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Saturday, December 31, 2011
December 31, 2011 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 3:24 PM :: 15655 Views

Mufi Hannemann and Ernie Martin Operative: Patty Teruya Forced out by Ethics Investigation

Hoku Can’t Pay Its Electric bill in Idaho, Freezing Temps May Destroy $390M plant

Update: Hawaii's Civil Union Law Greeted With Lawsuit, But No Injunction

DLNR Seeks Nominees for Forestry Committees

Abercrombie Releases $63.7M in CIP Funds

Full Text: PUC Annual Report

Abercrombie Running on Lingle’s Record

Henry Curtis: Governor Abercrombie also claimed other energy victories as part of his first year success story

“1st Year Actions & Accomplishments: ... photovoltaic panels were installed on the Kalanimoku Building saving the State $300 a day in electricity with more panels to be added in the future.”

REALITY: DAGS awarded the project in 2009 before Rep Abercrombie announced he was running for Governor. The Kalanimoku Building installations were completed in 2011.

“1st Year Actions & Accomplishments: ... The State is building a 10 MW facility in partnership with Hawaiian Electric Co. to provide power to the grid and to power the airport in the event of a major emergency.”

REALITY: The PUC approved the project in 2009, again, before Rep. Abercrombie planned to leave Washington D.C.

Related: Under Lingle State Saved $20M in Electricity Costs, Abercrombie Claims Credit

(Abercrombie is doing a better job of running on Lingle’s record than Aiona did.)

read … Who is more successful at spin: HECO or the Governor?

2011: Dope, Taxes, and a Senate Without a Prayer

Shapiro: » Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who while campaigning promised "without equivocation" not to raise the state excise tax, told legislators he was "flexible" on the idea, then pulled it off the table again. He was certainly flexible on the definition of equivocation.

» Abercrombie abandoned his predecessor's push for random drug testing for public school teachers. The new policy is called, "Don't Ask, Don't Bogart That Joint."

» The state Senate stopped inviting clergy to bless its sessions after complaints about the separation of church and state. Senators seldom had a clue; now they don't have a prayer, either.

» The House voted to study the feasibility of creating a state bank. Lawmakers hope it'll attract customers who need expert advice on mismanaging their finances.

read … With the year of jeers over, comes hope for more cheer

Visitor Spending Up 15 Percent This Year Through November

KITV: $11.3 billion were spent in the first 11 months of the year.

In the month of November, total visitor spending grew by 8.2 percent from November 2010 to $972.5 million.

Total arrivals in November rose by 2.6 percent year-over-year to 566,672 visitors.

SA: 2011 looks to finish on a high

Read … Up 15%

Gabbard Calls for Repeal of DOMA after being Targeted by Gays

CB: Tulsi Gabbard “I would work for the repeal of DOMA at the federal level and would support civil unions at the state level as interim measures.”

CB: EMILY’s List Urged to De-List Gabbard

read … Gay Revenge Attack

Rod Tam begins jail sentence

Rod Tam turned himself into district court Friday morning to begin serving his two-day jail sentence

read … Rod Tam

Agent accused in fatal shooting can travel

SA: In arguing for the modification, Hart told Ahn that his client has the "complete support of the State Department" and has "a compelling case of self-defense and defense of others."

read … Agent accused in fatal shooting can travel

3rd Monk Seal Death not ‘suspicious’

SA: Jeff Walters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hawaiian monk seal recovery coordinator, told the Maui News a necropsy on the seal was inconclusive. Additional medical samples were being sent for analysis, he said.

"I don't think we could call it a suspicious death, but we are going to add it to the other deaths in terms of the investigation," Walters said. "Considering the fact that the death occurred in a somewhat similar location and around the same time, it's an extra cause for concern. Law enforcement people are going to be investigating this death as well."

The first seal was found dead last month; the second was last week. Officials couldn't rule out foul play after seeing necropsy results for these two seals, so NOAA is calling their deaths suspicious.

read … 3rd Monk Seal Death not ‘suspicious’

Food truck crackdown spurs move to alter law

SA: A law that makes it difficult for a food truck or lunch wagon to operate legally on city streets could be relaxed under a new proposal before the City Council.

The bill was introduced Thursday by City Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard on behalf of mobile food vendors who say the Honolulu Police Department has been cracking down on them in recent months, issuing a few citations and a slew of warnings.

The law says no vendor or peddler can operate for more than 15 minutes in one spot on a street or public highway. The bill introduced Thursday would increase to two hours the time a vendor is allowed to sell food or merchandise.

read … Food truck crackdown spurs move to alter law

Protesters now occupy city sidewalk

SA: "You can't evict an idea," said 22-year-old Madori Rumpungworn, one of the group's organizers. "We're not going anywhere." (Even though we don’t have one.)

"It's hard to keep the commitment there when it's so easy to be discouraged," Rumpungworn said. (Does this person always speak in truisms?)

From the Google Profile of Honolulu Occupier Michael VanDeMark, which is the best line: ”I own a corporation in Miami Beach, Fl. but I moved to island of Oahu (Waikiki Beach), Hawaii” or “I seem to attract good, professional women but unfortunately the are either alcoholics or drug addicts.”

read … Protesters now occupy city sidewalk

Navy Captain Called Workers ‘Slackers” so Tripler faces $20 million racial discrimination lawsuit

 

HNN: "There was a Navy Captain who in management meetings referred to African Americans as slackers and said get rid of them. Get rid of the slackers," said Bothwell.

The lawsuit says the plaintiffs suffered from depression, anxiety, physical pain and illness and more which is why they are seeking $20 million in damages.

read …. Soon to be wealthy slackers!

Federal judge throws out Guam firing range lawsuit

GuamPDN: A federal judge in Hawaii has dismissed a lawsuit to halt the military's plan to build a firing range close to the historic Pågat site on Route 15, calling the lawsuit moot, according to a District Court of Hawaii document.

The lawsuit was filed by firing range opposition group We Are Guåhan, the Guam Preservation Trust, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in November 2010, according to Pacific Sunday News files.

read … Guam

Bringing Mainland Tribal Troubles to Hawaii

HR: The sovereignty possessed by Indian tribes is a source of frequent nasty disputes and lawsuits between tribal governments and state or local governments. In addition, tribal membership strips people of basic civil rights they would normally expect to have as Americans.

Below are headlines and links to 13 news reports illustrating such disputes, published in various states during the last three months of 2011. A new webpage provides excerpts from those reports that have clear relevance to Hawaii; see http://tinyurl.com/7959235

A webpage compiled in 2000 has links to hundreds of these controversies; some links might now be dead after 12 years, but the widespread nature of the troubles is clearly exhibited. http://tinyurl.com/863m72o

read … Tribal Troubles

In first year, ignition interlock law called a success

HNN: According to the state Department of Transportation, there were 983 ignition interlocks installed through December 13th. There were 601 installed on Oahu, 158 on Hawaii island (61 in Hilo and 97 in Kona), 28 on Kauai, and 196 on Maui. No interlocks were installed on Molokai or Lanai.

Those ignition interlocks prevented cars from starting 3,591 times. The DOT said in 3,282 cases, the driver blew a blood alcohol content level of .025 to .079 percent, just below the legal limit. In 200 cases, the driver blew the legal limit of .080 to .099; in 194 cases, the driver blew .100 to .159; and in 72 cases, the driver blew .16 -- twice the legal limit -- or more.

read … ignition interlock

50,000 year old Moss found Growing In Hawaii

NG: It was discovered in a State office inside one of the Wang Computers….

read … Moss Has Cloned Itself for 50,000 Years, Study Says


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