Mufi Hannemann’s Criticism Of Governor Lingle’s Handling Of The Hawaii Superferry Is Spot-On

I’m absolutely disgusted by the actions of a Hawaii County police officer towards a federal census worker in Puna.

“I handed them the Census and expected them to hand them to this guy and say, ‘That’s it,’” Haas said. “They walked over and talked to him for a minute or two, then walked back to me … and then stuffed it into my chest, and said, ‘He doesn’t have to enter your Census. He doesn’t have to enter any Census. He doesn’t have to fill out any of your forms or answer any of your questions. And if I were you, I’d get into my car and get the hell outta here, right now.’”

However, there is two sides to every story. So, it should be interesting to see how a jury will adjudicate this case against the census worker.

I, along with my girlfriend, spoke to an employee at American Savings Bank this morning regarding their rejection of  her tax refunds. They said she needed to use a ten digit account number on her return, not the five digit one. This is why these refunds were rejected. However, it doesn’t explain why the five digit account number worked last year ?

Brad Parson’s January prediction of Hawaii’s tourism industry faltering was off the mark for the most part. Oahu, Maui, and Kauai have posted strong hotel occupancy rates. The Big Island is the only island still posting poor hotel occupancy numbers.

Lastly, I got very frustrated after reading Governor Lingle’s rebuttal to Mufi Hannemann’s criticism of her administration’s handling of the Hawaii Superferry debacle. I believe Mr. Hannemann’s criticism is spot-on. The State of Hawaii Office of the Auditor’s report (here, and here) sharply criticized her administration for exempting the Hawaii Superferry from Hawaii’s environmental laws. This action directly resulted in the demise of this much-needed service.

(Related item: [Hawaii] Superferry Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Canceled Yesterday‏‏)