... the two largest PEO's lobbied successfully for the passage of a PEO bill....

“We want to remind the community that all sea turtles are still protected, and that both State and Federal consequences apply to anyone harming a green sea turtle,” said DLNR Chairperson William J. Aila, Jr....

Reflecting on his two terms in office, President George W. Bush said in 2010, "You realize you're not it. You're a part of something bigger than yourself."  This is a sentiment President Barack Obama did not inherit from his successor ....

In Norway, male same-sex marriages are 50 percent more likely to end in divorce than heterosexual marriages, and female same-sex marriages are an astonishing 167 percent more likely to be dissolved....

CGEI Wind is jointly owned by Good Energies and Champlin Windpower, LLC and is lead by Mike Cutbirth. Mike was formerly head of Global Finance for Zond Corporation and Enron Wind and served 4 years ....

In its report on next year’s Pentagon budget, the House Armed Services Committee banned the Defense Department from making or buying an alternative fuel that costs more than a “traditional fossil fuel.” It’s a standard that may be almost impossible to meet ....

The ACLU is seeking an immediate court order that will affirm the Plaintiffs’ right to get married....

In celebration of her 59th birthday, Governor Linda Lingle will be honored by supporters at Birthday Bash events on the Big Island, Maui, Kauai and Oahu....

Yesterday the Hawaii Republican Party lost one of their Giants....

The state originally imposed a fine of more than $5 million … Health officials say the water didn't pose any immediate or significant risks.

For a family of four, premiums on even one of the lower priced "silver" options could still cost more than $15,000 annually on the exchanges....

The lingering headline on the front pages this week is that JP Morgan Chase suffered a massive loss on a hedging strategy, costing them $2 billion....

The State of Hawaii has a long history of refusing to count military personnel and their families when reapportioning the Hawaii State Legislature....

Upcoming Congressional Bills

• Senate: Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012
• Senate: Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012
• House: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012
• House: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013

They sniff out bombs, patrol dangerous explosive zones, and put themselves in harm's way to protect our soldiers. Yet military working dogs are currently classified as "equipment" by the Pentagon and are sometimes left behind ....

"...we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted...."

“This is Mufi Hannemann’s pet project that he abandoned to run for governor, quite unsuccessfully I might add,” Marx began. “Now it appears another Honolulu politician, Tulsi Gabbard, has decided to take Mufi’s reigns and put the state deeper into financial crisis by supporting a $450,000,000 ‘paper’ loan,” Marx stated....

Kanohowailuku Helm reports about IAM's visit to the slippery corridors of the state Capitol, where four IAM delegates survived initiation into the bizarre rituals of Hawaii lawmaking....

The last time Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) fulfilled his legal responsibility, Conan was still on NBC, Tea Parties hadn't come together and the iPad hadn't yet been introduced....

... there is a huge reservoir of pro-life, pro-family registered non-voters and non-registered voters who can be reached ....

First-class travel. Six-figure salaries for half the 132 officers and staffers. Plenty of plum jobs for family members. Life is good at the top of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers.

 ...the electorate is growing more and more sensitive to the rising burden of taxes and fees of the past few years as lawmakers attempted to balance the state’s budget on the back of taxpayers....

... three hundred delegates gathered at the Hilton Hawaiian Village today for the 2012 Hawaii Republican Party Convention.... 

Working together to create jobs will bring Hawaii’s economy back. That’s the independent record that Linda Lingle has built....

DC status quo defenders have contributed about $700,000 to Mazie....

• Derrick H.M. Chan
• Daniel R. Foley
• David M. Forman
• Craig H. Nakamura
• Richard W. Pollack

Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the appointment of a new Director of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) and a change at the Public Safety Department (PSD).

The drag from construction and government will end this year, setting the stage for broader growth....

Almost two years ago today, we made history by winning a historic special election....

The lawsuit argues that the Equal Protection Clause guarantees representational equality as well as voting equality....

The largest tax hike in history is due to strike the United States on January 1, 2013. Known as "Taxmageddon," it would impose $494 billion in higher taxes on the American people in the first year....

Starting May 9th, the Leadership Institute will be returning to Hawaii with world-class campaign training for conservative candidates....

For Honolulu, this means that the $250 million that the Obama Administration had set aside for our rail project will just disappear. It also means that New Starts Funding as a national program may also disappear....

Governor Neil Abercrombie today ordered that all national and Hawai'i flags at all State offices and agencies as well as the Hawai'i National Guard are to be flown at half-staff ....

Her latest missive is not surprising to the people of Hawaii, as it is simply the latest example of what the public knows already: Mazie puts partisan politics before people....

Hawaii's achievement level is at or above 22 percent Proficient, up from 17 percent in 2009...equivalent to Alabama, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and West Virginia....

State grades were based on a rigorous examination of state law for adherence to guiding principles developed by national child welfare experts using a 100-point grading system....

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS LAKE ERIE (CG 70) successfully conducted a flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, resulting in the first intercept of a short-range ballistic missile target ....

Bateman, a retired US Air Force Colonel (JAG), former Assistant Attorney General for Washington state and attorney in private practice for 30 years, now owns the Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee farm, which he has operated for the last seven years....

Oregon investigators have traced an outbreak of norovirus to a reusable grocery bag that members of a Beaverton girls' soccer team passed around when they shared cookies....

...turbines frequently draw electricity from the grid to keep blades turning when the wind is not blowing....

Kachejian's story, which is continued in new book, "SUVs Suck In Combat," illustrates the human impact of an ill-equipped military....

"Like me, the U.S. Chamber recognizes that the time for partisan bickering is over. We must work together to establish bipartisan solutions that will help boost our economy" -- Linda Lingle

The Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the names of the Navy’s recently acquired high speed ferries (HSFs); the USNS Guam and the USNS Puerto Rico....

...$3.5 million from the City’s Affordable Housing Fund to acquire and/or renovate an existing structure to provide transitional housing....

One of the guards slept through the ordeal, and another sat in a chair with a towel draped over his head, Cocklin says. 

...

"...we cannot have high-quality schools without adequate funding...." -- Wil Okabe

Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) that address recent March 2012 storm damage to highways and roadways as well as implement safety improvements throughout the state’s transportation system....

This week, the House of Representatives has an opportunity to finally set some limits on Washington's spending spree while also ensuring that the U.S. military has the resources it needs....

On May 8, 2012, the state released the first draft of its strategy to transform its information technology and business processes....

Overall, 1.2 million people, or 0.4 percent of all people in the United States, identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI), either alone or in combination with one or more races. This population grew by 40 percent from 2000 to 2010.

Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah all earned A+'s for their friendliness towards small businesses. In contrast, small business owners gave California, Hawaii, Vermont, and Rhode Island an F....

...public pensions nationwide are underfunded by a total of $4.4 trillion, despite efforts by many state governments to reform pension programs....

Last weekend, the people of France took a sharp turn to the left, and the rest of Europe may be on the brink of rebuking its recent tack toward fiscal responsibility....

Above all else, we both agree that President Obama must be defeated. The task will not be easy. It will require all hands on deck if our nominee is to be victorious....

"As a Congressman and member of the Chickasaw Nation, Congressman Cole has made providing indigenous people, including native Hawaiians, the means for self-determination, self-governance and self-reliance a legislative priority," said Gov. Linda Lingle.

We are also pleased to report that the most onerous measures of 2011 and 2012 – House Bill 441, House Bill 834, House Bill 2028 and Senate Bill 2975 – all died upon adjournment of this legislative session....

Why start the first year with 500 releases? I also question whether we will have the necessary programs and personnel in place for Year 1. Will drug and alcohol treatment, counseling, vocational training, or halfway houses be ready?

Rep Thielen notes the proximity of five schools, a hospital, and numerous residences, all within one mile of the proposed landfill site....

Hawaii is a harbinger for what's to come in both caregiving and LTC ....

This 2012 edition of Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect marks the 21st year the AFL-CIO has produced a report on the state of safety and health protections for America’s workers....

The Bill passed 22-3. Out of 25 Senators, there were 10 who voted "yes, with reservations." Honorable Senators, what does that even mean?

OPEIU represents nurses throughout the United States under the umbrella of the OPEIU Nurses Council and recently affiliated the 4,000-member Hawai'i Nurses Association (HNA)....

...production companies only remain in-state until tax conditions are made more favorable elsewhere....

...a faceless young American woman grows from birth to old age with the government at her side every step of the way....

Among the problematic policies are ... policies that force student clubs to accept voting members and officers that don’t agree with the clubs’ beliefs....

A political watershed is formed when the benefits of incumbency flow down hill to a new generation....

A highly compensated Bishop Street executive recently complained that his effective state tax rate was something on the order of 16% even though the nominal maximum state income tax rate is 11% for those folks making big incomes....

Complicating matters, the Merrill executive who most-closely dealt with the fund reportedly fell overboard while fishing in waters off Hawaii last September, and has yet to be found.…

The aforementioned circumstances raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern….

The Hawaii State Senate adjourned on this final day of the 2012 Legislative Session, passing many bills in support of its priorities set forth at the beginning of the session....

The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it would keep Hawaii on "high risk" status for failing to carry out education reforms it promised in return for a $75 million grant from the federal government....

No surprise here.  This has always been the plan ....

Just a day after her last legislative day at the State Capitol, Representative Kymberly Pine will pull her papers today at 11:30 a.m. to run for the City Council District 1 seat....

"I am encouraged that yesterday the Hawaii State Legislature passed SB 2785, which establishes a regulatory framework for the private investment in, and development of, an inter-island electricity transmission cable."

State's April 2012 Monthly Energy Trends Report has just been released by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism....

...today's jobs report shows, the U.S. economy only added 115,000 jobs in April -- well below expectations and far, far below what is necessary to drive the economy back to full employment....

With the end of the 2012 Legislative session today, hundreds of measures now come to Governor Neil Abercrombie for his approval....

The Hawaii House of Representatives took action Thursday on its final bills of the session....

Republicans in the State House of Representatives successfully led the way in opposing a series of bills that would have resulted in lasting damage to our environment....

"As candidates for HSTA President, we had our disagreements. However, we both agree that asking teachers to reconsider the January settlement proposal is in the best interest of Hawaii's teachers and children." -Paul Daugherty & Wil Okabe

Pre-Trial is a threat to public safety. Releasing thousands of prisoners cannot be taken lightly, and the current process for early release is inadequate....

... supported by Delegate Gregorio “Kilili” Camacho Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands), the top Democrat on the Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs ....

Blaine Harden, Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, Viking, $26.95....

their aggregate impact on the environmental is completely accounted for, they may be more harmful than their gasoline-only predecessors....

However, new research finds that wind farms actually warm up the surface of the land underneath them during the night....

...

$25 billion in losses over the last five years, $20 billion in annual losses projected in the coming years, and 80 percent of its locations losing money....

Religious freedom, suicide, gambling, LBGT curriculum, and trangender birth certificates ....

...the House Conferees battled down to the last six minutes to protect churches who did not want to be involved with civil unions....

the Senate has voted to make the public shoulder the burden of a $1billion cable system....

HB2175, HB2099, HB1875....

In a statement to a local reporter, Hirono's spokesperson said that her campaign travel itinerary took precedence over her duty as a Congresswoman to vote ....

Government interference in the sugar market hurts consumers and food manufacturers by driving up the price of sugar, threatening competitive farmers and ranchers by jeopardizing export growth, and weakening the U.S. economy by diverting resources from more competitive uses...

In 2009, the shift to biotech crops reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 17.6 billion kilograms, equal to the removal of 7.8 million cars from the road for a year....

Unfortunately, under this Administration, the military is facing significant cuts that severely undermine America's ability to defend itself and stand ready to combat the threats that lie around the corner.

The State Legislature has passed three groundbreaking bills to curb the growing cyber crime trend in Hawaii. The bills were the result of the cyber crime informational briefing co-chaired by Representatives Kymberly Marcos Pine and George Fontaine.

Representative Thielen's amendment required that, by 2020, food grown in Hawaii for local consumption would double from the amount which was grown in the state in 2014....

As the nation’s hospitals rush to adopt new health information technologies such as computerized medication prescribing systems, the potential for such advances to inadvertently result in harm to patients remains a major challenge ....

Governor Abercrombie, HECO and some House and Senate members are now finalizing legislation that would allow the project to fast-track without sufficient environmental analysis or public review....

The certification process has become a restrictive bottleneck, damaging the industry it was intended to protect....

If it ever was a secret, it's not a secret any longer: The Obama Administration is on a vindictive campaign to injure America's oil and gas industry....

“Society should protect and strengthen marriage, not undermine it as this lawsuit seeks to do,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Holly Carmichael....

Robles, 18, was there as a condition of parole for the juvenile crimes of sex assault, theft and runaway charges, according to the complaint.  The family claims that the home failed to supervise the two boys despite house rules that required curfews and bed checks every 20 minutes on overnight shifts.

Hawaii Christian Coalition presents its annual Prayer at the Capitol May 3, Thursday 6:30-8:00pm State Capitol Auditorium....  

• Senate: 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012
• Senate: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011
• House: Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act
• House: Interest Rate Reduction Act

...

Horizon wishes to assure the Jones Act industry of its fidelity and that it will not succumb to the siren call of Jones Act reform even if that means it will never have a chance to rationally renew its fleet of dreadful old clunkers....

“Mr. Gill explained that ... Hawaii’s primary election law is out of compliance with the freedom of association provision in the U.S. Constitution. In order to rectify this error, a lawsuit must be filed and Mr. Gill asked UHPA to consider supporting this federal litigation.”

... but a bill for Hollywood Moguls' Tax Credits appears dead, and a sneaky attempt to foist another HCEI-style set of 'goals' on Hawaii has been thwarted ....

They were welcomed by our vibrant MC, Miss Hawaii Lauren Cheape....

Seven Hawaii high school teams, and one independent elementary school team, are competing in the 2012 FIRST Championship robotics competition at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO....

...the tax incentive did nothing more than skew the economic cycle and created the feast and famine of construction activity....

Robert Thomas, a Director with Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert in Honolulu, concentrates his practice on property and land use issues including eminent domain, regulatory takings, water rights, and voting rights....

Soldiers from Schofield Barracks’ 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, and other Army units, rolled up their sleeves ....

In response to my article, a reader asks: “We get all the natural gas we need now. How does it get here? The article makes it sound impossible, but it’s here.”

"I will support Congressional investigation efforts into the TSA policies and guidelines and will advocate for practices that maintain security while not sacrificing the personal dignity of our residents and visitors." -- Gov. Lingle

...in some regions of the country, the well-to-wheel emissions level for all-electric vehicles may be higher than the best hybrid and all-gasoline competitors, says the New York Times....

Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE: CPF), parent company of Central Pacific Bank (the "Bank"), today reported net income for the first quarter of 2012 of $13.5 million....

Savage is the creator of the two-year-old It Gets Better Project which encourages teens struggling with same-sex attractions to embrace homosexuality....

"I was paying close to $1,000 in annual dues. After I won that case, I started paying about $100. I didn't want to pay for the things that I'm not obligated to pay for like giving money to political candidates...."

To Leftists and black activists, it was an “uprising”; white liberals prefer to call it “civil unrest”; many others call them the L.A. Riots. But Koreans simply call it Sa-i-gu, or April 29....

“I’m trying to think, but nuttin’ happens!” -- Curly Howard

Ted Liu stepped-up as Chair of the Event and with single-minded determination, energy and hard work, led its success....

Will programs to help the prisoners adjust be in place the first year when most of the prisoners are let out? 410 will be released the first year, 384 in the 2nd year, 257 in the 3rd year, 111 in the 4th year, 29 in the 5th year, and 4 in the 6th year for a total release of 1,195 prisoners over 6 years....

A U.S. Coast Guard temporary security zone to protect protesters from Hawaii's Safari Explorer yacht cruise is ending, and the USCG seeks input on how the rule may be improved....

You know a politician is looking for applause when he speaks in front of a crowd of college students and says he's there to help them pay back their student loans.... 

Abercrombie jumps the gun to claim credit for something that wasn't his doing ....

Now Carlisle will be able to 'ride to the rescue' of the Windward Shore as well as 'saving' Kailua and Kaneohe when he renews Waimanalo Gulch. What a charade!

The top five states ranked by per capita in 2011 were: California, Hawaii, Florida, Nevada, and the District of Columbia ....

VIDEO: Kanohowailuku Helm - Pane From Molokai

 ...

Private clinics and pharmacies have whispered among themselves for months about suspending services due to non-payment of millions....

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has appointed Daniel E. Brown, Ph.D., as principal investigator (P.I.) for the Hawai‘i Island Beacon Community (HIBC), a federally funded health care transformation project administered through the UH Hilo College of Pharmacy....

...imminent storm that is about to occur due to simultaneous implementation of multiple programs that will create extraordinary financial and administrative burden as well as mass confusion for physicians...

...today Congress has the opportunity to do something about it....

April 29 marks the third year in which the U.S. Senate has not passed a budget -- a staggering dereliction of duty, particularly given the country's near-$16 trillion debt. But that's not the Senate's only blockbuster failure ....

...

... the Planning Commission will render a decision on May 25, at 9:00 a.m. at the Mission Memorial Auditorium to either approve or deny the 15-year extension ....

Professor Stiglitz explained that the first time the Jones Act came to his attention is when he worked on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors and it was identified as a major impediment to the national U.S. economy....

Hawaii’s 2012 Plan is not just “substantially” different from population, it is grossly deviant.

They died April 19, in southwestern Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when the UH-60 Black Hawk they were in crashed.

One person saw an opportunity with the demise of the German tax shelter: Relativity Media founder Ryan Kavanaugh....

Assess2Know will allow Hawaii to evaluate students' performance using thousands of measures in alignment with instructional objectives and Common Core State Standards, which were implemented in 2011....

The proposal, which is known as the "People's Rights Amendment," would amend the Constitution and hold that constitutional rights are only for "natural persons," meaning that corporations and legal entities would no longer enjoy the freedoms the Constitution guarantees....

• Senate: Cloture Motion; Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012
• House: Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012
• House: Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II
• House: Small Business Tax Cut Act

The state Department of Human Services (DHS) has posted for public comment a draft proposal for a demonstration project that would integrate healthcare services for clients enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid....

The Hawaii Health Connector, which was established to create and oversee the state’s health insurance exchange, will begin the first phase of the information technology (IT) system next week as the result of a contract with Public Consulting Group (PCG) of Boston....

The latest example came last week when Democratic leadership in the Senate again passed the buck on enacting a budget -- on April 29, it will have been three years since the Senate last passed a budget resolution....

To turn out their vote this fall, Hawaii Democrats are claiming that Hawaii will decide the balance of power in the US Senate. But in reality Hawaii's Senate election will determine whether the Aloha State will have a voice on the majority side of the aisle or will suffer decades of obscurity with low-seniority Senators of the minority party .... 

For 2012 HSTA has deleted several questions from 2010 including their call for legislators to de-fund services for severely disabled students in violation of the Felix Consent Decree.

The Hawaii harassment statute, which Fisher had violated ... includes not just violent touching but “any slight touching of another person in a manner which is known to be offensive to that person.”

While some of the slowness of government action is certainly attributable to the laws and regulations that have been layered upon year after year, a good part of the blame lies with the reality that many in the public sector do not want to make decisions purely out of the fear that the decision might be wrong....

Ira Einhorn, Master of Ceremonies, Earth Day Rally on Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park, Phila, PA, Apr. 22, 1970.

Ideology comes in three colours: red, brown and green, representing Marxism, fascism and environmental extremism. Judged on sheer evil, the worst crime in history was brown, the Nazi genocide, although the reds slaughtered more people. The death toll (difficult to measure) is roughly, Hitler’s holocaust 6 million, Stalin’s famine and terror 8 million, and Mao’s famine 30 million. But the greens have topped them all....(read on if you dare)

There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe.

"If there is an issue under water, you literally have to pull the whole cable up, and that's very expensive."

...The Ameron Quarry in Kailua was chosen as the best site to house the next landfill. The next step is for the Mayor to agree . . . for he does have the power to not agree and pick another site....

Rep. Gene Ward (R-Hawaii Kai – Kalama Valley) will host a "Talk Story" with constituents in his district at Maunalua Bay (next to the canoe halau) this Saturday April 21 from Noon to 2 p.m. Food will be provided....

the true cause of what burst America's housing bubble is still debated, two of the culprits -- housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are still going strong ....

The Hawai‘i State Senate has confirmed the appointment of four new members of the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents effective July 1, 2012, and renewed the appointment of two Regents....

Judge Hara ruled that the HSTA, Mr. Beekman and Mrs. Wilson had no standing ....

... Hawaii Employees' Retirement System, Honolulu, is searching for up to three domestic large-cap equity managers to run a total of about $1.2 billion, according to sources ....

...many of the protections put in place to help shield our nation’s heroes—specifically the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)— have been violated in a disturbing number of cases within the past several years....

... according to indictment, on five occasions between September 23, 2011 and December 8, 2011, Seaman engaged in illegal sexual acts with a detainee at FDC ....

The case arose from allegations of theft and fraud at a now-defunct nonprofit legal services corporation in American Samoa called the U’una’i Legal Services Corporation (ULSC). ULSC was the only nonprofit organization in American Samoa that was dedicated to providing free legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual abuse.

Scheduled as follows, open house starts at 5:30 p.m. with formal presentation to start at 6:30 p.m....

...

DW Aina Lea Dev. LLC v. State of Hawaii Land Use Comm'n, No. 11--1-0112K ....

Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the release of more than $34.2 million for various Capital Improvement Projects ....

Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the recent appointment of Jo Ann Uchida Takeuchi as deputy director of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). She fills the vacancy left by Everett Kaneshige....
 

"The campaign's real slogan is: 'No Debates; Just Watch My Commercials'.

"I'm glad to see this small business bill pass the House, with the support of 18 Democrats, and disappointed that Congresswoman Hanabusa voted against it," stated Former Congressman Charles K. Djou....

...government waste, fraud and abuse isn't limited to just one agency. Look no further than the Department of Energy (DOE) whose inspector general said yesterday that he's overseeing 250 to 300 open criminal investigations....

... the public utilities commission shall consider the costs and benefits of a diverse fossil fuel portfolio and of maximizing the efficiency of all electric utility assets to lower and stabilize the cost of electricity....

 This "early release bill" amends current state law in a manner that can affect neighborhood security. With 1100 inmates released in the first 3 years of the program, there will be some recidivism, some crimes and many victims....

Saturday, April 21 9AM at Kaka‘ako Gateway Park

 According to Opensecrets.org ....

2012 graduation dates, times, and sites for Hawaii's regular public, charter, and adult community schools ....

U.S. and British officials were deeply suspicious of this outfit, observing that the AASF – though backed by singer (ands Communist Party member) Harry Belafonte and actor Sidney Poitier – had links to a Kenyan nationalist leader….

The Hawaii State Board of Education (BOE) today unanimously approved three policies related to performance evaluation systems for teachers and principals....

President Barack Obama has an ambitious plan for Washington bureaucrats to take command of the oceans—and with it control over much of the nation’s energy, fisheries, even recreation ....

...

...

High gas prices are not a president's friend, especially in an election year, so it's not surprising that President Barack Obama is trying his darndest to shift the blame for record-high fuel prices onto something other than his failed energy policies....

...these laws were passed primarily to restrain politicians from being reckless with public resources, not to restrain the private sector....

“Voters have a legal right to choose who represents them,” Thielen said. “A small group in a Party cannot secretly and arbitrarily veto that choice. I am a member of the Democratic Party. Hawaii law allows me to run for public office as a democratic candidate.”

American households can expect to face an average tax increase of $3,800 ... 70 percent of Taxmageddon's impact will fall directly on low-income and middle-income families, leaving them with $346 billion less to spend.

There are no Jones Act ships available to transport the LNG from the contiguous United States or Alaska to Hawaii. No deep draft LNG carrier has been built in a U.S. shipyard for at least 30 years....

We have spoken with two Oahu based hospitals and have not been able to come to an agreement with them at this time....

Bishops from California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah began their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican with prayers for courage in defending religious freedom and in sharing faith in the risen Lord.

Tibet's spiritual leader says China's 'totalitarian' policies sparked Tibetan self-immolations....

Forty-eight years after President Johnson declared war on poverty, the number of poor people in the United States remains stubbornly high....

The U.S. Senate could vote today on the gimmicky distraction known as the Buffett Rule ....

The 4th annual Honolulu Tea Party Tax Rally will be held on Monday, April 16, from 4-7 p.m at the Hawaii State Capitol....

• HSTA: “You Cannot Expect Better Results”
• Inouye, Akaka, Hirono, Hanabusa: "Hawaii is making Significant Progress"

The Hawaii/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) has established a database of actively practicing non-military physicians in Hawaii....

This bill blatantly violates several constitutional protections, such as protection of Hawaii’s streams and consideration of cultural impacts. If passed, litigation may be inevitable.

I will advocate for meaningful, comprehensive tax reform that brings down the rate for all taxpayers while retaining the most important deductions such as the mortgage interest and charitable contributions. Through these reforms, we will actually collect more revenue with a much broader tax base ....

One of the reasons why there is growing taxpayer cynicism about the work of lawmakers is the earmarking of revenues for specific programs which in many respects has little relationship to the source of the funding....

In the same week that Gov. Linda Lingle hosted Sen. Susan Collins, one of the nation’s most bipartisan leaders, Mazie Hirono has opted to campaign with Congressman Barney Frank - the poster child for the hyper-partisanship in Washington, D.C....

The annual Rich States Poor States report is out. Hawaii ranks 15^th for economic performance and 46^th for economic outlook.

Hawaii ranks number one with the highest prevalence of high school students who have considered suicide. How can we prevent and discourage teen suicides if we pass legislation condoning ending one’s life ....

DOA (Department of Agriculture) concerned that overnight accommodations would dramatically alter concept of agricultural tourism as originally intended and could cause agricultural tourism to be primary, rather than secondary, land use....

Rep. Yamane asked AG: Q: Wouldn't condemnation be allowed, for public purposes, since we buy distressed property? A: Eminent domain is for real property. There are problems with using eminent domain for personal property. Mortgages, we consider, are more personal property....

OEQC further noted that this measure is unnecessary and because of its ambiguities, omissions and conflicting purposes will cause confusion in the manner in which Chapter 343 is interpreted and administered, which would as a result, lead to an increase in future lawsuits against the State....

The NTJAR initiative would exempt just the Jones Act noncontiguous domestic trades – Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and Puerto Rico – from the U.S.-Build requirement of the Jones Act and only for large self-propelled oceangoing ships....

Jong-un "is more likely than his father Kim Jong-il to miscalculate during a crisis, unaware that Seoul is more likely to retaliate to a military clash than in the past."

Ed Case has accepted ten Senate debate/joint appearance invitations from media and community organizations across Hawaii, while his opponent, U. S. Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, has accepted none ....