BY SAM SLOM – Hope you had a great Labor Day. If you get a chance and haven’t done so, please read my commentary on Labor Day for ALL Workers inHawaii Reporter.com posted last week.
ROTTEN APPLES: Things not going well for the HSTA teachers’ union. They are losing in court (on the 2009 drug testing component of the last contract) and not doing well with the LRB. Meanwhile, teachers becoming more restive at the union taking more in dues and not producing any contract.
REMEMBERING AMERICA’S TRAGEDY AND HEROES: This week will be focused on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Can you believe it has been 10 years? There are many events scheduled for Honolulu including a Friday event at Kaiser High School in the Library (9:45 am) and the Mayor’s annual walk Sunday evening. Sunday will also feature a unique program featuring amateur video taken on 9/11/2001. It will air at 8:46 am (EDT) on EVERY cable network at once.
I will revisit Shanksville, Pennsylvania (the site of the UAL #93 crash), next week. Ten years ago, I took my sons Sid and Spencer (ages 11 and 8 at the time) to the field a week after 9/11. This week a memorial will be dedicated. Hawaii Kai resident, Laura Buck, will be there. Her Mother was lost on that flight.
MORE ETHICS QUESTIONS AT CAPITOL: At the Legislature, the Speaker and President have sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting an opinion on the ethics commission’s position on the status of the members on the Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force. The head of the State Ethics Commission, Les Kondo, is getting a lot of scrutiny as he has zoned in on legislative actions not previously questioned. Especially fundraising options and gifts to lawmakers.
WHAT A GAS: Gas Caps? In South Carolina? Yes, the South Carolina legislature is considering gas caps at this time. Hawaii had the first such caps and they were a disaster. Best part: South Carolina has had the lowest gasoline prices in the nation.
Yes, it’s true: the keynote speaker at the 35th Annual SBH Business & Investment Conference, Wednesday, January 11, 2012, will be the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund. Details to follow.
Radio talk show host and author, Michael Medved will be in Honolulu again this year (December-January). He will have to be granted citizenship.
COOL TECH ALERT: Apple IPhone 5 on the way.
IT’S ALL ABOUT JOBS: Don’t forget to watch/hear President Obama tomorrow. He will unveil his secret plan to provide jobs and spur the economy. Is this like President Nixon’s secret plan to end the war in Vietnam? What happened to the 2010 plan to “spur private sector hiring?” Mr. Obama’s speech will be difficult to top Jimmy Hoffa Jr.’s intro speech for the Prez last Monday in Detroit. (I admit to being one those “sons of b——-” labor thug Hoffa railed against).
NOT SO CIVIL? The Honolulu Civil Beat is spending a great amount of time bashing elevated rail opponents (Cliff Slater, Ben Cayetano et al) for their op-ed “errors” in the unabashedly rail supportive Honolulu Star-Advertiser. New partnership?
There is a lot of interest in the newly announced SBH/HMAA comprehensive medical plan. Especially tailored for sole proprietors and independent contractors. Want details to see of this plan is good for you? Contact Darlyn at SBH, 396-1724 or link here.
NEXT SBH SUNRISE: MacMouse Club computer sales owner Michael Palcic, a member of the State Reapportionment Commission Advisory Council, will be the speaker at the next SBH Sunrise Networking Breakfast Thursday, September 29, from 7 – 8:30 am in the Pineapple Room, Macy’s Ala Moana Center.
Mike will discuss, “Reapportionment’s Impact on Your Business.”
The public is welcome to the SBH Sunrise. Advance reservations are required. Call Darlyn at SBH 396-1724 for reservations or download the attached reservations form. You may also register on line by clicking here.
SBH members and their guests pay $25 (in advance) for the networking, the program, a complete buffet breakfast and free parking. The cost is $35 at the door if space is available. Members can bring promotional materials for our table display.
Plan now for the 4th annual Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation Awards Banquet, Friday, September 16, 5:30 – 8 pm, Waialae Country Club. Sponsorships still available. Silent Auction items wanted. Call Darlyn 396-1724.
Hawaii Reporter.com, Hawaii’s first electronic daily newspaper begun 9 years ago, still is free. Award winning Hawaii Reporter and Malia Zimmerman also report daily (M-F) on the Rick Hamada Show, KHVH radio on 830 AM at a new time,7:45 am. Malia also reports on Kauai’s KKCR with Sandy Brodie on Tuesday mornings, on the station’s “Morning Paper.” She will report the news behind the news for you.
