Local Developing Blender

Ward Centers boutique wins $25K in national retail contests

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:11:07 -1000

The votes are in and a Honolulu boutique is number one.

Eden In Love, located in Ward Centers, won first place in the National Retail Federation's "This Is Retail" video contest.

Weeks of public voting helped the store claim the top spot and the $25,000 grand prize.

The National Retail Federation said owner Tanna Dang's story is one of philanthropy and opportunity.

Her video highlighted the charitable acts that she and her associates take on throughout the year, and centers on how retail creates opportunities to do good and make a difference.

Dang said she would use the money to treat her staff to an appreciation trip to either Thailand or China where they would look to help another community succeed and grow.

Junior Seau's garage burglarized

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:02:00 -1000

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP) - Police say a thief burglarized the garage of Junior Seau's Oceanside, Calif., home days after the former NFL star's suicide.

A burglar crawled through a doggy door into Seau's garage at about 2 p.m. on May 7.

Lt. Leonard Mata tells the North County Times (http://bit.ly/IWuGZe) that the crook rummaged through cabinets and stole a $500 bicycle belonging to a friend of Seau.

No arrest has been made.

Seau shot himself to death in the home on May 2.

Neighbor Sean Bailey tells TV station KGTV that a break-in after such a tragedy is "sick and disgusting."

Seau was a mainstay of the San Diego Chargers' defense in the 1990s after starring at Southern California. He was 43.

Hawaii surfer John John Florence wins first ASP World Championship Tour contest

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:58:22 -1000

Hawaii surfer John John Florence won the Billabong Rio Pro competition.

It’s Florence’s first ASP World Championship Tour win.

The 19-year-old surfer from Oahu’s North Shore took the title over Joel Parkinson in barreling three-to-four foot waves at Barra de Tijuca.

This is Florence’s rookie year in the ASP World Championship Tour.

He now sits at No. 6 on the ASP World Championship Tour and will look to carry the momentum from this win to the upcoming surfing events in Fiji and Tahiti.

USS Carl Vinson sailor arrested for burglary

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:50:43 -1000

A sailor on the USS Carl Vinson was arrested for allegedly breaking into a Waikiki apartment.

It happened early Wednesday morning.

Police say the 20-year-old broke the louvers of a window to an apartment just after midnight.

The residents confronted him and the suspect became aggressive.

Police say the residents went back inside the apartment and the suspect followed and assaulted one of them.

Security guards from a nearby building heard the commotion and came to the aid of the residents.

The guards detained the suspect until police arrived.

Officers discovered the suspect was also involved in a criminal property case prior to the Waikiki burglary.

The victims in both cases identified the suspect and he was arrested for burglary, criminal property damage, and assault.

The USS Carl Vinson arrived on Oahu Tuesday on the way home to San Diego.

The ship is carrying about 5,500 sailors, pilots and crew.

Hawaii teachers to begin voting on rejected offer

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:56:54 -1000

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii's teacher union members begin voting this week on a contract they rejected earlier this year, despite warnings from the state that the agreement is no longer valid.

Hawaii State Teachers Association members will vote electronically and via telephone from Thursday through Tuesday.

The union says asking members to revisit the contract they rejected in January is an attempt to prevent the state from losing a $75 million federal grant to carry out education reforms. The U.S. Department of Education has warned the grant could be taken away because of unsatisfactory progress on promised reforms, including using student performance when evaluating teachers and determining compensation.

Governor spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz says the union did not accept the state's offer to return to the bargaining table.

Chinatown bank robbery suspect arrested

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:28:22 -1000

Police arrested a 39-year-old male Tuesday afternoon in connection with a bank robbery in Chinatown.

On May 14, 2012, at approximately 11:40 a.m., a male entered the First Hawaiian Bank on King St., and presented a demand note to the teller. No weapon was seen.

Hawaii gets $74K from Skechers settlement

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:24:43 -1000

Claims that Skechers' fitness shoes can help shed pounds and tone muscles are sketchy at best, says the government, and they're going to cost the company millions of dollars.

The footwear company will pay $40 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that Skechers made unfounded claims that its Shape-ups shoes would help people lose weight and strengthen their butt, leg and stomach muscles.

The settlement also involves the company's Resistance Runner, Toners and Tone-ups shoes. The FTC alleges Skechers made deceptive claims about those shoes too.

The FTC says Skechers falsely represented that clinical studies backed up the company's claims about its toning shoes.

Hawaii joined the FTC in settling the suit with Skechers, along with 43 other states and the District of Columbia.

Skechers will pay $5 million to the states. Hawaii's share of $74,907 will be used to fund consumer education and enforcement of consumer protection laws in Hawaii.

Consumers who bought the shoes will be eligible for refunds.

Go to www.ftv.gov/skechers.

Stepmom faces extradition in HI in kids' abduction

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:04:09 -1000

HILO, Hawaii (AP) - The stepmom of three children who were taken by their father to the Bahamas on a sailboat against custody orders is being held without bail in Hawaii and will be extradited to Montana.

Hawaii County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jason Skier (sk-EYE'-er) told The Associated Press on Wednesday that a Hilo judge ordered 45-year-old Angela Bryant to be held without bail, pending extradition. Montana authorities have until June 13 to take her.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer last month directly asked Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie to return Bryant to the mainland.

The father pleaded guilty this week to a felony count of parenting interference after the children's mother said he failed to return them under a custody agreement.

The stepmom faces similar charges.

The abduction touched off a months-long search last year.

Hawaii health insurance providers report 1Q income

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:25 -1000

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii's two largest health insurance providers earned operating income during the first three months of the year.

Hawaii Medical Service Association on Tuesday reported operating gain of $7.2 million for the quarter, amounting to just over 1 percent of dues collected. Its after-tax gain totaled $12.8 million or about 2 percent of dues collected.

HMSA says it's putting the money into reserve funds that cover large unexpected health care costs or losses.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. Hawaii Region reported an operating income $600,000 during the first quarter. That's less than 1 percent of revenue.

Kaiser Permanente says it's holding down costs and focusing on total health. It's campaigning nationally and locally to bring attention to obesity which is a major cause of poor health and health care spending.

72 year-old Puna man charged with attempted murder

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:27:43 -1000

A 72 year-old Puna man has been charged in connection with a shooting.

Joseph Amormino faces one first degree attempted murder and two second degree attempted murder charges for the shooting of a 55 year-old woman at a home in Panaewa.

At last check she was in stable condition.

Amormino was also charged with three counts of terroristic threatening for a road-rage incident 20 minutes before the shooting.

Bail is set at 656,000 dollars.

He is scheduled to be in court Wednesday.

Women suing State for not being able to marry men in prison

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:06:00 -1000

Four women are suing the State because they've been told they cannot get married to their fiances, who are in prison.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit today on behalf of the women.

The lawsuit has to do with whether Hawaii prisoners have the right to get married while serving time behind bars.

Love knows no boundaries, including prison bars.

But these four women have hit a road block in their quest to marry their incarcerated fiances.

"Some of them have been trying to get married for over five years now, have submitted multiple applications to the Department of Public Safety and keep getting denied," said ACLU of Hawaii Attorney Dan Gluck.

The men are serving time at Saguaro Correctional Facility in Arizona.

According to the lawsuit, Lenora Santos "describes her fiance as being her 'first love' from when she was 13 years old."

Junell Faith Aliviado "and her fiance have been in a romantic relationship for approximately seven years."

Margaret Amina "and her fiance dated while both were students at Kaimuki high school in the early 80's."

And Jamiquia Glass and her fiance "were together as a couple for approximately two and a half years before he was incarcerated."

"Some of these fiances will be released within about two years. Some of them are in for a little longer, but all of them retain the fundamental right to get married," said Gluck.

Through their lawsuit, the women are seeking marriage authorization and monetary damages.

The lawsuit claims that the US Supreme Court previously ruled that denying prisoners the right to marry was unconstitutional.

"And we're disappointed that the Department continues to do that," said Gluck.

According to the Department of Public Safety's inmate marriages policy, dated last June, prisoners who want to get married must submit a written request.

And the Warden or Mainland Branch Coordinator will make their recommendation based on: whether or not there's a legal restriction such as if the prisoner isn't divorced yet, and whether or not the proposed marriage presents a threat.

The plaintiffs marriage applications were repeatedly denied.

"The Department of Public Safety has given various reasons but most of them have to do with their belief, their individual beliefs that these marriages won't be successful. They think the men don't have the emotional capacity to care for the women to make the marriages successful, and that's not an appropriate basis on which to deny a marriage," said Gluck.

The Department of Public Safety says it has not been served the lawsuit yet. and has no comment at this time.

Rail jobs: How many, when and how?

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:00:00 -1000

Construction on Honolulu's rail system is now underway, with proponents promising 10,000 jobs ahead from the project and trickle-down spending.

Where would all those rail-related jobs come from?

“It's the indirect and direct total jobs,” said Dan Grabauskas, CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation “There's a whole calculation that goes into literally direct jobs people who are hired by the contractors and subcontractors -- then when they buy products, when they go to the local restaurants and they have to hire 2 or 3 more waitresses or waiters or chefs or things like that that's the indirect jobs. The formulas that we use are the ones that are prescribed by the federal government and so I have no reason not to stand behind them.”

We asked an economist how reliable such multiplier formulas are...
“Ten thousand jobs is big but whether it's actually going to be 10,000 jobs just as a function of building rail seems to be a bit of a large number,” said Jack Suyderhoud, faculty at the UH Shidler College of Business and a member of the state Council on Revenues. “If you're spending money or rail cars for example, those rail cars are built somewhere else and they're shipped in here, that's not going to have much of a multiplier affect at all. On the other hand if you're building infrastructure here, using local workers, that is going to have a much larger impact and multiplier effects of 2 or 3 perhaps, something along those lines.”

Who is getting the jobs so far? Out of more than 500 positions, about 300 jobs have gone to Hawaii residents or a handful of returning kama’aina.

"You can't legally say, under federal law, that you hire somebody local or who is from a particular neighborhood,” Grabauskas said. “But the practical reality is businesses do function on a bottom line and it is absolutely more cost-effective for them to hire local if the skill base is there."

Contractor Kiewit has hired about 150 Hawaii residents, including bringing a few back home like Deputy Project Manager Greg Uematsu.

“He went to college on the mainland, hired by Kiewit, stayed in the mainland, and just hasn't been able to find the opportunity to come home -- he's from Kauai," said Kiewit Senior Vice President Lance Wilhelm. “We have someone like our superintendent Kyle Nakamura, who is a heavy civil grading experience guy, actually from Hilo. We sent him to the mainland for a period of time in part because the market was a little weak. This project gave us an opportunity to bring him and his family back home.”

There are about 100 Kiewit hires who are new to Hawaii, people like precast construction manager Brawn Lausen.

“He's moved in here with his family. He sends his kids to private school here, he loves Hawaii, golfs on the weekend,” Wilhelm said. “He's asked me specifically are there ways he can give back to the community, are there ways he can help with a school or some of the nonprofits that we get involved with? He recognizes as we do we get a tremendous benefit having this project, it's our kuelana to give some of that back.”

Kiewit estimates hiring 1,650 staff, union craftsmen and subcontractors over its three contracts spanning the next three years, and says craft labor is likely to be sourced vastly more locally.

“They're really good jobs, you can make a damn good living at it,” Wilhelm said. “They're able to take care of their families, and they're able to put a little aside for retirement, and they're able to buy pickups and they're able to go out and eat. They do well.”

So how to get one of the jobs? Kiewit says an eye on contractors' websites, engineering and design firms too, and the labor unions, which have long needed another big project to rev up the ranks.

“If we don't find the work soon to give apprentices the opportunity to come in through the normal intake entry process we're going to have a gap of experience in our crafts because of this downturn,” Wilhelm said. “That impact we're not going to fully appreciate for another 20 years.”

After buildout the rail authority says there will be 300 people needed to work operating the system.

“Working together I think we can build the skill base as we build the train,” Grabauskas said. “If we do that, we will have career opportunities for people for the next 100 years."

As for that debated multiplier effect, economists say any potential boost will help make up for lost time.

“For the last few years with the excise tax add on we've been sucking money out of the economy, out of people's pockets and just putting it on the side, waiting for the rail project to start,” Suyderhoud said. “So now that we're starting to actually use that money and put that back into the economy, that's going to have some positive impacts.”

Two mayoral candidates pick up endorsements

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:30:58 -1000

Two mayoral candidates picked up competing endorsements Tuesday.

Retired Honolulu firefighters gathered at the Cayetano for Mayor headquarters to formally endorse Benjamin Cayetano for Mayor.

The HFD Retiree's Association President Donald Chang pointed to Cayetano's track record as governor.

"Honolulu is in a sad shape, it's broken and needs fixing. Our water system, sewers, roads and traffic are just some of the problems," Chang said. "With Ben Cayetano's qualifications and determination, he will make Honolulu become the great city that it should be."

Meanwhile, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1260 announced its endorsement of Kirk Caldwell for Honolulu Mayor.

"In these tough economic times, now more than ever Honolulu needs a leader like Mr. Caldwell as Honolulu Mayor," said Brian Ahakuelo, Business Manager/Financial Secretary, IBEW Local 1260. "He has the experience and commitment to lead our economic recovery, protect vital city services, and provide genuine stability for working families."

UH Board of Regents considers Hawaiian studies associate arts degree

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:56:29 -1000

The University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents will hear public testimony before considering approval of a new associate in arts in Hawaiian studies (AAHS) degree for the system’s seven community colleges, at its monthly meeting on May 17.

The AAHS aims to prepare students to transfer to four-year institutions. Students would be required to earn 60 to 62 credits from curricula that focus on Hawaiian culture and knowledge. Under the program, students would complete their general education core classes and satisfy core requirements for a Hawaiian studies or any bachelor’s degree at UH Mānoa, UH Hilo, UH West O‘ahu or UH Maui College.

“One of the things we see at the community colleges is that not everyone comes to us intending to transfer to a BA program. For these students, they will now have an opportunity to follow a path of Hawaiian knowledge that, once they graduate, will allow them to take that knowledge into the workforce and back to their communities, from Puna, Kaua‘i, to Puna, Hawai‘i, from Seattle to Tokyo and beyond,” said Keala Losch, Arts and Humanities Assistant Professor at Kapi‘olani Community College.

Establishing an AAHS program at seven community colleges is one way of preserving our Hawaiian culture, values and language, Losch said. “The AAHS provides that opportunity for us to educate everyone, Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian alike, on the successes and challenges of the Hawaiian community, which has an impact on the larger fabric of our society here in the Hawaiian Islands.”

Currently, each campus offers a diverse set of classes based on the expertise of its faculty, Losch said.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to hear public testimony on the proposed AAHS degree at its 9 a.m. meeting on Thursday, May 17 at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

ACLU sues state over inmates marriage rights

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:49:00 -1000

The state is once again being sued over the right to marry.

But this time the lawsuit involves a man and a woman.

The suit, filed by the ACLU, has to do with whether prisoners have the right to wed while serving time behind bars.

It was filed on behalf of four women whose marriage applications were denied, because their fiances are incarcerated.

"They think the men don't have the emotional capacity to care for the women to make the marriages successful, and that's not an appropriate basis on which to deny a marriage," says Dan Gluck, ACLU attorney.

The lawsuit claims that the U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled that denying prisoners the right to marry was unconstitutional.

The State Public Safety department said it had not yet seen the lawsuit and had no comment at this time.

Big City Diner fundraising to help one of its own

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:23:17 -1000

After years of holding charity fundraisers to help the community, "Big City Diner" will be holding a pair of fundraisers to help one of its own.

Melarie Templo, a 23 year old cook at the Kailua location, is battling a rare brain tumor, known as astroblastoma. Sine her diagnosis last December, Templo has been out on leave and with rising medical expenses.

On Tuesday May 29th, and Monday June 18 "Big City Diner" will hold fundraisers to support Templo. Customers can print out a flyer, and present it at any "Big City Diner" location on these days, to have 20 percent of the check donated to Templo. Also on these days, the Kailua location will donate 20 percent of the entire days sales to Templo.

"Big City Diner" has locations in Kaimuki, Kailua, Waipio and Pearlridge.

12-year-old boy selected as Children's Miracle Network Hawaii Champion

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:15:00 -1000

At 12 years old, Cody Sugai has battled back from a life-threatening condition to become an ambassador for Hawaii.

In 2010, Cody was in school when he was rushed to Kapiolani Medical Center from what started as a headache.

Tests revealed he was bleeding in the brain and it was caused by a rare malformation of blood vessels.

Cody was unconscious for two and a half weeks and underwent rehab for two months to learn how to sit, walk and talk again.

Now Cody has been chosen by the Children's Miracle Network as a champion for the hospital and the islands.

“I'm looking forward to helping my hospital and representing every kid that gets treated everyday at Kapiolani and also have some fun in Disneyworld and meet the president,” said Cody.

Cody and his family will spend the year working to support the efforts of the hospital and the Children's Miracle Network.

Breaking barriers through surfing

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:09:49 -1000

Next month Hawaii marks international surfing day and some young surfers have made a long journey to be a part of it.

Shahadad Hosen and Abdoul Az are just your typical teenage surfers from Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country on the India Ocean were surfing was introduced only a few years ago.

“It's like dream,” said Abdoul Az. “I still don't believe that one because I am in Hawaii it's like totally dream.”

The dream began about three years ago when Surf the Nations went to Bangladesh with some extra surf boards to try teach surfing to young men and women.

"In their culture you can imagine like introducing surfing to the women. It's an Islamic nation so it like we are breaking taboos but we are seeing that surfing is changing people and changing nations,” said Tom Bauer of Surfing The Nations.

So powerful that now Bangladesh has it's own national surf club with men and woman surfing beach breaks all across the country.

Riding the breaks of the India Ocean is a little different than the reef breaks here but the joy of catching a wave is still the same.

And after next month's International Surf Day on June 20th both Shahadad and Abdoul will head home back to Bangladesh with the lessons of surfing and aloha.

Be Green 2: CFL replacement project

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:02:12 -1000

If every U.S. household replaced one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb, it would be the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road.

That’s according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

That idea is being put to practical use here in Hawaii.

The CFL replacement project got a kick-start from the Blue Planet Foundation.

"In the last 45 days, we reached out to over 50 groups, including schools and community groups and have targeted 65,000 bulbs and so far we've gone over 50,000 we're still counting,” said Francois Rogers of Blue Planet Foundation.

And that's just on Hawaii Island and Maui County. Blue Planet works as a partner with Hawaii Energy.

"Hawaii Energy is the state's energy efficiency and conservation program. So we're covering Hawaii, Honolulu and Maui counties and our mission is to educate and incentivise electric utility customers to be more energy efficient,” said Larry Newman of Hawaii Energy.

It's all part of the Hawaii clean energy initiative.

"So we're trying to reduce our consumption of oil by 70 percent in that time frame and 30 percent is all about energy efficiency,” said Newman.

Now the fun part - those groups that Rogers mentioned - they can raise money by getting homeowners to trade out their old light bulbs.

"It's sort of a bounty system so there's a reward to it. Every light bulb collected, we reward them 50 cents per light bulb. So that the number one group on the Big Island was called the Waiakea Pirates, a softball team and they swapped out 7,000 light bulbs in just 45 days,” said Rogers.

That's $3,500 for the soft ball team. Hawaii Energy and Blue Planet provides the CFL's for free. And the homeowner saves money.

"Just one light bulb. If you swapped out a 60 watt incandescent light bulb for a 13 watt CFL, you're going to get about $20 in savings and it's even more on the neighbor islands,” said Newman.

Bill aimed to protect small businesses may do the opposite

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:02:00 -1000

Organizations that serve small businesses with their human resources needs say a bill awaiting the governor's signature is flawed and could shut down several companies.

Desirea Aguinaldo knows about the demands of operating a small business. As a teen she and her sisters worked in the shrimp and prawn farms in Kahuku with their father Romy.

"Getting dirty right after school it was part of life that's what we did," said Aguinaldo who is now a business owner herself; the only independent woman owned Professional Employer Organization or PEO in the state. PEOs are paid by companies to handle their human resources needs."We help keep them in compliance with the labor laws, we help administer and provide affordable employee benefits. We take are of their payroll."

But the PEO industry was rapidly growing and lawmakers saw the need for better regulation.

"We need to look at the industry as a whole and see where it needs to be regulated and see what's the fairest that all companies can compete equally," said Sen. Will Espero.

Those concerns led to the passage of a bill that will give the state labor Department more control over PEOs. Under the measure, company's with more than 100 employees will be required to secure a surety bond of at least $500,000.

"All the other states have a surety bond of about $100,000 and this state of Hawaii is asking us to do $500,000 at minimum," said Aguinaldo. She said when she adds in fees it will cost additional $50,000 a year. "This really says it's not a great state to do business in Hawaii. It's just another blow to a small business."
Some lawmakers agree.

"This bill is like putting an atomic bomb on a problem that probably doesn't even exist," said Rep. Mark Takai. "Requiring companies to have a $500,000 bond basically ensures the success of the larger PEO's and I don't think that's what we want. This bill is going to probably put some of them out of business."

Others say something needed to be done.

"We want to make certain that these companies involved in PEOs are financially stable and they are able to deal with these companies assets because they are dealing with millions of dollars of human resource issues," said Espero.

Aguinaldo's father is now one of her clients.

"I don't go down without a fight and I do feel it's not too late and I hope the governor will really consider this," said Aguinaldo.