April 5, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Monday, April 5, 2010

April 5, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:25 PM :: 27078 Views

LINK>>>Hannemann cancelled speed bumps for Kailua’s fatal Wanaao Road

LINK>>>National Democrats want DC to select Hawaii’s next member of Congress

LINK>>>As “momentum shifts to Djou”, Hanabusa’s “boldly deceptive” campaign implodes: Ads, mailers pulled

National Dems Consider Backing Case

Political analyst Neal Milner said this development shows that national Democrats want to make sure a Democrat wins the race for the urban Honolulu seat and not Republican Charles Djou, a Honolulu city councilman.

The D.C.C.C. has apparently “decided that Ed Case is likely to be the winner in an election that they're finding much more precarious than people thought it would be in the first place," Milner said. “They’re looking at this and saying, ‘You know what, we better step in here and make sure that in a strong Obama state, a Republican doesn't get elected.’”

"It can't hurt Case, and it can't help Hanabusa. It's as simple as that,” he said.

(Djou is running in a district which voted 47% Bush in 2004 and 65% Lingle in 2010. He can win this one-on-one. Does anybody think Dan Inouye will cease his drive for revenge?)

Djou, Case, Hanabusa to debate April 13 Moiliili

INFO: http://www.moiliilimatters.com/

RSVP: CLICK HERE

OHA Trustee: Rice decision “really not all that bad”

The Bob Lindsey quotes begin in paragraph #30:

"Looking back, gee, it's what, it's 14 years now, what happened was really not all that bad," he said.

(The Trustee Class got rid of the fools who were OHA trustees in Clayton Hee era and got the Akaka Bill. The Rice decision worked out VERY well for them.)

EXPLAINED: Reservation for a Broken Trust?, Akaka Bill: More than 73% of Hawaiians not "Qualified" for membership in Akaka Tribe

SB: Act quickly to protect state health care law

Gov. Linda Lingle's concern that the new federal health care reform law may have resulted in the termination of Hawaii's state health care act should be taken seriously. Swift state legislation may be needed to assure continuity -- or restoration -- of Hawaii's employer-based health care mandate….

The clause remained, stating that the state health care law "shall terminate ... upon the effective date of federal legislation that provides for mandatory prepaid health care for the people of Hawaii."

The new federal law allows Hawaii requirements to prevail in areas where the state law, presumably still in existence, is stronger. For example, the state requirement that all employers offer health insurance to employees would not be affected by the federal law's exemption for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

The problem, however, is that the termination clause in Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care law may have been triggered by the mere enactment of the federal health reform. If so, state lawmakers, now in session, should be prepared to act quickly to remedy the situation.

(The legislature will fail to act on this because the crisis that will be created by the first lawsuits against the Prepaid Health Care Act will create a crisis which will create an opportunity to tinker with the law.)

SB on Probation HOPE: Budget cuts imperil justice in Hawaii

The Legislature must also keep its eye on both short- and long-term economic impacts. Two recent Honolulu Star-Bulletin editorials noted that successful treatment courts, such as HOPE, "should not be pinched by bureaucratic rigidity" and that "because of the net savings, (legislators) are unable to deny the funding (for HOPE) on the basis of cost."

Chief Justice Moon has explained to lawmakers that it costs less than $2 a day to supervise a probationer in the HOPE Program, compared to $139 a day to incarcerate that same offender if the program is not available due to budgetary constraints. That is a very compelling statistic.

Same-sex union backers picket for vote on measure

The target of their picketing is state House Speaker Calvin Say.

"He masterminded the deferral of the bill in the House," said Jo-Ann Adams, of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii….

Adams believes a majority of House members will approve the Senate version of the bill, precluding further committee hearings, if Say allows them to vote on it. But so far, House members are unwilling to oppose Say, she said. When members voted to shelve the bill, they did so by anonymous voice vote.

Any member could have asked for a roll call vote to have each member's vote placed on the record, said state Rep. Michael Magaoay, who presided over the vote.

Magaoay said he waited, but nobody asked for a roll call vote.

(The demand for a roll-call vote may become a political excuse for bringing 444 back at the last minute. BTW: If Abercrombie is elected, he will sign a gay marriage law. If Aiona is elected, he will veto it.)

Puna’s Fred Blas honored with Ola Pono Award

Republican candidate for State House, Fred Blas, was honored this month for his outstanding work in the Puna community.
The Ola Pono Awards, given by HMSA, honors those who make meaningful, substantial contributions to our community by promoting safe, healthy and drug‐free lifestyles. Blas was one of six recipients who were honored on March 11, 2010 at the Waikiki Prince Hotel. Recipients also receive a $1,000 donation to a charity of choice, which Blas chose to give to the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science Charter School in Pahoa.
Fred is no stranger to community service. In 2006, he was nominated by Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim for the Jefferson Award for community service. He is founder of the Hawaiian Beaches Action Team, which brings together to build bus shelters, rebuild park facilities, clean up abandoned properties and erase graffiti.
Read more about this prestigious award in the Hawaii Tribune‐Herald and the Big Island Chronicle.
To learn more about Fred Blas and his campaign for State House District 4, visit his website at www.FredBlas.com

Generations rally to back LHS ‘history’

LAHAINA - Lahainaluna High School supporters dressed up in school colors of red and black Saturday morning to rally for the preservation of the school's 174-year-old boarding program.

A protest on Honoapiilani Highway fronting the Lahaina Cannery Mall drew about 150 supporters, while a crowd nearly double the size turned out in front of the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului. The rallies were organized after the state Senate Ways and Means Committee in Honolulu last week indicated it would not support the longstanding Lahainaluna work-study program in the state budget.

(And of course the cut to the Lahainaluna borders’ program was included precisely for the purpose of generating opposition to budget cuts—in the hopes of creating pressure for tax increases.)

West Maui's state legislators - Sen. Roz Baker and Rep. Angus McKelvey - have pledged to fight to keep funding in the budget for next year's program, which cost about $600,000 this year.

(Another benefit, giving the local Democrats something to pretend to fight for to help their sorry selves get reelected.)

EXPLAINED: Bureaucrats' Strategy: Furloughs and the "Washington Monument Principle"

HCC to wrap rail station into campus plans

A planned rail transit station next to Honolulu Community College and a $32 million technology center are being incorporated into a new master plan for the 25-acre campus in Kalihi…."It would just be an incredible front door to the campus."

'Shared sacrifice' applied unevenly: Mayor wants to raise taxes, spend more on travel, lobbying

HILO -- Despite calling for a "shared sacrifice on everyone's part," Mayor Billy Kenoi wants more discretionary spending and staff than he and former Mayor Harry Kim needed last fiscal year.
Money for travel, equipment and legislative lobbying for Kenoi and his staffers would rise July 1, compared to what was spent during the 2008-2009 fiscal year, according to Kenoi's budget request. More than $75,000 extra would be earmarked for those three Office of Management accounts…

Shrimp farm committed to sustainability, official says

Sunrise Capital intends to expand its operations to include a variety of species including moi, kahala and possibly tuna, Chamberlain said.

The aquaculture farm expects to produce several species which would be “sold fresh” only within the state, he said.

(When somebody tries to build a fish farm suddenly all the talk about Hawaii’s need for agricultural self-sufficiency—such as in the next article, below--and doing something about alleged over-fishing of the oceans goes out the window, replaced entirely by complaints about alleged pollution by the fish farm. Nobody is proposing systems to mitigate pollution, just oppose, oppose, oppose… the article is full of comments from complainers. Typical enviro hypocrisy.)

Visit http://www.hawaii.gov/health/environmental/water/cleanwater/index.html to review a copy of the Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination application

What does economic recovery mean for Kaua‘i?

The growth spurt in home and community gardens across the island is just one example of how people are beginning to “work together cooperatively,” taking advantage of Kaua‘i’s natural “garden of Eden” without having to rely on imported products which are deemed highly unsustainable, he said.

In fact, farming and agriculture is actually one of the six “emerging” industry clusters the county is developing as a “Plan B” for economic growth, according to Office of Economic Development Director George Costa.

(Do they mean it??? See the shrimp farm article above, and decide for yourself whether this is empty talk.)

ADV: The disappearance of the $50,000 job

Bill might bite shark tours

Each day, two boat tour operators head out to the waters off Oahu's North Shore to give the dozens of tourists aboard a close-up look at sharks. They toss bits of bloody fish into the water to attract the predators.

It is a brisk business and, according to opponents, also illegal.

The operators say they are helping conduct research, an exception that is allowed in federal waters. Whatever the legality, the two sides are locked in a standoff that has sparked a protest and new legislation aimed at penalizing the companies.

Sign-waving tradition returns for House race

(Amazing, an article which features lots of quotes from Djou and his supporters. They must be slipping at the SB.)

"I'm not sure if sign waving actually causes anybody to vote for a particular candidate," said Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou, a Republican vying for the vacant 1st Congressional District with two well-known Democrats, former U.S. Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, and 11 other candidates.

"But I will tell you that people won't vote for a candidate if they don't sign-wave," Djou added.

Gerald Moura is something of an expert on sign waving, having helped a number of candidates over the years. Now the 69-year-old retired federal worker has created a 10-foot-tall amalgamation of Djou signs featuring a padded armrest.

"I can see people eye to eye and thank them," Moura said.

And above all, said Djou, "wear sunscreen."

Maui News nails climate fraudsters

…Goodstein defines scientific fraud narrowly: "Scientific fraud consists of an explicit and well-defined act: faking or fabricating data or plagiarism."

He does not mention climate science. I believe he misses a kind of constructive fraud we have come to see too often there: Withholding of data or methods, cherry-picking (sometimes valid, sometimes not valid) data to sell a result, and claiming scientific validity for models, as opposed to observations.

This may not constitute the kind of fraud that a college's science cop can investigate in a legalistic manner, but it presents a question of integrity far more consequential for the people who consume science than the most sedulously faked lab notebook.

If the lab notebook was confected, and if the apparent results were important, that eventually will come out. (And, as we now know, some of the leading climate modelers, like Stephen Schneider, claim not to even keep lab notebooks, which would seem to fit Goodstein's definition of fraud in reporting.) The other kind of science fakery may not be revealed, at least not for a long, damaging time.