9.1 percent unemployment rate, and the 13.9 million Americans who remain out of work. Well, that is, until he let a bit of honesty slip off his tongue....

...the unemployed are not just economic statistics, but are real Americans looking to support themselves and their families....

Despite governmental mandates for renewables, if their electricity production is converted to equivalent tons of oil, then their share is only 1.3% in 2010....

See her announcement....

Please join me this Wednesday evening, June 15th, from 7pm to 9pm, for a very important town hall meeting at the brand new Ewa Makai Middle School in Ewa Beach....

Under the law, all children are required to be proficient in math and reading by 2014—a standard that could leave three-quarters of U.S. schools labeled as failures, leaving them at risk of losing federal funding.

Senator Slom addresses a luncheon at the Hawaii Venture Capitol Association – May 26, 2011 at the Plaza Club, Honolulu Hawaii. The subject: State budget, deficit, spending, taxation, economy, more.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s statements against the Pro Bowl last Thursday revealed the severity of the vision deficit facing our state.

• Effective immediately and until further notice, all new Fannie Mae foreclosures in Hawaii must be commenced as judicial foreclosures.
• Effective immediately, all pending Fannie Mae non-judicial foreclosures in Hawaii that have not proceeded to sale should be dismissed and converted to judicial foreclosures.

Abercrombie’s bizarre attack on the Pro-Bowl is part of Progressive Democrats’ ongoing war against Mufi Hannemann, Dan Inouye, and the “old-boy” Democrats. And this is not Abercrombie’s first attack on Mufi’s new base in the Hawaii tourism industry....

The Oahu Advisory Council of the Reapportionment Commission will meet Wednesday June 15 at 8AM in the State Capitol Conference room 329. Public testimony will be accepted.