"We are disappointed that, despite bipartisan efforts to achieve real results for the American People, Congresswoman Hirono continues to cater to the ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party. We hope that Congresswoman-elect Hanabusa does not follow her lead and will instead call upon Congresswoman Hirono to end her opposition on this critical compromise and join the rest of Hawaii's delegation in supporting President Obama."

The frustration with President Barack Obama over his tax cut compromise was palpable and even profane at Thursday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting.

More people tapped food stamps to pay for groceries in September as the recession and lackluster recovery have prompted more Americans to turn to government safety net programs to make ends meet.

The PEIS will examine the program-level impacts of the development of up to 400 megawatts (MW) of wind energy on Maui County, the transmission of the energy to Oahu via an undersea cable, and the integration of that energy into Oahu’s electrical grid.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is set to award the Nobel Peace Prize this Friday to author and 1989 Tiananmen protest participant Liu Xiaobo. But Liu will not attend. He is currently serving an 11-year sentence for co-authoring the Charter 08 manifesto calling for protection of human rights, comprehensive political reforms, and a democratic government in China.

Tam, 62, a lawyer who specializes in water, natural resources and land use law with Alston, Hunt, Floyd & Ing, will serve as Deputy Director of Water. He joins Interim Chairman William J. Aila and First Deputy Director Guy Kaulukukui as the team leading DLNR.

Thanks to the deal to extend the Bush tax cuts, the Manoa-Liberal-in-Chief is now being rejected even by his own Party.  Will Obama be the Democrats’ Presidential candidate in 2012?  Will he even run?  And how would the crushing and absolute rejection of Obama by his own Party affect voter turnout by Democrats in Hawaii? 

"There were lots of things that people thought were wrong with Bishop Estate -- how they (the trustees) were selected, how they behaved, what they were doing with their investments, how they were handling education," he said in 1998.

"But as (former Hawaii Gov. Benjamin) Cayetano put it (after he ordered a state investigation), everybody figured, 'Well, if the Hawaiians themselves who are involved aren't upset, who are we to upset them?'

"The difference this time is that the Hawaiians got upset first. And actually that's why I'm in it, as a part-Hawaiian and as having been aware of all these things before."

We understand that there is a possibility that the new and significantly revised version of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act will be tacked onto the spending bill in the next week or so. We hope that this does not happen. A bill as important as this deserves careful consideration. It would be a matter for concern if it were to be made law without a hearing on its new provisions.

The release fulfills the agreement reached to restore 17 instructional days for teachers. This does not bring an end to teacher furloughs on non-instructional days.

“I applaud President Obama's compromise with the Republican leadership on taxes. Congress has dragged its feet for too long on this issue. I repeatedly stated my support for what is now the Obama compromise during the campaign and hope the Democrat leadership will finally agree.”

It was all fake and it cost the General Fund $10M dollars.  Governor Neil Abercrombie’s “first gubernatorial action” to abolish furloughs did no such thing.  In fact Abercrombie’s release undid parts of a May 25 agreement between Governor Lingle and the BoE/DoE/HSTA which DID abolish instructional day furloughs.  But politicians and every single media outlet in Hawaii went along with the scam. 

The Meth Project has been named the third most effective philanthropy in the world by Barron’s magazine, one of the country’s premier business and financial publications. The announcement was made in the magazine’s cover story this week, “The 25 Best Givers.” This is the second year in a row the Meth Project has been named to the Barron’s list; it was ranked number five in 2009.

The President defended this compromise by finally stating the obvious: "Make no mistake: Allowing taxes to go up on all Americans would have raised taxes by $3,000 for a typical American family. And that could cost our economy well over a million jobs." It's great that a leader of the progressive movement is willing to recognize the link between higher taxes and lost jobs.

"The charter school accreditation process involves using national standards and best practices to improve the management, policies, and procedures, including anti-nepotism practices in our charter schools," Rep. Gene Ward stated.

"Today the talk ends and the work begins.  We will hold the Governor accountable for these commitments.  The people of Hawaii can count on us to keep a watchful eye and if necessary provide reminders from time to time on what was said and what gets done."

Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced today that he would release $67 million from the state's hurricane relief fund to cover the cost of ending teacher furloughs and more than $23 million from the state's rainy day fund to help social service programs.

Just as with International Savings and Loan and City Bank, Mr Lim may once again manage to get off the elevator at the top floor—just before the cables are cut.

Will he use DBEDT to launch his next ride to the top?