Entries for January 2009

Update Jan 31: Hear Malu Motta tapes -- "Like, he did them like nothin', know what I mean?"

Admitted Pali Golf Course shooter Ethan “Malu” Motta apparently had a lot of friends in Hilo—including politicians. Nine months after the January 7, 2004 O`ahu murders, hundreds of Motta’s friends gathered at Hilo’s Nani Mau Gardens to raise funds to help pay his legal fees. Billy Kenoi spoke at the event. Stacey Higa says he was given tickets. One source indicates “700 to 1,000 people” were there. The $100 tickets for the October 30, 2004 “Gathering at the Garden” invite supporters “to share this beautiful evening with family, friends and dignitaries in support of a very special man we love dearly.” A ticket obtained by Hawai`i Free Press, says the event was “Hosted by Billy K. Live & Direct.”

A sergeant was dismissed for “commission of a criminal act,” specified as sexual assault....and much more in this month's Kauai PD news.... 

Working to seek voters among a 90% Democrat community may seem an exercise in Republican futility, but in a democracy, it is an inherently unstable arrangement for 90% of any electorate to consistently vote one way. Black voters tip the balance in favor of Democrats in Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland. Republicans need only gain 20-30% of the black vote to dramatically shift the balance of power in some or all of these states.

Governor Linda Lingle on Monday submitted a package of 168 legislative bills to the Hawai‘i State Legislature. 

Important changes include adopting a national model that establishes comprehensive standards for maintenance schedules to sustain parks, trails and small boat harbors at a measurable standard, and a new integrated project management approach at DLNR to maximize efficiency and professionalism in maintaining recreational facilities and spaces. 

RELATED: Protection Racket shakes down resort workers, ruins parks HFP June 7, 2008

Hawaii taxpayers recently paid almost $3,000 for a state employee to travel to Los Angeles for the Grammy Music Awards, according to a new report from The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH) and premiere taxpayer watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW).

The bill would consolidate regulation of cable operators and telecommunications providers under a single entity, the Hawai‘i Communications Commission....Combining regulation of these two areas under one agency will position the state to take advantage of the 21^st century convergence of technologies that are used to provide voice, data and video services

The following letter from Budget and Finance Director Georgina Kawamura were sent to Senate Ways and Means Chair Donna Mercado Kim and House Finance Chair Marcus Oshiro yesterday afternoon. The letter outlines proposals for closing the FY09 budget gap.

Current infrastructure funding barely maintains the status quo. This plan proposes new revenue streams, generated by increases in the liquid fuel tax, state vehicle registration fee, vehicle weight tax and rental car surcharges, that would boost the amount of available funds we have from $2 billion to $4 billion for needed highway improvements statewide.

We can’t meet our responsibility by kicking the can down the road.
We must make meaningful choices now that address the reality we face today while laying the foundation for a better future.
That better future is one that transitions us from an economy over-reliant on land development to one that is innovation-driven and relies on the capacity of our people.

“A number of projects will likely be delayed, curtailed or possibly eliminated.... We will have to ask government employees, like those who work in the private sector, to accept some reduction in wages and benefits.... Some who enjoy special tax credits, exemptions and deductions will see them reduced or eliminated.”

...not since late 2001, after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon unleashed an unprecedented business, local government, and lobbyist assault on the federal bud­get, has there been such a fiscal feeding frenzy chomp­ing its way through the halls of Congress....

Based in Honolulu, WESPAC is the subject of at least two active federal investigations; one by the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General (IG), and another by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Governor Lingle is making the list available to the public to encourage public comment on the nominees.

Under the proposed legislation, the state fuel tax which is currently $0.17 per gallon would be raised to $0.27 per gallon, generating an estimated increase in annual revenues of $51 million.  Vehicle weight taxes, currently set at 3/4 of a cent per pound for vehicles up to 4,000 pounds, would be raised to 2 and 3/4 of a cent per pound, generating an additional $68 million in annual revenues.  Motor vehicle registration fees would also be increased from $25 per year to $45 per year, adding an additional $23.3 million in annual revenues.

As contract laborers their bodies were practically the property of the sugar planters, to be abused and even whipped with black snake whips. In several places the Japanese went on strike to enforce their demand on the planters who were daily violating a US law in keeping them under servitude....

... Dahilig previously served as the student member to the Board of Regents ....

On Jan. 14, the state Department of Public Safety opened the Hale Nani facility in Hilo, where a new re-entry program called “START” will provide education, job training and counseling for inmates a few months before their release.

Another case or Rat Lungworm disease has been diagnosed in the Kapoho-Kalapana area of Puna and more unreported cases have been revealed. The outbreak has been tied to organic farming.

If the language imposed by the Bush Justice Department in 2005 is written out of what will become the 2009 version of the Akaka Bill, the changes could impact the dynamics of Senate debate.  

The Akaka Tribe vs Hawaiians and Hawai`i: dozens of articles and informative links