May 2012
80 posts
5 tags
Arizona Goes Birther: Awaiting Hawaii...
Yep, it’s “possible” that Obama won’t be on the ballot in Arizona.
Talking Points Memo reports that Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett is threatening to keep the president off the ballot in November, saying he’s not convinced Barack Obama was really born in the United States:
Bennett said he was following the lead of the state’s eccentric Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a...
3,000 Rainbow Trout Gone Missing on Kauai
Massive fish theft suspected here. If you’ve seen a few thousand rainbow trout flapping around, officials at the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources would probably appreciate a call.
Our Landblog reports:
(Photo: NOAA)
About 3,000 trout have disappeared from pens at the Puu Lua Reservoir on Kauai, and officials think they were stolen.
As the June 16 opening of Koke‘e trout...
Dole Looking to Selling Hawaii Lands?
Our Landblog reports:
Dole Food Co. could be unloading land it owns in Hawaii to reduce its debt and shore up its share price, Pacific Coast Business Times reports.
The company, founded in Hawaii more than 150 years ago and now based in California, owns thousands of acres on Oahu.
One way Dole can reduce debt is to sell some of its land in Hawaii, which may be worth as much as $400 million,...
Federal Judge Says Court Won't Throw Elections...
The plaintiffs aren’t doing so well in their arguments before a three-judge panel that the current Hawaii redistricting plan should be tossed.
Earlier, the plaintiffs’ lawyer was confusing the judges (never a good thing).
Now, Capitol Watch reports:
Judge Seabright tells Thomas that requiring a new plan be drawn up could take months or even a year.
That kind of delay, the judge...
2 tags
Three-Judge Panel Takes Up Hawaii Redistricting...
Important hearing this morning in federal court on reapportionment. We’re live blogging it.
Here’s the latest from Capitol Watch:
A three-judge panel is hearing the case by Hawaii plaintiffs this morning who argue the state’s new political boundaries are unconstitutional because they were drawn up using a base population that does not count military personnel and dependents.
Civil...
Hawaii Foreclosures Down 68% in April
Our moneyblog reports:
Some positive economic news — Hawaii foreclosures were down significantly in April compared to the same month a year ago.
Pacific Business News reports the number of Hawaii homes in foreclosure dropped 68 percent last month, citing data from RealtyTrac.
“There were a total of 314 foreclosure filings — notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — on...
Federal Agent Charged in Shooting During APEC...
The federal agent charged in the fatal shooting of a Kailua man at a Waikiki McDonald claims he was doing his job and is immune from prosecution.
Christopher Deedy, 28, was in Honolulu working for the U.S. Diplomatic Security Services for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in November when he shot 23-year-old Kollin Elderts.
The Associated Press reports:
Christopher...
Coast Guard Gives Tsunami Debris Update
dc808:
In testimony before a Senate subcommittee Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard offered an update on its efforts to manage marine debris from the March 2011 tsunami.
While NOAA is the lead Federal agency charged with managing the debris, the Coast Guard is also tasked with “specific roles.” Hazardous substance threats, for example, would require Coast Guard leadership.
Last month, the Coast...
Hawaii Man Charged in $35M International...
hawaiimoneyblog:
A Hawaii man has been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly running a $35 million international stock scheme.
The SEC said Nicholas Louis Geranio “covertly set up companies and manipulated the market for their stock to profit from aggressive offshore boiler room activity.” The alleged fraudulent activity happened between April 2007 and September...
1 tag
California-based Buyer Puts in Bid for Former HMC...
Looks like Queens will have some competition in its bid to takeover the former Hawaii Medical Center-Ewa hospital.
Hampton Health, a California-based medical group, has submitted its own letter of intent to acquire both the Ewa and Liliha hospitals from St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii.
The former HMC West hospital filed for bankruptcy in June 2011 and was closed by the end of the year....
Kauai Poi Mill Gets a Reprieve
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has changed course on the Makaweli Poi Mill on Kauai. Instead of shutting the mill down, OHA will transition ownership from its nonprofit subsidiary Hiipoi LLC to a community organization.
Pacific Business News reports:
“We want to ensure that people in the Kauai (taro) community would become the new owners and managers of Makaweli Poi Mill,” OHA...
VoteVets Airing Gabbard Ads in Hawaii
dc808:
The latest campaign ad to hit the air in Hawaii is a message of support for Tulsi Gabbard from VoteVets.org. According to Roll Call, VoteVets is “the largest progressive organization of veterans in the country,” and it shelled out $75,000 to air the ad for 10 days.
Check it out:
Voting on Hawaii Teachers Contract Starts Thursday
Our Educationblog reports:
Starting Thursday, Hawaii teachers will be voting again on the contract they shot down two-to-one in January.
Given that the January contract no longer has any legal standing, it’ll be interesting to see what happens if teachers pass it this time around.
The teachers union had planned to make a “no” vote mean an authorization to strike, further complicating the...
1 tag
Ex-LAPD Homicide Detective Arrested in Wife's 2006...
A retired LAPD detective long suspected in the fatal beating of his wife in 2006 has been arrested for the killing.
The LA Times reports:
Dan DeJarnette, 59, was taken into custody without incident Monday night at his home on the Big Island in connection with the slaying of his wife, Yu Dejarnette.
He said at the time of her November 2006 death that he had awakened and found her lying on a...
Honolulu Building Permits Going Paperless in...
Honolulu is getting serious about going paperless.
Inside Honolulu reports:
In March it was online camping permits.
Now, the city is getting ready to close its building permit counter at Kapolei Hale and move all of its dealings online.
Hawaii News Now reports that one-fourth of all city permitting is already done online:
The Kapolei building permit counter will close later this year as...
Corpse Flower to Bloom — and Stink — on Thursday
The so-called ‘corpse’ flower, which emits a fragrance that smells of rotting flesh, will bloom this week at Honolulu’s Foster Botanical Garden.
Our Landblog reports:
Exciting news from Honolulu’s botanical garden …
The endangered Amorhophallus titanium plant, which has a “horrific odor of rotted flesh” is expected to bloom in Honolulu’s Foster Botanical Garden on Thursday,...
1 tag
Hawaii Public Pension Fund Value Up More than 8%
Good news on the pension front today.
Our Moneyblog reports:
The value of Hawaii’s public pension fund was up to $11.5 billion at the end of March — up more than 8 percent from the previous quarter, according to the latest performance report.
The Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System posted a gain of $814.4 million for the three months ending March 31, thanks to strong returns on its equity...
Outgoing UH Manoa Chancellor Gets $287K Sabbatical
News that University of Hawaii at Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw will be paid $287,400 for a 10-month sabbatical once she steps down from her position this summer has gotten UH faculty and students in an uproar.
Hawaii News Now reports:
While UH President M.R.C. Greenwood defended the move, it was criticized by UH students, the faculty union and others.
…
In a deal approved by the...
$12,482 For a Dog Run at the Governor's Mansion
That’s one expensive dog run!
Our partners at KITV had a great report this morning on the more than $41,000 in taxpayer money spent on improvements to the governor’s residence in the last year:
According to records obtained by KITV4 from the Department of Accounting and General Services, part of the expenditures at Hale Kia’aina includes installing a dog run for the...
Hawaii Gets $128K To Help Protect Monk Seals and...
The recent spate of suspicious monk seal deaths has spurred the feds to give Hawaii a new grant to help with the protection of the endangered seals, as well as green sea turtles. There’s still a $40,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those behind the seal killings.
Our Landblog reports:
Hawaii will receive a $128,585 grant to aid in the protection of the endangered...
2 tags
Lei Makers Resort to Plastic Amid Flower Shortage
A flower shortage caused by Thai flooding and growing popularity of lei on the mainland means that some local producers have resorted to mixing plastic flowers in with real ones to satisfy demand this graduation season.
Hawaii News Now reports:
Watanabe Floral makes the lei we found at Costco. They say the “plastic floral design spacers” as they are called are used because of...
Big Island Deep-Sea Water Bottling Co. To Pay $2M...
Deep-sea water bottler Koyo will pay the state millions to settle a health violation case with the state.
Our Moneyblog reports:
The state says it has agreed to settle health violation fines against Koyo USA Corp., a Big Island producer of bottled water made from deep-sea water.
Koyo USA, which is based at Kailua-Kona’s Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, will pay the...
Hawaii Unions Host $4,000-a-head Fundraiser For...
The venue is Vino Italian Tapas & Wine Bar. The suggested donation is $4,000.
The list of event co-chairs is a who’s who of union leadership including Randy Perreira of HGEA, Dayton Nakanelua of UPW, Tenari Ma’afala of SHOPO, Donna Domingo of ILWU, Bobby Lee of the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association, Damien Kim of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, among others.
...
2 tags
Week-long Bike Lane Study on Waialae Ave
Last September, Honolulu city officials closed a lane of Waialae Ave near 10th Avenue for three days to simulate a bike lane. They’re at it again this week, conducting another traffic study this week to study the issue.
This week’s study poses a minor inconvenience to motorists — no left turns allowed into Sacred Hearts Academy and 5th Avenue from 7 to 8 a.m.
Don’t miss our...
4 tags
Wash Your Basil — and Avoid Korean Shellfish
Hawaii Department of Health officials are warning people to avoid eating shellfish imported from Korea.
The federal Food and Drug Administration reports that “all fresh and frozen shellfish, and many products made from these shellfish, imported from Korea to the United States may be contaminated and unsafe for human consumption.”
That covers clams, oysters or mussels, of the...
[VIDEO] Garrett McNamara's 78-Foot Wave Biggest...
The Guinness World Record has recognized a 44-year-old Hawaii pro surfer for catching the biggest wave ever ridden.
In November, McNamara, of Haleiwa, caught a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal, beating the 2008 record of biggest ridden by more than a foot.
The AP reports:
He said he originally didn’t want to attempt the waves that day after wiping out numerous times on even...
Companies Line Up to Tap Big Island's Geothermal...
Geothermal companies are lining up to get a piece of the Big Island.
Our Landblog reports:
It’s starting to look a bit like the California gold rush.
About 20 companies are interested in developing geothermal on the Big Island, Pacific Business News reports.
Hawaii Electric Light Co. just received PUC approval to issue a 50 megawatt RFP for geothermal energy.
This is a sharp contrast to...
1 tag
Queens May Buy Former HMC Hospital in Ewa
Ewa residents could see their neighborhood hospital reopen.
Queen’s Health Systems is in talks with St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii to buy the former Hawaii Medical Center-West hospital and reopen it, KITV reports. The two have signed a letter of intent allowing Queens to explore the feasibility of such a move.
HMC West filed for bankruptcy in June 2011 and was closed by the end...
3 tags
Navy Wants To Test Sonar, Explosives in Hawaiian...
The U.S. Navy is considering expanding its sonar and explosives training in Hawaiian waters, KHON reports. There will be a public meeting at McKinley High School on June 15, 5 p.m., to discuss the proposal.
The Associated Press report digs deeper into the new draft environmental impact statement:
The Navy estimates its use of explosives and sonar may unintentionally cause more than 1,600...
Honolulu Ban on Plastic Bags Signed Into Law
Mayor Peter Carlisle has signed a plastic bag ban for Honolulu into law.
The Honolulu City Council passed the bill 7-1 last month. A recent Civil Beat poll found that people were actually split on whether any restrictions should be put on plastic bags.
Regardless, Honolulu’s bag ban goes into effect in July 2015. Honolulu was the last Hawaii county to pass a bag ban or fee.
Oshiro: 57% of Gov's Bills Passed
That’s according to Blake Oshiro, Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s deputy chief of staff. Of the 195 bills that came from the administration, 111 passed — nearly double the number that survived the 2011 session.
Capitol Watch reports:
Oshiro spoke about the just-concluded legislative session before the Hawaii Economic Association at The Plaza Club Thursday (May 10).
To achieve that success rate,...
Test Scores Up, But Hawaii Still Lags Nation
Hawaii eighth-graders are doing better on their standardized tests, but the state still has its work cut out.
Our Educationblog reports:
The National Assessment of Educational Progress released its report card for science scores today.
Hawaii Ed Department officials are celebrating the gains.
Superintendent Matayoshi says Hawaii needs to improve coursework and student participation in STEM...
Honolulu Council Chair Angry At Carlisle's Lack of...
Talk about fireworks at today’s hearing on the Honolulu city budget.
Inside Honolulu has the report:
City Council Chair Ernie Martin just gave Managing Director Doug Chin a serious tongue-lashing. Midway through budget deliberations, relations between the executive and legislative branches of city government seem to be in tatters.
The generally congenial Martin said he felt disrespected...
1 tag
Civil Beat's Japan Tsunami Coverage Honored in...
Civil Beat has won second place for our coverage of the March 2011 tsunami in the Best of the West journalism contest for breaking news.
Our staff coverage of the tsunami threat to Hawaii after the Japanese earthquake included reports about the homeless being left out of evacuation plans, the breakdown of AT&T’s cellular network and the state and county websites failing to inform the...
Abercrombie: Let Oahu Voters Decide Rail
honolulu-politics:
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s support for rail, like public support for the project, appears to be wavering.
Abercrombie was interviewed this morning on Hawaii News Now and expressed concerns about what the project has “evolved” into.
“The difficulty right now is the rail that’s proposed has nothing to do with what was stated before — going to the university, going into...
1 tag
Kauai Wins Grant to Start Cold Case Murder Unit
Kauai will open Hawaii’s first cold case murder unit out of a prosecutor’s office, thanks to a $100,000 grant, KITV reports.
Advances in DNA technology and forensic investigation techniques have spurred departments across the country to crack open cold case files.
KITV reports:
The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney applied for and aggressively lobbied to obtain funding from the...
2 tags
Post Office Hours To Be Cut at 12 Hawaii Locations
The U.S. Postal Service has backed off its plan to close thousands of rural post offices. Instead, the postal service plans to cut hours at 13,000 rural locations as part of an effort to save $500 million a year.
In Hawaii, a dozen post offices will see their hours cut, most on the neighbor islands. On Oahu, only one post office — Kunia — would see its hours cut from 8 to 6. KITV has the...
3 tags
Civil Beat's 'No Conflict' Series Honored in Best...
Civil Beat has won third prize in the 2012 Best of the West journalism contest for our No Conflict series in the explanatory reporting category.
The stories took a closer look at Hawaii representatives who asked for rulings on whether they could vote on a bill that could benefit them personally. Civil Beat wrote up nearly a dozen examples and asked readers to weigh in by voting on Facebook.
...
1 tag
Inouye Supports Same-Sex Marriage
You heard it here first. Sen. Daniel Inouye issued this statement in response to DC808’s questions about whether he supports same-sex marriage:
“I am very pleased that the President affirmed his support for marriage equality. I think everyone who wishes to enter into marriage and start a life together should be allowed to do so, regardless of sexual orientation. How can we say call ourselves...
2 tags
Plastic in 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' Increases...
The amount of plastic trash in the Pacific Garbage Patch has increased by a factor of 100 during the last 40 years, according to scientists from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego. That’s causing profound changes to the marine ecosystem.
From The Guardian:
The Seaplex team found that water skaters typically lay their eggs on floating objects like seashells, bird feathers...
3 tags
Hawaii Included in New U.S. Chamber of Commerce Ad...
Former Gov. Linda Lingle will get some help on the airwaves in the next few weeks, thanks to a new advertising push by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Associated Press reports:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching ads in Florida, Missouri, Hawaii and Ohio as Democrats struggle to hold Senate seats and their slim majority. The Republican-friendly lobbying group is also targeting 17 House...
Obama Throws Shaka at Asian American Gala
Hawaii pride came through loud and clear at a Washington gala to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. He threw a shaka and was twice interrupted with shouts of “aloha!”
DC808 reports:
In his first major appearance at a major Asian American-hosted event Tuesday night, President Barack Obama threw a shaka to the crowd at the Ritz Carlton in Washington. That detail comes from...
HART Puts 150,000 Pages of Rail Records Online
Inside Honolulu reports:
On his second day on the job, Dan Grabauskas said he’d make the full administrative record for the lawsuit available.
Now, after some collaboration with the Department of Information Technology, HART has posted the record — about 150,000 pages in all.
Check out the volumes here.
Sixty-eight other documents totaling 5,000 more pages were also uploaded.
More Native Hawaiians Identify in Census With...
This latest census report confirms the inevitable. Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders are increasingly multiracial compared with a decade ago.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that 1.2 million people, or 0.4 percent of all people in the U.S., identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. Those who identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander as well as...
1 tag
A Peek at Cayetano's Bus Rapid Transit Plan
We know former Gov. Ben Cayetano will kill the rail project. But he’s been mum on the details of the bus rapid transit plan he’ll implement instead.
Inside Honolulu has this report:
We’ve been patiently waiting for Ben Cayetano to share some of the details of the bus rapid transit plan he’s said he’ll use to address growing traffic congestion in Leeward Oahu after he kills the rail...
3 tags
Lei Prices Climb In Wake of Thai Floods, Mainland...
The globalization of lei means that come graduation in a few weeks, prices could be sky high. Recent flooding in Thailand is affecting orchid prices. And the growing popularity of lei on the mainland means lei will not be cheap this month.
Hawaii Business magazine reports:
A word to the wise this graduation season: Lei will be pricey because of the shortage of Thailand-grown orchids, not to...
2 tags
First Asian Pacific American Woman Named To Court...
Jacqueline Nguyen will be the first Asian Pacific American woman in U.S. history to serve on a Court of Appeals.
DC808 reports:
Sen. Daniel Akaka’s office made the announcement on Monday night. Already, Nguyen had made history as the first Vietnamese American woman to serve as a federal judge.
The Senate confirmed her nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court in a 93-3 vote, after unanimous...
4 tags
Asian Caucus Wants Obama's Attention
It’s no secret that Asian American leaders have at times been disappointed with Obama’s level of engagement with their community. Here’s the latest from DC.
DC808 reports:
President Barack Obama is set to attend a gala at the Washington, D.C., Ritz-Carlton in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on Tuesday. Politico reports it will be the first time he’s attended a “major event...
2 tags
70 Percent of Hawaii's Beaches Eroding
A new University of Hawaii study reports that the vast majority of beaches on Oahu, Kauai and Maui are washing away.
Our Landblog has more on the story:
Seventy percent of beaches on the islands of Oahu, Kauai and Maui are undergoing long-term erosion, according to a recent study by the UH School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology and US Geological Survey.
Scientists … studied more than...
1 tag
KHON Parent Company Sells Its Local Stations
KHON’s parent company is selling 17 local TV stations to a competitor for $330 million plus debt. KHON is included in the deal.
CBS News reports:
New Vision Television said Monday that it’s selling 17 stations in eight television markets to LIN Television Corp. for $330 million and the assumption of some debt. The company said the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals. New...