In 2010, seat belt use in the United States ranged from 72.2 percent in New Hampshire to 97.6 percent in Hawaii and Washington....

The entire press staff of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee is in Maui, even though a field hearing there won’t happen until next Wednesday....

Faleomavaega long has prided himself on being the voice of the Pacific in Washington (when he's there) and an influential senior policymaker. Apparently Hawaii's two House members bought this load of baloney because when the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to abolish the Hawaii-based East West Center, they turned to their Samoan colleague, a member of the committee, to save the day.

The Board examines, recommends and records applicants for admission to the Hawaii State Bar and gives written examinations to test the legal and educational qualifications and knowledge of legal ethics of each applicant.

On January 25, 2011, Winnipeg priest Father Bohdan Borowec arrived in Hawaii for the first time in his life....

First, the electromagnetic shock can disrupt electrical devices. The second effect is similar to lightning—a power surge that would burn circuits and immobilize electronic components and systems. The third is a pulse effect that flows through electricity trans­mission lines, damaging distribution centers and fusing power lines.

Hawaii shows the largest advantage for the Democratic Party over the Republican Party among U.S. states, along with the District of Columbia, in the first half of 2011. The most Republican state is Utah.

Building the Interstate Highway System created many construction jobs, but it would be a huge mistake to interpret that employment as the system’s contribution to the economy. Workers who drew salaries from the construction program benefitted, but far less than the travelers and shippers of goods who have used those facilities every day for six decades.

“Some years back a Greek finance minister, fed up with his country's waste and extravagance claimed that he could save money by shutting down the national railway and driving around its passengers in taxis.”

Yesterday in Wisconsin, Democrats tried to recall six GOP senators in an attempt to gain a foothold in the state's legislature—they lost in four of the races, failing to regain a majority in the state senate. Those losses came despite a $14 million effort waged by unions and liberal groups from across the country, including the AFL-CIO, UAW, AFSCME, MoveOn.org, Teamsters, UFCW, NEA, SEIU, and People for the American Way.

These results are consistent with recent research on managed care among the privately insured, which finds that HMOs and other forms of managed care achieve their savings largely through reduced prices rather than lower quantities....

“Negotiations via the media are not productive."  -- In other words, Abercrombie should have kept his mouth shut in Hilo....

"Unless students limit their debt burdens, choose fields of study that are in demand, and successfully complete their degrees on time, they will find themselves in worse financial positions and unable to earn the projected income that justified taking out their loans in the first place."

"With the new school year fast approaching and still no bill to reform the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, the Obama administration will provide a process for states to seek relief from key provisions of the law, provided that they are willing to embrace education reform."

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...I have requested the deadline period for submitting comments be extended from August 13, to September 30 of this year....

Fox News and the Washington Examiner will sponsor a GOP debate this Thursday night. On Saturday, the Iowa State Fair straw poll will be held....

...the spending reductions in the deal negotiated by President Obama to raise the debt ceiling were inadequate, and S&P reacted as we predicted....

How could federal prosecutors “accidentally” debase their entire prosecution of crimes alleged to have occurred in 2004 by telling a Federal Grand Jury that the defendants’ collection of “recruitment fees” was a violation of a law which did not take effect until 2008?

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....