Omidyar worries that a pandemic could cut Hawai'i's lifelines and leave it with an 11-day supply of food (or is that 12?).  To that end, he has made pivotal donations to local nonprofits dedicated to building sustainable local food supplies.  At the same time, he has stockpiled several months of food for his personal use at storage facilities on O'ahu....

34 teams representing 24 Hawai‘i high schools from O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and the Big Island, eight teams from the mainland (California, Louisiana and Wisconsin) and two international teams from Mexico and the Philippines who will converge on the UH Mānoa campus to compete in what is called the “varsity sport of the mind.” The winning teams will advance to the FIRST Championships – called the “Super Bowl of Smarts” – in Atlanta, Georgia, April 15 -18.

In a stunning development, Sen. Christopher Dodd said that Obama administration officials asked him to add language to last month's federal stimulus bill to make sure the controversial AIG bonuses remained in place. 

Although the Senate Judiciary Committee ended with a tie vote (3-3), there is still ongoing discussions happening at the capitol in regards to a potential pull of the bill from committee for a vote on the Senate floor.

If the Supreme Court refuses to reconsider its SuperFerry decision, Councilmember Djou’s legal affairs committee will examine voiding all state laws that apply to just the City and County of Honolulu. 

What of last year's legislative attempts to smooth the way for Aloha Airlines as it lurched into insolvency? Under the court's equal protection analysis propounded in the Superferry decision, any such legislation could well be contrary to the court's new reading of constitutional restraints on the legislature's power to act.

The decision today by Hawaiian Telcom to ask the bankruptcy court to approve $6 million in bonuses for its employees is unconscionable, and we will oppose it in court.

Karen’s Law is now in the Senate, referred to Chair of Human Services, Suzanne Chun Oakland and Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Brian Taniguchi. It will be hard to get a hearing for Karen’s Law hearings without ample public support.

We are going to have to go out and find other employment for Alakai, for now.

Environmental and community-action groups such as the Sierra Club and Maui Tomorrow now find themselves in the crosshairs of many residents frustrated by recent developments with the Hawaii Superferry.

ACORN, which claims to be a non-partisan grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people, came under fire in 2007 when Washington State filed felony charges against several paid ACORN employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations. In March 2008, an ACORN worker in Pennsylvania was sentenced for making 29 phony voter registration forms. The group's activities were frequently questioned in the 2008 presidential election.

The estimated impact on disposable household income due to rising energy prices would then reach anywhere between $4,022 and $6,752. And because an energy tax is regressive, it will fall heaviest on poor and lower middle class folks who spend more of their income on energy.

Obama:  "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket... whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers."

Statehood was achieved through the dedication and perseverance of these great leaders, along with the people of Hawai‘i – who in 1959 voted 17 to one in support of statehood.

They voted for basic rights and privileges of American citizenship. 

They voted to have a voice in Washington.

And, as Governor Ariyoshi said so well in his 50 Voices of Statehood piece, they voted for “control over our own destiny.”

The Disabled American Veterans today commended the Obama administration for backing down from a controversial proposal that would force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who suffered service-related disabilities and injuries.

"VA's sacred duty is to care for veterans injured in honorable service to our nation, and the department should not turn to wounded warriors' private insurance to pay for combat injures.  Under my Chairmanship, the Veterans' Affairs Committee will not advance any such legislation," said Akaka. 

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle along with Castle & Cooke, First Wind Hawai‘i and Hawaiian Electric Company today announced an agreement that could lead to large wind farms on both Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i providing clean energy to O‘ahu. These wind farms would feed into an inter-island cable system currently being discussed that could ultimately interconnect the major Hawaiian islands for increased grid reliability, security and consumer and business cost savings through access to renewables.

“After reading the alarming tract, I wanted to know whether Albertini -- who went to prison for a year (many years ago) for trying to block a Navy vessel in Hilo Harbor -- will be putting his life and/or freedom on the line along with the novice activists he is counseling.

“The answer? No. Not only is Albertini not going to protest the Superferry, he claims he didn’t even know his “non-violent” call to arms was even published."

As Pacific Business News editorialized January 12, the Superferry opposition and obstruction, “continues to perplex us as yet another group of politicians, this time senators from Neighbor Islands, make noise….”

"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."

The Certificate of Need for the proposed West Maui hospital was officially approved by Ron Terry, Executive Director of SHPDA....