July 20, 2009 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Monday, July 20, 2009

July 20, 2009 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:17 AM :: 7441 Views

Layoff list expected to be delivered to unions today

Lingle said last week she would present the list to the unions this morning. The state began notifying some workers Friday that they might be laid off, a move one union leader called improper.

(What will HGEA cry about today?)

Most Honolulu City Council candidates opposed to tax hike

City officials are to blame for the tax and fee increases and should resign, said candidate Jacques "Butch" Sims, a self-employed consultant. "Greed, corruption, ego and the fiscal irresponsibility of Honolulu's elected officials caused our current quandary," Sims said in a written response to an Advertiser questionnaire.

Appellate court post has 6 finalists

» Katherine G. Leonard, associate judge, Intermediate Court of Appeals. Prior experience: attorney with Carlsmith Ball LLP and law clerk for the Hawaii Supreme Court and Oahu Circuit Court.

» Sabrina S. McKenna, circuit judge. Prior experience: Honolulu district judge, University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law assistant professor, UH College of Business instructor in business law, corporate secretary and general counsel for Otaka Inc., and associate at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel.

» Craig H. Nakamura, associate judge, Intermediate Court of Appeals. Prior experience: assistant U.S. attorney; University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law adjunct professor; associate at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel; law clerk, U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Herbert Choy.

» Steven M. Nakashima, partner at Marr Jones & Wang. Prior experience: Honolulu district judge, associate and partner at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel and law clerk for the U.S. 9th Circuit and the attorney generals of Hawaii and Oregon.

» Michael K. Tanigawa, staff attorney, Intermediate Court of Appeals. Prior experience: Court Annexed Arbitration Program, attorney at Char Sakamoto Ishii Lum & Ching, William S. Richardson School of Law adjunct professor, partner at Tanigawa & Tanigawa, grand jury counsel and deputy public defender.

» Frances Q.F. Wong, circuit judge. Prior experience: District Family Court judge, 1st Circuit Family Court per diem judge, partner at Hall & Wong, associate at Edmunds Hall & Weinberg, associate at Hart Leavitt Hall & Hunt.

2 new regents approved for UH

John C. Holzman and James H.Q. Lee are filling the seats vacated by Chairman Allan Landon and Ronald Migita, whose terms expired June 30....

Six regents who had been serving on an interim basis since January, pending confirmation by the Senate, have also been approved.

"RECOVERY.GOV": $541,119 to hang a traffic light at Hickam?...

"RECOVERY.GOV": $541,119 to hang a traffic light at Hickam? Hawaii project makes Drudge Report recovery pork list

Its not PORK, its HAM -- Agriculture Sec. Vilsack: 'Purchased 760,000 Lbs of HAM at cost of approximately $1.50 per pound'... FOOD LION: $.79 Lb...

Koller: Human services funding requires careful scrutiny

The state Department of Human Services (DHS) recently extended numerous contracts, including domestic violence shelters, for three months (July-September), allowing us time to review our purchases of services. This prudent action to carefully manage scarce taxpayer dollars has been misconstrued by some as an attempt to cut off funding.

SB: Libraries must remain open

Instead of compiling numbers in a formula that fails to take into account the important need of a nearby library, the school board should find a way to keep all libraries open, even if that means reducing hours they are open to the public. (How about eliminating useless DoE desk jockey positions?)

Hawaii postal service cuts being considered

To cut spending, the Postal Service announced this month that it will consider closing or reducing service at 3,200 of the nation's 27,200 postal stations and branches and will evaluate another 1,600 offices for possible action depending on the outcome of the initial closures.

The Postal Service does not receive a taxpayer subsidy.

In Hawai'i, spokesman Duke Gonzales said the Postal Service does not release budget or revenue figures, but he did say that mail volume passing through the Honolulu district is down more than 12 percent over the same period last year.

Board’s Nishiki decision released--redacted

WAILUKU - The Board of Ethics suggested that Wayne Nishiki review the county ethics code, but took no further action on a complaint against the Maui County Council member in its decision last month.

An attorney advising the board initially said its decision would not be made public.

But county attorneys said last week that the law allowed them to make the board's opinion public as long as names and other identifying information were redacted, and they released the document Friday. The Maui News had filed a formal request for the document under state open-records laws.

Private Hilo school embraces technology rejected by DoE

The coming-of-age curriculum, called Schools of the Future, also emphasizes the role of students in directing their own education and has them work on projects to develop core skills, said development director Patrick Naughton.

St. Joseph is one of several private schools in the state funded by Hawaii Community Foundation grants. With an enrollment of some 350 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, St. Joseph received $43,000 mainly for teacher training, he said.

"The technology being used on SOTF is often called 'disruptive' by educators -- the Hawaii Department of Education is adamant that 'disruptive technology' does not belong on campus. ... So as part of the curriculum we include ethics and the legal consequences of inappropriate use," said Naughton. "The students respond well to this training."