BY SAM SLOM – Victorino In the House! … and Senate. The 50th State’s pride and joy, World Champion Red Sox slugger Shane Victorino of Maui, is back home visiting friends and family on Maui and O’ahu. He was honored in the State House and Senate yesterday. As you can imagine, there were many cameras.
Smoke Dope, Reduce Our Unfunded Liability. State Rep. Rida Cabanilla proposed a bill to allow the growing and export of marijuana products, saying it is a solution to pay off the state’s growing debt and unfunded liabilities. She says we have the best dope in the world. See the full story in Hawaii Reporter>. She must be correct – look at our President and his admitted experiences with pot at Punahou.
Breakfast Tomorrow With Medved. Please come to tomorrow’s SBH SUNRISE, Thursday, January 30, from 7 – 8:30 am in the Ala Moana Macy’s Pineapple Room where we are featuring national Salem radio talk show host and author Michael Medved. You can still guarantee a place now by reserving your seat, call Susan at 396-1724. Full breakfast and networking.
Author, Speaker Patrick Snow to Keynote 38th SBH Conference. Best-selling author and motivational business success speaker, Patrick Snow, will be the SBH’s Keynote Luncheon Speaker, Wednesday, February 19, 8 am – 2 pm, for the 38th Annual SBH Business & Investment Conference at the Ala Moana Hotel. A great line up of exciting and informative speakers and issue topics, networking, business exhibits and more. Sponsorship and booth exhibit opportunities still available. Contact Malia (306-3161) or Susan (396-1724) for details.
Simmons, KISS, on Maui. KISS band member and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Gene Simmons, who keynoted the SBH business conference in January, 2008, is opening a new eatery next month with fellow KISS member, Paul Stanley, Rock n’ Brews in Paia, Maui. There has been some negative blowback from locals who worry about traffic, noise, and changing the character of sleepy Paia.
State of the Union. Last night, the President gave his 5th State of the Union speech. He believes in armed drones, so droned on, but offered no inspiration or help for the economy; just more of the same government. Trust him, as you did on Obamacare.
Minimum Wage. The President with a stroke of the pen will give those on federal contracts an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. State Senator Clayton Hee proposed the exact same amount for Hawaii in a bill he introduced. Minimum wage bills get their first hearing Thursday at 9:30 am in the capitol Room 016. Business people need to show up to explain why they should oppose a compulsory increase because proponents will be there in force.
Challenge to Same Sex Marriage Law Today. This morning in Judge Karl Sakamoto’s circuit court, Attorneys Sean Luis and Bob Matsumoto argued that the Hawaii Same Sex Marriage Law enacted in December 2013 violates the Hawaii Constitution and the peoples’ vote in 1998.
New Supreme Court Judge. Hawaii will have a new State Supreme Court Justice after the retirement of Associate Justice Simeon Acoba Jr. who reaches age 70 in March. The Judiciary Selection Committee has submitted 6 names to Gov. Neil Abercrombie who will nominate one and send the name to the State Senate for advise and consent. The nominees Circuit Judges Derrick Chan, Michael Wilson and Richard Perkins; chief judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals Craig Nakamura, The state public defender John Tonaki, and local attorney Jeffrey Crabtree.
Zip Zip Inflation. I have been a proud owner of a Zippy’s Senior (old man’s) dining discount card for many years. It cost $2 for two years and provides a 10% discount on every purchase. Zippy’s just sent out a letter saying the renewal or new rate is now $40 for 2 years starting in March. Holy Zipmin! What kind of increase is that? It just doesn’t pay to get old anymore.
McDouble Rising Too. My low cost, fast food burger of choice, the McDouble, was a staple on the McDonald’s $1 value meal for many years. Last month, it went from $1 to $1.39; now it is $1.49. Luckily the spicy McChicken is still clucking at $1.
Dueling Microbes. Last year, the State House, in keeping with officially naming EVERYTHING “the State (tree, fish, mammal, etc.)” suggested designating a State Microbe. The bill didn’t pass. This year, Senate Staffer Noelani Bonifacio noticed there are dueling bills that each would designate a different microbe as the official state microbe.
The difference: “In 2013, the Hawaii State House of Representatives passed out HB293 HD1, which would name Flavobacterium Akiainvivens the official state microbe. However, the bill failed to get a hearing in the Senate. This year SB 3124 would make Vibrio Fischeri the state microbe. As the House Bill is still alive, this could be the year of the competing microbes. Flavobacterium Akiainvivens was initially discovered by Iris Kuo, an Iolani student, and was found on a rotted shrub. Vibrio Fischeri, named for Bernhard Fischer of Germany, has a symbiotic relationship with the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid. However it’s found in nearly all the earth’s oceans. And, it is colored and glows in the dark! It remains to be seen which microbe will come out on top as the Official State Microbe of our state.”
Meanwhile, the true Hawaiian native bat, and only native land mammal, the Hawaiian Ope’ape’a, has been sidelined for years because of Senator Clayton Hee’s “anti-bat if it is proposed by a haole”, stance.
Local Neiman Marcus Data Loss. Nearly 10,000 local Hawaii shoppers may have had their data lost in a hack of Neiman Marcus, according to the State Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs.
Hawaii Unemployment Up. The Hawaii State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December was 4.5 percent, up slightly from 4.4 percent in November. Statewide, employment increased by 3,400 to 625,800 and the total seasonally adjusted labor force grew by 4,200 to 655,550 in December. Unemployed declined by 3,850 to 29,750 over the year. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in December, down from 7.0 percent in November.
Koko Head Range Open. The Koko Head Firing Range, closed earlier in the month for safety remediation, is open once again.
Gun Rights to UN Fails. The US Senate measure to give American 2nd Amendment Rights to the United Nations, failed on a 53-46 vote. Hawaii Senators, Hirono and Schatz, both Democrats, voted with the minority to give away your rights.
New Facebook Link. The Hawaii Senate Minority has a new Facebook and a new look. Check it out at:
https://www.facebook.com/hawaiis.senate.informer If you are on Facebook, please like us and invite your friends to like the group as well. If not, you are still able to view the page without creating an account.
Reagan Dinner, February 6. The Hawaii Republican Assembly will hold the first Ronald Reagan Freedom & Liberty Dinner on February 6, 2014. The special guest speaker will be heavyweight American Conservative Union chairman, Alberto Cardenas, who headlines the annual CPAC in Washington, D.C. Tickets $75. Contact HawaiiRepublicanAssembly.com
Want More Business? JOIN SBH! Is YOUR business a member of SBH? No? Lots of benefits. Strong networking organization. Call 396-1724 or go online to smartbusinesshawaii.com.
Hawaii Reporter.com, Hawaii’s first electronic daily newspaper launched in 2002, has all the breaking news and unlike other publications in town, is still free. Award winning Hawaii Reporter and Malia Zimmerman report daily (M-F) on the Rick Hamada Show heard on KHVH radio on 830 AM at 7:05 am. Malia will share the news behind the news.
Tune in to Panos Prevedouros. SBH Director and UH Engineering Professor Dr. Panos Prevedouros is a weekly guest on Rick Hamada’s morning radio show every Tuesday from 7:05 a.m. to 8 am. Tune in!
Read SB NEWS. Don’t forget to read your current (November) monthly SB NEWS by PDF attachment or link. More expanded news and views for the Hawaii business community. A limited number of printed copies are available for mailing if you call SBH (396-1724).
Advertise Here. Some readers have inquired about placing an ad on the right margin of these weekly blasts, which reach more than 15,000 people. Interested? If you want your business ad posted, the cost is $50 for one placement or $150 per month (4-5 placements). Contact 396-1724.
Want more local business information? Please visit the several SBH websites at www.smartbusinesshawaii.com, www.educate808.com and www.sbhfoundation.org
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As always, SBH appreciates your support, so please consider joining or sending a donation to help SBH continue to assist the private, independent businesses in our community.
I wrote an article recently about how an increase in the minimum wage rate increases unemployment. You can read it here: https://wp.me/p3N9zD-4e
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