Entries for the 'Big Island News' Category

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....

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

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

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

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....

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

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

Only six agencies responded that in order to track cell phones, they must first get a warrant or have probable cause: County of Hawaii, Hawaii; Honolulu, Hawaii; Wichita, Kan.; Lexington, Ky.; Lincoln, Neb.; and North Las Vegas, Nev....

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Ormat is Hawaii’s leading geothermal developer.... But a US House committee report shows that Ormat benefitted from its close ties to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and profited from a potentially illegal $98.5M bailout of an Ormat geothermal project in Nevada.

The UK Daily Mail asks: Does Kamaoa point to the future of Britain's Wind Farms?

The award recognizes the year’s most notable offense for keeping the public in the dark....

Teachers who work for 12 months will receive a 36.9 percent differential....

This is what happens to Hawaii legislators when they are so close to a tax increase that they can taste it....

“People always opt for more information,” says Giddings, “whether or not they have any idea what it means, or how they might use it.”

...Herkes was visibly not thrilled when citizens from all islands called and emailed committee members over the weekend to register deep and wide dissatisfaction with HB2652....

Marshall, who oversees the think tank’s Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, took her presentation on the road. During a three-day tour of Hawaii she spoke to political science students at BYUH and to TEA Party groups in Kona and Hilo.

...the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Hawai'i County as a primary natural disaster area resulting from ongoing drought conditions....

Hilo, HI—Epic ‘Ohana, Inc. today announced the expansion of The Hawaii Youth Opportunities Initiative (HYOI), formed to improve outcomes for young people who age out of the foster care system....

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that on Dec. 1, the government of Japan approved Rainbow papaya for commercial shipment to Japan.

HELCO hopes to add up to 50 megawatts (MW) more of geothermal power if the cost is lower for customers.

Friday, January 13, 7pm to 9pm, West Hawaii Civic Center Community Meeting Room, Kailua-Kona

Ha recently traveled to Iceland where he observed how the country recovered from the biggest financial crash in modern history. Ha stated, “They are recovering because they inoculated themselves from high oil prices by using low cost hydro and geothermal for 100 percent of their electricity and house heating.

...this case begins with the original reclassification of 1,060 acres on the Big Island "agricultural" to "urban" use in 1989, subject to the condition that the original owner develop 60 percent of the proposed 2,760 housing units as "affordable" units....

Pity the much-maligned plastic bag....

The next and final council meeting on this is Wednesday, December 21....

Who owns the new land created when lava flows over private property and into the sea and hardens into fast land?

“Lee is genuinely interested in the well being of our community,” says Carol Massey, “he keeps informed of the issues facing us, and will work hard for District 6....

Matayoshi said the county has a legal obligation to deny building permits to applicants who haven't paid impact fees the Board of Education ....

WHEN: Friday December 2, 2011, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm HST

WHERE: Kona Vistas Community Pavilion (just mauka of Kuakini Chevron)

Roth has 18 years as Deputy Prosecutor starting in Honolulu and then, at the invitation of former prosecutor Jay Kimura, joined the Hawaii County Prosecutor’s office in 1998.

Today’s Washington Post Style page offers up this beyond-satire account of Dylan Bozlee of Hilo, Hawaii, who ....

It hasn’t drawn any attention in the Hawaii media, but copyright trolls contracted by Hawaii Island media monopoly Stephens Media have taken a beating in a series of recent court cases.

UPDATE: Briefings Postponed

...this bag ban law is another unwarranted micro-management of our lives that should not be the purview of our elected officials....

I’m writing this on the 44th anniversary of the execution of that poster-boy of “social justice”, Dr. “Che” Guevara, viewing articles of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in Hawaii and the mainland.

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Sheila Weinberg spoke in Hawaii Tuesday, Oct. 11 on "Government Accounting: The Seen and the Unseen -- What Needs to be Done?"

Law enforcement officials have reported an influx of criminal groups and independent growers from the West Coast who are relocating to Hawaii .... they often find medical marijuana certificates while serving search and arrest warrants but seize far greater amounts of marijuana than allowed by law, in addition to other illicit drugs and weapons….

Saturday Oct. 15 Kona, Sunday Oct. 16 Hilo

Pilot climbs onto wing after ditching 13 miles off Hilo.

As the United States Army's mission in Iraq winds down, soldiers find themselves giving up progressively more of their creature comforts. At Contingency Operating Station Garry Owen, Iraq, Soldiers from 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division are “getting lean” in preparation for that day.

...the commission finds and concludes that the contract price for the AKP-produced biofuel, which the HECO Companies chose to file and retain under confidential seal, is excessive....

...everyone else is dying off," he said, referring to several other projects in the Islands that have stalled or been halted altogether....

Al Gore treated the globe to “24 Hours of Reality” Wednesday and Thursday, but before the finale, Mother Nature stepped in with a show of her own.

The remembrance calls for governments and businesses, houses of worship, railways, fire and police departments, and others to ring bells and sound sirens for one minute on Sunday, Sept. 11, starting at 7:00 am Hawai'i Standard Time (1:00 pm EDT). Members of the public are asked to cease activity during that minute and reflect upon the events of 10 years ago.

Bring your thoughts, your prayers, a lei, and a flag if you can. Bring your family, your children, place your lei with others on the display, and spend some moments with us.

Mugshot, IBEW Local 1245 Business Rep Bill Brill

HHB can now move ahead with its engineering design, construction and refurbishing of the former Hilo Coast Power Company power plant at Pepeekeo into a modern biomass facility.

On Aug. 2, 2011, Safeway Director of Public Affairs & Governmental Relations Susan Houghton and other Safeway officials met with KCFA Board member Paul Uster at Safeway headquarters in Pleasanton, California, to review the concerns of Kona coffee growers....

Among dozens of “green” schools in Washington state, only two use less energy than traditional schools built in those same districts. In more than one instance, the “green” schools use 30 percent more energy per square foot ....

Today, we filed the Reply Brief in the case that asks: after Kelo, when is eminent domain pretextual?

"What’s All the Fuss About International Building Codes?” will be the topic of the August meeting of the Conservative Forum for Hawaii. The public is invited to the free forum on Sunday, 28 August, 2:00pm at the Naniloa Volcanoes Resort’s Polynesian Room, Banyan Dr, Hilo.

Abercrombie last week appointed* Barry T. Mizuno to fill the Hawai'i County seat on the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai'i (UH).

Last week the developer and the County of Hawaii filed their joint Brief in Opposition in C & J Coupe Family Limited Partnership v. County of Hawaii....

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A loud drinking party on county property brought to a halt by the police early May 1 included Mayor Billy Kenoi, state Rep. Jerry Chang and a host of other bigwigs celebrating the end of the Merrie Monarch Festival.

Abercrombie gets rolling about 1:30 and keeps on rolling for the next ten minutes.  Starting about 6:50 you can hear Abercrombie's handlers trying to pull him away....

(Handy Tip: Deposit $100M and make OHA give you $400M. Not only will you prosper, but by bankrupting OHA, you will make Hawaii a better place.)

According to the Companies, the application of the biofuel surcharge “would apply to HELCO and HECO customers, and would add about 1/3 of a cent per kilowatt hour.”

Here's the latest in a case we've been following. In Bridge Aina Lea, LLC v. State of Hawaii Land Use Comm'n....

• HILO -- JULY 27, WEDNESDAY—1:00PM-3:00PM.
• MAUI -- JULY 28, THURSDAY-- 5PM youth session, 6:30PM general session.
• OAHU -- JULY 29, FRIDAY—6:30PM to 8:30PM.

this week ... Bt eggplant trials in the Philippines, GM wheat and potato test fields in Germany; and the recent Greenpeace "media event" destroying the GM wheat trial in Australia.  Not even the U.S is immune, as someone has destroyed thousands of GM papaya trees in Hawaii.

On March 5, 2007--just four months after her 2006 Lt Governor run gave Hawaii Democrats their worst gubernatorial defeat since Statehood—Solomon led about 100 people to sit in at the the Federal District Courtroom of Judge Michael Seabright to support her friend, Shawn Aguiar—the Big Island's largest methamphetamines dealer.

The initiative’s first site is located in Honoka'a, within the Hamakua Coast, where services will be provided at the North Hawai'i Education & Research Center (NHERC). The Rural Outreach Services initiative is a partnership between federal, state, county governments, and private non-profit agencies.

EIRs are required for plastic bag bans by (i) “larger” cities and counties and also (ii) small cities based on the cumulative impacts. Save The Plastic Bag Coalition has legal standing to enforce that requirement.... 

On July 14, 2011, we filed a cert petition, which asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in County of Hawaii v. C&J Coupe Family Ltd. P'ship....

Do the math. Sai and Gumapac have 300 “customers”. Perfect Title had 400 victims. The Maui-based Ventura-Oliver sovereignty mortgage scammers now on trial had about 300 alleged victims. That is 1000 native Hawaiian households who have allegedly fallen victim to these three alleged scams. ...amounting to 2.3% of all native Hawaiian home-owning households.

fair, equitable representation for all residents ... one man/one vote fairness doctrine ....  we urge the State Democratic Party to pursue all legal options including filing a lawsuit, if necessary, to overturn this Reapportionment Commission decision....

Senate Bill 219 prohibits physically restraining inmates who are pregnant....

“Hawaii is the most regulated state in the nation.” He described that it takes about 10-14 years to get a project in Hawaii from green field (non-urban designation) to completion. ...“Every delay adds to the cost of housing, as projects are all financed and the cost of those loans keeps accruing even though no development has actually taken place.” We all end up with higher housing costs as a result.

As we are celebrating the 4^th of July this weekend, we recommend you take some time to read some substantive articles about who we are as Americans....

Please come and join us in Makawao on Saturday, July 2nd for the Annual Makawao Paniolo July 4th Parade. TEA Party Maui plans to enter a patriotic float in the Parade....

...the Land Use Commission changed the land use boundaries from "urban use to agricultural use while affordable housing was being constructed on the property."

the HECO Companies' proposed Biofuel Surcharge Provision clearly results in an increase in rates that triggers the contested case and public hearing provisions of HRS §269-16(b).

The Robotics Organizing Committee (ROC) will host the events in coordination with robotics supporters and community partners throughout the state, beginning on June 21 and running through August 28, 2011.

 Sunday 26 June, 2:00pm at the Naniloa Hotel's Polynesian Room in Hilo. Featured speakers are UH School of Law Prof. David Callies, author of the definitive book “Regulating Paradise” and Big Island real estate broker David Turner.

The meeting is on Saturday, June 18th at 1:00 PM at the Kona Vistas Pavilion.

  Lets invite Al Gore to go skiing....

The so called "Pacific Garbage Patch" was sampled by transit by Oregon State marine scientists, and NO plastic bags were either seen or recovered. The total plastic skimmed barely filled the bottom of a coffee cup, and consisted of fine particulates none of which were shown to be plastic bag origin.

...there’s no opportunity for the Consumer Advocate to be a part of that process to say on behalf of the consumer, ‘We don’t believe that this rate increase is legitimate. We don’t believe you should authorize it.’ .... 

After being hounded for years by charges of sexual harassment leveled against him by a former aide in a 2006 EEOC complaint, former Big Isle Council Chair and Mayoral candidate Stacy Higa has been named Executive Director of the Hawaii State Commission for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps programs in Hawaii.

There is a parallel universe which comes together every Sunday from 9-10AM in Wailuku Maui at the Cameron Center—conveniently located next to the Maui PD. In this universe—for a hefty fee--the gullible can believe they make their credit card bills disappear. They don’t have to pay property taxes. A phony $1 million “Hawaiian Kingdom Treasury Bond” --paid for with a few thousand real US dollars-- can be used to pay off their mortgage.

This scam is tied to several well-known sovereignty activists—which perhaps explains why the Advertiser’s two recent articles have included so little information about the alleged perpetrators.

The state’s Office of Aerospace Development will be the lead state agency for the project, enhancing dialogue and coordination among the state, private and academic partners to enable growth and diversification of the state’s aerospace economy.

FPCON BRAVO--This condition applies when an increased and more predictable threat of terrorist activity exists. 

HELCO reported that 20,660 customer interruptions (16% of all interruptions) were related to Independent Power Producer (non-HELCO Generation) sources. In 2009 Hamakua Energy Partners (HEP) and Pakini Nui Windfarm were the non-HELCO generation sources that caused customer interruptions. 

The Regents Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) will soon begin the recruitment process to fill a vacancy for a County of Hawai‘i seat on the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents.

For five and a half years, the US has hunted for Ahmed Hashim Abed--code-named "Objective Amber." Abed is the alleged ring-leader of an Islamist mob which murdered four US military contractors--including Pa`auilo resident Wesley Batalona--in Fallujah, Iraq on March 31, 2004.

Separately from the Army’s license application, a resident of Hawaii filed a petition on March 4, 2010, requesting the NRC take enforcement action against the Army if it found the Army possessed or released depleted uranium to the environment without a license in violation of NRC requirements. 

On the second Monday of every October, Hawaii celebrates, “Discoverers' Day", in recognition of the Polynesian discoverers of the Hawaiian Islands.”  But the Senate wants to put a stop to the celebrations.

According to the text of SCR55, introduced March 3 by Abercrombie-appointed Senator Maile Shimabukuro, the holiday should be dropped ....

Why should private sector struggling businesses become cash cows for an irresponsible Governor and spineless Legislature? 

Working in the complex world of submerged electronics, students and their mentors created remotely operating vehicles (ROVs) which are driven from a control system above the water's surface.

Dozens of Hawaii elementary, middle and high school students will take their robotic creations to the next level this weekend, by fully submerging them underwater....

Hawaii has one of the highest State Tax Rates in the United States, and yet the State Legislature is considering many new increases in taxes including income, excise, and other fees.  Are you Taxed Enough Already?

After two years of marketing the alleged horrors of the non-existent “Pacific Garbage Patch”, environmentalists, big business, and big government are ready to cash in.

For the city of Kapaa in particular, it’s all too telling that a simple search for the phrase “Kapaa alcohol” on Google doesn’t turn up a list of fun bars to hang out at but rather a long list of drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers.

NotHaus is co-founder of the Royal Hawaiian Mint and creator of the Free Marijuana Church of Honolulu.  NotHaus also produced the Ron Paul Dollar. 

With 125 mph hurricane Flossie still on track to pass August 13 just south of the Big Island, Hawaii County Civil Defense is opening ten emergency shelters in schools and other public buildings island wide. In Kau, likely to be hardest hit, the only available shelter is at Kau High School in Pahala.

Red Cross volunteers are working to get a second shelter opened up at an area church, but as yet have no firm commitment. Hawaii County Red Cross director Youlia Kalima explains the two buildings are the only hardened structures in the entire rural district of 5,000 people. The next nearest shelters would be at Konawaena HS in South Kona or Keaau HS in Puna—dozens of miles away.

The goal of the project is to give Big Island homeowners who have been served with a foreclosure action the opportunity to participate in mediation with the lender and a trained mediator before the case is heard by a judge.

County Police, Fire, Public Works and Environmental Management crews worked with State Highways, the American Red Cross and the county Office of Housing and Community Development to conduct preliminary damage assessments in the County of Hawai‘i today. Their findings include the following reports

The first HOPE “warning hearing” will be administered to five offenders on Wednesday, March 9, at 1 p.m. by Judge Greg Nakamura. Judge Nakamura will preside over all hearings involving offenders on HOPE Probation in addition to his regular calendar.

The meeting is on Saturday, March 19th at 1:00 PM at the Kona Vistas Pavilion

...the geothermal reserve on Earth is 70 million QUADs (hot rock only) but the USA needs only 100 QUAD/yr. In the Philippines they already use 27% geothermal, and in Iceland 100% for electrical power.

During 2010 most Kona coffee went to Afghanistan , where it was very highly welcomed and appreciated.  Some also went to the P.I. and now here at the end of the year I am once again sending Kona coffee to the 25th Infantry Division folks who have recently deployed to Camp Liberty, Iraq.

Multiple renewable energy projects are in rapid development on every island, and plans include $multi-billion inter-island undersea transmission cables.

But if this is all supposed to feel so good, how come our electricity costs are going up up up and it feels so bad?

HONOLULU – The Regents Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) has presented a list of candidates to Gov. Neil Abercrombie to fill four seats on the University of Hawai’i Board of Regents, including two City and County of Honolulu seats, a Hawai’i County seat and a Maui County seat.

Senator Charles Schumer and other congressional leaders have called on government safety agencies to investigate why such elevated levels of lead are coming into contact with our food and leaching into the environment. Perhaps even more alarming, a University of Arizona study found fecal coliform bacteria and E. coli in some of the bags.

EPA standard for lead in packaging materials is 100ppm.  Safeway tests 6.72 times the EPA limit.  Walgreens is 2.98 times, KTA Superstores 2.85 times, and Defense Comissary Agency tests 2.35 times the EPA standard. 

When are you just going to leave us alone to live our lives in peace?

Just because Maui and Kauai and San Francisco and other progressive enclaves have done it does not mean we have to be so foolish also.

Governor Abercrombie’s nominee to head the State Department of Health, Dr Neal Palafox MD, has suddenly withdrawn his name from consideration. HNN and the Star-Advertiser report that Palafox may be “involved in a medical reimbursement investigation.”  Palafox was picked over Senator Josh Green MD of Kona.

Honolulu – Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced the appointment of Gilbert Kahele to represent Senate District 2.  Kahele fills the seat left vacant by Department of Agriculture Interim Director Russell Kokubun.

Rather than create wealth, crony moguls form a coalition with political officials to plunder wealth from taxpayers and other citizens.

HONOLULU - Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced two appointments to the State Senate:  Rep. Maile Shimabukuro to represent Senate District 21, and Malama Solomon, Ph.D., to represent Senate District 1.

At his March 5 sentencing in the Honolulu Federal District Courtroom of Judge Michael Seabright, convicted methamphetamines importer Shawn Aguiar was greeted by over 100 supporters, including failed 2006 Democrat Lieutenant Governor candidate Malama Solomon.  While methamphetamines ravage the Big Island, Solomon urged the judge to minimize Aguiar’s sentence because his imprisonment might reduce the profitability of Solomon’s 1000-acre Honoka`a cattle ranch. 

Governor-Elect Neil Abercrombie today named Kalbert Young as the Budget and Finance Director; and Sen. Dwight Takamine and Audrey Hidano as the team heading up the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations as its director and deputy director, respectively.

The Hawai‘i County Charter (Section 3-17) provides for the empanelling of a Reapportionment Commission every ten years, beginning in 1991, which means 2011 is a “reapportionment year.” Nine citizens (one from each Council district) will be nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the Council by March 1, 2011.

In the instant appeal, we hold that the County’s asserted public purpose for Condemnation was not a pretext for a primarily private benefit....

Governor’s Veterans Day Ceremony, Nov. 11, 1 p.m., Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, 45-349 Kamehameha Hwy., Kaneohe. Gov. Linda Lingle will give remarks.

HONOLULU - Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan today launched a new radio ad, "Twice," to highlight recent endorsements, such as the Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald, Maui News, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawai‘i, Maui Chamber of Commerce and Hawai‘i Island Contractors' Association.

"This campaign is about providing balanced, honest and fiscally responsible leadership for real solutions that will benefit all of Hawai‘i. We sincerely appreciate the endorsements of the Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Island Contractors' Association.”

Just because Neil Abercrombie has had an extreme makeover on the outside, it does not mean his radical ideas and values have cleaned up.  In fact, on the inside, he is just as extreme as he was in the 1970s. 

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii, based in Hilo, have endorsed Republicans James “Duke” Aiona and Lynn Finnegan for governor/lieutenant governor.

As Governor, Duke Aiona will expedite contracts for approximately $946 million in approved state capital works projects over the next 18 months. He will also continue to modernize state airports, contracting approximately $2.3 billion over 15 years, and upgrade and expand our state harbors, contracting approximately $618 million over eight years.

John Willoughby is the GOP candidate for CD2 vs Mazie Hirono and Scott Henderson is the GOP candidate for State House Dist 7 vs Cindy Evans. 

"My comments about flu vaccine have been taken out of context and misconstrued by members of the media as well as supporters of my opponent's campaign.

“I've talked with many health care professionals and reviewed the benefits and risks of flu vaccinations. I just got my flu shot."

The Star-Advertiser’s editors endorsed the call for debates, writing:

We like that Aiona has already challenged Abercrombie to six debates, which will serve to enlighten. He's taken the offensive to call for specifics on balancing the budget, growing the economy and jobs, and revamping education. For his part, Aiona vows a "clear path" on how the GOP will lead the state. We can hardly wait -- frustrations linger over Furlough Fridays and legislative stalemates -- and will be listening intently.

Neil Abercrombie’s answer?  “It’s not my job”

In an astounding display of amnesia and misplaced sympathy, Hawaii rallied around the defendants. After entering their plea deal, the farmers, Michael and Alec Sou of Aloun Farms, orchestrated an outpouring of letters begging the judge for leniency at sentencing. Business leaders, community activists, politicians — even two former governors, Benjamin Cayetano and John Waihee, and top executives at First Hawaiian Bank — joined a parade attesting to the brothers’ goodness.

The men were paragons of diversified agriculture and wise land use, the letter writers said. They had special vegetable knowledge that nobody else had, and were holding the line against genetically modified crops. If they went to prison, evil developers would pave their farmland. Think of the “trickle down impact,” one woman implored the judge. Besides, their produce was delicious.

Here’s a photo of Hawaii Democrats’ Lt Governor candidate Brian Schatz at a 2006 Dan Akaka primary campaign rally in Larry Mehau’s barn. 

Primary Election Vote on Saturday, September 18, 2010 -- 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Craig Dougall, former CEO of Waikoloa Workforce Housing, LLC, names names of County officials involved in the County’s alleged sabotage of the $40M-plus project.  Dougall describes the specific methods they allegedly used to ensure that no financing could be arranged so the project would collapse.

As thousands gather in Washington, DC, Hawaii Christian Coalition and Hawaii TEA Party groups will hold local rallies Maui, Kona, Hilo.

VOTE EARLY! Here is a complete list of Walk-in absentee/early voting sites and hours for all four counties.

Just in time for September 11th, the State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources, has announced a six-figure grant to the 9-11 truthers of the Malu Aina Peace Center.

Jim Albertini is a convicted felon and federal ex-convict once tagged as a "psychopath" by Judge Samuel Wilder King.  Along with his comrades from Malu-Aina, Albertini can be seen every Friday afternoon in front of Hilo’s Federal Building with an “Impeach Obama” sign.... 

I am troubled by the anti-TMT attitude. We are about to reward unprecedented respectful and responsible behavior by the TMT project with open opposition and legal action intended to stop construction. Many are saying the Sierra Club is anti-astronomy while others claim that the TMT is caught in the cross-fire of some long standing anti-UH vendetta.

Results in a pilot study "Native Hawaiian Perceptions of Violence as a Means to Attain Sovereignty" show a sharp contrast between the number of Native Hawaiians interviewed who believe violence is justifiable to achieve sovereignty -- 6 percent -- and the number who believe "the desire to gain sovereignty will result in violence in the future -- 53 percent. Only 24.8 percent felt that violence would definitely not occur.

Dr Thom Curtis, Chair of the UH Hilo Sociology Department, gave the August address to the Conservative Forum for Hawaii on the topic of “Home-Grown Terrorism” on Sunday, 22 August....

After his speech, which dealt entirely with Islamist terrorism, the meeting was disrupted by many Hawaiian Sovereignty proponents who dominated the session with loud and acrimonious statements and prevented the usual civil discussion expected of the topic.

The Hawaii Newspaper Guild and the Hawaii Tribune-Herald have signed a contract after nearly six years of negotiations.

The two-year agreement covers all employees at the Hilo newspaper except pressmen, who are covered by a separate contract, and managers. The pressmen's negotiations lasted as long as the Guild's. The contracts are similar.

The King campaign has retracted its earlier announcement of endorsements from both the Maui and Kona TEA Parties.

In County of Hawaii v. Ala Loop Homeowners, (July 9, 2010), the Hawaii Supreme Court held that certain state zoning laws are "environmental" laws that may be enforced by private plaintiffs. The court held "[w]e further conclude that article XI, section 9 of the Hawai'i Constitution creates a private right of action to enforce chapter 205 in the circumstances of this case."

The State argues: ...the Court has made new law that will significantly affect multiple sectors of our community, all levels of state and county government, and countless administrative and judicial proceedings that are pending in the courts and before state and county land use and environmental regulatory agencies." 

Thursday July 29 and Friday July 30 -- four events on three islands.

At a Cooper Center hearing in Volcano July 12, the Mauna Kea Recreational Users Group, a broad based coalition of outdoor users,  presented testimony for opening public access to the proposed expansion of the Puu Makaala NAR by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Forestry and Wildlife Division.  

We have until July 20, 2010 to recruit Republicans to run for office. We've put out radio and Facebook ads and a You Tube recruitment video that have generated dozens of qualified and exciting candidates. 

We only have 10 more districts to go before we fill the ballots with Republican candidates....

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has released $10,000,000 to the University of Hawai‘i for renovations to Hawai‘i Community College’s Manono Campus in East Hawai‘i and development of the University of Hawai‘i Center at West Hawai‘i’s new campus at Palamanui.

Events in MAKAWAO, HILO, WAIMEA, WAIKOLOA, KONA .... 

HONOLULU – Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. has announced that a training program aimed at placing more family physicians on the Neighbor Islands will get funded in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

"Ann is so inspirational," said Carolyn Hadfield (Leader of Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party and “Not In Our Name” NION). "She has that military background, so she must have soberly assessed the risks and decided it was worth it."

Michael Rivero, webmaster of the activist (Holocaust denier and 9-11 trooother) website whatreallyhappened.com, said Wright is "a very well-liked, very well-respected peace activist." He likened the Israeli raid to piracy and called it "an act of war."

The final tally will become clearer later this month, when Bank of Scotland, now part of Lloyd's Banking Group PLC, completes an auction for the debt on the property on the west side of Hawai'i, or, as it is known to locals, the Big Island. The price is expected to be in the $50 million-to-$100 million range, according to people involved in the process.

In 2006, at the height of the real-estate boom, a private appraiser valued the property, known as Hokuli'a, at between $600 million and $800 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The owner, Lyle Anderson, a Phoenix-based developer, has sold about one-third of the lots. But in early January, he defaulted on its debt, which was in the form of a $1 billion Bank of Scotland mortgage on Hokuli'a and five other less-valuable properties, according to people involved in the project's sale.

How this happened: Hokuli’a Settlement Exposed

The Democratic Gubernatorial Primary features a confrontation between Neil Abercrombie and Mufi Hannemann.  Whether one sees this as a replay of Democrats’ 1986 Abercrombie vs. Hannemann demolition derby or as an echo of the current Case vs. Hanabusa CD1 cage fight, it is not difficult to see what Matsuura might mean by “politics or special interests.”

But what about the song?  “For the sake of the children” is a cry which has been used to justify many things.  Why might it now mean “Aiona for Governor”?

HILO, HAWAI‘I — Teams of local middle and high school students competed today using underwater robots that they designed and built over the past weeks and months.  At the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Student Life Center Pool, students used their underwater robots, known as remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs), to navigate the precarious terrain of active undersea volcanoes in a mock setting. 

HONOLULU – Joining a boisterous crowd of 700 convention delegates and grassroots supporters wearing t-shirts and waiving signs in support of Duke Aiona at the 2010 Hawai`i Republican Party State Convention, Lt. Governor Duke Aiona, the leading Republican candidate for Governor, delivered a keynote address highlighting his grassroots campaign for balanced, efficient and accountable government while setting an agenda to create jobs, improve education and strengthen the economy in Hawai`i.

In a surprise appearance, former Democratic State Senator David Matsuura introduced Lt. Governor Aiona to the supportive crowd and crossed party lines to endorse his campaign for Governor.

East Hawai`i campaign headquarters will officially open its doors to the public on Thursday, May 13, at 5:00 p.m. The Lieutenant Governor will be on hand for the grand opening ceremony to deliver remarks and talk story with campaign supporters and their families at the new office, which is located at 142D Kino`ole Street at the old Hilo Hotel.

For five and a half years, the US has hunted for Ahmed Hashim Abed--code-named "Objective Amber."  Abed is the alleged ring-leader of an Islamist mob which murdered four US military contractors--including Pa`auilo resident Wesley Batalona--in Fallujah, Iraq on March 31, 2004....After being tracked for five and a half years by US personnel, Ahmed Hashim Abed was captured by Navy SEALS at the beginning of September....Then the complaining began. 

OAHU – Over 4,000 volunteers will fan out on May 8^th across Oahu as part of a herculean effort to renew and beautify 47 city and state parks throughout the island as part of the ‘Mormon Helping Hands’ program.  In all, 6,500 volunteers throughout the state plan to clean-up a total of 81 parks in this one-day effort.

Dennis Gonsalves, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii, and professor emeritus of plant pathology at Cornell, detailed to the 63rd annual meeting of the Western Society of Weed Science in Hawaii how Hawaiian agriculture has done what no other ag sector has; win approval to market a genetically modified food crop in the U.S. and Japan.

You are correct about the Abercrombie sign being on the Mehau fence.  You may know that Mufi was endorsed for the Governor’s race by the ILWU.   Larry Mehau is friends with Yoshito Takamine, Bobo Lapena, and Takashi Domingo.  The three have ties to ILWU and do not like Mufi.  They asked Larry to put the Abercrombie sign up on his fence.  He consented.

While Larry and his family have not openly endorsed my candidacy, they have allowed me to put my sign on that same fence and I believe that they are supporting my candidacy, not Abercrombie’s.

A highly funded, Washington, DC lobby organization, Food and Water Watch (FWW), is mounting a frontal attack on Hawaii State policy that supports open ocean mariculture. They have rallied a motley crew of rag tag environmental groups, and paid many of them to attack a growing sector of our economy that is on the verge of showing the world a way to produce seafood that is environmentally responsible.

SB: The Hawaii rally was aimed squarely at state lawmakers—majority Democrats who approved this week an increase in the tax on a barrel of oil. The increase from a nickel to $1.05 per barrel is expected to increase the cost of gas and energy bills….

One candidate, Republican Charles Djou, attended the rally and took the occasion of tax deadline day to launch an appeal for votes....

Hawaii Legislators want to raise the GE Tax by as much as 25%. They propose to raise the barrel tax on fuel 3000%.  But they refuse to even consider abolishing the BoE and placing the DoE under the direct control of the next Governor.  On April 15, Hawaii voters will have their say at rallies planned for Honolulu, Kahului, Kailua-Kona, Hilo and Lihue.  Here are the details and contact information for each rally. 

A campaign banner touting Hannemann’s Democratic Primary opponent, former Congressman Neil Abercrombie, now hangs prominently from the front gate at the Honokaa ranch of Larry Mehau.  Mehau was a key figure in the 1990s “Broken Trust” scandal at Kamehameha Schools, collecting $40,000 a month for “security” at the Kamehameha campus and more for the “protection” of Big Island Kamehameha lands . . . .

According to a high level source within the DoE, the Charter School Review Panel (CSRP), at its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday morning, voted to bring a nearly immediate end to the school year for Puna’s Na Wai Ola/Waters of Life Public Charter School.  According to the source, the decision will take effect Friday, April 16 leaving parents to scramble to find alternate placements for their children in the middle of the semester and in the midst of HSA testing. The semester for Waters of Life's 80 students was originally to have run until May 26.

For months, Mazie Hirono pledged to vote against the Senate version of Obamacare.  For her, Senate Obamacare just wasn’t socialist enough.  Along with 56 other “progressive” members of Congress, she demanded a program with a public option and denounced the Senate bill as a multi-billion dollar giveaway to the insurance companies.

Hirono’s July 30, 2009 letter explained:

“Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, for a public option with reimbursement rates based on Medicare rates--not negotiated rates—is unacceptable…. (T)his agreement will result in the public, both as insurance purchasers and as taxpayers, paying ever higher rates to insurance companies.  We simply cannot vote for such a proposal.”

Hirono has maintained this position as recently as February 2, but at the last minute, barely noticed by her “progressive” base, Rep Mazie Hirono has changed her mind....

Now, more than ever, we need to bring balance to our nation’s capitol.  For too long, Hawaii residents have been underserved with only “one” viewpoint represented in Congress.  This out-of-balance system has failed our citizens and allowed for policies that have stifled our creativity and economic growth and burdened us with heavy taxes, wasteful, out of control government spending, and inefficient bureaucratic growth.

The people are speaking, but Washington isn’t listening.  That’s why we need new leaders who will listen and provide “common sense” approaches to get our country back on track.  Join me in the “good fight” and allow me the honor to represent you with “a strong voice and presence” in the halls of Congress.  

The April 15^th Tax Day Tea Party is now planned to take place

Thursday – 4/15 – from 12 Noon until 5 or 6 PM

The location : fronting the Mormon Temple on Queen K

Federal courts are slowly becoming a new battlefield in the war on terror, with combatants setting aside traditional weapons and arming themselves instead with domestic and international laws. Responding to this phenomenon, the inaugural meeting of The Lawfare Project convened last week in New York to discuss The Use of the Law as a Weapon of War.

Government in different levels of various communities have put restrictions on what type of toilets we can buy, which showerheads, light bulbs, windows, laundry detergents, plastic bags, vending machines with sodas or candy, meals prepared using trans-fats, what kind and amount of toilet paper, smoking inside your own home or car, punitive taxes on designated foods such as hamburgers and  French fries and sodas, the display of the American flag…the list is endless and getting worse.

This is happening at every level of government, including our local level.

Big Island elected officials arriving to meet with Army representatives at Pohakuloa Training Area got a eye-opening surprise Wednesday morning  In addition to the usual gaggle of anti-Semites and 9-11 trooothers protesting against the military, they were greeted at the front gate by a dozen Big Island residents rallying to support the troops.

  ‘LAVA DOGS’, the 1st Battalion 3rd MARINES, and other forces deployed into Helmand Prov. AFG.  Lava Dogs are from Marine Corps Base, Hawaii and trained for Afghan combat at Pohakuloa last July. 

Video of Ed Case speaking to Big Island GLBT group.

Wiwo...wiwo...wiwo.  

The sound floats on the winds of Ka Lae, this southernmost tip of Hawaii's Big Island, where Polynesian colonists first landed some 1,500 years ago.

Some say that Ka Lae is haunted -- and it is. But it's haunted not by Hawaii's legendary night marchers. The mysterious sounds are "Na leo o Kamaoa"-- the disembodied voices of 37 skeletal wind turbines abandoned to rust on the hundred-acre site of the former Kamaoa Wind Farm.

Laupahoehoe has voted to convert Laupahoehoe High and Elementary School (LHES) to a public charter school. League of Women Voters’ past president Sue Irvine and volunteers Margaret Drake, Marianna Scheffer were kept busy all day collecting secret ballots from parents and staff of LHES. One hundred forty five out of 180 voters cast their ballots in favor of charter conversion.  Only 35 opposed.

Hawaii Legislature's own papermill.  Built by feeeel-goood fake environmentalism.

Initiatives on the County level have included: Kauai Ohana in 2006-2007 attempting to use the initiative process to defeat high property taxes, Stop Rail activists who won the opportunity to vote on rail, and others who have used initiative for various causes on the Big Island.  Hawaii citizens do not have any statewide initiative and referendum rights. A majority of state citizens do enjoy local initiative and referendum rights. 

HONOLULU – Duke Aiona today announced five county chairs and co-chairs and 13 regional chairs for his growing campaign. The leadership team will provide grassroots support to mobilize and turn out voters for Duke Aiona in the 2010 gubernatorial election.

Thousands of airline passengers on domestic US flights are using forged IDs to get past TSA screeners and board commercial flights under assumed names.  Just days after the al-Qaeda Panty Bomber tried to blow NW Flight 253 out of the sky, evidence leading to acquittals in a Honolulu illegal alien smuggling case has exposed the US Transportation Safety Administration’s repeated failure to spot phony IDs.

Guarded by US Capitol Police bolstered by officers on loan from the Hawaii County PD, Pelosi is enjoying what Hollywood Reporter calls: "...a picture-perfect stretch of beach on the Big Island's chic Kona Coast....a private Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and Pahu'ia, an award-winning oceanfront restaurant, $40 million worth of enhancements...20 new suites and ... its lauded Hualalai Spa."

Stroudwater didn't pull punches:  "HHSC is in a financially perilous condition. It received a 'Going Concern' finding as part of its 2008 independent audit report, calling the future financial viability of the organization into question. Its liquidity is at dangerously low levels with barely enough current assets to meet current liabilities. It is far behind in its payments to vendors (80+ days). The age of its facilities and other physical assets are well above national averages. Its future viability is at risk, particularly if the State is unable to provide increasing levels of operating subsidies for HHSC going forward."

Kona Coffee for the Marines of HMLA-367-Scarface -- 'somewhere'  in southern Afghanistan.

Mauna Loa has been producing a readout which supports Manning's predetermined goal by showing steady growth in atmospheric CO2 concentrations since 1959. This record, highlighted in Al Gore's discredited movie An Inconvenient Truth, is known as the Keeling Curve. A graph of the curve is engraved on a bronze plaque mounted at the entrance to the Observatory’s Keeling Building, 10,000 feet above sea level on the rocky north flank of Mauna Loa. According to the Observatory website: "The undisturbed air, remote location, and minimal influences of vegetation and human activity at MLO are ideal for monitoring constituents in the atmosphere that can cause climate change." 

For some reason, they fail to mention the erupting volcano next door.

Dr. Frank Sayre and Laura Mallery-Sayre experienced first-hand the heroism of the Hawai‘i Fire Department when they lost their son in a hiking accident in Polulu Valley.  The Hawai‘i Fire Department did not have rappelling ropes long enough to reach the bottom of the valley, so firefighters flew a helicopter into the narrow terrain at great personal risk.

Since then, Frank and Laura, motivated by the bravery and heroism of the firefighters, began the Daniel Sayre Foundation to raise money to buy equipment for the Hawai‘i Fire Department. Their efforts have been met with resounding success in the community, as they have raised more than $400,000 to provide essential life-saving equipment and training for our firefighters.

Chief United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway today (Monday, Nov 30)  sentenced ETHAN MOTTA, also known as "Malu," age 40, to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole, for his role in the shooting of three persons at the Pali Golf Course on January 7, 2004.

Photo taken from mauka area of Hilo as clouds clear from summit just at sunset.  Snow is barely visible on Mauna Kea left of palm trees.  Check out time lapse video from summit...