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Hawaii teachers fight evaluations, new state securities head has mishandled funds, Kauai councilman fights zoning charge, Cayetano leading polls for…
Hilo Union School (c) 2012 All Hawaii News As the state and teachers union resumed negotiations Thursday after months away from the bargaining table, the union raised new concerns about a bill that would require a performance management system for teachers, saying the latest version of the measure “would effectively strip teachers” of collective bargaining rights. Star-Advertiser. The Hawaii teachers union and the state returned to the bargaining table Thursday, three months to the day since their last session. Civil Beat. The Hawaii State Teachers Association is up in arms over a bill that would require teachers to be on probation for three years before attaining tenure, and which would afford the state Department of Education the chance to establish a teacher evaluation system. Tribune-Herald. The newly hired head of the state’s securities enforcement office allegedly defrauded a business associate in 2010 and failed to pay $900,000 in tax and child support debts over the past 10 years, according to public records. Hawaii Reporter. Laura Thielen The chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii was warned that a candidate didn’t have to have its approval to run for office under the party’s banner. Civil Beat. Just two days after speaking out on the floor of the Hawaii State Senate about Laura Thielen, Sens. Clayton Hee and Pohai Ryan — both Democrats — were at it again Wednesday. Civil Beat. Republican Fred Hemmings will announce later this month that he is running for the District 25 state Senate seat he held for a decade before retiring in 2010. Civil Beat. John Waihee thought back to his childhood, when the whole notion of Hawaiian sovereignty wasn’t even part of the political conversation. Star-Advertiser. The Hawaii Health Information Exchange, a nonprofit organization that aims to connect Hawaii’s medical providers through electronic health records, launched a secure direct messaging and patient referral system Thursday in a first step to link the health care industry. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii set another record for gas prices on Thursday, with the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded hitting $4.60, according to AAA Hawaii’s Weekend Gas Watch. Pacific Business News. The number of initial unemployment claims filed in Hawaii dropped by 25 percent year over year last week, with all four counties showing double-digit declines, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said Thursday. Pacific Business News. Oahu In observance of Good Friday, state and city workers will have Friday off. Hawaii News Now. Ben Cayetano Former Governor Ben Cayetano is leading in a number of polls in the race for Honolulu Mayor. Hawaii Public Radio. Three state agencies threw their weight behind the proposed Koa Ridge housing development in Central Oahu at a state Land Use Commission hearing Thursday. Star-Advertiser. Bicycle advocates on Thursday gave city officials a petition with more than 1,000 signatures urging that bicycle lanes be installed along Waialae Avenue as part of a major road improvement project in Kaimuki. Star-Advertiser. Oahu may get Koreatown. Associated Press. Lawmakers to hold April 12 hearing on Koreatown designation. Associated Press. A capital improvement project for Kewalo Basin Harbor valued at $18 million may hinge on a public-private partnership between the Hawaii Community Development Authority and Almar Management Inc. KITV4. Hawaii National Marine Fisheries Service revokes a permit to Kampachi Farms for a floating aquaculture project. West Hawaii Today. Officials of Hawaii Oceanic Technology Inc. said Thursday the company has received a state permit that allows it to move forward with its plan to raise bigeye and yellowfin tuna in open-ocean cages. Star-Advertiser. Community undaunted by vandalism, committed to replacing trees. West Hawaii Today. Maui About 4,700 Maui County public school students could see their bus service ended next school year under a state Department of Education plan to deal with bills currently wending their way through the state Legislature that could lead to significant funding shortfalls. M aui News. State Land Use Commission members heard the end of testimony Wednesday, including impassioned pleas to protect Native Hawaiian burials, during their review of A&B Properties’ plans to develop Wai’ale, a master-planned community on about 545 acres in Central Maui. Maui News. A public informational meeting about maintenance dredging and pier work at Lahaina Small Boat Harbor will be held Friday at 2 p.m. in the Pioneer Inn Court Yard. Maui News. The Hawaii State Senate honored the county-based Invasive Species Committees and Dr. Mohsen Ramadan of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture biological control program with a Certificate of Recognition Wednesday. KHON2. Senator Baker Comments on ‘Vacation Rental Bills’ Controversy. Maui Now. Kauai The 5th Circuit Court recused the Office of the Kaua‘i County Prosecuting Attorney from its misdemeanor zoning violation case against county councilman Tim Bynum in 5th Circuit Court on Thursday. Garden Island. In the next few weeks, Kaua‘i County Council will face the challenge of approving a budget for Fiscal Year 2013, balanced by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s administration, using $10.75 million from the county’s reserve fund and $12.55 million in forecasted surplus from the current fiscal year. Garden Island. The Kaua‘i County Council had little issue with the County Auditor’s FY2012-13 budget request. Garden Island.
Continue reading...Bright Hawaii outlook for tourism, jobs; Maui telescope hearing officer fired, Pearl Harbor cutting three ships, no tax cut for Kauai, Abercrombie…
30. March 2012
Coconut climber (c) 2012 All Hawaii News Some 626,367 visitors came to Hawaii last month and spent $1.09 billion, or about $183 per person per day, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. February was the seventh consecutive month of arrivals growth for Hawaii’s visitor industry and the 23rd month of spending rises. Star-Advertiser. Total expenditures by visitors who came to Hawai’i in February 2012 rose 8.5 percent, or by $85.7 million, to $1.099 billion, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. KITV4. Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell in February for the fourth consecutive month to its lowest level in three years, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Thursday. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level in three years. KHON2. A group trying to mount a novel third-party presidential campaign has gained a spot on the Hawaii general election ballot this fall. Associated Press. Fulfilling a long-standing obligation, the state House is expected to vote today for a $200 million settlement between the state and the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs over OHA’s share of revenue from former crown lands since 1978. Star-Advertiser. Lawmakers are looking for guidance from the Abercrombie administration on controversial environmental legislation, but top officials are giving very mixed signals. Civil Beat. Legislation aimed at streamlining Hawaii’s construction permitting process could have broad environmental and cultural consequences, some state officials worry. Associated Press. There are about a dozen bills advancing in the legislature that waive environmental requirements for state and public projects.
Continue reading...Bright Hawaii outlook for tourism, jobs; Maui telescope hearing officer fired, Pearl Harbor cutting three ships, no tax cut for Kauai, Abercrombie…
30. March 2012
Coconut climber (c) 2012 All Hawaii News Some 626,367 visitors came to Hawaii last month and spent $1.09 billion, or about $183 per person per day, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. February was the seventh consecutive month of arrivals growth for Hawaii’s visitor industry and the 23rd month of spending rises. Star-Advertiser. Total expenditures by visitors who came to Hawai’i in February 2012 rose 8.5 percent, or by $85.7 million, to $1.099 billion, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. KITV4. Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell in February for the fourth consecutive month to its lowest level in three years, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported Thursday. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level in three years. KHON2. A group trying to mount a novel third-party presidential campaign has gained a spot on the Hawaii general election ballot this fall. Associated Press. Fulfilling a long-standing obligation, the state House is expected to vote today for a $200 million settlement between the state and the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs over OHA’s share of revenue from former crown lands since 1978. Star-Advertiser. Lawmakers are looking for guidance from the Abercrombie administration on controversial environmental legislation, but top officials are giving very mixed signals. Civil Beat. Legislation aimed at streamlining Hawaii’s construction permitting process could have broad environmental and cultural consequences, some state officials worry. Associated Press. There are about a dozen bills advancing in the legislature that waive environmental requirements for state and public projects.
Continue reading...Gas hits $5/gal on Kauai, green energy tax cuts face reduction, dengue-carrying mosquito breeding on Oahu, audit says Honolulu not collecting enough…
26. March 2012
Solar panels installed in Honolulu, courtesy photo High electricity bills, sunny weather and improved technology have made solar power an increasingly popular option in Hawaii. But tax credit for renewable energy faces reductions, curtailed caps.
Continue reading...Gas hits $5/gal on Kauai, green energy tax cuts face reduction, dengue-carrying mosquito breeding on Oahu, audit says Honolulu not collecting enough…
26. March 2012
Solar panels installed in Honolulu, courtesy photo High electricity bills, sunny weather and improved technology have made solar power an increasingly popular option in Hawaii. But tax credit for renewable energy faces reductions, curtailed caps.
Continue reading...Case renews challenge against Hirono in U.S. Democratic Senate primary, Obama supports Honolulu rail project, state won’t regulate ziplines, hospital…
16. March 2012
U.S. Senate candidate Ed Case and wife Audrey (c) 2012 All Hawaii News With the primary election less than five months away, Ed Case is trying to get Mazie Hirono to come out of her protective congressional bubble. Civil Beat. Owners of Hawaii’s popular zip lines, under increased scrutiny since a man plunged to his death last year, won’t be placed under state supervision — at least for now. Associated Press. The state Attorney General has warned lawmakers that a bill meant to punish protestors who engage in disorderly or disruptive behavior at the Legislature may be constitutionally defective. Hawaii Reporter. The Governor’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative is geared toward reducing Hawai’i’s prison population to save 9-million dollars by the end of the next fiscal year. Dog Chapman and other Bail Bond providers say they were not consulted and now oppose an early release provision in a bill. Hawaii Public Radio. Hawaii’s teachers union wants to meet with federal education officials who will visit in about two weeks to monitor the state’s progress on Race to the Top reforms. Associated Press. The state Department of Education has not yet decided whether it will take ground beef containing an ammonia-treated filler dubbed “pink slime” off Hawaii school lunch menus, but is stressing that the meat product is safe to eat. Star-Advertiser. Money legislation has been all over the map this session, ranging from proposals for a state-run bank and a tax on sugary drinks to hiking the minimum wage and granting employers a payroll tax break. Civil Beat. More than 70 students are visiting the Capitol on Friday to testify on bills relevant to Hawaii’s youth. KHON2. State lawmakers are looking at ways to make it harder for minors to smoke cigarettes in Hawaii. KHON2. A national, non-profit transportation group hit the road – and found nearly two-thirds of Hawaii’s major highways and thoroughfares have deteriorated. Hawaii News Now. The statewide average price of gasoline in Hawaii rose by 2 cents this week to $4.44 per gallon, according to AAA Hawaii’s Weekend Gas Watch. Pacific Business News. Oahu Oahu’s leading hospitals are confirming that the December shuttering of Hawaii Medical Center facilities in Ewa and Liliha has placed tremendous stress on their facilities through higher occupancy, overflowing emergency rooms and longer waiting times for noncritical patients to receive attention. Star-Advertiser. The Obama’s administration supports the city’s rail transit project and “will continue to work through whatever issues need to be worked through,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday. Star-Advertiser . The interim director of the city’s rail project said Thursday it would be cheaper to start construction now on support columns for the elevated system than it would be to delay construction, and said that would be true even if the city were forced later to rip down the columns. Star-Advertiser. “City Put Itself in a Pickle”: Another Internal FTA Email Surfaces; Outlines Dispute Between FTA, City Over Honolulu Rail. Hawaii Reporter. The state auditor said the Stadium Authority has failed to provide leadership over the stadium’s popular swap meet, its largest revenue source, according to a report released Thursday. Star-Advertiser. Build rail infrastructure with the risk of tearing it down, or wait for federal money and legal challenges to be resolved? That was among an hours-long debate at Honolulu City Council today. KHON2. Some vendors at the state’s Aloha Stadium swap meet have failed to pay or underpaid state taxes. Hawaii Reporter. Two city departments will together look to hire an emergency contractor to clean up mold and lead at Honolulu Hale — an operation that is expected to cost taxpayers at least $100,000. Civil Beat. Former Governors Make Rare Appearance At Land Use Commission. KITV4. The Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) is making changes to improve safety and security for residents at Mayor Wright Homes, a public housing complex in Palama. Hawaii News Now. Hawaii North Hawaii Community Hospital’s chief executive says no decisions have been made about the future of the Waimea Women’s Center, despite internal reports saying two nurse midwives may lose their jobs. West Hawaii Today. State Land Board member accused of conflict of interest. Hawaii News Now. A robot called Benjamin survived gale force storm 26-foot waves, defied turbulent mid-ocean currents, crossed the thrashing Alenuihaha Channel and stayed on course, Thursday becoming the second vehicle of its kind to travel more than 3,200 nautical miles — without human assistance. West Hawaii Today. Mauna Loa was no cakewalk in 1794, when the first party of European explorers reached its summit. Tribune-Herald. Maui A Native Hawaiian leader who played a key role in preventing the continued exhumation of hundreds of Native Hawaiian burials at Honokahua, Maui, died Thursday afternoon. Star-Advertiser. Members of the Maui County Council’s Policy Committee voted 5-0 Wednesday to recommend the rejection of the nomination of Wailuku businessman John Noble to the Maui Redevelopment Agency. Maui News. The Kahului Airport master plan, including a longer main runway, will take years of public effort before a shovel hits dirt for the major pieces of the more than $1 billion, 20-year-plus plan, said Jeff Chang, engineering program manager for the state Department of Transportation Airports Division. Maui News. For the Maui Island General Plan, the momentum shifted Wednesday in favor of those who want more details in the plan, rejecting arguments from Department of Planning Director Will Spence, who has maintained that too many details would defeat the purpose of the document as a “general” plan and make it a nightmare for planners to administer and for members of the public to sort out. Maui News. A proposal to set a 10 p.m. ban on entertainment, music and dancing at the Kihei Kalama Village was voted down today, but could resurface again in six months if noise complaints persist. Maui Now. Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. on Thursday released his budget for Fiscal Year 2013. His administration is proposing to spend $161.2 million in operational expenses between July 1 and June 30, 2013. The budget represents a $24.63 million, or 14 percent, reduction from the current fiscal year, according to Carvalho. Garden Island. Pohaku kohala unearthed during recent rains. Garden Island.
Continue reading...Sunshine Week: Because you have a right to know
11. March 2012
Sunshine Week courtesy cartoon Is your tap water safe to drink? Do your elected officials pay the same property taxes that you do? Do your tax dollars go for needed municipal benefits, or is the money spent on bloated government salaries and pricy junkets? Is your congressional representative responding to the electorate or is he or she acting at the behest of special interests? You have a right to know. “Wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government,” said Thomas Jefferson. “Whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.” That is the premise behind open government and freedom of information, and it’s celebrated annually during national Sunshine Week. This year, it starts today, March 11. Open government and freedom of information is not just for the press. Every citizen has the right to question the government, attend meetings and request records. Two Honolulu events will mark the week for Hawaii. “Sunshine and the Social Web: Citizen Power through New Media Tools,” a panel discussion sponsored by Media Council Hawaii and Common Cause Hawaii, will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at The GreenHouse, 685 Auahi Street, Honolulu. It features a panel discussion with: •
Continue reading...Hawaii homelessness plan released, new lawsuit threatened on political maps, Tax Department probe widens, pension gap swells as workers spike…
9. March 2012
Honolulu homeless (c) 2012 All Hawaii News State officials have drafted a plan discussing how to end homelessness in Hawaii. West Hawaii Today. New political boundary maps the state Reapportionment Commission approved unanimously Thursday could wind up in court again. Star-Advertiser. The state Reapportionment Commission gave final approval Thursday to new political boundary maps for state House and Senate districts. Star-Advertiser. Commission Gives Unanimous Support to Reapportionment Plan. Civil Beat. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta put on a smile just a day after testifying about the United States’ plans to help the people of Syria. KITV4. Several top managers at the State Tax Department are among 14 employees under investigation for possible criminal wrongdoing in a probe that has lasted nearly three months, sources said. Hawaii News Now. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees the exploration and development of the nation’s offshore energy and mineral resources, met with Hawaii officials this week for the first time to talk about existing regulatory processes and how best to complement the state’s Clean Energy Initiative. Pacific Business News. One of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s appointments to the Hawaii Community Development Authority is an engineer whose family and business contacts were top donors to Abercrombie’s campaign. Star-Advertiser. Despite piles of opposition testimony from out-of-state owners of Hawaii vacation rentals, the Hawaii Legislature has advanced two measures that require non-resident owners to hire local property managers. Civil Beat. House committees heard testimony Thursday about a group of bills that some worry could weaken state environmental law, while others say they’re necessary to spur development. KHON2. The nation’s largest independent union of federal employees has honored U.S Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii for his support of federal workers. Associated Press. The gap between the pension benefits promised to Hawaii’s public workers and the money set aside to pay for them has swelled 14 percent in one year, according to a valuation report released Thursday. Civil Beat. Of 5,000 state and county employees who retired since 2009, 674 of them substantially boosted their pension benefits by a practice called “spiking,” a state senate investigating committee was told today. Hawaii Reporter. Excessive overtime by Hawaii public employees has again become an issue this legislative session. Civil Beat. Groups with ideas on how to improve access to the legal system for women and children have more time to submit those ideas for grant funding in Hawaii. Hawaii Public Radio. State roundup for March 8. Associated Press. Russell Kokubun
Continue reading...Hundreds of bills survive legislative crossover, commission still tinkering with political maps, disaster declared for rain-soaked islands, HGEA…
7. March 2012
Hawaii state Capitol (c) 2012 All Hawaii News Job creation and economic development remain key priorities as lawmakers near the midway point of the 2012 legislative session. Associated Press. Both House and Senate on Tuesday managed to plow through hundreds of bills that faced a Thursday deadline. Civil Beat. State lawmakers Tuesday maintained their focus on economic recovery while they awaited word on whether projected revenue growth will be enough to keep the state budget on track. Star-Advertiser. As rains pounded down on the state Capitol, members of the House of Representatives hunkered down in a marathon session that saw passage of nearly 300 bills to be sent along for further consideration by the Senate. Hawaii Reporter. Ahead of the First Crossover deadline,
Continue reading...Hundreds of bills survive legislative crossover, commission still tinkering with political maps, disaster declared for rain-soaked islands, HGEA…
7. March 2012
Hawaii state Capitol (c) 2012 All Hawaii News Job creation and economic development remain key priorities as lawmakers near the midway point of the 2012 legislative session. Associated Press. Both House and Senate on Tuesday managed to plow through hundreds of bills that faced a Thursday deadline. Civil Beat. State lawmakers Tuesday maintained their focus on economic recovery while they awaited word on whether projected revenue growth will be enough to keep the state budget on track. Star-Advertiser. As rains pounded down on the state Capitol, members of the House of Representatives hunkered down in a marathon session that saw passage of nearly 300 bills to be sent along for further consideration by the Senate. Hawaii Reporter. Ahead of the First Crossover deadline,
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6. April 2012
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