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Monday, December 21, 2009
December 21, 2009 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 1:35 PM :: 10509 Views

LINK>>>One down, two to go: Obamacare passes first cloture vote 60-40

LINK>>>Akaka Bill: More than 73% of Hawaiians not "Qualified" for membership in Akaka Tribe

No special election? Disgrace, hypocrisy in local politics (and journalism)

Much of the no-election talk has come from state chief elections officer Kevin Cronin, an unhappy camper who has resigned effective Dec. 31.

(This call to skip the election is coming from Colleen Hanabusa--not Cronin--David Shapiro is showing "disgraceful hypocrisy" by not mentioning her name even once in this editorial.)

Shapiro's best line: "...Abercrombie can make a credible case that he's respecting the clearly expressed wishes of Hawai'i voters by stepping down."  (AGREED!!!!)

(BTW This was an editorial.  Why is it listed on the Adv website as if it were news???)

RELATED: Fear of Failure: Candidate Hanabusa says "we cannot afford special election"

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Democrat Advertiser: 'Rift' between Hawaii lawmakers is politically based, not personal (Article dictated by John Buckstead)

"They've had differences, but not when Hawaii's interests were at stake...."  (This is another "news" item.)

When U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie announced he would resign from Congress to devote his attention to his campaign for governor, many Democrats were startled by the response from U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.

Inouye, the state's leading Democrat, said Abercrombie was leaving the party a vote shy as Congress prepares for major policy decisions on health care, the war in Afghanistan and a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill....

For party insiders wondering where Inouye stands on Abercrombie's campaign for governor, the statement appeared to settle(d) the question....

John Buckstead, a party activist and Abercrombie supporter on the Big Island, recently sent an e-mail to his political circle making sure they knew Inouye has not made a formal endorsement.

"If the senator wants to endorse Mufi Hannemann or Neil Abercrombie or somebody else, I assume that the senator will do that," Buckstead said of the reason for his note. "Short of doing that, I don't think we should assume that news leaks or other kinds of vague comments constitute anything."

(Wow.  Buckstead must think the people on his email list are REALLY stupid.)

Last week, it was Inouye and Abercrombie who worked together (hahahahaha) to repair a breach over the Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill after Akaka's staff neglected to inform Gov. Linda Lingle about significant changes developed with the Obama administration.

Abercrombie (was set up by Inouye to take) took a public hit from Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee who argued pointed out that the bill was being rushed. He agreed to drop the changes, but got the bill through the committee and pointed to the House floor for a vote.

(The Advertiser must think its readers are just as stupid as those on Buckstead's email list. Really, there is no division in the Hawaii Democrat camp.  Look at this sweet story....)

The local Clinton and Obama forces had largely reached a public truce by the party's state convention in May 2008, stressing unity and the historic nature of the nomination fight.

Behind the scenes, though, the local Clinton and Obama camps both sought the last superdelegate slot to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

The local Clinton camp wanted former Gov. George Ariyoshi for the slot. When that did not work out, they drafted Sabas — Inouye's chief of staff — as the reluctant stand-in.

The local Obama camp put up James Burns, a retired judge on the state Intermediate Court of Appeals and the son of former Gov. John Burns.

Abercrombie personally acted as a whip for Burns, and when the party's state central committee met at the close of the convention to decide, the congressman stayed to help make sure the vote went his way.

Burns beat Sabas by three votes.

The situation was awkward — and some believe unnecessary — since the last superdelegate slot was not that sweet of a prize.

Both sides had worked the vote, and things were said privately that left wounds.

Shortly after, Abercrombie, aware of the tension, had a trusted staffer hand-deliver Sabas a bouquet of flowers.  (Couldn't do it yourself, eh Neil?)

Sabas sent the flowers back.

(No division there.  Just one big happy family....)

HERE'S SOME REAL NEWS:  Akaka Bill: More than 73% of Hawaiians not "Qualified" for membership in Akaka Tribe

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Budget cuts blamed for rats in Chinatown: State operating in 'crisis management' mode, official says

Its true, there were no 'rats in Chinatown before Linda Lingle took office.  They were all on the 5th floor of the Big Square Building. 

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Omidyar giving can help with recovery continuing Abercrombie takeover of Inouye's Democratic Party

The $8.6 million, six-year initiative is fueled by a partnership of philanthropic and financial institutions, led by the Omidyar 'Ohana Fund. The initiative began its first phase with $892,373 in grants to nine organizations that help people get access to tax benefits, food stamps, credit counseling and mortgage foreclosure mitigation.

RELATED: Ebay's Omidyar: Obama-backing Hamas-talking billionaire in Hawaii expecting disaster , Furloughs: Advertiser sides with “sustainability” billionaires against "Save our Sports"

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University of Hawaii stimulus grants' benefits questioned

Federal economic stimulus money is being used to finance University of Hawai'i research into how honeybees learn, the evolution of moths and Icelandic geology....

The research projects — including the $210,000 grant to study bee learning behavior — have been criticized as a sign of waste and mismanagement within the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment program.

The UH honeybee grant made it onto a list of 100 projects identified as "silly and shortsighted" by Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona.

(And the Advertiser is telling you this so you remember that your jobs depend on voting Democrat.)

McCain/Coburn: Stimulus Checkup Report , Stimulus Checkup - 100 Ridiculous Projects Funded by the American Recovery Act

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Kalapa: Wake-Up Call Needed

These difficult economic times may, in fact, provide an opportunity for taxpayers to send elected officials a loud and clear message for change. However, it will also necessitate a change in taxpayers’ attitude about the potential for change to happen.

The glacier of state and county bureaucracy is so huge, many both within and outside of government shrug their shoulders when one suggests that changes need to be made. For example, those familiar with the maze of permitting requirements for housing developments throw their hands up and sigh that there can never be any changes to the system. Forget that it takes a minimum of five years to re-zone land into urban use and secure the necessary approvals before the first spade can be put into the ground.

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Kauai Residents grapple with affordable housing ‘realities’

While Carvalho did not stay for the duration of Thursday’s presentation to answer questions at the end, Grove Farm Company Senior Vice President Michael Tresler fielded inquires pertaining to the “realities” of constructing affordable housing on island.
To start, it can take anywhere from 10 to 20 years to be shovel ready when factoring in re-zoning and permitting processes, as well as infrastructure requirements along the way, he said.
“There is a lot that goes into those years” he said. “It’s a back and forth until you get it right and satisfy the powers to be.”
In addition, through the evolution, “conditions upon conditions” are given to the developer, he said.
“All these costs affect housing prices,” he said. “We’re not going to do a project if we’re not going to make money.”

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