One small step for....Hawaii aerospace industry

Tomorrow marks the 38th anniversary of the first humans to land on the moon through the Apollo 11 mission. On July 16, 1969, Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins launched into orbit on the Columbia. Four days later, on July 20th, Armstrong and Aldrin separated on the lunar module Eagle for the moon landing while Collins continued to orbit on the Columbia command module.

This year, the legislature appropriated $500,000 towards the support of an aerospace industry in Hawaii. SB907 renames the Office of Space Industry in the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, as the Office of Aerospace Development, with the goal of positioning Hawaii to be nationally and globally competitive. The appropriation allows the department to establish and operate the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems or PISCES, in order to support space exploration and settlement.

Rep Brower wants to find and return your money

KITV reporter Mahealani Richardson's mom received a letter from Rep. Tom Brower notifying Mrs. Richardson that she had $120 of unclaimed money. That led to a news story on KITV last night on Rep. Brower's efforts to find money or property owed to taxpayers and make sure they get it back. Some amounts are as high as $21,000. Money found may be from an old tax return or a state deposit that was never returned.

Photo: Tom tells a Honolulu woman that she is owed $17,000 from the unclaimed property program.

The "Unclaimed Property Project" uses data from the state's unclaimed property program.

Here's some information on how to check to see if you are owed money:

Go to http://www.repbrower.org/ and click on the Unclaimed Property link.

Enter your name to fill out an on-line claim form. If you see that money is owed to you, contact the Unclaimed Property Program in one of the following ways:

• Call 586-1589 on Oahu, 974-4000 on Hawaii, 274-3141 on Kauai, or 984-2400 on Maui.
• Email your inquiry to unclaimedproperty@hawaii.gov.
• Visit or write to #1 Capitol District Building, 250 S. Hotel Street, Room 304, Honolulu, HI 96813.

All claims must be verified by and collected through the Department of Budget and Finance.

If you need help, or if you want to let him know how your claim went, email Rep. Tom Brower at repbrower@capitol.hawai.gov or call him at 398-5653.

Volunteers pitch in at Kalihi Valley public housing

In their own version of "Extreme Makeover" volunteers celebrated the 29th anniversary of the Institute for Human Services by cleaning and restoring dilapidated structures at Kalihi Valley public housing. The housing project has over 40 units that are unoccupied because they are in need of repair before they are considered livable.

Rep. John Mizuno presented a certificate to IHS, Oahu's largest 24-hour emergency walk-in shelter for men, women, and families. At the end of the day, tenants were able to move into their new home.

Root Cause of Crime in Hawaii

Photo: Judge Steven Alm, Judge James Gray and Eric Sterling

Are our current policies and prevention efforts on drug trafficking, drug abuse and prohibition working? The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Tommy Waters, will hold an informational briefing on the root cause of crime in Hawaii. ACLU Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, and the Drug Policy forum of Hawaii are co-hosts.

When: Tuesday, July 17th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Where: State Capitol, Room 325

Speakers:

Judge Steven Alm - 1st Circuit Judge, Honolulu. Judge Alm is the chair of the Intermediate Sanctions Policy Council and Founder of H.O.P.E.

Judge James P. Gray - California Superior Court Judge. Judge Gray is the author of "Why our drug laws have failed and what we can do about it".

Eric E. Sterling - President, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. Mr. Sterling is the liaison to the American Bar Association's Committee on Substance Abuse.

Did you know? Hawaii's incarceration rates are on the rise. We export more than half of our prisoners to private U.S. prisons. Hawaii's female prison population is at almost 2X the national average. Hawaii is the largest customer of Corrections Corporation of America at $50 million a year.

LG is a candidate for Gov and should stop appearances in PSA's

By Rep. Marcus Oshiro - Chair of Finance Committee

Public Service Announcement or Campaigning?

Back in June, Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona announced his intention to run for Governor in 2008 and has since held a number of fundraisers statewide. At the same time, he is the principal spokesperson in a series of tax payer funded “Start Living Healthy” commercials, aka public service announcements, which are receiving a great amount of print and air time on broadcast and cable. The state should enlist great role models such as Tadd Fujikawa, Colt Brennan or Clarissa Moore to promote healthy living, for the Lieutenant Governor is campaigning and should step down from this role.

One of the first bills to pass the Legislature this session was HB389, which Governor Lingle signed into law as Act 54 on May 1st. The law now states that candidates for public office are prohibited from appearing in public service announcements from the time they file their nomination papers until the time they are no longer a candidate. Certainly, the L.G. would not like to contradict his previous press release of February 1, 2006 wherein he believed it would “not be appropriate” to appear in any public service announcement since he was running for office. Again, he may not be in violation, technically, but as a former judge and as someone who aspires to be Governor, I'm sure he would want to be sensitive to the spirit of the law and not stoop to a technical loop hole. While the L.G. has not filed papers, he is obviously and visibly in campaign mode. I would like to remind all potential candidates of this new addition to campaign law."

National Taxpayers Union Praises House Bill 122

The Advertiser reported today that the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has praised Hawaii lawmakers for passing a new law promoting accountable government. House Bill 122, introduced by Finance Chair, Rep. Marcus Oshiro, requires the state to create a searchable web page that discloses all entities and organizations that receive more than $25,000 in state funds. The bill became law without the Governor's signature. Link to story here.

The requirement is modeled after federal legislation, co-sponsored by Senators Tom Coburn and Barack Obama, which instructs the U.S. Office of Management and Budget to provide online information on federal grants and contract disbursements. Hawaii became the 5th state last week to open up state accounting records, joining Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Texas. The NTU had one recommendation for change. Given that the federal legislation dollar level is $25,000, they suggested that Hawaii may want to consider lowering the threshold next year.

Art at the State Capitol - Office of Rep. Kyle Yamashita

"Aizu Dancers" by Kauka de Silva - Ceramic and reed sculpture, 1984

Representative Kyle Yamashita (District 12 - Upcountry Maui) is a big supporter of art education. He is responsible for securing funds for the development of a performing arts and visual learning center at King Kekaulike High School.

The art he selected for his office reflects his appreciation for fine craftsmanship using natural materials, such as this series of ceramic and reed sculptures, each standing 8 to 10 inches tall. De Silva was born and raised in Hawaii but studied art at Waseda University in Tokyo.

Milo Wood Lathe bowl by Robert Yamada 1988

Robert Yamada is a Kauai artist from Kapaa. The lustrous sheen of his milo wood bowl is produced by hand polishing with leaves from the ulu (breadfruit) tree and kukui nut or mineral oil.

"Maui" by Dorothy Saxon Wenger - Oil Painting 1973

Yamashita's district on Maui includes Haleakala, and he was successful in his freshman term in the 2005 and 2006 sessions to acquire funding for the much needed expansion of Haleakala Highway. The painting by Dorothy Saxon Wenger called "Maui" was selected because it seemed to represent the colors of Haleakala - House of the Sun, with its reds and oranges of the volcano, the yellows of the sun, and the greens of Upcountry Maui.

"Red Winged Stiletto" by Garry Greenwood - Leather Sculpture 1984

This unusual leather sculpture never fails to draw attention. Standing only about a foot tall, the piece looks like wood, but is flexible to the touch.

Universal Health Care for Hawaii?

Photo: Rep. Della Belatti, Leslie Gise M.D., U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, Rep. John Mizuno, Rep. Karen Awana

By Rep. John Mizuno

That was the subject discussed on July 7th, as the panel weighed in on a proposed national healthcare system as well as Hawaii's consideration of Universal Health Care.

Congressman Abercrombie supports his colleagues US Reps John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich, authors of HR676 - The United States National Health Insurance Act. The bill creates a publicly financed health care system that ensures that all Americans have access to the highest quality and most cost effective health care service regardless of their income or health status. Dr. Gise confirmed that this would provide health care for everyone in our state, especially those in rural areas, including mental health care.

During the 2007 session, I introduced HB56 which provides health care for all Hawaii residents through a single payer system. The bill did not pass this session but remains alive in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Should both national and state measures pass in 2008, the state measure would yield to the national system. However, the state system could be implemented in 2 to 3 years, while the federal system would probably take 4 to 5 years.

Governor Must Implement the Law

By Rep. Kirk Caldwell - Majority Leader


Now that the override session is over, the legislative process is complete, and we call on the Governor to do what the executive branch is constitutionally mandated to do -- implement the law.

It is our opinion, as well as the opinion of our legal counsel, that the bills the Governor vetoed are not technically or fatally flawed. We did not approach the special session with the mindset that we would override for the sake of overriding to show political muscle. House leadership set specific criteria to determine whether a vetoed bill rose to the level of being overridden, and we discussed each bill thoroughly in our caucuses, as did the Senate. When the House and Senate came together, our two override lists were very similar even though we had discussed the overrides independently. Here are the criteria we used:

• The bill, on third or final reading in each house, should have been passed by at least a two-thirds vote.
• The bill, as much as possible, should not include a general fund appropriation.
• The bill promotes at least one of the following public purposes of major signficance: public safety, public health, and working class protection. Subsequently, in working with the Senate, we added environmental protection/planning and technology to this criteria.

While we probably would have had the votes to override most of the bills on the Governor's potential veto list, we do respect the power of the Governor to veto, and we are willing to work with the administration to resolve differences on certain bills. We will not, however, negotiate with the Governor through the media, as she tried to do at the last minute by claiming that we were uncooperative. That is not statesmanlike, nor does it result in good policy.

Pesticide Exposure at Waimea Canyon Middle School

The legislature passed two pesticides bills this year, HB1646 and HB1641, drawing attention to the increasing problem of pesticides exposure in our neighborhoods and around our schools. In the past year, three schools were forced to close due to toxic fumes from pesticide spraying; the most recent incident was Kahuku High School which closed for several days in May 2007.

Now a group on Kauai, called Maluia-WCMS (Waimea Canyon Middle School), made up of staff, parents, and concerned community members, have created a blog to document an on-going problem with pesticide spraying. Here is the link to their blog, which contains a You Tube video of the spraying activity. The group claims that the press has given the public safety issue facing Waimea Canyon Middle School minimal attention. They also claim that Syngenta, the company that is spraying pesticides on agricultural lands west of the school, has broken their agreement not to spray before 3:30 p.m., while students, teachers and staff are still on campus. They report that since then there have been a number of complaints of symptoms indicative of pesticide exposure.

Of bills, vetoes and overrides

Today, the Governor vetoed 27 bills and the House and Senate came back into special session for one day to override 11 of those vetoes. For the votes, click on the bill number.

Bills that were vetoed and overridden:

HB30 - International trade agreements
HB310 - Broadband task force
HB 718 - Kewalo keiki fishing conservancy
HB1270 - 2050 Sustainability Plan
HB1503 - Dislocated workers
HB1605 - Maui traffic control center
HB1830 - Baby safe haven.
SB932 - Offender re-entry system
SB1066 - Marine containers fee for invasive species
SB1191 - Pedestrian safety
SB1922 - Creative media lease space at Hawaii public television
Related to the override session, Rep. Della Au Belatti has an opinion piece in today's Advertiser on her approach to and consideration of the veto overrides.

Baby Safe Haven Advocates Travel to Hawaii for Override Session

Mike Morrisey, co-founder of Baby Safe Haven in New England, joined Rep. John Mizuno on the KHON2 Morning News show today. Mike and his wife Jean are here from Massachusetts to lobby for an override of HB1830 should the governor veto the bill as expected.

Photo: Kirk Matthews, John Mizuno, Mike Morrisey

Pedestrian Deaths Personalized

The Advertiser's new online database is worth checking out. One that caught my eye, due to the potential veto of the pedestrian safety bill, is the list of pedestrian deaths for 2006 and 2007. Compiled by Rod Ohira, the running log is 47 pedestrian deaths statewide and counting. What is stunning, however, is to see the names, the locations of the accidents, and the age of each victim. Not all are elderly, such as 16-year-old Orem Kauvaka from Hau'ula or 19-year-old Erwin Lauronal from Kona. To see it in this format personalizes the issue.

Art at the State Capitol - Office of Rep. Clift Tsuji

"Excavation No. 2" by Wayne Miyamoto
Acrylic and enamel on paper

Rep. Clift Tsuji (District 3 - South Hilo, Keaau, Kurtistown) had one criteria in selecting art work for his office at the State Capitol--he wanted to showcase artists from The Big Island. His selection includes work by Hiroki Morinoue, Shirley Hasenyager, Seiichi Osada, Clifford Panis, and others. The painting by Wayne Miyamoto is mounted above Rep. Tsuji's desk. The artist statement says: "One of the reasons for the title of this piece is the many layers of paint on the surface, and the subsequent scraping and digging into the paint to uncover the image."

"Home Sweet Hovel" by Jane Fullerton
Mixed Media


This is a detail from Jane Fullerton's mixed media piece in Rep. Tsuji's waiting area. It depicts images of plantation life in Keaau, including the old sugar plantation store. "The painting is my emotional response to those lost lifestyles and to the people whose lives left an imprint on Keaau," said Fullerton.

Cooperation or Photo Op?

Yesterday, Governor Lingle sent a letter to Senate President Hanabusa and Speaker Say requesting the Legislature to amend 4 bills so that she won't have to veto them. In this morning's editorial, The Advertiser calls upon the Legislature to cooperate. One has to question why the request came down so late when the administration has had 2 and 1/2 months to review and analyze these bills? Why wasn't the request made on or before June 25th when the potential veto list was announced, or, at the very least, a week out so that Hanabusa and Say could talk to their respective caucuses? After all, the entire Legislature worked on these bills for 4 months - members deserve that professional courtesy.

As Majority Leader, I learned of the request, not from the administration, but from the press. That is not the way to reach resolution on anything, let alone legislation on which we disagree. That said, if the Governor felt there was a way to avoid vetoes, I wish she would have approached us even before publishing the potential veto list so that we could have the time required to work on the bills together. For the sake of good legislation that benefits the public, we're all for a "meeting of the minds." Unfortunately, the letter that came down yesterday seemed more show than substance. Knowing that we would have no time to comply, it meant to make us look uncooperative. And, of course, it's always a bit suspicious when the administration calls the media to alert them to exactly when the letter will be delivered to Senator Hanabusa's office, just in case they want to get it on video.


Rep. Kirk Caldwell, Majority Leader

Cost of a special session

The House is poised to return for a special session to override most of the Governor's potential vetoes. (Citing lack of votes, it appears unlikely that the legislature will override HB91- Public Accountancy, SB1004 - Psychologists prescriptive authority, and SB1283 - UH Tobacco Settlement Fund, if vetoed. There may be more.) What is this going to cost taxpayers? Pat Mau-Shimizu, the House Chief Clerk, estimates that a one-day special session will cost approximately $5,000. This includes per diem and airfare for Neighbor Island representatives and senators who must travel to Honolulu. Constitutionally, the legislature must convene the session to override vetoes before noon on Tuesday, July 10th, but the Governor has until midnight to veto bills. Therefore, the legislature may convene, and if needed, go into recess, until the vetoes are delivered.

All Aboard the Tren Urbano

The Tren Urbano - or urban train - is Puerto Rico's new mass transit system, currently covering a 10.7 mile course through the capital city of San Juan. Rep. Marilyn Lee was in Puerto Rico for legislative business and received an invitation to learn more about the project. As Honolulu prepares to develop its own mass transit system, the comparisons between San Juan and Honolulu contained many similarities. Her observations are published today in the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Tren Urbano cost S2.25 billion and an extension is planned. Ridership is lower than projected, but increased 7.5% from 2005 to 2006. General fare is $1.50.

"Recklessness" state of mind added to arson law

With the July 4th holiday tomorrow, and the recent brush fires on Maui and the Big Island, Hawaii residents should be aware of recent changes made to the arson law. HB1158 was one of the first bills to be passed this session, signed into law and effective on April 9th as Act 11. The bill adds "recklessness" as a state of mind, in addition to "knowingly" or "intentionally", as a requirement for any person who commits the offense of arson in the fourth degree. In addition to other penalties imposed, if the act of arson amounts to 10,000 square feet or more of damaged property, the convicted person may be required to pay any costs related to extinguishing the fire, and to perform community service in the area where the fire was set. If the arsonist is a minor, the parents or legal guardian would be responsible for paying a percentage of the costs related to extinguishing the fire, regardless of whether the property is publicly or privately owned.

Next on Kukui Connection - Sundays at 4 p.m.

Rep. Marilyn Lee hosts a television series on Olelo called Kukui Connection, and she has recently focused on doing in-depth interviews with House freshmen. After the 2006 election, the House gained a large freshmen class of 13 -- 11 Democrats and 2 Republicans. The show airs on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. on Channel 54. Coming up in July, Lee interviews Democrat Della Belatti (District 25 - Makiki) on July 8 and 22, and Republican Karen Awana (District 44 - Nanakuli) on July 15 and 29.

Cal Can Cook!

House Speaker Calvin Say won the cook-off with Senate President Colleen Hanabusa in the Flavors of Honolulu charitable event this past Saturday. The two leaders were each given the task of cooking pan fried pork chops and poached salmon (I suppose being so familiar with being in the frying pan and/or hot water?)

House of Reps members and staff cheer on Speaker Say with "Cal Can Cook" signs.

Speaker's recipe for "Palolo Pork Chops" is to pan fry them in garlic and oil, topped with fresh sauteed island vegetables. His poached salmon was cooked Chinese style with hot oil, garlic, ginger, shoyu (soy sauce), green onions and Chinese parsley (cilantro).


Speaker Calvin Say celebrates victory with sons Jared and Geoffrey, wife Cora, and friend/assistant chef Wes Yonamine. In addition to the winning entries, Speaker cooked up two additional dishes: "Local Girls Spam"- cubes of spam fried with fresh island vegetables, and "Poor Man's Sardines" - canned sardines sauteed with garlic and onions on a bed of sauteed watercress.