BREAKING -- Republican Djou wins Hawaii Congressional District 1 -- first GOP in almost 20 years

From state Office of Elections:

Congressional District I
98 of 98
(R) DJOU, Charles 67,274 39.5%
(D) HANABUSA, Colleen 52,445 30.8%
(D) CASE, Ed 47,012 27.6%
(D) DEL CASTILLO, Rafael (Del) 654 0.4%
(N) STRODE, Kalaeloa 489 0.3%
(N) BREWER, Jim 269 0.2%
(D) LEE, Philmund (Phil) 254 0.1%
(R) COLLINS, Charles (Googie) 192 0.1%
(R) AMSTERDAM, C. Kaui Jochanan 169 0.1%
(D) BROWNE, Vinny 149 0.1%
(N) TATAII, Steve 123 0.1%
(R) CRUM, Douglas 107 0.1%
(R) GIUFFRE, John (Raghu) 82 0.0%
(N) MOSELEY, Karl F. 79 0.0%
Blank Votes: 134
Over Votes: 880 0.5%
0.1%
REGISTRATION AND TURNOUT
****************************************
****************************************
SPECIAL
TOTAL REGISTRATION
TOTAL TURNOUT
ABSENTEE TURNOUT
317,337
52.9%
0.7%
PRECINCT TURNOUT
170,312 53.7%
168,010
2,302
OVERSEAS TURNOUT
****************************************
****************************************
OVERSEAS BALLOTS CAST
1ST CONGRESSIONAL
2ND CONGRESSIONAL
285
0
285 0.0%

Paddleboarders, swimmers at odds, Kauai utility faces EPA sanctions, counties contemplate cuts, congressional election looms, more top Hawaii news

The state installs a boundary of buoys in an effort to resolve the fight for space between paddlers and swimmers at Ala Moana Beach Park

The buoys were placed in a row just off-shore as a way to prevent conflict in the water, only they instead caused some confusion.

The surf world is in mourning. Hawaiian waterman Marvin Foster has died.

Important clean energy projects have opened a rift in Hawaii's environmental community.

Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative was informed Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice has obtained an indictment of the cooperative for violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The central Pacific should see only two or three tropical cyclones this hurricane season — fewer than normal — but federal and state officials yesterday pleaded with everyone to be ready for the Big One.

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka met Wed- nesday with Solicitor General Elena Kagan regarding her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hannemann campaign official says mayor will run for governor

State elections officials began counting the ballots in the special election for Congress yesterday while the top candidates made last-minute appeals to voters.

Hawaii elections officials on Wednesday reported that 46 percent of the ballots in the special election for Hawaii's congressional race have been returned.

In Hawaii's winner-take-all special election to fill a 1st Congressional District vacancy, candidates are struggling before Saturday's deadline to increase voter turn out.

The election of either Charles Djou or Colleen Hanabusa in this Saturday's Congressional District 1 election would put into motion a process leading to a short-term replacement.

A proposal to build the world's largest telescope atop Mauna Kea has cleared another hurdle.

The state is feeling more optimistic about the strength of the economic recovery.

Big Island homeowners fearful that a neighbor's tree may fall onto their property and cause damage or injury don't have many places to turn.

When longtime residents of this small town needed a road paved, they did what families here have done for years -- they contacted their county councilman and asked. And asked. And asked.

Some Hawaii County Council members say they want greater assurances a reorganized Transportation Agency won't cost more before they approve it as part of the budget.

Maui fire officials and their supporters made a last-ditch effort Tuesday to oppose funding cuts for the county's fire and rescue helicopter, but County Council members stuck with their plan to trim $90,000 from the program.

As far as massacres go, the one that occurred in Hilo on Aug. 1, 1938, was mild, resulting in 50 injuries and no deaths.

Charlene Prickett said her friends are going to make her a T-shirt that on the front reads "FHB -- fucking haole bitch, the lady at the end of the street," and on the back, "My friends call me Charlene."

Property tax increases looming in counties across the state, Native Hawaiian remains at issue on Oahu, Kauai, state health subsidy aims to stem unemployment, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

The tax increase on people who own their homes but don't live in them was presented as a way to protect resident homeowners from additional taxes.

Farmers and hoteliers joined forces Monday to decry tax increases they say hit the county's two main economic drivers the hardest.

The public sent a unanimous message to the Hawaii County Council at a Monday night hearing: Don't raise real property tax rates.

The Maui County Council voted unanimously Monday to fix the real property tax rates as it had last discussed them in April, but two members voted with reservations.

A forensic anthropologist has confirmed that remains found by Army contractors Friday at a Schofield Barracks construction site were human remains, the Army said Tuesday.

More than five years after opening for business, the Keeaumoku Street Walmart and Sam's Club have seen the end to a legal challenge to their construction.

Wailua path project delayed amid Hawaiian protest

Hawaii's special election wraps up this weekend, but what happens after the next Congressional Representative is chosen?

Tax collections needed to pay the city's share of a planned elevated commuter rail line are running flat year-over-year with two months to go in fiscal 2010. If they continue at their current pace, transit tax collections are headed for a third straight year of little to no growth.

Small businesses in Hawaii are getting a big boost. The state says hire someone who is collecting unemployment right now and we'll help you pay for them.

As owners of a small home construction business in Waimanalo, Ozzy and Shontaz Naweli say one of the primary roadblocks to hiring new workers is the cost of providing health care.

In 2009, 95 percent of the applications were approved, meaning a record high 33,678 firearms were registered last year, outpacing the previous year by 30 percent.

The value of building permits authorized in Hawaii County increased in March, compared with the same month last year, while the number of permits decreased slightly.

A group of around 20 volunteers worked diligently last Friday to cultivate a small piece of land that soon will thrive with papayas, bananas and taro. This is not a farm or backyard–it’s in the heart of urban Honolulu at the Institute for Human Services (IHS) homeless shelter.

Keiki on board -- no smoke in car now law on Big Island, Hawaii Five-O coming back to TV, Lingle weighs in on congressional race, Abercrombie opens West Hawaii HQ, city parking contractors say boss stole $250,000, more top Hawaii news

Gov. Linda Lingle has rebuked claims made by Hawaii’s three former governors, who said Sunday electing republican Charles Djou to Congress would not bode well for the state’s congressional delegation.

Smiling candidate? Check. Photos with keiki? Yep. Red, white and blue background? Uh-huh. Prominently placed "Contribute" button. Duh.

Hawaii elections officials are reporting that almost 41 percent of the ballots mailed to registered voters in the contest for Hawaii's vacant congressional seat have been returned.

The delay of state refund checks has been lifted, somewhat.

Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday that she would release most tax refunds sooner than expected because revenue collections have improved as the state's economy improves.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie opened his West Hawaii campaign headquarters Sunday evening in Kailua-Kona, where he encouraged people to "break away from the false comfort of the status quo" and help change the current political climate.

Even though it has not been announced by CBS, a revamped version of "Hawaii Five-0" will finally see the light of day as part of the network's upcoming fall season lineup

'Hawaii Five-O', take two! In showbiz slang, the Five-O pilot has been picked up.

When the owners of KGMB9, KHNL and K5 television stations launched Hawaii News Now in October, they characterized the deal as a newsroom merger and not as an ownership change.

A bill signed into law yesterday expands the list of felony charges that prosecutors can levy against a suspect without going through the grand jury process.

Local anti-smoking advocates are applauding a new Big Island law that prohibits smoking in a vehicle when a minor is present.

The former general manager of a city parking concessionaire told KITV4 two city officials and co-workers helped a former city parking lot manager steal $250,000 from two city parking lots.

At the Big Island Regional Underwater Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) Tournament, held Saturday at the University of Hawaii at Hilo Student Life Center Pool, Hilo High student Quintin Watanabe prepares to launch his team's underwater robot.

A new Kihei high school, a second Wailuku elementary school, a replacement cafeteria at Paia Elementary and a bigger one at Lahainaluna High School are the Maui District's big-ticket items moving forward soon, a top state Department of Education official said recently.

What can you do with $287? That is the fine for having an illegal tint on an automobile as stated in the citation book used by Kaua‘i Police Department officers.

Cockfight bust scatters 500, former governors band against Djou, televised Honolulu City Council meetings could fall to budget ax, UH studies deep-sea vents, Hilo branch to get new chancellor, more Hawaii news

A deep-sea expedition headed by a University of Hawaii geologist has yielded insights into one of Earth's most active volcanic areas, in the Galapagos Islands.

Showing a united front in a party that has been described as divided, Hawaii's last three governors, all Democrats, warned yesterday that the election of Republican Charles Djou to the U.S. House would be a setback for Hawaii.

Three former Democratic governors asked voters yesterday to choose a Democrat in the special election for Congress and prevent Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, a Republican, from taking advantage of a divided electorate.

Less than a week left in the special election and democrats are worried a republican could win the race for congress.

The latest ad campaign from Republican Charles Djou blasts Democratic opponent Ed Case.

Three of Hawaii's past governors are calling on voters to keep the 1st Congressional District seat Democratic

Here are some of the questions and answers that didn't make it into our one hour long debate-- like what the candidates have done and will do to help small businesses.

When construction begins on Honolulu's rail line is now up to the governor and federal government. But it's unlikely that the mayor who's been the force behind the project will be in his office for the groundbreaking.

Four O'ahu men have been charged with animal cruelty after Honolulu police raided a Nānākuli cockfight attended by an estimated 500 people Saturday afternoon.

Residents of Hakimo Road in Nanakuli have split opinions regarding a massive police raid in their neighborhood Saturday. Officers armed with a search warrant broke up a cockfighting event that was attended by an estimated 500 people.

Fifty-one of the most beautiful women took the stage for the 2010 Miss USA Pageant.

A plan by some City Council members to chop funding for the televised broadcasts of its committee meetings is starting to draw protests from their colleagues and others.

New legislation would place limits on the use of leaf blowers, offering some relief to residents from the noisy machine — but not as much as some had hoped for.

Mayor Billy Kenoi's administration appears to be moving quickly to convert the Hawaii County Band into a private nonprofit corporation.

The dean of science at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona has been tabbed to succeed Rose Tseng as University of Hawaii at Hilo chancellor.

West Hawaii, which accounts for 76.2 percent of all property value in the county, is set to be hit the hardest by property tax hikes proposed by Mayor Billy Kenoi.

The 10th Maui Matsuri was held on Saturday at the University of Hawaii Maui College.

Biotechnology is a viable industry, said agricultural expert Douglas Jones during a luncheon hosted by the Hawai‘i Crop Improvement Association and the Chamber of Commerce last week at JJ’s Broiler.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Engineering Division will hold a public information meeting on Wednesday, May 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss a planned improvement project at Maalaea Small Boat Harbor.

Ed Case trailing in fundraising, Obama still popular at home, hydrogen cars coming to Hawaii, homeless buy one-way tickets, The Bus riders buying fake passes, news all around the state

Robert White came here about two years ago after living on the streets in Sacramento, Calif. He figured if he was going to be homeless, he might as well live in Hawai'i.

Hawaii's upcoming special election will fill a vacant seat in the U.S. House for only six months, but that has not stopped candidates from raising $3 million so far.

Charles Djou and Colleen Hanabusa continued to receive strong financial backing from their core groups — both topping $1 million since the start of the year — while Ed Case came in a strong third place heading into the final weeks of the special election for Congress.

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa raised more than $364,000 in April in her bid for the 1st Congressional District seat, her campaign reported Tuesday.

What he’s Djou-ing here

A state known for high gas prices is becoming the go to spot for alternative fuel options.  Just days after Korean manufacturer CT&T tapped Hawaii to build electric cars, General Motors announced a deal with The Gas Company to bring hydrogen powered cars to Hawaii.

Auto-maker General Motors has teamed up with The Gas Company for a pilot project using hydrogen fuel to power vehicles.

Voters will decide this November whether they would rather trade in their elected board of education for an appointed one, but little data exists to help them make an informed decision.

Board of Education committee on Tuesday recommended a fee hike for the popular A+ after-school program.

Mr. President, can you still feel the Aloha spirit?

Honolulu Police on Tuesday called for stricter new laws dealing with people who brandish replica guns in public, or use them while committing a crime.

Hundreds of Oahu bus riders are being lured into buying "bargain" bus passes but are finding that using the fake cards will get them ejected from TheBus, city officials said yesterday.

Wedding bells could soon be ringing at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, and some harbor residents don't like the sound of it.

Instead of heading to the chopping block, a 13,130-acre koa forest north of Hilo is going on the auction block.

Some members of the Hawaii County Council are taking a dim view of Mayor Billy Kenoi's proposal to balance the budget in part by raising property taxes.

First the architectural plans needed to be redrawn because the county administration omitted the County Council. Then the elevators had to be custom-made because the specs for the elevator shaft didn't fit any known elevator on the planet.

The mainland company that insured the bond for the Mamalahoa bypass wants more information from Hawaii County before handing over any money to county officials.

Power has been restored to about 1,400 Kahului customers who were left without electricity when a short circuit occurred on a power line on Dairy Road about 9:17 a.m. Tuesday, said Kau'i Awai-Dickson, spokeswoman for Maui Electric Co.

Sterling Kim's six-year struggle to build the Hale Mua affordable housing project has hit another barrier: a $12 million foreclosure action by a Colorado lender against the real estate and against the value of his hard-won government approvals.

Employees at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel spent four months building a four-man, single-hull Hawaiian sailing canoe.

Kaua‘i County Council members needed only one of the two scheduled sessions this week to tweak the mayor’s proposed budget.

Seventy-five homes for 100 years. That is the capacity of a new hydroelectric plant that was dedicated by Green Energy Hydro, Monday afternoon, in an albizia forest just outside of Koloa

Hotels more profitable, homeless invade Diamond Head, coqui coming to Oahu neighborhoods, Djou raising money as local Dems bicker, is state reneging on promise to investors? Top Hawaii news of the day.

Hotel occupancy climbed enough in March that the local lodging industry was able to turn the corner on a key measure of profitability for the first time in two years.

Even though Hawaii hoteliers are still offering room deals, a boost in occupancy statewide helped bring the industry a better return on its investment for March and for the first quarter.

Homeless Invade Slopes Of Diamond Head

First Congressional District candidate Ed Case has a new TV commercial that stops one step short of saying President Barack Obama endorses him.

Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou has seized the fundraising advantage in the special election for Congress, and likely has more cash available for the final two weeks of the campaign than congressman Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa.

The national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has made it official, saying it will spend no more money in the special election for Hawaii's vacant seat in Congress because an internal struggle among local Democrats could hand the seat to a Republican.

The state made a promise to investors. Then when the going got tough — a $1.2 billion deficit — lawmakers decided that they did not mean what they said.

Four Oahu high schools will be fitted with solar panels this year in a deal that will lower utility bills and save the state $1 million in roof repair costs.

What's that sound? You don't have to live in Hilo to hear that tell-tale chirp. Coqui frogs have been heard in neighborhoods all over Oahu.

Hundreds celebrate Saint Damien Day at state capitol

The possible disposition of 1,040 acres of Hawaii County's Paauilo lands will be the subject of a public meeting Mayor Billy Kenoi's administration has scheduled for later this month.

A former member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots program from World War II ditched her wheelchair, settled into the cockpit of a DA-20 Diamond Eclipse and relived her flying days Saturday.

Seventy-five homes for 100 years. That is the capacity of a new hydroelectric plant that was dedicated by Green Energy Hydro, Monday afternoon, in an albizia forest just outside of Koloa.

The wafting aroma of decaying animal carcasses is not something visitors should have to endure while enjoying Waimea Canyon’s beautiful vista, said Arthur Keale.

Employees at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel spent four months building a four-man, single-hull Hawaiian sailing canoe.

In January, Hawaii’s three former governors offered this plan for fixing our school system.

New poll shows Djou in the lead for Congress, public school repair backlog halved, what makes the coqui frog sing, other top Hawaii news

Republican Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou is on his way to Washington to represent Hawaii's 1st Congressional District, according to a new poll of likely voters conducted for Civil Beat.

Satellite city halls and many other city offices would be closed two Fridays a month beginning July 1 under a tentative agreement reached between the Hannemann administration and its two largest employee unions, according to documents obtained by The Advertiser.

Last year's federal economic stimulus law so far has steered about $584 million into Hawaii's economy, paying for transportation projects, unemployment benefits and other expenses the state and its four counties could not otherwise afford.

Office of Elections workers are tying up loose ends and making final preparations for the upcoming congressional special election.

State Rep. Lynn Finnegan entered the lieutenant governor's race with a song: "Watch out Mufi!"

A backlog of repair and maintenance work at Hawai'i's public schools that at one point soared to nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars has been cut by half and stands today at one of its lowest points in the last 10 years.

A man shot by an off-duty FBI agent along scenic Tantalus Drive yesterday afternoon was out on bail after allegedly posing as a police officer at the University of Hawai'i last week

The Big Island could soon serve as a model for the nation when it comes to accuracy and accessibility of patient medical records.

In the heart of coqui country, researchers are trying to figure out what makes the frogs sing.

The first case of the destructive tomato yellow leaf curl virus on the Big Island was recently found in a home garden in Kailua-Kona and confirmed in early April by testing at the University of Hawaii's virology lab in Manoa. 

Sixty-five percent of Maui County voters would favor changing the current system of electing County Council members to one that would create "nine single-member districts," according to a recent poll commissioned by a group supporting the idea.

Waimea residents and an attorney representing a family which has Kaua‘i roots dating to 1898 are involved in a battle to decide whether the family has rights to develop a piece of land sitting on a flood zone close to Waimea River.

The question of whether the county should allow dogs on the shared-use path has carried on for several months, stirring the community, who gave impassioned testimony

Gov. Lingle's popularity hits 8-year low, congressional candidates rumble in TV debate, voters prefer Democrat for next governor, Neighbor Island lawmakers weigh civil unions, more Hawaii news

Gov. Linda Lingle's job approval rating has tumbled to the lowest point in her two terms as the state's chief executive, a new Hawai'i Poll has found, as teacher furloughs and a sour economy have weakened her popularity.

The new version of the state budget, passed last week by the state Legislature, keeps almost all the budget cuts recommended by Gov. Linda Lingle.

A bill providing for civil unions exposed splits among the Big Island's legislative delegation.

Kaua‘i delegation split on civil unions

Hawai'i voters are divided between former Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in the Democratic primary for governor in September, but prefer either Democrat to Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, a Republican, in the November general election, a new Hawai'i Poll has found.

President Obama will appeal to Honolulu voters to choose a Democrat in the special election for Congress, as national Democrats grow increasingly alarmed that Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, a Republican, could snatch the president's hometown district.

Three candidates running in the special election for the 1st Congressional District seat agreed native Hawaiians should receive some form of federal recognition similar to American Indians.

Three veteran politicians waged a battle of big ideas Monday night.

The most heated exchanges came between front runners Ed Case and Charles Djou in a televised debate for the 1st Congressional District Monday night.

Cheers, boos, and bursts of laughter - ask the live audience, and the one word nearly everyone used to describe Monday night's congressional debate was 'spirited'.

A plan to shift the route of Honolulu's proposed elevated commuter rail project to avoid Honolulu International Airport airspace has found favor with the Federal Aviation Administration, the city said yesterday.

A 66-year-old Colorado utility executive who was set to retire this summer was killed on his Big Island farm Sunday night after he was pinned under an overturned tractor.

Hawaiian Airlines began a major upgrade of its fleet Monday. The company received a new state-of-the-art plane for its trans-Pacific flights.

Man claims police illegally confiscated his pakalolo

The Lahainaluna High School boarders program survived in the Legislature's budget for the next fiscal year, but its future remains uncertain with Gov. Linda Lingle still having 45 days to take action on the lawmakers' spending plan.

Olowalu businesses and residents were advised to prepare to leave the area, if necessary, if a nearby brush fire gets too close, said county spokeswoman Mahina Martin on Monday night.

State budget pau, Neighbor Islands income gap widens, congressional race a national fight, Thirty Meter telescope advances, more Hawaii news

With last-minute negotiations still under way, House and Senate leaders say they have finished a budget that is about the same size as the one proposed by Gov. Linda Lingle in December.

State House and Senate leaders reached agreement last night on a $10.2 billion state budget, but they will not decide until today whether they need to take hotel room tax revenue from the counties to close the deficit and balance the state's six-year financial plan.

State lawmakers approved $48 million for the long-awaited University of Hawaii West Oahu campus in Kapolei. The budget committee voted on the state’s construction budget late last night.

The DOH announced Thursday that 10 people on Oahu recently became ill after eating raw ahi.

As the state struggles with agonizing school furloughs and a widely criticized power structure, a man who wants to be Hawaii's next governor says he has a plan to make things better.

National Democrats took another swipe at Charles Djou while Djou took aim at Colleen Hanabusa and Ed Case's wife made an appeal for funds as the major candidates for the special election for Congress head into the final week before ballots are mailed to voters next Friday.

The personal income disparity between Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands grew in 2008, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Hoteliers turned out Wednesday to beg Maui County officials not to impose a property tax rate increase on them, saying it would be so burdensome it could lead to more layoffs at resorts that are already in the red.

Gov. Linda Lingle said that state legislators are so overwhelmed by budget issues that they have lost sight of the need to create jobs.

The final environmental impact statement for the Thirty Meter Telescope cleared another hurdle.

The governor has yet to select one of two names submitted as candidates for East Hawaii's spot on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents.

Two people died Wednesday morning when the microlight aircraft they were flying in crashed into Kealakekua Bay.

An agreement signed Wednesday morning by Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. on behalf of the county and Kevin Showe of Kaua‘i Development LLC conveyed 138 acres of oceanfront property adjacent to Lihu‘e Airport from Kaua‘i Development LLC to the County of Kaua‘i.

Two Radford High School teachers accused of soliciting a prostitute pleaded no contest Thursday, and will likely avoid being officially convicted.

Congressional candidates debate tax cuts, two protestors arrested at Capitol, Pirates of the Carribbean seeks extras, state revenues looking up, 817 state jobs gone, more Hawaii news

Former Congressman Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa said last night that they would likely vote to let President Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthy expire if elected to Congress, while Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou said he would extend the tax cuts.

Experience is not necessary for men interested in a part in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” which begins filming on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i early this summer.

State sheriffs made good on their promises Tuesday night, arresting two furlough protestors who were camping out in the lobby of the governor's office.

Two Save Our Schools members were arrested last night for trespassing in Gov. Linda Lingle's office as they continued a sit-in to urge the governor to end Furlough Fridays now.

With just three months left in the state's fiscal year, tax revenues appear to be improving but are still down for the year, according to the latest un-audited numbers from the Department of Taxation.

Last summer, Gov. Linda Lingle said she wanted to cut up to 2,500 state jobs to reduce the budget deficit. That figure was later revised to 1,197 positions. As of last week, the state had eliminated 817 positions through layoffs or other actions.

In the years before mortgage lender Washington Mutual became the largest bank failure in American history, it routinely sent its top-performing mortgage lenders to Hawaii for retreats.

If the Big Island were for sale, the asking price would be nearly $3 billion less than a year ago.

Hawaii Permanente Medical Group is planning to open a South Kona office this fall, a spokeswoman for the company confirmed Monday.

More than 200 Federal Fire Department workers are being advised to look for unusual activity on their bank accounts, after allegations that an employee wrongfully accessed their personal information.

Poll shows Djou-Case tie in congressional race, citations continue in Furlough Friday sit-in, budget ax hovers over state, counties, more top Hawaii news

 Deputy sheriffs cited nine people with trespassing—including two for the second time—as the sit-in against Furlough Fridays continued yesterday in Gov. Linda Lingle's office.

Expecting vetoes by Gov. Linda Lingle, state House and Senate leaders yesterday placed several potentially contentious bills in position for final votes this week, including an increase in the barrel tax and an attempt to block the state from closing eligibility offices on the Neighbor Islands that help the poor.

As the state Legislature moves into its last three weeks, Democrats are positioning a series of tax law changes and tax increases that they hope will balance the budget without raising the general excise tax.

Honolulu City Council members yesterday said they were using a "paring knife," not an axe, to carve about $9.5 million from the city's $1.82 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year, but warned more drastic cuts would likely be needed.

A recent poll shows Republican Charles Djou is tied with Democrat Ed Case for the lead in Oahu’s special congressional election, according to The Atlantic magazine.

State sheriff's deputies tonight issued citations to nine adults who were occupying the governor's office on day 6 of a sit-in to pressure officials to end public school furloughs.

A group that has been calling on Governor Linda Lingle to settle the furlough situation received citations for a second straight weekday.

The state Department of Public Safety is looking into an incident on Friday in which a female correctional officer allegedly made a threat against state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, D-14th (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights).

State tax collections were down 1.6 percent through the first nine months of the fiscal year, the state Department of Taxation reported Monday.

Hawaii lawmakers and their staff gathered at the Capitol rotunda to participate in the Habitat For Humanity's nail-driving contest.

The furlough proposed by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. may not affect firefighters, but proposed budget cuts may impact the Kaua‘i Fire Department.

Despite the talk of change during the 47th annual Merrie Monarch Festival, some things stayed the same.

A Big Island assisted facility developer is looking to build a complex in West Hawaii.

Walgreens opened its second full-service store on Maui on Sunday, but it came with a demonstration against the store by members of the Hawaii Carpenters Union.

Asian-American Dems play race card in congressional race, parents stage Capitol sit-in, Merrie Monarch in full swing, Royal Hawaiian Band could lose funding, more

It was a successful rescue. Wildlife experts have freed a trapped whale after a dramatic race against the setting sun.

A group of parents upset with Hawaii public school closures on furlough Fridays held a sit-in at the state Capitol on Wednesday.

Supporters of the Royal Hawaiian Band are gearing up for a fight to save what's believed to be the second oldest marching band in the United States.

Asian-American Democrats are criticizing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for favoring a white former congressman from Hawaii over the Asian-American State Senate President in a hotly contested special election to represent a majority-minority Hawaii district.


The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's TV commercial slams Republican candidate Charles Djou, questioning his credibility on the jobs issue.

Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou said yesterday that new campaign advertisements against him by national Democrats are an "outside interference" in the special election for Congress and should be rejected by voters.

Within the next five years to 10 years, Hawaii's last sugar producer, Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co. could be out of the topsy-turvy granulated sugar business and making much-desired biofuels, company, federal and state officials announced Wednesday afternoon.

Every year a Hilo crowd gathers at the Edith Kanakaole Multipurpose Stadium to watch Ho'ike night, which kicks off the Merrie Monarch Festival.

Underscoring the last-minute changes that sometimes occur during the free Hawaiian entertainment sessions at venues all over Hilo during Merrie Monarch Week, Hoku Award-winning performer Karen Keawehawaii was unexpectedly summoned from the audience on Tuesday to give a performance at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. She wowed spectators with her powerful falsetto renditions of "Ku'uhoa" and "Pualilia."

O'ahu's housing market appears to have established a firm footing toward recovery, with sales activity in March marking the third consecutive month that single-family home median prices rose over the same month last year.

Starting Monday, independent tour operators won't be allowed inside Hilo Harbor unless they have pre-arranged passengers from cruise ships docked there.

Standing atop seven ancient Hawaiian burials, on a lot with at least 24 more, the house that Joe Brescia is building at Naue, on Kauai’s North Shore, has been the focus of protests and prayers, emotional meetings, a stand-off with police, sacred rituals, a months-long vigil and lawsuits — some of them still ongoing.

On a recent afternoon, rental cars filled the parking lots at Hapuna Beach State Park.

In an ideal world, Hawaii County would reuse, recycle or compost so much of its waste that landfills would be all but unnecessary.

With Mayor Billy Kenoi and the county Board of Ethics singing out of different hymnals, the Hawaii County Council Finance Committee on Tuesday postponed a bill tightening the ethics code until it could have both proposals on the table at the same time.

Mayor Charmaine Tavares racked up another early endorsement when the United Public Workers union announced its support for her re-election bid during a news conference Tuesday.

The Kaua‘i Fire Commission on Monday voted unanimously against a proposed change to the County Charter that would give the mayor more power to hire and fire the chief of the Kaua‘i Fire Department.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Gay and Robinson to pay a fine of $110,000 for its failure to close 40 large-capacity cesspools, according to a press release Wednesday.

Three bids for Star-Bulletin, furlough opponents defeated, Merrie Monarch kicks off , woman sues judicial assistant, tsunami zones studied, more

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed a ruling that shields Hawai'i's teacher furlough program from a federal legal challenge by a group of special-education students and their parents.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals Monday upheld Hawaii's public school furlough program against a legal challenge from eight special education students and their parents.

Three bids to buy the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, including one that does not include assets listed in the sales offering, are being reviewed by the U.S. Justice Department and the state attorney general's office.

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and her top supporter, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, are rejecting Washington rumors that Democrats are trying to get Hanabusa out of the special congressional election.

Inouye told KITV4 he is not concerned about a congressional newspaper report that U.S. House Democrats are considering throwing their support behind democrat Ed Case.

Child welfare advocates are rallying to save the remnants of Healthy Start, a nationally recognized child-abuse prevention program whose state funding shrank from $15 million two years ago to $1.3 million this fiscal year and which is now in danger of being eliminated altogether.

While the Lingle administration continues to study the impact of the new federal health care reform law on Hawaii's landmark Prepaid Health Care Act, key state lawmakers say they do not believe it will negatively affect island residents.

A current state court judge’s assistant at the Lihu‘e courthouse has in a lawsuit accused a former supervisor of sexual harassment, retaliation, defamation, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and damage to her marriage.

George Na'ope was a hula master like no other and a colorful figure whose small shadow looms large this week over the Merrie Monarch Festival he co-founded.

Hundreds of homes and businesses in areas long believed to be safe from a tsunami could be added to O'ahu's evacuation map in light of new research.

The committee drafting a new platform for the state Republican Party has dropped language that some interpreted as support for federal legislation to establish a governing entity for native Hawaiians.

Japan resident Kanayo Miyagawa pulled out her camera and asked friend, Taeko, to pose in front of Scandinavian Shave Ice in Kailua-Kona.

A local doctor and his mentor are at the heart of a Maui Memorial Medical Center pilot project that treats irregular heartbeats and reduces the risk of stroke.

Case to get nod from national Dems, WWII wreck ID'd, diseases plague palms, corn, APEC bill $28M and climbing, more top Hawaii news

A rash of palm deaths in Kona and Hilo has some folks fearing that we may have a new disease on the island.

A corn virus that plagued Kaua‘i in the early 1990s has reared its diseased head again but maize chlorotic mottle is “still in a fairly isolated geographical area,” said Pioneer Hi-Bred International Business and Community Outreach Manager Cindy Goldstein.

A decade has passed since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law preventing non-Hawaiians from electing trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

A World War II-era wreck off South Maui first documented in January has been identified as an SBC-2 Helldiver, ditched in Maalaea Bay on a training flight by a Navy pilot in 1944.

Each day, two boat tour operators head out to the waters off Oahu's North Shore to give the dozens of tourists aboard a close-up look at sharks. They toss bits of bloody fish into the water to attract the predators.

A plan to turn around Hawai'i's lowest-performing schools has the potential to deliver some of the most dramatic change ever seen in the state's public education system.

Unlike most of the country, it is against the law in Hawaii for politicians to plaster their faces, names and slogans on billboards or utility poles.

A congressional newspaper reported that U.S. House Democrats are considering backing former Congressman Ed Case over State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa in the special congressional election.

Preserving history. The state may be forced to take on the financial burden of our historic sites, like Honolulu Hale and the State Capitol.

The state does not require operators of residential care homes to carry commercial liability insurance, exposing yet another gap in the safety net for vulnerable seniors in Hawai'i's long-term-care system.

The anticipated taxpayer bill for hosting next year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting is $28 million and climbing.

Despite calling for a "shared sacrifice on everyone's part," Mayor Billy Kenoi wants more discretionary spending and staff than he and former Mayor Harry Kim needed last fiscal year.

Lawmakers consider homeless zones, 1st Congressional debate draws interest, Kauai, Maui mayors cut budgets, gay cruise anniversary slated for Hawaii. more top state news

State law- makers are con- sidering a temporary solution to the con- tinuing problem of homeless campers living in some of Hawaii's most popular parks. They want the state to designate land for homeless safe zones.

The three leading candidates in the May special election for Congress differed sharply last night on the value of the federal economic stimulus package, with former Congressman Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa contending it was necessary to get through the recession while Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou argued it was too costly and ineffective.

Congressional candidates sought to set themselves apart from the pack last night as six of the challengers vying to replace Neil Abercrombie debated their positions on issues including health care reform, the national debt, public education and campaign finance reform.


The first debate for the six candidates running for Neil Abercrombie's congressional seat was held Monday night.

Debate video

Honolulu City Councilman Rod Tam, who will face a censure vote tomorrow, continued to use his city allowance to pay for meals with constituents and retirement party gifts even when he knew he was being investigated for possible abuses by the city Ethics Commission.

If Hawaii smokers think they are getting a deal buying cigarettes on the Internet, the state attorney general has some advice: Forget it.

Maui and Kauai plan smaller budgets in the next fiscal year, including plans for worker furloughs.

Mayor Charmaine Tavares presented her fiscal year 2011 budget Monday, and it includes increases in fees for water, wastewater, landfill tipping and auto registrations, as well as fare increases for the Maui Bus.

Following the state’s lead and attempting to keep its head above water during a weak economic climate, Kaua‘i County intends to furlough its employees two days per month.

The Kauai County Council’s annual budget deliberations, during which the heads of various county departments and agencies are grilled about their spending proposals, could once again take place with the cameras off.

A $36.7 million contract for Honolulu's planned train project failed to garner any competition.

The company that created the gay and lesbian cruise concept is commemorating its 25th birthday with a Silver Anniversary Cruise in Hawaii.

Lawmakers: Help homeless, congressional candidates face off, Haiti in islanders' thoughts, more

Lawmakers yesterday said more needs to be done to move the chronically homeless out of parks and off the streets and said opening a "homeless campground" could be one solution, especially for those who don't want to move into shelters.

Former Congressman Ed Case, state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, the three candidates in a special election for Congress, began to differentiate themselves for voters yesterday in the first public event of the campaign.

Former Rep. Ed Case says Senate President Colleen Hanabusa cannot run for Congress while she is leading the state Senate. He called on her to pick one or the other.

Forty-four agricultural workers from Thailand were forced to work on Aloun Farm for wages lower than what they were promised and required by law, said Kevonne Small, trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.

A triple-digit increase in December foreclosures transformed Hawaii into a top 10 state for foreclosure activity and pushed monthly and year-end totals to their highest level since 2005

Collective bargaining, civil service contracts and unions provided the theme that united a number of the priorities set out by three Big Island legislators for the upcoming session.

The devastation in Haiti is causing Secretary of State to cancel her Asia-Pacific tour. She made the announcement Wednesday, while still in Hawaii. Secretary Clinton says she will return to Washington to coordinate the relief efforts.

The pictures are hard to take for Patrick Elie and Mark Benoit -- who are still waiting to hear from loved ones in Haiti.

State Attorney General Mark Bennett was three for four in state court Wednesday, prevailing on all but one defense pre-trial motion in the James Pflueger manslaughter case.

Limiting hiring and equipment purchases has generated a $7.4 million windfall for Hawaii County, which still needs to sell land and possibly raise taxes to avoid a looming shortfall, Mayor Billy Kenoi said.

Driving through a blackened landscape on a 35-foot-wide path dug up by bulldozers, Bill Bergin pointed out koa trees and ohia trees. Some were charred to a crisp, others remained, tall and proud.

At the last minute, Archie Kalepa decided to go right on a wave instead of left at the Jaws surf spot in Peahi. Then, he knew he was in trouble with "the Big Kahuna."

Sen. Inouye, 'earmark guy,' Maui wowie bust, TV stations merge and other top Hawaii news

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye defended his earmarks before a friendly crowd Monday at the Keauhou Beach Resort.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, normally not a politician who seeks a lot of attention outside of election years, is proclaiming himself Capitol Hill's king of earmarks.

A "weak to moderate" El Nino weather system has developed in the tropical Pacific Ocean and could create unusual weather patterns around the world through March, a U.N. agency said Wednesday

Women inmates from Hawai'i will be removed from a Kentucky prison for safety reasons after allegations that some were sexually abused by prison guards, the state Department of Public Safety announced yesterday.

The shared-services agreement between KGMB-TV and KHNL/KFVE-TV to keep all three stations operating in the throes of the revenue-crippling recession was met with fear and loathing yesterday.

State employees who had planned to retire in December, but instead received layoff notices informing them of their jobs being cut Nov. 13, could be allowed to retire as planned.

"Don't fence us out" was the message from some Big Island hunters who were upset Monday evening about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mandate requiring the Army to put in more fencing at Pohakuloa Training Area over the next three years.

Maui police and federal agents confiscated more than 130 pounds of high-quality processed marijuana and arrested a 37-year-old Kula woman this month in what police called Tuesday the largest processed marijuana seizure and investigation in Maui County history.

We had the opportunity to visit the Mealani Experiment Station in Waimea recently to see what the newest and latest work is being done there.

Alan Arakawa, who as mayor encouraged Sterling Kim to pursue his Hale Mua affordable housing project, on Monday encouraged Mayor Charmaine Tavares to sign the final construction plan approval so Kim can build the project on more than 200 acres in Waiehu.

Lydgate Park needs help, again.

Governor or Congress? Wanna bet?

So, what’s it gonna be? Governor or Congress-
man?

By 10 a.m. Saturday, it will all become clear. Or as clear as politics gets, anyway.

A few months back, former U.S. Rep. Ed Case asked us what he should be when he grows up. Governor or Congressman?

My bet is Congress. What’s yours?

Case, a Democrat, was representing District 2, composed of rural Oahu and the Neighbor Islands. But he gave up his safe seat to challenge U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka in the Democratic primary. That didn’t go so well, so he sat out the next election.

Republican Gov. Linda Lingle is term-limited so she must now step aside. Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona announced his run for governor early and has already amassed a war chest of $1.4 million. Many pundits, however, don’t think he can carry the state to an unprecedented third consecutive GOP term.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann has said, although not in so many words, that he plans to run for governor. Senate President Colleeen Hanabusa has hinted at it as well. But now that the Democratic heavyweight U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie of District 1 has announced his bid for governor, where will the other pieces fall?

My bet is Case runs for Congress. Washington D.C., not Washington Place, is where he really wants to be. It’s a much shorter jump to U.S. Senate from Congress than the governorship, should one of our two 84-year-old senators die or retire in the near future.

Not that either senator has plans to. Not that they’ve been anything but effective in Washington. Akaka has missed a microscopic 3 percent of his roll call votes and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye just 8 percent of his votes since 1990, according to Govtrack.

Inouye is chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Akaka finally sees his shot at getting recognition for Native Hawaiians into a federal act. So they’re not going to be leaving soon. Or at least willingly.

Still, it’s better to be sitting just a few seats away if they do.

My bet is Congress. What’s yours?

Gov. Lingle goes to Washington

Gov. Linda Lingle heads to Washing-
ton D.C., Thursday to join coll-
eagues from other states, three common-
wealths and two territories for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.

Jobs, the economy, infrastructure and health care top the list of concerns the NGA will tackle during the three-day meeting. Lingle doesn’t plan to return to Hawaii until Friday, Feb. 27. Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona will join Lingle for some of the sessions.

The itinerary includes a black-tie evening with President Obama and the First Lady on Sunday at the White House. Governors return to the White House on Monday, Feb. 23. They’ll hold meetings with Obama and members of his Cabinet on issues important to their states.

States currently are jostling for their share of the $787 billion stimulus plan that Obama is expected to sign into law this week. Hawaii may get almost $1 billion of that.

Under the plan, the states will divide $27 billion – far less than the $64 billion they said they needed – for “shovel ready” infrastructure projects. The law requires the projects to pass federal government’s scrutiny and be judged ready to go within 120 days in order to infuse jobs into the economy quickly.

Founded in 1908, the NGA is the collective voice of the nation's governors and represents governors on Capitol Hill and before the Administration.

Lingle also is scheduled to meet with Sen. Daniel Inouye and Sen. Daniel Akaka, both Democrats from Hawaii.

Lingle’s enthusiasm for energy self-sufficiency will be shared with her colleagues Sunday during a panel discussion with experts on energy infrastructure policy, including siting, regulation, financing and deployment and development of "smart grid" technologies and new pipeline systems. Panelists include Pat Wood III, principal, Wood3 Resources and Jesse Berst, managing director, GlobalSmartEnergy.com.

"Our nation's competitiveness and national security are inextricably linked to energy," Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, chairwoman of the Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement. "Establishing an effective, sustainable energy infrastructure system will ensure that we can meet America's future energy needs."

The focus on infrastructure will be highlighted Saturday with the Miller Center Discussion and Debate about Infrastructure. Modeled on Oxford-style debates, the Miller Center National Debate series looks at issues surrounding America's role in the world, its responsibility to its citizens and the way its policies fulfill its founding principles.

The debate will focus on balancing a federal infrastructure policy with energy, environmental and economic priorities. Robert MacNeil, former co-anchor of the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, will moderate. Panelists include NGA Chairman Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; Douglas Foy, president of DIF Enterprises; and JayEtta Hecker, senior fellow of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The last half hour of debate will be question and answer session among all governors. The debate will be webcast live.