i L i n d . n e t

It’s a gray morning in Kaaawa.

Senator Clarence Nishihara and Rep. Joe Bertram get special recognition for being the first of the 76 current members of the Legislature to submit their annual financial disclosure to the State Ethics Commission. Both reports were date stamped by the commission on January 7.

Reps Cynthia Thielen and Ryan Yamane followed on January 8, followed by Lorraine Inouye (Jan. 14) and Sen. Paul Whalen (Jan 15), a bit of a surprise given the number of other official obligations he’s managed to skip.

It used to take a special trip to the Ethics Commission office downtown to pore over the documents, but now all this background information on your favorite elected and appointed officials is available online. A small thing, perhaps, but a big step for transparency.

It appears that it’s going to cost at least $50,000 to refinish the large metal replicas of the state seal that hang from the State Capitol. Each seal weighs 3-1/2 tons and will require a crane and specially engineered temporary supports in order to get them down and prepare for refinishing, and none of that work is included in the $50,000 figure. The job, once the seals are down and ready, is estimated to take 8-10 weeks, but that could change after they are removed and inspected closely. Refinishing work will be done by Michael Jones of Art Services in Kailua, who boasts quite a long list of past work.

The State Procurement Office approved a request for exemption from normal procurement rules submitted by Hawaiian Homes director Micah Kane. According to the request for exemption, the Attorney General advised Kane and individual commissioners to retain independent legal counsel to represent them in a currently pending lawsuit, which is not identified. No price tag has been put on the request, but with nine commissioners it isn’t likely to be cheap.

Thanks to Star-Bulletin writer Alex Da Silva for catching this quote from a teacher testifying before the Board of Education this week:

“In opposing this random drug-testing policy, some people ask me whether I have something to hide,” said Tony Turbeville, a math teacher at Kawananakoa Middle School. “I tell them that I have nothing to hide but I do have something to protect: my constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches. I am a teacher. I have a duty to teach my students that they have to stand up for their rights.”

Bravo!

Here’s a picture taken on Thursday morning shortly after 7 a.m.

Just another dawn in Kaaawa, I guess.

Click for a larger version.