Education K-12

Congressman Charles Djou gave the following speech as his final address the the U.S. House....

The 35th annual Smart Business Hawaii (SBH) Business and Investment conference will be held Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at Honolulu’s Ala Moana Hotel from 7am to 2pm.

... blame the military and use this as a basis to prepare to scam a billion or two from Congress the next time Democrats take over....

Meet the Candidate Forum for the District #1 City Council Race scheduled for Tuesday, December 21st, 2010; 6-9pm; at Nanakuli High & Int School Cafeteria.  The forum is sponsored by the Nanakuli Neighborhood Board #36 and the Nanakuli High and Int. PTSA. 

"I question whether one can start a museum in a residentially-zoned area without a variance. I am not certain Kahala residents want such a facility in their neighborhood," said Representative Marumoto.

Rep. Djou voted in favor of the Obama tax proposal that the President announced last week. Rep. Mazie Hirono was the only member of the Hawaii delegation who voted to oppose the President on this critical bill.

VIDEO: House Speaker Calvin Say suggests Lili`uokalani could be converted to a Charter School.

Honolulu, HI – Hawaii Right to Life is sponsoring the 38th annual March for Life Hawaii with co-sponsors Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference. The grassroots rally is open to the public and will be held Saturday, January 22 from 10:30am to 1:30pm at the Hawaii State Capitol grounds.

Is the school closing guidelines being taken so seriously that we should punish rather than reward such things as Koko Head Elementary’s performance as a 2011 Hawaii Distinguished School and as a Hawaii representative in the 2011 National No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools program?

Executive Director Janet Grace stated “It makes no difference if a candidate is running at a federal, state, or local level. What matters is the moral compass of those elected to serve. There are ethics and standards of living that apply to all public servants because they help guide society in doing what is just and right. I believe most voters would agree with us that the men and women appointed to serve us must be held accountable to advocate for all innocent human life.”

“I welcome the GAO’s decision to audit the federal funds that go to the COFA. I have been vocally calling for reforming this treaty throughout my campaign and time in Congress – this is a good first step."

In the case of Queen Lydia Lili’uokalani School, history and tradition argues even more strongly against closure.  It would indeed be ironic to shut its doors on the 100^th school year since the Queen dedicated its opening.

When I was a mere eight-year-old boy I was sexually abused for an entire year of my childhood life. In addition to the horrific abuse my abuser took child porn photographs of me and had me develop them at his apartment.

He put his hand on my shoulder and said “wouldn’t your mother like a copy.”

First it's important to mention the impeccable reputation and expert subject knowledge of the primary authors of the report prepared by Infrastructure Management Group, Inc.

Steve Steckler is a Harvard University planner and chairman of IMG with past service in the U.S. DOT. Thomas Rubin is a mass transit consultant who's served as Controller-Treasurer of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, now known as Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The PEIS will examine the program-level impacts of the development of up to 400 megawatts (MW) of wind energy on Maui County, the transmission of the energy to Oahu via an undersea cable, and the integration of that energy into Oahu’s electrical grid.

“I applaud President Obama's compromise with the Republican leadership on taxes. Congress has dragged its feet for too long on this issue. I repeatedly stated my support for what is now the Obama compromise during the campaign and hope the Democrat leadership will finally agree.”

"The charter school accreditation process involves using national standards and best practices to improve the management, policies, and procedures, including anti-nepotism practices in our charter schools," Rep. Gene Ward stated.

I was just informed that Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle used strong language against IMG and Thomas Rubin, preparers of the State’s Rail Fiscal Analysis Report, and that he alleged that I helped the governor’s consultants with the report. This is consistent with Peter Carlisle not knowing what he is talking about.

A press release from the University of Hawaii at Manoa on November 24, 2010 announced the results of a computer study by UH climatologists which portends greater global warming in the future.  Even though this was a computer study of other computer studies, the authors were correct in pointing out that there has been great disagreement between the many existing global climate models.  In most of these cases the computer models have consistently overstated future global temperatures.  We also know that estimates of future atmospheric CO2 have also been overestimated.

In light of Honolulu project’s size compared to the population served by it, Governor Linda Lingle requested that the Hawaii Department of Transportation procure an independent financial review.  Infrastructure Management Group, Inc. (“IMG”), in conjunction with the Land Use and Economic Consulting Group of CB Richard Ellis (“CBRE”) and Thomas A. Rubin (together, the "IMG Team”) was tasked by the Hawaii Department of Transportation to evaluate the rail project’s financial plan, including revenues and costs, the post-rail operating plan, and the fiscal implications for Honolulu.

Mission Houses Museum, located in Honolulu’s Historic Capitol District, is known worldwide as the place where the Hawaiian written language was developed. The museum preserves the oldest and second oldest houses in Hawai‘i and the largest collection of Hawaiian language books in the world.

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today transmitted the final report of an independent financial analysis of the proposed Honolulu Rail Transit Project to Mayor Peter Carlisle, Council Chair Nestor Garcia and Governor-elect Neil Abercrombie.  A copy was also sent to the Federal Transit Administration and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.  The report is meant to provide an objective assessment of the overall financial impact of the rail project to Hawai‘i taxpayers in the future. 

Success for the Kalanimoku PV project can be credited to the collaborative efforts of Patricia Saito, project officer for the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), Russ Saito, comptroller of DAGS, and Ted Liu, director of DBEDT. 

Activist, masquerading as academic, argues for his preferred changes in society....

Better Government Dec 2010 with Representatives George Fontaine (R-Kihei), Arron Ling Johanson (R-Aiea), Gil Riviere (R-North Shore) and Gene Ward Ph.D (R Hawaii Kai). 

Charges and counter charges over carpet-bagging and eligibility are proliferating in the December 9-29 Special Election for the Honolulu Council District 1 seat being vacated by Todd Apo.

The General Election may be over, but Republicans have the chance to help elect a fellow Republican next month.  Three Republicans, Tom Berg, Bob McDermott and John Roco are vying for the City Council Seat.  

Our long national nightmare is over. Phusion Projects, the makers of Four Loko brand caffeinated malt beverages, announced yesterday that it will remove the caffeine from its products. Phusion’s decisions came just one day after Senator Chuck Schumer (D–NY) pushed the Food and Drug Administration to ban “these dangerous and toxic drinks.” ...

If a group of Honolulu city council members has its way, nonprofits that are exempt from paying more than $300 a year in property taxes will see their bills go up. Sparking the push to raise more revenue from nonprofits—as in other municipalities around the country—is an expected $100 million-plus gap in the city's budget.

Honolulu - News articles report that Japanese billionaire Gensiro Kawamoto wants to establish an art museum on his Kahala Avenue properties.   Representative Barbara Marumoto (R-19th Dist. Kaimuki/Waialae/Kahala) is calling for a discussion of this issue at a Neighborhood Board No. 3 meeting.

Representative Gene Ward (R-Hawaii Kai – Kalama Valley) said today on behalf of the Hawaii Kai community keenly interested in keeping the Kamilonui Valley farmers on their agriculture lots leased from Bishop Estate – Kamehameha Schools, that the Estate has not negotiated in good faith, and is calling upon the community to support the farmers.

The denial of cert by the U.S. Supreme Court means that until the Hawaii Supreme Court confirms or rules otherwise in a future case, the ICA's rule that "unvested" rights or "contingent future interests" are not property and are subject to uncompensated acquisition by the legislature, is the law.

Volcanic Ash columnist David Shapiro describes Hawaii Democrats as “a party where the sun rises and sets by civil unions these days.”  If there is any doubt, take a look at what happened to gay marriage opponent, former Honolulu Councilman Gary Okino....

Over the past week, Charles has received hundreds of emails from people all over the state and the nation expressing their sorrow and disappointment over Tuesday’s election results.  While we share your pain, we prefer to instead focus on all that we were able to accomplish together in the last year.

Minority Leader Representative Gene Ward said, "Our new Caucus is excited and united and ready to do the people's business, particularly regarding fiscal responsibility and job creation in the 2011 Session.  We are very pleased to have grown 33 1/3 percent representing the first net-gain in the size of caucus in 10 years." 

I collapsed into bed at roughly 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, and awoke, groggily, some hours later to find that Rep. Charles Djou, Republican of Hawaii elected in a special three-way election earlier this year, had been defeated....

Aiona: "I congratulate our opponent on his victory, and will join all of you in supporting our next Governor by working to hold our government accountable to our citizens."

There were more local Republican challengers than in a decade, and they were well informed, well qualified and had charisma, yet one by one they went down ....

To locate your assigned polling place, visit the online Polling Place Locator by clicking HERE.

I invite you to join us after the polls close for an Election Night Watch Party at the Dole Cannery Ballrooms. Click HERE for more information.

Click a link and find out what the rest of Hawaii media has not been telling you....

Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan today toured the Roberts Hawai`i office with President Robert Iwamoto where he met and talked story with Roberts Hawai`i employees. Duke and Lynn also visited Pioneer Plaza to meet and greet with supporters and walk through small businesses to connect with voters.  In addition, Duke and Lynn visited Island insurance Company, Bank of Hawai‘i, Matson, Alexander and Baldwin and a medical building in Kapahulu.

“You raise important concerns about the impact that the standards could have on Hawaii’s two refineries, and by extension, the State’s economy and the Pacific Command,” said Jackson in her October 25, 2010 response letter to Governor Lingle.  “Your letter effectively summarizes the primary ways in which the situation of the Tesoro and Chevron refineries in Hawaii differs from that of refineries located on the mainland of the United States.”

Colleen Hanabusa has used every opportunity to say that she “supports our kupuna.” Which makes her unabashed support of the $1 trillion government takeover of health care known as Obamacare that much more puzzling.

Recently, in a debate, she claimed that no seniors would see Medicare cuts – that it is guaranteed. Actually, that’s false. Here are the facts....

Duke Aiona is being blamed for everything the State Legislature and Judiciary has done wrong.