Entries for July 2012

I was grateful to Dennis Egge, Vietnam veteran and VIP board member for presenting VIP's endorsement personally at my recent West O'ahu Talk Story in Kapolei....

Asians -- Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese and Koreans -- are the nation's wealthiest, most highly educated and most aspirational voting demographic.

Obama's Labor Department on Monday issued "guidance" to the states, telling them that a federal law requiring advance notice of mass layoffs does not apply to the layoffs that may occur in January as a result of automatic budget cuts known as "sequestration."
 

The shared-savings agreement between Hawaii Medical Service Assn. and Hawaii Pacific Health puts 50% the hospital’s annual pay increases over the five-year contract term dependent on achieving both quality improvement and cost savings thresholds....

Solar scammers are pushing for even more taxpayer and ratepayer handouts. Here’s their latest blast of ‘research’.

Question: Is Siemens paying the 4.5% GE Tax on its "multi-million dollar" subcontract from Ansaldo?  Will Ansaldo write a change order to account for the additional 4.5% cost incurred because this work is not being done in-house? 

As Rail construction continues, Honolulu construction employments continues to drop, losing 1,300 jobs between June, 2011 and June, 2012....

On the late Milton Friedman's 100th birthday today, his words are truer than ever: "There is no respect in which inhabitants of a low-income neighborhood are so disadvantaged as in the kind of schooling they can get for their children."

Since 2010, she has served as the Accounting System Administrator for the County of Maui. Prior to that, she was the Director and Chief Financial Officer for the California School Employees Association.

Simple solution: If you fail, get rid of the test....

• Senate: Tax Cut Extension – Passage
• Senate: Cybersecurity – Cloture
• House: Tribal Land Leases – Suspension
• House: Levee Construction – Suspension
• House: Oil and Gas Drilling – Passage
• House: Federal Reserve Audit – Suspension
• House: Regulatory Overhaul

The projected enrollment of 10,097 represents a milestone for Hawaii’s charter movement, which served just 1,341 students in 2000....

...forcing nearly all employers to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization services.  Beginning August 1, employers must amend their health insurance offerings to include these drugs and services. And if they don't? How about a fine of $100 per employee per day for non-compliance....

"Unfortunately for the people of Hawaii, this type of resume-padding behavior is business as usual for Hirono, who is well versed in taking credit for the achievements of others."

A Democratic state representative says, “They’re like a couple of high school kids.”

Walk-In Absentee Voting Mon Jul 30 thru Thurs Aug 9 All Locations Open Mon – Sat 8-4 PM (except Molokai)

...former elected officials want to get back into the policymaking arena at a time when all of the chickens that they created in the past are coming home to roost....

“MEET THE CANDIDATES” Forum on Monday, July 30^th, 2012; at the NHIS Multi-Purpose Bldg/Cafeteria from 6:30 - 9:00 pm.

The Conference on the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (U.N. ATT) has broken down and will not report a draft treaty to the member nations....