Entries for January 2013

...a South African company, announced its intention to build a 96,000-barrel-per-day gas-to-liquids plant in Lake Charles, LA....

The editorial board of The Washington Post is absolutely right: “Medicare as we know it is not sustainable,” and the “ultimate solution” is structural reform.

the 19th edition of the Index of Economic Freedom, produced by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal....

Comments on the state’s Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS are due by Feb. 7, 2013....

The Supreme Court's surprise ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has left many observers wondering about the implications of the ruling on the law itself....

NFIB, CATO Instiutute, Owners' Counsel of America, and lawprofs James Ely, David Callies, Todd Zywicki, Randy Barnett, Eric Claeys, and D. Benjamin Barros -- have filed an amicus brief ....

Hobby Lobby gained national attention when its leadership announced they would not bow to the Obama Administration’s violation of their religious liberty....

Fluorescent lights hang above; though they appear to be on, the room seems eerily dark....

The information is key because it is used by developers to set affordable homes sales prices and rents....

Eventually, the goal is a statewide early childhood education program for more 4-year-olds....

"The headline could have been Schatz Launches Re-election Campaign, Puts Campaign Manager on Congressional Payroll.”

We are also cognizant of related 2011 - 13 contract disputes being undertaken by other Hawaii public employee unions, including several ongoing arbitrations....

• House: Establishing the Rules of the House
• House: Hurricane Sandy Relief – Suspension

As part of the campaign, DCCA has launched www.HFIC.Hawaii.gov....

“There is buzz that folks are going to get primaried, there’s no question about that.”

Hawaii's largest oil refinery is closing, precisely as we predicted it would....

He is a member of the Hawaii Bankers Association, Financial Services Roundtable, Hawaii Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii’s Military Affairs Council

If enrollment in consumer-directed plans increased to 50 percent, there would be an annual savings of $57 billion....

Wind subsidies cost $52.48 per one million watt hours generated....nuclear power costs $3.10. Hydropower only costs 84 cents and natural gas costs only 63 cents.

"Hawaii is making progress on strengthening its education policies" -- StudentsFirst

Overall prevalence of self-reported falling asleep while driving during the previous 30 days was 4.2%. State-level prevalence ranged from 2.5% in Oregon to 6.1% in Texas (Hawaii was 2nd at 5.7%).

The deal that Congress and President Obama struck that finally—but only partially—avoided the fiscal cliff resulted in seven tax increases.  Those hikes combined with six tax increases from Obamacare....

Previously appointed to the House in January 2009 to complete the unexpired term of the late Bob Nakasone.... 

 “Any action that weakens the protectionism of the Jones Act will ultimately be to the long-term benefit US shipping.”

Uncle Sam and Kanoho have a talk about the future....

Nearly 51,000 high-school students in 81 cities around the world joined the 2013 Kickoff via live NASA-TV broadcast and webcast....

Oahu will grow taller thanks to strong volcanic forces that lift it up from the bottom of the ocean....

...the Seventeenth Amendment prevents the Hawaii legislature from substantively constraining the Governor’s choices in making a temporary appointment....

Hawaii. Student enrollment increased 2.7 percent while administrators and other non-teaching staff increased 68.9 percent from FY 1992 to FY 2009....

...an audit of HART’s contracts and spending for public relations and public involvement services to determine what service(s) each employee, contractor and subcontractor provides....

As another legislative session is about to be convened, let’s look back at some of their follies over the past few years ....

With a new study pointing the finger at high fructose corn syrup as a culprit in America’s explosive epidemic of obesity, it is important to remember just why we are consuming so much of this commodity as opposed to table sugar....

January 3 - 15, 2013....

The deal is being characterized as one aimed at “stopping taxes from going up on middle class families,” but in fact the expiration of the 2% social security payroll tax holiday means that employees will see 6.2% instead of 4.2% withheld.... 

...influential British maritime journal Lloyd’s List published three articles today regarding the long awaited US. Government Accountability Office release of a report on their study of the impact of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico....

...the situation would be much worse for the refineries as we add another 25-30 kb/d demand cut by introducing LNG into our energy system....

"With the support of a majority of the House of Representatives, Speaker-elect Joe Souki has established leading committees ...."

Intermediate Court of Appeals held that the Hawaii Senate's failure to confirm a sitting Land Use Commissioner for a second term did not disqualify him from office ....

“I see no compelling reason to significantly revise the current policy at this point in time.” -- Response to Audit from Council Chair Ernie Martin 

Reid has already effectively shut down the opportunity for minority Senators to offer amendments to bills. Now he is angling to change the Senate’s rules so that minority members cannot filibuster a bill.

Applicants include Nicanor E. Casumpang, Jr., Loretta Giannotti, Robert George Hill III, Natalie A. Kama, Gilbert Samuel Coloma Keith-Agaran, Clifford R. Libed, and Mary D. Wagner.

there are now more Republican minorities in the Senate (South Carolina’s Tim Scott, Florida’s Marco Rubio, and Texas’s Ted Cruz) than Democrats (New Jersey’s Robert Menendez and Hawaii’s Mazie Hirono).…

...update on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and healthcare transformation in Hawaii....

HIC is to conduct a study on designating safe facilities located at camping areas .... 

The purpose of this briefing is to provide the legislature with an overview of the current projects, the priorities of the divisions; a report on whether the Department of Transportation is using renewable energy and its efficiency; and a departmental 5 year plan....

 "...revenue enhancements such as making permanent certain tax provisions that are due to sunset in 2015 and beyond.”

In 2009, in the "Superferry" case, the Hawaii Supreme Court, after years of hinting (but not finding a suitable vehicle), formally adopted the "private attorney general' doctrine ....

Hawai‘i secures conditional approval from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to operate a state-based health insurance exchange....

The mother claims that her daughters teacher and state administrators not only failed to investigate the abuse that occurred on and off school grounds, but conspired to cover it up, and then suspended her.

Original warranties on turbines have expired and extended warranty options are not available....