TRUMP WANTS HAWAII GOVERNOR NEIL ABERCROMBIE INVESTIGATED
Real estate mogul and possible 2012 presidential candidate Donald Trump believes Governor Neil Abercrombie, D-HI, should be “investigated” for claiming that he remembers when President Obama was born.
He told Fox and Friends on Monday that Abercrombie is aiding fellow Democrats in defending Obama against accusations that he is ineligible to be president because he was born outside the United States.
“I think this guy should be investigated,” Trump told Fox and Friends. “He remembers when Obama was born, give me a break. He is just trying to do something for his party.”
Abercrombie has said publicly that Obama and Obama’s parents are his close personal friends and that he remembers when Obama was born. Abercrombie made these statements shortly after being elected in 2010, while Obama was vacationing in Hawaii just 20 minutes away, and Abercrombie pledged to prove Obama was born in Hawaii. After worldwide media attention for several weeks, Abercrombie did not reveal the birth certificate or proof of Obama’s birth in Hawaii, and instead, he said he would no longer comment on the issue.
In a recent media tour, starting with an appearance on ABC’s The View, Trump questioned whether Obama was born in the U.S. and why he refuses to reveal his long form birth certificate. “Why doesn’t he show his birth certificate? I wish he would, because I think it’s a terrible pale that’s hanging over him.”
Trump’s comments solicited outrage from some of The View commentators and set off a media firestorm. Various other national media, including NewsMax and World Net Daily, highlighted Trump’s comments in a series of reports.
DJOU WAITS ON LINGLE FOR WORD ON U.S. SENATE ELECTION
The Hill reports that former Hawaii Congressman Charles Djou wants Gov. Linda Lingle to run for U.S. Senate. He is not ruling out the opportunity to run for the seat himself, but he told Hawaii Reporter that Lingle “will make a great U.S. Senator.”
Djou and Lingle are considered the Hawaii GOP’s most viable candidates to replace U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-HI, who is retiring in 2012.
Lingle served as Hawaii’s governor from 2002 to 2010 and before that was the Mayor of Maui and a council member there. Djou has been on the Honolulu City Council, in the State House and won a special election to replace Neil Abercrombie in Congress after Abercrombie stepped down to run for governor. Djou lost the seat in the 2010 election to Colleen Hanabusa, a Democrat who U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye personally endorsed and worked to get her elected.
GOP leaders told Hawaii Reporter that Lingle will make a decision about the race this summer, and in the meantime, will line up possible donors. Several Democrats also have suggested they may run for the seat, including Congressman Ed Case, D-HI (2002-2007) and Mufi Hannemann, former Honolulu Mayor.
The Hill notes: “While the state is heavily Democratic and the only in the nation where President Obama currently enjoys an approval rating greater than 60 percent, Republicans think an open-seat race with Lingle as the party’s nominee would make for a contested election.”
LAWSUIT AGAINST HONOLULU RAIL PROJECT EMMINENT
HonoluluTraffic.com founder Cliff Slater will introduce Nicolas C. Yost, one of the nation’s top environmental attorneys, to the media today and discuss the pending lawsuit against the City & County of Honolulu and Federal Transit Authority aimed at stopping the $5.5 billion steel on steel rail project planned from Kapolei to Downtown Honolulu.
Denton, who has worked in private practice for 25 years and in federal and state government, is a partner with the San Francisco-based law firm of SRN Denton
His list of awards is long. He is the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2010 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy and he is a general counsel of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and lead draftsperson of the federal government’s NEPA regulations.
The Hawaii lawsuit will be filed by former Governor Benjamin Cayetano, Hawaii State Senator Sam Slom and Slater. Slater said additional plaintiffs could be added.
EBAY EXPANDS
EBay, founded by Hawaii resident Pierre Morad Omidyar, will be acquiring a company that would position itself against Amazon to become an online mega-retailer. Technology reporter Shelly Palmer said: “For $2.4 billion, the acquisition of GSI Commerce Inc. would provide eBay the ability to warehouse, fulfill and ship products from over 180 top brands and retailers. The deal will help attract business from those weary about auction-based purchases.” Read the full article at WSJ.com
HERITAGE FOUNDATION VP SPEAKS ABOUT RONALD REAGAN TIES
Heritage Foundation Vice President Becky Norton Dunlop, is in Hawaii. She spoke at to the University of Hawaii law school’s Federalist Society, and will appear on a Hawaii Reporter episode of News Behind the News.
The show will air on Monday, April 11, at 1:30 and Wednesday, April 13, at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 54. Norton will talk about the Heritage Foundation’s work across the country and her time serving under President Ronald Reagan during his two terms in office.
LOCAL JOBS RALLY SCHEDULED
“Why are the jobs still going to out-of-state workers?” That’s the question that members of the Painters Union and Allied Trades DC50 are asking as they plan their march at the state capitol to protest Aloha Stadium construction work going to non-local workers. The rally is planned for 11 a.m. on March 30 at the state Capitol.