BY SAM SLOM – Lightnin’ n’ Thunder. Wow! How about our Hawaii weather the past few days. Have you ever heard so much LOUD thunder? Seen so many lightning strikes? Or seen hail in Hawaii Kai and Waimanalo? Could this be a sign that the Hawaii Majority Party has been screwing with Mother Nature and too many taxes and regulations?
Let The Congressional Contest Begin. Republican Charles Djou is back early from his deployment in Afghanistan and ready to actively challenge Democrat Congresswoman Colleen Hanbusa for the 1st Congressional seat he briefly held in 2010. Should be a good race.
Line Dancing. Waiting in line took on new meaning all last week to beat the federal REAL ID driver’s license requirements. There were 2-3 hour waits at all DMV and satellite City Hall locations. Now you need your social security card, birth certificate, passport and Democrat Party card to get a license.
Go Protesters Go! Last week’s Kapolei and Honolulu panels on “Sustainable Growth: Challenges and Solutions for the People of Hawaii,” sponsored by the American Dream Coalition and the SBH Educational Foundation, was overshadowed by shouting pro-rail protesters at both locations who didn’t want to argue facts. Expert panelists included: Panos Prevedouros; John Charles; Wendell Cox; Randy Roth; Adrian Moore; Peter Vincent and Randall O’Toole. Most of the media chose to cover the protesters rather than the facts presented as to why rail is such a bad deal. Give Ben Cayetano credit: he showed up tp protest the protesters shouting down the attendees.
UH Alums. The UHAA Distinguished Alumni Awards pay tribute to those alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and community, committed themselves to advancing the values and goals of the University of Hawai’i and ensuring improvement in the quality of life for future generations. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye is honorary chair of this year’s event on May 10 at the Sheraton Waikiki, where UH will honor:
UHAA Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
- Robert Alm, JD (BA ’73 Mānoa) – Executive Vice President, Hawaiian Electric Company
- Frederick D.S. Choi, PhD (BBA ’65, MBA ’68 Mānoa) – Dean Emeritus & Distinguished Service Professor of Business, New York University Stern School of Business
- Patrick H. DeLeon, PhD, JD (MPH ’73 Mānoa) – Professor and Retired Chief of Staff for Sen. Daniel Inouye
- UH Founders Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
- Ted T. Tsukiyama, JD (Attended ’39-’41, ’46 Mānoa) – Attorney, Arbitrator, Historian and 442nd Veteran
- UHAA President’s Award Recipients
- Virginia S. Hinshaw, PhD – University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Chancellor
- Ann Dunham Soetoro, PhD (BA ’67, MA ’83, PhD ’92 Mānoa) – Anthropologist
The annual event will raise essential funding for the UH Alumni Association, a not-for-profit organization that awards student scholarships, supports UHAA chapters & UH campuses, connects alumni through its events and the UHAA Online ‘Ohana at UHalumni.org, and facilitates communication between UH and alumni.
Advance registration and payment are required. For more information, visit UHalumni.org/daa2012, call (808) 956-2586 or toll free 1-877-842-5867, or e-mail events@UHalumni.org.
Sears to Extend. We reported that Sears announced it was leaving Ala Moana next year. Now Sears says they will remain until 2014.
GOP Presidential Caucus. Not to be left out of the national GOP frenzy, the Hawaii Republican Party will hold Hawaii’s first Republican Presidential Caucus in one week. The polls will be open from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, March 13.
Solar Shakeup. PBN reported that the Hawaii Solar Energy Association’s Mark Duda, who had been the president for the past three years, has been voted off the board, completely.
Vice president, Myron Thompson, founder and president of 21st Century Technologies, has assumed the president’s role.
Other board members include: Rick Reed, president of Solaray Corp., Gary Ralston, owner of Hawaiian Island Solar, Rolf Christ, president and CEO of R&R Solar Supply, Andrew Yani, principal at Bonterra Solar, Yvette Maskrey, district manager for Honeywell Utility Solutions, Gabriel Chong, special projects manager at Sunetric, and Cully Judd, board member emeritus and founding member of HSEA.
Is There an Engineer in the House? Does your firm need a Mechanical Engineer? There is a recent graduate as an ME who wants to relocate to Hawaii. Got job? Write me at SBH@lava.net or call 396-1724 for more info.
NFIB at the Capitol. NFIB Hawaii is sponsoring a small business reception with state legislators on Wednesday, March 14 at the State Capitol, room 224 from 5:00-6:30pm.
Lohman Resigns at PBN. Mary Beth Lohman, publisher of Pacific Business News resigned from PBN. Advertising Director Bob Charlet succeeded Lohman on March 2.
TV Musical Chairs. Jodi Leong left KITV to become communications director at UH. Andrew Periera left KHON-TV and will begin at KITV. Kris Uyeno returns to KHON-TV.
No Rush in Hilo. New West Broadcasting announced Monday that it is discontinuing the Rush Limbaugh program on KPUA AM 670 in Hilo, Hawaii effective immediately. It got national publicity for being the only station to cut off Rush after the talk show host’s remarks about the 30- year- old Georgetown Law student, and protégé of Nancy Pelosi, who wants her condoms and birth control at taxpayer expense. Chris Leonard is President and General Manager of New West
Winners’ Camp. Winners’ Camp is so grateful for the support of the community, and to show their appreciation they are offering a very special one-time tuition of $500.00 for their Spring Break 2012 Camps. This is a $280.00 Scholarship: give your teen the opportunity of a lifetime! SPRING BREAK HAWAI’I LEADERSHIP ACADEMY FOR TEENS: MARCH 12-16 & MARCH 19-23
Reserve your space and sign up today: click here! Please help spread the word about these one-time partial scholarships and pass this information along to your friends and families. Contact Delorese Gregoire at www.winnerscamp.com
Nobel Laureate Coming. World-renowned economist Nobel Laureate and New York Times best-selling author Joseph Stiglitz is coming to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa campus. Stiglitz previously served as Chairman on the Council of Economic Advisers for the Clinton administration and as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for the World Bank. He also advises the Obama administration.
His free, public lecture, “Where long-term and short-term goals converge: Using sustainability as an impetus for economic growth,” will take place at Orvis Auditorium on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 6 p.m. After the free public presentation, Stiglitz will hold a book signing at 7 p.m. in the lobby of Orvis Auditorium, where his latest book, Freefall: America, Free Markets and the Sinking of the World Economy, will be available for purchase.
Cross Over. Yesterday, the State Legislature got back to work after the annual mandatory five-day recess. Both House and Senate voted on hundreds of bills and then exchanged them to the opposite house.
Actually, there is plenty of work during the recess, just no House or Senate floor sessions. Committees still met and hearings were held.
Is YOUR business a member of SBH? Call Darlyn today (808-396-1724) or go online to www.smartbusinesshawaii.com
JA Business Laureates. Friday, the Senate will honor Junior Achievement of Hawaii Business Hall of Fame Laureates for 2012. JA Hawaii honors four local business owners: Jay Kadowaki, J. Kadowaki, Inc.; Daniel B. T. Lau, Finance Factors, and Debra Ching Maiava and Ric Maiava, Ken’s House of Pancakes (Hilo). JA honors these business leaders at the induction ceremony dinner, Friday, 5:30 – 8:30 pm at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel. Contact JA at 808-545-1777 for reservations and information.
Point-Counterpoint on KHVH. Tune in Tuesdays 7-8 am to the Rick Hamada show on KHVH radio (830 am) to hear Senate Democrat Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria and me tackle the legislative issues at the State Capitol. Call in at 521-8383.
Real News. Go to HawaiiReporter.com, for the real news. HR, founded by Malia Zimmerman, 10 years ago continues to break major investigative stories. Hearty congratulations. Tune in to KHVH every week day at 7:40 am to hear Malia’s report.
Want more local business information? Please visit the several SBH websites at:: www.smartbusinesshawaii.com, www.educate808.com and www.sbhfoundation.org.
Cannot agree with you regarding Rush Limbaugh. Bullies are bullies. Plain and simple. Rush does not contribute to debate…he simply indulges in name calling and intimidation. How has he addressed any of the issues in the contraception debate other than making lame inflammatory remarks and vilifying women? Senator, men may have short memories…but I firmly believe women will remember your stand and respond accordingly at the polls for the next senatorial election.
Aloha Alph:
Here is how you spell Bullies: David Letterman, Bill Maher, Ed Shultz, Chris Matthews. Got it? Try being fair Alph. Where is your outrage there? Decidingly Absent?
Yes, we will remember all at the next Election as this Country is about to embark on Real Change. Not a Socialistic Path to destruction. Get use to it.
Mike G.
What a poor excuse for a legislator this Sam Slom is… repeating misinformation and invective in a transparent attempt to villify “the 30- year- old Georgetown Law student, and protégé of Nancy Pelosi, who wants her condoms and birth control at taxpayer expense” — none of it being true. Ms. Fluke testified to Congress about AN ASSOCIATE who could not afford contraceptive drugs, as prescribed by her physician, to treat ovarian tumors (a standard treatment), because their religious college WILL NOT ALLOW THE INSURANCE COMPANY to cover it. Slom and his ilk are happy to ignore such facts and make ad hominem attacks along with misogynistic lies to cover their ineptitude at representing their constituents. I’m happy to see that the air in Hilo will remain venom-free thanks to the prudent decision by radio KPUA.
Ah Fritz, Spoken like to true Liberal. No facts. Conjecture and talk about Villfy? Come On You Have to be kidding me. Whom are YOU Villifying: Sam Sloan? This is a NONE issue in Voting coming up in the General Election. Are you so sure everyone agrees with your thoughts? I do not think so. I, frankly could care less what women do about Birth Control because its a Non-Issue. Oh hell “the George Town Law Student” could get her contraceptives at K-Mart for $9.00 / month. In case you need a calculator, that is $108.00 plus Tax. Wow. What did Flucken or whateve her name say, ‘$3000.00 per year?” Give us all a break and admit you are a “pie in the sky Liberal” with no factual basis for your concerns and you hate Rush Limbaugh and Sam Sloan but love Bill Meher!
Mike G.
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