Hawaii

Rep. Rida Cabanilla wants the governor to release the money that was earmarked to study the feasibility of creating a tunnel under Pearl Harbor linking Fort Weaver Road to Nimitz Highway before the June 30 deadline.

The Hawaii Reporter published a post from Cabanilla’s office manager outlining the benefits of an underground tunnel.

The U.S. Navy has told Rep. Rida Cabanilla that “So long as the portals are not on military land and the tunnel deep enough and strong enough to withstand an explosion, the military has no objections to working with the powers that be to advance the Pearl Harbor Tunnel Concept.

(Read the full post about ‘Cabanilla urges Gov. to release money for tunnel study’…)

The capitol website will be down on weekends, Fridays 4:30 p.m. to Mondays 7:45 a.m., due to electrical work being done within the building. Here are the affected dates: June 20 - 23, June 27 - 30, July 3 - 7, July 11 - 14.

House Finance revised its analysis on the Council on Revenues projections after receiving information on non-revenue tax figures and applying them to the equation.

Using 3.9% growth as a base, the lowering to 3.3% results in a loss of $14.4 million in FY08.

Using 3.5% growth as a base, which the legislature assumed, the lowering to 3.3% results in a gain of $3.9 million. (This is due to the non-revenue tax adjustment.)

For FY09, the lowering from 4.1% to 2.0% results in a loss of $122.4 million.

Photo: Honolulu Star-BulletinLetter to the Editor - Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 5/30/08To say that the majority of life-long residents of Kunia Plantation Village were relieved by the news that they will be able to stay in their homes would be a huge understatement. I grew up in a plantation village, and I understand the distress and heartache that these people faced when Del Monte shut down. The recently announced arrangement, which guarantees that the housing remains affordable in perpetuity, is one that deserves accolades for its creativity and cooperation among the parties.I want to thank and applaud the James Campbell Co. (Read the full post about ‘Rep. Magaoay applauds Kunia Plantation Village deal’…)

The Hawaii Council on Revenues met yesterday and revised their economic projection for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Mahalo to House Finance for providing the following analysis. In a nutshell:

The legislature assumed that the Council would lower its projection from 3.9% to 3.5% when finalizing the state budget for FY08.

Yesterday, the Council lowered the projection for FY08 even further from 3.9% growth to 3.3%.

Had we stayed at 3.9%, the loss would be $27.5 million. Using 3.5% as the base, the loss is $9.2 million.

The Council projected a downward turn for FY09, lowering the growth from 4.1% to 2.0%.

(Read the full post about ‘Council on Revenues New Projection’…)

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s representative at the Scripps National Spelling Bee spelled correctly in the first oral round, but did not make it to the quarterfinals.

Talmage Nakamoto, 13, from Konawaena Middle School, did not score high enough in the written portion of the competition to move on.

In the first round, students are given 50 words to spell, of which 25 count toward the competitor’s score. In round two, students have the chance to spell a word on stage orally. A correct spelling earns the student three points.

Adding the two rounds together gives the competitors a possible total of 28 points. (Read the full post about ‘Hawaii Spelling Bee Champ Ousted’…)

HONOLULU — Hawaii golfer Michelle Wie shot one of her best rounds recently in the first round of the Ladies German Open on Thursday.

She fired a 4-under 68. She finished tied for seventh and four shots off the lead. Nina Reis of Sweden leads the tournament at 8-under.

Wie birdied three of her first five holes, but could not capitalize on the par fives. However, she did manage to get through the round without a bogey.

“I felt I was a little bit rusty. But I am happy with how I played today,” Wie said.

Wie just finished up her freshman year at Stanford and has been struggling with injuries and a loss of form.

“I feel I can do a lot. (Read the full post about ‘Wie Shoots 68 In German Open’…)

HONOLULU — Police have opened an attempted murder investigation in Ewa Beach that started between two neighbors who were fighting.

It happened at about 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday on Niulelo Place.

A 36-year-old man stabbed his 36-year-old neighbor after they were arguing outside of their homes, police said.

Paramedics treated the male victim and took him to the Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition. He later improved and was upgraded to guarded condition.

The attacker tried to run away, but police later caught him in the bushes and arrested him for attempted murder, according to authorities.

HONOLULU — The gunman accused of killing three people at the Tantalus Lookout faces more criminal charges after a grand jury on Wednesday indicted Adam Mau in a separate stabbing incident involving a prison guard.

This summer will mark two years since Mau was arrested in a triple-homicide case. (Read the full post about ‘More Charges For Man Accused Of Tantalus Slayings’…)

WAIPAHU, Hawaii — Hawaii students, teachers and school administrators were honored on Wednesday for the recent statewide flu shot program.

More than 60,000 participated in the first statewide flu vaccination program.

The Department of Health project earned Hawaii a national award for being the first state in the nation to offer flu immunization to all students.

“We always talk about how isolated we are. In the same vein that’s the reason we’re the ideal state, we get all our care here. They don’t go across state borders to go somewhere else. So, we can actually vaccinate our kids and then see what the outcome is in our community,” DOH Disease Outbreak Control’s Dr. (Read the full post about ‘Hawaii, Schools Honored For Flu Shot Program’…)