Informational Briefing on Marine Debris from 2011 Japan Tsunami

This afternoon, a panel of representatives from various federal government agencies briefed lawmakers and the general public on the potential impact of marine debris from the 2011 Japan Tsunami on the Hawaiian Islands.

Presenters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, Navy Region Hawaii, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service briefed the audience on the latest science-based information on Japan tsunami marine debris and discussed their role in this issue.

According to the experts, the debris is likely to be highly dispersed, not radioactive, and may not be much more than normal volume.

The event was held in the Capitol Auditorium and put on by Rep. Ken Ito's office with help from Senator Daniel Inouye. A copy of the presentation may be viewed below.

Tsunami Debris Presentation

Reliving Opening Day

Did you miss Opening Day of the 2012 Legislative Session? See what happened in these short clips from the Hawaii House Blog YouTube Page.

Rep. Ken Ito's grandson, Tyler Mizota, a Punahou student, gave the invocation in Hawaiian and then in English.

Rep. Tom Okamura was sworn in in by Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald. Okamura, a former lawmaker, was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to replace Blake Oshiro, who took a position with the administration as deputy chief of staff.

The Hawaii House of Representatives unanimously voted to pass a resolution electing CJ Leong as House Chief Clerk to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of former Chief Clerk Patricia Mau-Shimizu.

Speaker Calvin Say opens the 2012 Legislature with a speech about maintaining stability in respect to the state budget -- meaning no new taxes, and no major general fund appropriation increase for the expansion of state programs. He highlighted the importance of focusing efforts on maintaining economic recovery and promoting immediate job growth by expediting the construction of state projects and avoiding mandates on businesses. (Full speech here.)

St. Louis 6th graders visit the Capitol

Speaker Calvin Say and George Okuda from Rep. Ken Ito's office talk with 6th graders from St. Louis School early this morning.

See you in 25 years

House members and staff today loaded a tiny silver time capsule full of memorabilia representing the past and present of the Hawaii House of Representatives. The House's pill is only one of 50 time capsules that will be buried in different locations statewide. They will be opened on the State's 75th anniversary in 2034.

The following are some of the items that were packed into the capsule:

• 1959 and 2009-2010 House member composite photos
• Photo of the House Freshman Class of 2009
  
• 2009 House staff directory
• 2009 legislative pocket directory
• Lapel pin from SAA inventory
• Sample bill, resolution, committee report, and certificate
• House Journal excerpts from 2009 Opening Day, Joint Session for Statehood, and 2009 Adjournment Sine Die day
• Personal letters from Speaker Emeritus Joe Souki, Speaker Calvin Say, and the six freshmen lawmakers
• Star Bulletin - Aug. 17, 2009 issue and Jan. 21, 2009 (Obama Inauguration issue)
  
• Pacific Business News - dated Aug. 14, 2009
• 2009 Budget and Fiscal information and Plans
• Menus from favorite eateries frequented by House members and staff
• Civil unions (HB444) documents and photos
• Hamakua Sugar - last sugar producation processed Sept. 1994 (courtesy Rep. Barbara Marumoto)
• "No Coqui Frogs" fan from Rep. Clift Tsuji

House members also included in the capsule their business cards with a short message written on the back. Some quoted famous authors, others addressed the citizens of the state, and a few even wrote endearing messages to their family members.

Rep. Roy Takumi: Remember what a privilege it is to serve...

Rep. Joey Manahan: I am truly grateful to be able to serve the people of the 29th House district and the people of the State of Hawaii. My decisions are made with you in mind always. Mabuhay.

Rep. Ken Ito: To my grandchildren Tyler, Kerry, James & Daniel. Hope all in good health and productive citizens working to make Hawaii and the world a better place. Love, Grandpa.

Rep. John Mizuno: I love Hawaii!

Rep. Mark Nakashima: Dear Friends, I hope that history will be kind to us...finding that Hawaii is in a better place as a result of the leadership and foresight provided by those of us here today.

Rep. Clift Tsuji: Aloha. Ag sustainability and security. Hope the fruits of our initiatives today will satisfy your palates 50 years from now. "Buy Local, Buy Fresh."

Chief Clerk Pat Shimizu: It has truly been an honor to serve the state House, its members and staff.

Asst. Chief Clerk C.J. Leong: "To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice." -- Confucius

Much mahalo to the staff from the House Chief Clerk's Office for collecting and filling the capsule of items we won't be seeing again for 25 years!

Town Hall Meeting at WCC - Aug. 13

Windward Oahu lawmakers will be holding a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2009 from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at Windward Community College in Hale 'Akoakoa 105.

Come and share your concerns on state issues with Representatives Pono Chong, Ken Ito, Chris Lee and Jessica Wooley and Senators Jill Tokuda and Clayton Hee. Legislators will also discuss the outcome of the 2009 Legislative Session.

Your state leaders are gearing up for the 2010 Legislative Session. Windward residents with ideas for possible legislation should plan to attend the meeting. Let's set the agenda for the next legislative session. Tell your lawmakers what you want to be priority.

Recycle your junk at Windward Mall

Representative Jessica Wooley, Pono Chong and Ken Ito invite residents of the windward side to help turn trash into cash to support the Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club on Aloha 'Āina Earth Day #39.

The recycling community clean-up and fundraiser will be held at Windward Mall tomorrow, Saturday, August 1, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those who would like to get rid of junk piling up in their home should go to the Alaloa Street parking lot.

What will be accepted?

• scrap metal, bicycles, appliance (no TVs/microwaves ovens)
• Newspaper, cardboard
• beverage containers
• cooking oil
  
• cellular phones
• printer cartridges
• tires (passenger tires/limit 4 per car)
• green waste
• plastic bags, plastic hangers
• athletic shoes (no metal cleats)
• used eye glasses, hearing aids
• all kind of batteries
• telephone books
• magazines
• one desk top computer per household/car
• usable clothing/household items
• unwanted cars - free towing by appointment only

*Please DON'T bring:

• Paints, hazardous fluids, microwave ovens, televisions, gas tank.
  

The little boy who missed Rep. Ken Ito

This is the interior of Room 314 in the State Capitol, currently occupied by Rep. Hermina Morita.

Long ago, back in the 1990's, it was the office of Rep. Ken Ito. After Ken Ito, the office was assigned to former representative Lei Ahu Isa. That's when the mischief began!

Lei Ahu Isa says that she is 3/8th Hawaiian and is usually able to sense when spirits are around. When she moved into the office, she definitely felt the presence of some kind of spirit there.

After time passed, the spirit became more physical. For example, she would come into the office in the morning and find papers scattered all over the floor. Then she would find the water bottle tilted off its base. Finally, while she and her son watched, the water bottle would shake and rock back and forth, even after they unplugged the base. It would never completely tip over, but it would sway to the very edge of the container.

Lei decided that she better call for some help. She had Kahuna Momi Lum come in to bless the office. Momi said that she saw a young boy spirit in the office, and the boy did not realize that he had died. She released the spirit, but talked to him before he left. The boy said that he did those naughty things because he missed the man who used to be in the office - Rep. Ken Ito.

After the blessing, Lei did not encounter any problems for the next two years. I spoke with Rep. Morita, the current occupant, and she said that she has not seen or heard anything unusual either.

Kaneohe Elementary Visits the Capitol

Rep. Ken Ito (District 48 - Heeia, Haiku Valley, Kapunahala, Kaneohe) welcomed second and third grade students from Kaneohe Elementary to the State Capitol today.

More public beach access discussion?

In an editorial in the Honolulu Advertiser, lawmakers are urged to reconsider a bill next legislative session that addresses public beach access issues, which are on the rise as erosion continues to swallow Hawaii shorelines and threaten property owners and beach-goers alike. Recently, Kahala homeowners have been asked by the state to reduce vegetation that hinders public access.

The bill, HB 1037 HD1 SD1, would have required state agencies to account for sea-level rise and minimize risks from coastal hazards such as erosion, storm inundation, hurricanes and tsunamis. Its intent was to preserves public access and public shoreline access by requiring counties to account for annual erosion rates and extend the public land access to no less than 40 feet from the shoreline.

Bill History: HB1037 was introduced by Rep. Pono Chong, Ken Ito and Kyle Yamashita. It stalled in the Senate in 2007 and in April 2008 was re-referred in the House to the Water, Land, Ocean Resources & Hawaiian Affairs Committee and the Energy & Environmental Protection Committee.

Members in the News

Rep. James Kunane Tokioka provided an overview of the 2008 legislative session to the Lihue Business Association with Senator Gary Hooser. Here's the story in the Kauai Garden Island.

Rep. Jerry Chang talked about the importance of HB2978, a bill that provides a funding formula for the University of Hawaii system, today in the Hawaii Tribune Herald.

"In the past, the UH-Manoa campus has pretty much taken the bulk of the funding. Whether UHH grows or not, the funding stays level or decreases," said Rep. Jerry Chang (D-Hilo, Waiakea, Kaumana, Keaukaha), the bill's author. "Having a funding formula is a good step to ensure that funding allocation is fair throughout the entire system."

Rep. Ken Ito, Rep. Clift Tsuji, Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu and Rep. Pono Chong signed the letter to the editor below, which was published today in The Honolulu Advertiser. It's on SB2646, the Important Agricultural Lands bill.

Tough controls are in important ag lands bill

The Advertiser's editorial position on the Important Agricultural Lands bill fails to recognize two major issues.
The first is that it has been 30 years since the people of Hawai'i amended the state Constitution to mandate the conservation of productive agricultural lands.
If we wait until we get the perfect bill, with no compromise among the stakeholders, farmers will become a dying breed in Hawai'i.
Little has been done in the past 30 years to get our best lands growing food and renewable energy fuel sources. Look at what is happening around the world in terms of food shortages and starvation. The time to get our agricultural lands producing again was yesterday, not in another 30 years.
The second point is that the regulatory controls in this bill are extensive, and they are tough. There is no free ride for urban development.
The bill does not provide for automatic reclassification of the 15 percent to urban, rural or conservation.
In addition, a party other than the landowner may petition the state for a contested case hearing, which is open and evidentiary. The Land Use Commission has the discretion to grant or deny in both instances.
The Hawaii Farm Bureau, the Maui County Farm Bureau, the Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, the dean of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and the state Department of Agriculture and the Land Use Research Foundation testified on behalf of the bill.

Earth Day at Waikalua Loko Fishpond

Need something to do during "Earth Day" weekend? Couldn't get your hands on Kokua Fest tickets? Well, don't worry about that because I've got the thing for you.

Join Reps. Pono Chong, Ken Ito and Sen. Jill Tokuda in Kaneohe for "La Hana Loko I'a," a Work Day at Waikalua Fishpond. The event will include cultural learning tours, activities for children, clean-up of the fishpond and surrounding area, and more. A light lunch will be provided for all who attend.

Where: Waikalua Loko Fishpond. Located at the end of Kulauli St., makai of Puohala Elementary School.

When: Saturday April 19, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society, an organization whose mission is to preserve the beauty and stability of the pond, and Windward lawmakers are cosponsoring the "Earth Day" celebration.

Contact Ka'ohua Lucas to pre-register your group.

Email: kaohua@hawaii.rr.com

Phone: 808-843-1217

Windward legislators to hold town meetings Jan. 8 and 10

Rep. Pono Chong (District 49 - Maunawili, Olomana, Enchanted Lake, Kaneohe) and Rep. Ken Ito (District 48 - Heeia, Haiku Valley, Kapunahala, Kaneohe) will join Senator Jill Tokuda (District 24 - Kaneohe, Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Base, Kailua, Enchanted Lake) to host two separate town hall meetings in Windward Oahu prior to the opening of the legislative session. The public is invited to come, express their viewpoints and concerns, and ask questions. For more information, call Kamakana Kaimuloa in Sen. Tokuda's office at 587-7215. Here are the particulars:

Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Kailua High School Cafeteria
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 10, 2008
Castle High School Cafeteria
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.