in the first quarter of the year, government agencies in Hawaii spent more money lobbying in Washington, D.C. than private business did....  Hawaii state and local government spent about $185,000 on D.C. lobbying, compared to about $122,500 from Hawaii's private businesses over the same period.... the biggest state spenders were the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (which continues to push for the Akaka Bill) and InfraConsult, Inc. (which lobbies on behalf of Honolulu's rapid transit project). 

This scam is tied to several well-known sovereignty activists—which perhaps explains why the Advertiser’s two recent articles have included so little information about the alleged perpetrators.

Having deployed twice to the Middle East, served 2 years in the US Senate with Senator Akaka, assisting him with issues such as energy independence, homeland security, the environment, and veteran affairs, being elected as a State legislator and City Councilmember, as well as my work with my environmental non-profit, I am well-equipped to take on these challenges, and am confident that I will serve you well.

Even steeper rises in the cost of private insurance are possible, due to Obamacare’s reductions in Medicare payment rates and its expansion of the Medicaid program.

Myth #5: The House budget balances the budget on the backs of seniors.

Fact: Current and near-retirees are exempt from reforms.

Instead of offering solutions, the left is resorting to smear tactics. The prime example this week surrounds a special congressional election in western New York, where Democrat Kathy Hochul defeated Republican Jane Corwin, who supported Ryan's budget. Hochul attacked the plan, falsely claiming that it was an attempt to end Medicare.

Of all the plans released today at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2011 Fiscal Summit, the Heritage Foundation’s proposal reduces the national debt held by the public the most and keeps federal spending and taxes at the lowest levels.

The state’s Office of Aerospace Development will be the lead state agency for the project, enhancing dialogue and coordination among the state, private and academic partners to enable growth and diversification of the state’s aerospace economy.

HSDC is developing a plan to best deploy these funds for worthy businesses.

...he showed us the manuscript of Islam: A Religion of Peace? in which he points to the “negative” verses in the Quran and argues for their removal. “We should reject the earlier part of the Quran and use only the end part,” he told us, noting the community calls him a kafir (non-believer)....

Representative George Fontaine discusses domestic violence in Hawaii with Dara Carlin a domestic violence survivor and advocate; and Tiffinie Walters a domestic violence survivor....

The Maui Police Department has issued a subpoena to obtain the IP addresses of Maui Time web commenters, citing the terroristic threatening of one of its officers. by Maui police officer Nelson Johnson....The comment in question was left in response to an April 14 blog post in which Maui Time publisher Tommy Russo posted a video of himself being assaulted....

Hawaiians were the least likely in the United States in 2010 to say they felt stressed for much of the previous day, at 30.2%. Residents of Utah were the most likely to report experiencing stress, at 45.1%, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

The American Medical Group Association, representing medical groups that provide care for roughly 1 in 3 Americans, said that 90% of its members would not participate in the new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model the Obama administration wants to impose on Medicare providers.  

...the districts in BOLD are ones in which the Representative has changed in the past 7 years. There are 27 changes out of 51 seats, which is indeed more than half.

The Governor’s Administration played a pivotal role in developing the Race to the Top public education program that was awarded $75 million in Federal funds and won praise from President Obama’s Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan....  Hirono either purposely failed to acknowledge Governor Lingle’s landmark, community-based effort known as the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), or she has been away from Hawaii so long she is out of touch with the progress that has been made in this critical area. President Obama’s Dept. of Energy has lauded the HCEI as a model for other states.

FPCON BRAVO--This condition applies when an increased and more predictable threat of terrorist activity exists. 

Land before humans came to the Hawaiian Islands around 1,000 years ago, there ruled land crabs which roamed great distance, a new study has claimed.

Long time GOP stalwart and former legislature John Carroll announced that he felt himself more a libertarian than anything else and would seek the LP nomination for the US senate seat being vacated by Dan Akaka....

Senate: Motion to Proceed; Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act
Senate: Motion to Proceed; Offshore Production and Safety Act of 2011
Senate: Cloture Motion; Nomination of Goodwin Liu to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit

In accordance with Act 48, which became effective May 5, 2011, the Hawaii Supreme Court May 18 issued temporary rules establishing a process by which an owner-occupant of a residential property subject to a non-judicial foreclosure may convert the action into a judicial foreclosure.

“We need a President who understands our problems are deep and has the courage to face them. President Obama doesn’t. I do.”

Phoning it in from a black-tie event in Washington, DC, Rep Mazie Hirono blessedly informed Hawaii that she will not be a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District in 2012.

POLL Daily Kos March 22: Aiona 42% – Hannemann 42%

Describing the news as “very disappointing”, Anthony Bergamo, President and Founder of the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation (FLEF) categorically repudiates any connection between his organization and the Muslim Association of Hawaii and Hawaii Islam Day celebrations....

After using an alleged “crisis” and so-called “budget shortfalls” to push tax increases through the Legislature, it certainly seemed like fortuitous timing when Neil Abercrombie’s Department of Taxation found a $134M jump in tax revenues shortly after the Legislature adjourned....

HELCO reported that 20,660 customer interruptions (16% of all interruptions) were related to Independent Power Producer (non-HELCO Generation) sources. In 2009 Hamakua Energy Partners (HEP) and Pakini Nui Windfarm were the non-HELCO generation sources that caused customer interruptions. 

After months of trying to get on base in Hawaii, is it ‘three strikes and they’re out’ for the Turkish Gulen cult?

In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all.

The Regents Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC) will soon begin the recruitment process to fill a vacancy for a County of Hawai‘i seat on the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents.

 The Honolulu Republican Committee has issued a list of all Neighborhood Board candidates who are Republican.

Herman Cain received 20% of the vote in the Recent Hawaii GOP Convention Straw Poll....

Kalama Park on Saturday, May 21, at 11:30 -2:30 (middle pavilion by the playground equipment).

SB2, SB1555, HB1313

State and federal agencies signed a partnership today that will help private Forest Stewardship, landowners and managers conserve forestry land across Hawai'i.

In a speech yesterday on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East following the "Arab Spring" uprisings, President Obama broached the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Notably, he stated that, as part of finding peace between Israel and Palestine, the two parties should return to their 1967 borders.

Visitor industries on Oahu and the Big Island will suffer a setback from the drop in Japanese visitors in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, while Maui and Kauai will benefit from their stronger specialization in US and Canadian markets.

Listen carefully to the nurses in this video. They are ready to dump the HGEA.

"I wish Mazie well in her effort to seek higher elective office. It was my pleasure to have served with her in Congress and to have represented her as a congressman and city councilmember."

 PHOTO: Mazie Hirono Campaigns for Congress at Aug, 2006 rally at Larry Mehau's Honokaa home.

All nine federal judges in Hawaii have recused themselves from hearing the latest complaint, of a long string, that challenges a major transportation project in Honolulu.  With each judge stepping back from the case, 9th Circuit Judge A. Wallace Tashima will step in, according to an order filed Friday....

... the 100 most frequent given names for male and female births in 2010 in Hawaii....

Of the states released today Hawaii had the lowest proportion of homeowners, the second-highest household size, and the third-highest median age.

As HMSA and the Abercrombie administration push forward with electronic medical records in Hawaii—a key requirement for any medical rationing system—the Obama Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has today released two audits of electronic medical records security systems….

The Late Harold B. Estes' letter to Obama: "One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man. So here goes....

"You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like: "We're no longer a Christian nation" "America is arrogant" -- (Your wife even announced to the world, "America is mean- spirited." Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)"

The head of the Alaska Family Council -- a Christian pro-family, anti-abortion group -- urged Palin to pick Smith, not Christen. The group objected to Christen's membership on the board of Planned Parenthood in the mid-1990s. The organization, which didn't provide abortions in Alaska until 2003, opposed a Palin-backed bill to require girls under 17 to get parental consent for an abortion.

DBEDT expects total visitor arrivals to increase 3.8 percent....

So here is a look at what Hawaii would be suffering under if Liu makes it onto the 9th Circuit.

The Kauai County Republican Party conducted a Presidential straw poll during the 2011 Hawaii Republican Party State Convention.

Herman Cain was the winner followed by Mitt Romney in second and Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich and Sara Palin tied for third.

In April, the Obama administration lost $1.5 billion of $2 billion budgeted to improve America's antiquated transportation systems, with high-speed rail projects. Though the funds will now likely go toward deficit reduction, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a defendant in the Hawaii rail lawsuit, has asked for $53 billion over the next six years.