tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196459042010-04-28T17:24:42.978-10:00News you may not find in the local media. Learn why it was disappeared.Larrynoreply@blogger.comBlogger2165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-23965412880235583612010-04-28T17:24:00.001-10:002010-04-28T17:24:42.996-10:00

Obama's Debt Commission Co-Chair Tells Old People to Shut Up On Tuesday President Obama formally launched a new commission that is supposed to bring down the national debt, in large part by investigating how entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare, can be cut back. . . The new commission, which is to file a nonbinding report by Christmas, has two co-chairs. Erskine Bowles, a

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-20404538769522718172010-04-28T17:23:00.001-10:002010-04-28T17:23:09.469-10:00

Hawaii had its parent sit-in against Furlough Fridays and the shortest school year in the nation. New Jersey, also driven by Facebook and Twitter coordination, took to the streets to defend their education. Michelle Ryan Lauto, 18, a college freshman, joined students who walked out of High Tech High School in Bergen County. It was Ms. Lauto's Facebook message urging students to take a stand

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-24705883495223710382010-04-28T07:10:00.001-10:002010-04-28T07:18:07.760-10:00

by Larry Geller Yes, HB1212 is a travesty, hiding complaints from consumers. And introducing it at the very last minute ought to be a crime. And sure, someone will sue the state because high-tech tax credits were suddenly canceled. Maybe a couple of lawsuits, it’s their last chance to squeeze money out of the State before fleeing to the Mainland, which they would have done anyway without the

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-38963570616532702742010-04-27T16:49:00.001-10:002010-04-27T16:49:54.879-10:00

by Larry Geller Hey, you didn’t call legislators? HB1212 passed and is now headed to Gov. Lingle. Complaints against dentists, barbers, doctors and other professionals will be shielded from the public records law unless the complaints are investigated and found against the professional. With few resources in this tight economy, most complaints may remain invisible, valid or not. Governor Lingle

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-24024372458771862062010-04-27T13:33:00.001-10:002010-04-27T13:33:25.800-10:00

by Larry Geller The popular wisdom is that state legislators are afraid to vote one way or the other on the civil unions bill, HB444, because this is an election year. While voters may indeed have short memories, the Internet does not. Despite the voice-vote last time, thanks to the exit poll conducted by Adrienne LaFrance in the Honolulu Weekly (Roll Call, 2/3/2010) we already know basically

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-16301078970315798042010-04-27T13:07:00.001-10:002010-04-27T14:17:36.267-10:00

by Larry Geller Can a boycott of Arizona and its products and companies defeat their racist new anti-Latino law? A boycott has changed Arizona’s mind before. See the video below from that earlier protest, when the state refused to have a Martin Luther King holiday. The new boycott movement is gaining steam on social media. To tune in, search for the hashcode #BoycottArizona (you don’t have to be

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-43931570704746586552010-04-27T12:17:00.001-10:002010-04-27T12:17:38.677-10:00

by Larry Geller However one feels about legal or illegal immigration (a policy dispute I'll set aside to focus exclusively on potential electoral impacts), the actions of President Obama and his Administration will undoubtedly be a key point of focus as Latinos--who voted for Obama over John McCain by more than a 2:1 margin in 2008--decide whether to turn out this November and/or how to vote if

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-54097635747961176522010-04-27T11:12:00.001-10:002010-04-27T11:12:58.141-10:00

by Larry Geller Ian Lind not only posted a gem of investigative reporting this morning (see: ilind.net, Mayor pushes to use special land conservation funds to augment rail’s transit oriented development, 4/27/2010), but he then followed with a valuable tutorial on how investigative reporting is done (The rush of reporting). Please read both articles. I’ll snip Ian’s lead to encourage you to go

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-2924691051831495502010-04-26T22:35:00.001-10:002010-04-26T22:35:25.893-10:00

by Larry Geller Blogger.com, owned by the great Google that can seemingly do anything, has said that it can no longer support blogs published via FTP. This includes my blogs and a huge number nationwide. So we have to “migrate” to something else by May 1st. Which is just around the corner. I originally paid for the Blogger premium service just so I could take advantage of FTP publishing. So this

Larrynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-51589904709918747652010-04-26T22:22:00.001-10:002010-04-26T22:22:19.204-10:00

by Larry Geller Weekday circulation at the San Francisco Chronicle dropped more than 22 percent in the last year to 241,330, according to figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulation. [San Francisco Business Times, S.F. Chronicle circulation drops 22 percent, 4/26/2010] Yikes! Overall, major newspaper circulation was down around 8.7% for the year ending March 31, according to the

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-50509703166277816472010-04-25T06:54:00.001-10:002010-04-25T06:54:55.351-10:00

by Larry Geller 2008 was an election year, as is 2010. Election years are not the best time to expect truth-telling from ambitious politicians. This realization could have transformed today’s Advertiser editorial into a valuable lesson for any still gullible readers. It certainly might answer the question the editor is asking. Today’s Honolulu Advertiser editorial, The high cost of economic

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-19967682280396294602010-04-24T13:25:00.001-10:002010-04-24T13:25:21.983-10:00

by Larry Geller BreakingNews Coast Guard says 1,000 barrels of oil daily are leaking from destroyed rig off Louisiana's coast – AP Technorati Tags: Oil rigs, pollution, off-shore drilling, oil rig del.icio.us Tags: Oil rigs, pollution, off-shore drilling, oil rig

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-56729334315999287292010-04-23T17:29:00.001-10:002010-04-23T17:29:51.560-10:00

by Larry Geller The State Legislature will act on two bills next week that affect so-called high-tech tax credits. You still have time to weigh in on them. You can bet that corporate interests are already doing so. One way or the other, your emails can make a difference. Although I don’t know details of their deliberations, lawmakers have so far also declined to divert money to Governor Lingle’s

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-77536199181372370702010-04-23T16:33:00.001-10:002010-04-23T16:37:15.095-10:00

by Larry Geller Twitter is amazing. These two tweets came in just moments ago:sos808 Min instructional minutes bill passes!!!! whoot whoot!!!!!! less than 20 seconds ago via Echofongeorgettedeemer Conferees pass hb2377 which lays out process for appointed school board should voters approve the constitutional amendment. And this one just followed: hawaiisenate After applauding parents for

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-57909342162459804992010-04-22T06:51:00.002-10:002010-04-22T07:03:31.495-10:00

by Larry Geller Concerned about how Hawaii will deal with its budget shortfall, what new cuts or new taxes may emerge from this legislative session? Here is the current GET recommendation that is circulating at the State Capitol. The plan would increase the General Excise Tax temporarily and compensate low-income families It may be close to what the Legislature will pass over the next few days.

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-81586571030737050352010-04-21T22:55:00.001-10:002010-04-21T22:55:19.662-10:00

by Larry Geller Many newspapers don’t cover news that reflects badly against our own country.  The story of war crimes committed by US Special Forces in Afghanistan and the subsequent coverup did break into the national news. Few accounts have the detail or pack the wallop that this one displays. It begins: It was early morning on February 12, 2010, in the village of Khataba near the city of

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-81746104629399578152010-04-21T22:53:00.001-10:002010-04-21T22:53:51.572-10:00

by Larry Geller Check it out at Civilbeat.com. It’s a soft opening, with real news to follow starting May 4, not so far away. Strangely, I learned it was up and going from a Chinese-language Google Alert: Yes, everyone is watching Pierre Omidyar it seems. There is already considerable comment for the Googling, which is what happens when something so anticipated finally bursts its chrysalis. The

Larrynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-21213027439075779962010-04-19T11:26:00.001-10:002010-04-19T11:26:08.877-10:00

by Larry Geller Here’s what Honolulu will miss if it lets Mufi build an expensive elevated rail line. This article, from Buffalo Rising, demonstrates the vitality that grade-level transit brings along its right-of-way. Yes, they are referring to the success of Portland, Oregon: To date, over $3.5 billion has been invested within two blocks of the streetcar system including in excess of 10,000

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-87696931281979835192010-04-16T19:45:00.001-10:002010-04-16T19:45:06.549-10:00

by Larry Geller Parent groups held a press conference today at the State Capitol to present their own plan for dealing with Furlough Fridays. See videos at: Hawaii parents present $55 million plan to end school furloughs now - April 16, 2010 (CNN.com, 4/16/2010). The plan would use funds from the Hurricane Relief Funds, and other state sources to eliminate nine furlough days, at a cost of $55

Larrynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-40385777847947756552010-04-16T17:11:00.001-10:002010-04-16T17:11:27.213-10:00

by Larry Geller Unlike the incident described in the article below, this officer wasn’t even disciplined. But all BART transit police are being required to temporarily turn in their Taser weapons. The final straw, apparently, came after an April 1st incident when BART police sergeant who was responding to a call about an alleged assault at the Richmond BART station. Multiple sources said the

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-15075224031222428952010-04-16T16:42:00.001-10:002010-04-16T16:42:11.405-10:00

by Larry Geller Florida deputy shocks colleague on the behind with Taser in joke gone wrong (LA Times, 4/12/2010) The guy zapped a female deputy on her derriere. He got a reprimand. The Florida story on which the LA Times article is based is here. There’s a video, but it wouldn’t play for me. They should take this cop’s toy away. Also, isn’t this sexual harassment? Neither article raised that

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-20139069214886349072010-04-16T15:52:00.001-10:002010-04-16T16:26:16.896-10:00

by Larry Geller David Shapiro posts his flASHback on the Web and then the Advertiser run it on Saturday, so I feel funny about quoting him before he appears in print, but this is just too good: Sen. Daniel Inouye tried to dissuade the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from endorsing Case over his favored Hanabusa by donating $100,000 that lobbyists gave his campaign to the DCCC. It's a

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-1728272749068282782010-04-16T11:53:00.001-10:002010-04-16T11:53:46.648-10:00

by Larry Geller It’s Eyjafjallajokull, in Iceland, wreaking more havoc than even a prize-winning journalist can. Be the first on your block to be able to pronounce the name of this volcano properly. Download this Media File - (Right Click) Ok, got it? Taken from this Wikipedia page. Check out NASA feature here, and awesome curated Flickr photo gallery here.   Technorati Tags: Eyjafjallajokull,

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-49296223303326794282010-04-16T09:48:00.001-10:002010-04-16T11:08:10.549-10:00

by Larry Geller (click image to go to CNN page) CNN’s experiment in citizen journalism allows anyone to submit stories, but “Only ones marked 'CNN iReport' have been vetted by CNN.” The next level up seems to be actual broadcast of the story. ‘Schools in trouble’ includes video of Hawaii Furlough Friday protest by Hannah Miyamoto. Snipping from her Twitter bio: “Lawyer, scholar, and almost 30

Larrynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19645904.post-63358570046716200192010-04-16T08:02:00.001-10:002010-04-16T08:02:46.767-10:00

by Larry Geller I thought the news would move on, but as of a few minutes ago (Friday), the parent protest still owns the key word “Hawaii” on Google News. Anyone trying to find what’s happening here will get this: The “407 news articles” indicates significant coverage of the issue and sympathy on the part of editors (of course, it doesn’t indicate how many stories made it into print editions).

Larrynoreply@blogger.com0