Entries for November 2012

...without justification and without an honest belief in the truth of the matters defendant announced that plaintiff had committed rape, sexual harassment, promoting prostitution rings to executives of well-known Japanese corporations....

Today, hearings begin in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees ....

He fell at his apartment in Rockville, Md ... taken to the Bethesda Naval Hospital

The Second Amendment is alive and well in Hawaii....

...enrollment for the 2012-13 school year -- with all 254 Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) schools and 32 charter schools -- is 183,251, an increase of 1.1 percent compared to last year’s total of 181,213...

The State Negotiating Team and representatives with the Hawaii State Teachers Association today resumed negotiations.

Honolulu City Council passed Resolution 12-305 unanimously requesting an investigation be conducted on last week’s elections

...his practice focused on product liability, toxic tort, and environmental cost recovery litigation....

...the federal government has had 13 breaches and failures of its own cybersecurity just in the last six months....

One way the Obama administration chose to deal with the pressing health care crisis was a massive expansion of Medicaid....

Obama must quickly come to an agreement with lawmakers on the "fiscal cliff," a combination of spending cuts and tax increases that pose a threat to the fragile economic recovery....

Electric vehicles are doing poorly in the car market because automakers are unable to lower their prices....

are six major flaws in ObamaCare. They are so serious that the Democrats are going to have to perform major surgery on the legislation in the next few years....

Habele Directors and supporters just completed their 2012 “Listening Tour” in Yap State, Micronesia.

From No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers to school choice, education policy will surely heat up in the coming months.

Wind project impacts “may be worse than climate change,” says UK Environment Minister....

At the request of the Hanalei to Haena Community Association, Pierre Omidyar's resort development team from his Ohana Real Estate Investors LLC (OREI) will make a public presentation at 6:00 pm at the Hanalei School Cafeteria on Tuesday, November 13, 2012....

The lame-duck session begins today, with retiring and defeated Members of Congress coming back to Washington ... Congress has 16 working days scheduled between now and the end of the year, though it could add more....

For nearly 100 years, America has been celebrating on November 11. Originally it was to remember the end of the First World War that was supposed to be the one that would end them all. Sadly, this was not the case....

Have you ever been interested in learning the inner workings of State Government? Do you want to help make your State a better place to live and work?

... over-prescribing of narcotic drugs and the dispensing of repackaged drugs results in insurance reimbursement at much higher rates than usual under customary medical fee schedules, adds Welch, who says legislation is needed to help control spiraling costs....

Was Cronin sabotaged by Yoshina and Nago’s cronies in order to make way for Nago? In retrospect, the campaign against Cronin bears all the hallmarks of the campaign against Jamae Kawauchi.

The importance of having Clipper continue to honor parts, service and maintenance agreements on the turbines is one of the critical concerns for First Wind....

Public Land Development Corporation Public Hearing live on Akaku Channel 54 and Olelo Channel 55. The meeting is being held on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 from 10:30am to 12:30pm

They will enter the school exactly at 8am and then leave exactly at 3pm ....

The labor board is telling the Supreme Court it has the discretion to take as long as it wants, possibly years, to render a decision....

...lawmakers figured that the general public would not notice that the exemptions were temporarily suspended....

Events and Ceremonies Statewide

After review by some of the most respected legal minds in the state, the ruling by Judge Valenciano has a high probability of being appealed and overturned....

Abercrombie announced the State of Hawaii’s “AA/AA/Aa2” credit rating was reaffirmed by three major credit agencies. He encouraged Hawaii investors to take advantage of this strong rating and purchase tax-exempt state bonds on Nov. 13 and 14.

Following Ward’s announcement, the House Minority Caucus met today to elect Rep. Aaron Ling Johanson, 32, as House Minority Leader and Rep. Beth Fukumoto, 29, as House Minority Floor Leader....

Measure B requires porn actors to wear condoms on film sets and for producers to apply and pay for health and film permits.

Hawaii Electric Light Company is seeking to add up to 50 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power at prices not tied to the cost of oil to help lower electricity costs for customers....

Keopuolani Park (corner of Kaahumanu and Kanaloa) on Sunday, November 11th between 11:30AM and 1:30PM....

...there are still thousands of people in Hawaii who choose not to vote. There is so much work to be done in that regard and we will continue to expand and define more clearly our iVOTE Hawaii efforts....

...many of the health care law’s serious effects were delayed until after the election. Ten of its 18 new tax hikes have yet to kick in....

...Tax guidance issued in 2010 has created uncertainty among taxpayers, an unlevel playing field within the renewable energy industry, and presented difficult tax enforcement issues for the Department....

More than 120 Hawaii employers hiring in today’s economy participated in the updated study through interviews and a survey that focused on “living wage” career pathways....

"...create a pathway for those that are here...."

November 9th 2012 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sheraton Keauhou Resort, Kailua-Kona 

A federal grand jury in Honolulu yesterday indicted Marc Hubbardage 44, of North Carolina and Sean Barriero, age 44, of Miami....

Hawaiian Electric Company invested $188 million, close to twice its earnings, in local infrastructure projects to modernize the electric grid and reliably integrate increasing amounts of renewable energy. At American Savings Bank ... a $15 million increase in clean energy loans.

Here is complete listing of Senate Leadership and Committee Chairmanships....

...the “prices for new ships have fallen to an eight-year low” and may be pushed down another 15 percent....

...the fight for those seats are not over and we look forward to what the future holds....

...our newly elected Republicans are young, driven, and have a passion for representing their district....

May God bless you, the State of Hawaii and the United States of America....

These are the new McCarthyites -- on a witch hunt for racists instead of communists....

I have set up a new email address at which you can reach me....

Hokulani Elementary School, left without ballots for more than four hours between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m....the paper ballots that eventually arrived were designated for a different district and were in Japanese and Ilocano....