It’s sowing season at the square building as we "flASHback" on the week’s news that amused and confused:
» Gov. Neil Abercrombie wants to plant a vegetable garden on the rooftop around his fifth-floor Capitol office. Finally a good idea; it’s a shame to see all the fertilizer produced in that building go to waste.
» Senate President Donna Mercado Kim said the Legislature wouldn’t hear Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald’s State of the Judiciary speech because of the cost of two hours of legislators’ time. By my math, any hours we keep them away from legislating saves us money.
» The described Sen. J. Kalani English’s bill to protect celebrities like Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler from photographers as "boneheaded." Anewspaper of that reputation could have donebetter than a generic term for most bills in the Hawaii Legislature.
» A House committee wants to make sex education mandatory in Hawaii public schools and dictate a curriculum. How comforting to have our kids’ bedroom manners shaped by legislators who learned how to romance from lobbyists.
» The state pension fund is in its worst shape in 30 years, with an $8.4 billion deficit that could take another 30 years to erase. Actuaries are assuming that by then, North Korea will have finished its nuclear missile that can reach Hawaii.
» An audit found that the $92 million food services program in our public schools has an "unacceptable" lack of oversight, monitoring and accountability. In other words, a typical Hawaii state government program.
» Developers and other special interests donated $365,550 for Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s transition and inaugural luau but insisted it wasn’t influence-buying. All they bought was kalua pig with a side of zoning consideration.
» City transit officials will question the Italian firm given a $1.4 billion contract to provide cars for Honolulu rail after the parent company’s CEO was arrested for corruption. Unfortunately, due diligence isn’t one of those things that’s better late than never.
» In his first major decision, University of Hawaii athletic director Ben Jay dropped any mention of the name Rainbows from men’s sports and said all UH men’s teams will be called Warriors. It’s sad to see "Go ‘Bows" change from a cheer to a cease-and-desist order.
» Jay said name consistency is essential for UH branding. Next on his agenda is deciding whether the Stevie Wonder concert scam that got him his job will officially be called a "blunder," a "debacle" or a "fiasco."
And the quote of the week … from Sen. Will Espero, denying that legislators are influenced by favors from lobbyists and campaign donors: "It does not impact our decisions because we base our decisions strictly on discussion of the bills." Right, discussion with lobbyists and campaign donors.
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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
