Hawaii

August 13, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Members of the 50th Anniversary of Statehood Commission today announced a comprehensive plan to commemorate Hawaii’s golden anniversary of statehood, with a year-long series of events and activities that begin next week.

The 25-member Commission was established in 2007 under Act 140 to develop, plan and coordinate activities to honor the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s admission to the United States.

The Commission has been meeting since November 2007 with a charge from Governor Linda Lingle to organize culturally sensitive events and programs that honor the past, respect the present and look to the future, and that include both residents and visitors.    » read more »

July 16, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of nine soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died of wounds suffered when their outpost was attacked by small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from enemy forces in Wanat, Afghanistan, on July 13.

They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy.

Killed were:

1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii.

Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, Calif.

Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Ga.

Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Wash.

Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.    » read more »

June 15, 2008 -- HONOLULU – An attempt by management and pilots at Hawaiian Airlines to turn around a strained and difficult post-bankruptcy relationship appears to be failing. After more than a year of effort to reach a new contract outside of the regular negotiating process, both sides are still far apart and the pilot group is rapidly losing patience, according to the Hawaiian Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA).

Hawaiian Airlines jet: Photo by Dylan Ashe (CC)    » read more »

June 17, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pvt. Eugene D. M. Kanakaole, 19, of Maui, Hawaii, died June 11 in Balad Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident.

He was assigned to the 87th Engineer Company, 8th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

The incident is under investigation.

Source: DOD

Administration to seek additional safeguards and oversight of life insurance settlements

June 16, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle today signed into law a bill to protect individuals – specifically senior citizens and people suffering from chronic or terminal illness – from fraudulent activity relating to the selling and buying of life insurance policies.

While the new law provides added measures to protect consumers, the Governor said it does not go far enough in safeguarding against unscrupulous individuals who exploit and prey on vulnerable residents because of their age or medical condition. The Lingle-Aiona Administration will seek additional protections and industry oversight in the 2009 legislative session.    » read more »

June 1, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle’s Chief of Staff Barry Fukunaga today called on the State Legislature to reverse its misguided decision to restrict the spending of $28.2 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for the upcoming fiscal year.

Fukunaga encouraged state lawmakers to make it their highest priority to lift the restriction on anti-poverty funds when it reconvenes in January 2009.    » read more »

May 27, 2008 -- The Barack Obama campaign announced last night that three additional superdelegates from the state of Hawaii have announced their support for Barack Obama for President.

The following blog entry was posted yesterday on the Obama campaign website:

Barack Obama at Veterans Memorial Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico: Photo by Barack Obama campaign (CC)    » read more »

May 23, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle today signed into law three bills to improve the treatment and increase recovery of people with mental illness in Hawai‘i. The measures build on the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s ongoing efforts to work with mental health professionals, community organizations, the Legislature and other partners to improve access to mental health care across the state. The signing of the bills coincides with events scheduled throughout May as part of Mental Health Awareness Month.    » read more »

May 21, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle signed into law today a bill (HB3179 SD1 CD1) that will make it easier for biofuel producers to directly lease public lands. The measure is part of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s efforts to increase Hawaii’s energy independence by encouraging the use of alternative renewable energy sources such as biofuels.

Farmland, Hawaii: Photo by Frank Peters (CC)    » read more »

May 21, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle signed into law today HB3126 SD2 CD1 (Act 85), which increases the loan ceiling for farm and ranch operations on Hawaiian home lands from $50,000 to $200,000. This loan cap has not been changed since 1982.

Currently, the $50,000 loan ceiling limits the types of improvements that can be made for farming and ranch operations. In some cases, the installation of an agricultural water meter alone costs $60,000, not to mention other needed infrastructure and equipment.    » read more »

Hawaii Superdelegate Dolly Strazar Endorses Barack Obama

May 12, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - Today, Hawaii Superdelegate Dolly Strazar endorsed Barack Obama for President. Strazar is the 279th superdelegate to endorse Obama. Obama is 152 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination.

Barack Obama shoots pool: Photo courtesy Barack Obama campaign    » read more »

$15 million Hawaii project to install electrical distribution system at Maui substation

April 21, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Kevin Kolevar today announced the selection of a Hawaii project as part of a nationwide demonstration to modernize the country’s electricity grid system.

Hawaii powerlines: Photo by Quinn Dombrowski (CC)    » read more »

McKinley advances to FIRST Robotics Championship finals; Waialua captures second highest award

April 19, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Six high school robotics teams from Hawaii rocked the Georgia Dome in Atlanta over the past two days, putting their critical-thinking skills and knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math to the test, while demonstrating gracious professionalism and the aloha spirit in the 2008 FIRST Robotics Competition Championships.

Hawaii robotics competition: Members of the Sacred Hearts Academy Robotics Team compete in the FIRST Championships    » read more »

Record six Hawaii teams to compete in FIRST Robotics Competition Championship

April 15, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle will be in attendance at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta as an unprecedented six high school teams from Hawaii compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, April 17-19.

Hawaii Regional Robotics Competition: Video still by Ryan Ozawa (CC)    » read more »

April 13, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle today announced that she will veto a bill that would eliminate a worker’s right to a secret ballot election when deciding whether or not to have union representation in the workplace. The vetoed measure will be sent to the Legislature tomorrow.

HB2974 HD2, commonly referred to as the “card check” bill, would change the union certification process by eliminating the secret ballot election and mandate timeliness for facilitating the initial collective bargaining agreement between an employer and the new collective bargaining representative.    » read more »