Tuesday’s top stories
Legislative progress on same-sex marriage had to wait another day. The Hawaii House Judiciary and Finance committees decided at 10:30 p.m. Monday to defer any decision-making on legislation granting same-sex couples the right to marry until Tuesday, at the earliest. The Judiciary and Finance committees are set to resume hearing testimony at 10:30 a.m. Civil Beat.
Garret Hashimoto of the Hawaii Christian Coalition dubbed it another “People’s Filibuster.” Thousands of religious conservatives, taking full advantage of the state House’s commitment to hear from everyone on gay marriage, have deliberately sought to prolong a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Finance Committee. Star-Advertiser.
Two Hawaii House committees considering a bill to legalize gay marriage are tightening rules on testimony at a joint hearing after some people used a registration list to speak for others. Associated Press.
As the Hawaii Legislature inches closer to legalizing same-sex marriage, opponents of the bill have been voicing their concerns with increasing fervor. One persistent concern has emerged: that legalizing same-sex marriage could force public school teachers to teach kids about “the homosexual lifestyle.” Civil Beat.
Tenari Maafala, the President of Hawaii’s police union and an active police officer with the Honolulu Police Department, who testified that he would never enforce a law requiring same-sex marriage. “You would have to kill me,” he told the lawmakers. HuffPost Hawaii.
A new procedure is speeding up the testimony process at the Capitol, as lawmakers make their way through a fourth, and possibly final, day of a public hearing on a controversial same-sex marriage bill. Hawaii News Now.
For the masochists who have sat through more than 50 hours of mind-numbingly repetitive testimony in the House and Senate on legislation that could open up marriage to homosexual couples, some things have become abundantly clear. Civil Beat.
Rep. Clift Tsuji, who has long described himself as a supporter of “traditional marriage,” said that, based solely on the sheer amount of testimony he has received in opposition to Senate Bill 1 — which would legalize gay marriage in Hawaii — he will likely vote against the measure. Tribune-Herald.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Monday appointed Maria Zielinski as interim State Procurement Office administrator Monday after Aaron Fujioka unexpectedly retired last week. Right before Fujioka stepped down, he suspended the procurement delegation that he’d given state department heads. He sent an order out Oct. 31 that said any subsequent authority would be issued by his successor. Civil Beat.
Lawmakers question timing of procurement office job-fill. KHON2.
A veteran archaeologist from the mainland has been chosen to take over the beleaguered State Historic Preservation Division. Big Island Now.
Small groups like exercise classes and Cub Scout troops across the state are finding themselves caught in the fallout over a lawsuit against the Department of Education. The lawsuit claims five large churches have underpaid the state more than $5 million in rent, so prices are going up for small groups as a result. Hawaii News Now.
Green, yellow, red — those are the colors that would alert restaurant patrons to whether the establishment has passed health inspections, under rules proposed by the state Department of Health. Star-Advertiser.
One in five stars has an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone, according to researchers with University of Hawaii and University of California, Berkeley. West Hawaii Today.
Oahu
Honolulu Ethics Commission Executive Director Chuck Totto doesn’t want to lose control of his agency, but he says that’s becoming a real possibility under the increasingly heavy thumb of the Caldwell administration. Civil Beat.
Oahu’s solar photovoltaic industry suffered its sixth straight month of decline in October for permits issued when comparing statistics from the same period last year. Pacific Business News.
A federal judge said she’s inclined to deny a motion by a North Carolina man to move his trial over a failed University of Hawaii concert that was supposed to feature Stevie Wonder. Associated Press.
Harbor officials fear state could be partially to blame for molasses spill. Special legislative hearing on spill yet to be scheduled. KITV4.
The controversy over the dumping of tons of sludge in Waianae is now a criminal case. Hawaii News Now has learned that the Honolulu Police Department is working with the city Department of Planning and Permitting in its investigation into SER Trucking of Waianae.
It’s been 42 years since the last whistle blew ending work at the Kahuku Plantation Co., though in some respects, life in one neighborhood has gone on as if the sugar mill never closed. Star-Advertiser.
Hawaii
A lawsuit alleging police used excessive force against a 25-year-old Mountain View man in the Hilo cellblock after a drunken driving arrest has been moved to federal court in Honolulu. Tribune-Herald.
Volunteers are breathing new life into a home built more than a century ago, when its closest neighbor was a large grass shack. West Hawaii Today.
Maui
The Maui Memorial Medical Center was awarded designation as a Level 3 Trauma Center following evaluation and inspection conducted over a one-year period, the hospital announced. Maui Now.
Wailuku attorney Lloyd A. Poelman became Maui County’s newest District Court judge after being confirmed by the state Senate during the special legislative session Monday. Maui News.
Members of the public get a rare look inside the Maui Bird Conservation Center. Maui News.
Homelessness will be the focus of discussion for the next edition of Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa’s County on Your Corner Event. The discussion will be televised in a live broadcast, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, on Channel 54. Maui Now.
Kauai
The state Department of Agriculture issued a statement Monday endorsing Kauai County Mayor Bernard Carvalho’s assessment of a bill to regulate genetically modified crops and pesticide use on the Garden Island. Carvalho vetoed the bill last week due to legal concerns, prompting a backlash from its supporters. Associated Press.
The Kauai County Council is planning a special meeting in the next two weeks to consider candidates for a vacant council seat — a process that could begin after a final decision has been made on the veto of Bill 2491. Garden Island.
The Hawaii state Intermediate Court of Appeals has vacated a prior judgment that said the former permit-holders would not be responsible to defend claims brought against the state related to the 2006 Ka Loko dam disaster. Garden Island.