Judged

The Senate will tomorrow hold a special session to take a final vote on the nomination of Deputy Public Defender Karen Nakasone to a 10-year year term as a Oahu Circuit Court Judge. She testified and answered questions from members of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee, who today voted 4-0 to approve her nomination.

Nakasone earned her law degree from Boston University. She has served as a deputy public defender since 1996, and before that as a law clerk to the Hawaii Appeals Court Judge Simeon Acoba Jr.

Paws off my foie gras

A Senate bill that proposes to ban the sale of foie gras produced using inhumane methods ticked off some people yesterday stirring up angry comments from foodies after the news of SB2170 hit the popular micro-blogging website Twitter.

Some of the comments/tweets included:

@NctrnlBst: Call your Hawaii state senator and tell the Food Nazis to stop wasting time on frivolous bills! http://ow.ly/16uQND

@hollyhadsell: Say it isn't so!! RT @NctrnlBst: Call your Hawaii state senator and tell them stop wasting time! http://ow.ly/16uQND

@LKozawa: Thats my point. Government encroachment as to what you're allowed to eat is never a good thing. Look up codex alimentarius

The ban is being proposed because of animal cruelty issues. Foie gras is a French delicacy and typically made by force-feeding ducks or geese to fatten the liver, although outside of France some producers use more humane methods.

However, the reasoning behind the bill is beside the point to those incensed by the bill. That doesn't mean they think sticking a tube in a duck is okay. The fact is that many of the food connoisseurs angered by the bill just plain don't appreciate government trying to dictate what they can and cannot eat.

Ed Morita (aka @nctrnlbst), a former pastry chef turned food writer and freelance photographer from the blog www.bakershours.com, was compelled to write an opinion piece last night on the the foie gras ban bill. He explains the way foie gras is made, makes some points that the bill has neglected to account for, and discusses a law in California that will ban force feeding in 2012.

To be fair, those in support of this bill do make some good points as well. From their perspective, animals being raised for food still deserve humane treatment and our state should not condone inhumane methods by allowing these products into our state. Visit the national ban foie gras website to learn more about their views and other proposed legislation.

The bill passed out of its first Senate committee yesterday. It will go to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further discussion.

Senate Paperless Initiative Video

Hat tip to the Hawaii State Senate for the Paperless Initiative and to Searider Productions (Waianae High School students) for the excellent video on the project. If you haven't seen it, check it out here:

Senate Leadership Changes

The State Senate announced leadership changes today. Here is the story from the Senate Majority Caucus, as well as in The Advertiser.

Senate Confirms Kelsey Kawano

This morning, in a Second Special Session of 2008, the State Senate confirmed the nomination of Kelsey T. Kawano as District Court Judge, Second Circuit, by unanimous consent. 23 ayes, 2 excused.

Senate to hold confirmation hearing for District Court nominee

On Monday, July 28, 2008, 10:30 a.m., the State Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on judicial nominee Kelsey T. Kawano, District Court of the Second Circuit. It will be held in Room 016 at the State Capitol.

8-8-8

For all the reasons to get married, you can't argue with auspiciousness. Congratulations to Senate President Colleen Hanabusa who will marry John Souza on August 8, 2008. According to the Star-Bulletin, the two have been engaged since 2002, but decided to tie the knot on 8-8-8 because it's an auspicious date, especially in the Chinese culture. A lot of people are getting married on that date, and there's even a special postage stamp for the occasion.

Confirmation hearing on ICA nominee Katherine Leonard

Believe it or not, there will be a third special session of 2007 (the first was the override session in July, the second was this past October). For the third S.S., however, it is just the Senate calling itself back in to take care of one confirmation. The House is not involved. The Senate has posted a Notice of Hearing for the confirmation of Katherine G. Leonard to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, as an associate judge for a term of 10 years. The hearing will take place before the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor, chaired by Senator Brian Taniguchi. During the recent special session, the Senate failed to confirm the governor's former nominee Randal Lee. The hearing is scheduled for Friday, November 16, 2007, starting at 9:00 a.m. in Room 229 of the State Capitol.