Mel's Internet Universe Weblog

• Leave Magic Island Alone!

  
  
  Magic Island, the man-made park next to Ala Moana Beach in Honolulu Hawaii, is one of the most popular recreational places in our city. Thousands visit the park every day. [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 12:00am EST
  

• Honolulu Rail Greenhouse Gas Emissions

  Got this press release from the SBH Foundation:
  
  Release of a Honolulu Rail
  Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis
  
  Tuesday, December 8, 2009
  
  
  The Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation (SBH Foundation) will hold a press conference on the steps of Honolulu Hale, [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 1:20am EST
  

• Landing in Hilo

  
  
  This is a video clip of Hawaiian Airlines flight 342, Boeing 717-200, N479HA flying into Hilo and landing at the airport on Novmeber 24, 2009. This was shot on my last trip to the Big Island this month. I paid $49 to fly each way from Honolulu [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:30am EST
  

• "Tear Down This Wall"

  20 years ago today, the Berlin Wall was torn down. It was the symbolic end to Soviet style communism in East Germany and the rest of the European block. Check out the videos.
  
  President Ronald Reagan's famous speech from 1987 (excerpt):
  
  
  
  Video montage: Rise & Fall' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 1:00am EST
  

• Homeowner Occupants Get Tax Break

  
  
  I am quite pleased that the Honolulu City Council passed a tax shield law for owner occupant home owners. This is good news for anyone who owns their home and lives in it.
  
  Of course there are [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 1:15am EDT
  

• Senator Slom on Furloughs, Education, Taxes

  
  
  State Senator Sam Slom comments on school furloughs, education and taxes. [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 2:30am EDT
  

• Hundreds Turn Out For Furlough Friday Protest Rally

  
  
  About a thousand people -- school aged children and adults came to the State Capitol today (October 23) to protest the first day of forced public school closures in the name of "Furlough Friday". The State Department of Education (DOE) and the Hawaii State Teachers Assocation (HSTA) [...]
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  Posted: October 24, 2009, 4:30pm EDT
  

• Be Careful What You Wish For

  No one likes furloughs. Certainly people who are impacted by the possible closure of Hawaii's public schools during "Furlough Fridays" have spoken loudly about it in recent days, to a point of filing lawsuits against the State of Hawaii and Dept. of Education to' [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2009, 2:30am EDT
  

• Merged Airlines Mean Higher Ticket Prices

  
  
  
  
  I agree with most analysts and pundits that the announced merger between Mesa Airlines' Go! and Shuttle America's [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 2:45am EDT
  

• LCROSS - No Lunar Impact Cloud

  
  Early this morning at 1:30 AM, NASA crashed the LCROSS space probe and Centuar rocket booster into the moon. The goal is to confirm whether or not there is water at the polar regions of the moon.
  
  Upon impact the LCROSS [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 2:15am EDT
  

• This Year's Aloha Festivals Parade

  
  
  Honolulu's 63rd Annual Aloha Festivals Parade rolled down the street from Ala Moana Park to Waikiki today. The colorful parade featured a variety of marching bands, beauty queens, floral floats, Pa'u riders on horseback, flags, banners, people lining the roadway, sunshine, heat, a politician or two, and an [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2009, 5:00pm EDT
  

• Thunderbirds Are Go!

  
  
  
  
  The United States Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team made its triumphant return back to Honolulu for a 2 day [...]
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  Posted: September 20, 2009, 5:00am EDT
  

• Corvette Summer 2009

  
  
  The Chevrolet Corvette is one of the most celebrated automobiles to roll off America's assembly lines. An instant classic the moment it is made, enthusiasts from all over the world as well as in Hawaii love to showcase their 'Vettes. I was lucky enough to catch such [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 5:15am EDT
  

• Honolulu Tea Party Express

  
  
  A couple dozen citizen patriots showed up near the State Capitol this past Saturday, September 12 for the Honolulu version of "Tea Party Express." People came to sign wave against the Obama administration's health care plan, tax increases, cap n trade, bailouts, legislative pay reductions and other issues.[...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 6:30pm EDT
  

• Tea Party Express Comes to Honolulu

  This announcement was posted to the new Hawaii Republican Assembly website:
  
  
  
  Sign Waving Near the State Capitol
  
  9 a.m. to 12 noon on Sept 12, 2009
  9 to [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 2:45am EDT
  

• Stinky People Can Still Ride

  
  People who don't take a bath, smelly homeless people and anyone else with bad "body odor" or foul smelling animals and articles can continue to ride The Bus. A proposed bill before the Honolulu City Council that prohibited people with offensive body odor' [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2009, 1:00am EDT
  

• Baggage Fee Increases Cost of Inter-island Flying

  
  
  Haven't blogged about inter-island airline travel in a while.
  
  Since my last entry on this topic, Hawaii is now served by 3 major airlines and 3 commuter airlines. Mokulele' [...]
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  Posted: September 03, 2009, 2:20pm EDT
  

• Cecilio & Kapono on KGMB Sunrise

  
  Cecilio & Kapono live on KGMB's Sunrise news show, August 21.
  
  
  One of Hawaii's most popular and enduring recording artists, Cecilio & Kapono gave a short, open public [...]
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  Posted: August 29, 2009, 5:00pm EDT
  

• Mob Mentality Subdues Hawaii Statehood

  
  
  About 130 Hawaiian Sovereignty activists marched from Ala Moana Beach Park to the Hawaii State Convention Center today in protest of Hawaii’s 50th Observance of Statehood.
  
  The small but loud mob carried their usual signs, shouted slogans and chants into bullhorns at passing [...]
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  Posted: August 21, 2009, 12:30pm EDT
  

• Restoration of the Hawaii State Seal

  
  
  Workers re-installed the Hawaii State Seal back to its proper place on the Hawaii State Capitol this week. The seal was taken down in May to [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2009, 1:00am EDT
  

• Space Shuttle Landing

  
  
  One of the neatest things I always love watching is the landing of the space shuttle. Today the shuttle Endeavour landed in Florida after completing a successful 11 day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts added another section to the nearly completed space station. [...]
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  Posted: July 31, 2009, 2:30am EDT
  

• Partially Lame Solar Eclipse

  
  
  As far as eclipses go, this partial eclipse in Hawaii was quite lame. The new moon did take a bite out of the old sun, but not as much as I expected. [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 4:30pm EDT
  

• Good News: Barrel Tax Defeated

  
  
  It was great to see members of Hawaii's Sierra Club and the Blue Planet organizations express their disappointment on TV after the end of yesterday's special legislative session. Why were they disappointed? [...]
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  Posted: July 17, 2009, 2:30pm EDT
  

• 90% of Success in Life is Just Showing Up!!

  From OvertaxedHawaii.com:
  
  If you are concerned over rising taxes, prices, and fees in Hawaii; you must show up for the NO MORE TAXES Rally on Tuesday July 14 @ 5 p.m. This is a citizen Rally and all citizens have a chance to speak [...]
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  Posted: July 12, 2009, 8:00am EDT
  

• Independence Day Fireworks Finale

  
  
  It was the mother of all fireworks shows for this holiday season. Once again the good folks at Ala Moana Shopping Center came through with [...]
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  Posted: July 05, 2009, 7:00pm EDT
  

• Independence Day, Government, Taxes & More

  
  
  Happy Independence Day. Today is the 4th of July and the United States of America celebrates its 233rd birthday. It's a good time to reflect and remember all of the' [...]
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  Posted: July 04, 2009, 3:15am EDT
  

• Welcome to Black Wednesday - Forever

  More cash out of our pockets beginning today. Taxes and various fees go up because most Democrats in the State and City level created and supported bills to "enhance revenue streams" and take more money out of our wallets. Here are some of the taxes and fees that will increase:
  [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 2:15am EDT
  

• State Workers Rally Against Furloughs

  
  
  It was inevitable. The state public worker unions staged a big rally with over a thousand participants from their rank and file at the State Capitol today. The unions rounded up [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 7:00pm EDT
  

• New Taxes & Fees Contribute to Higher Cost of Living in Hawaii

  
  
  THE COST OF LIVING IS INCREASING IN HAWAII ON JULY 1
  
  "Prepare for Life to Get a Lot More Expensive" proclaims an article in the Sunday Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Writers B.J. Reyes [...]
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  Posted: June 29, 2009, 2:00am EDT
  

• Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

  
  
  Like many people all over the world, I was quite surprised to learn of the untimely death of singer Michael Jackson. I got first indication of his [...]
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  Posted: June 27, 2009, 12:00pm EDT
  

• Matson Employees May Go on Strike

  
  
  The bridge crews at Matson may go on strike. The officers who pilot and navigate the big ships between Hawaii and the mainland are at the center of the labor dispute. The issues revolve [...]
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  Posted: June 25, 2009, 1:15am EDT
  

• Don't Tax Our Internet

  
  
  The Hawaii State Legislature passed two nasty internet taxation bills this session. Both are up for a decision by the Governor. I urge a veto on both HB 1405 and SB [...]
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  Posted: June 24, 2009, 2:00am EDT
  

• North Korea Wants to Attack Hawaii

  
  The U.S. Department of Defense has deployed the Seabased X-band Radar this week just in time to warn the islands of a possible nuclear missile attack from North Korea. The X-band Radar has been in Pearl Harbor for several months undergoing maintenance and [...]
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  Posted: June 19, 2009, 2:45am EDT
  

• Save the Kailua July 4 Fireworks Show

  
  
  A good reason to save the annual Kailua 4th of July fireworks show is to keep Kailua traffic and people away from the Ala Moana fireworks show that I [...]
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  Posted: June 12, 2009, 2:00am EDT
  

• Last Day of May

  

  
  May has not been a good month if you are concerned about cost and surviving in the State of Hawaii. The legislature wrapped up its 2009 session and socked the people with more taxes. People [...]

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  Posted: May 31, 2009, 7:30am EDT
  

• Blame Democrats For This

  
  
  When headlines say "Lawmakers" push gas prices (or taxes) higher, it usually means DEMOCRAT lawmakers. They are the number reason for some of Hawaii's higher costs. Why do we keep on electing the' [...]
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  Posted: May 22, 2009, 2:10am EDT
  

• Lessons Learned

  
  
  CUT SPENDING CUT SPENDING CUT SPENDING
  
  From the Friday5.org website comes today's 5 questions under the title "Lessons". I'm posting this here as well as on my Tumblr Blog where the Friday 5 responses are supposed to [...]
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  Posted: May 22, 2009, 10:45pm EDT
  

• Governor Lingle Vetoes Tax Increase Bills

  
  
  Governor Linda Lingle vetoed 3 bills that will increase taxes on people and entities making over $150,000, hotels and tourists, and real estate purchases over $2 million. The Democrat party tax bills will negatively impact Hawaii's taxpayers and visitors at a time when the economy is in "the'" [...]
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  Posted: May 08, 2009, 12:30am EDT
  

• HB 444 May Show Its Ugly Head Again

  
  
  Traditional marriage is at risk in Hawaii. Despite Hawaii having an amendment written into its constitution (Article 1 Sec. 23) that "the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples," the [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2009, 1:01am EDT
  

• Tell Governor Lingle to Veto all Tax Increases

  
  
  The following is from Dick Armey at FreedomWorks.org.
  Tell Governor Lingle to Veto all Tax Increases
  
  Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle is moving in the right direction on taxes, but [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2009, 7:30pm EDT
  

• Governor Will Veto 3 Tax Increase Bills

  
  
  Governor Linda Lingle will veto 3 tax increase bills tomorrow, May 7 at the State Capitol. The legislature, led by a huge majority of Democrats will probably override her vetoes the [...]
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  Posted: May 06, 2009, 2:00am EDT
  

• Morning at Manoa Chinese Cemetery

  
  
  Moses Kealamakia, his wife Lesley and I spent Saturday morning (April 25) up at the Manoa Chinese Cemetery looking for the grave site of his great-grandfather Yim Yau On. My friend remembered being at the grave site back in the 1970s and early 1990s with his Dad. [...]
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  Posted: April 26, 2009, 12:00am EDT
  

• Rail Blight Says Outdoor Circle

  
  
  In an editorial that appears in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin today, The Outdoor Circle has finally come out to say in essence that Honolulu's fixed rail project will be ugly! Quote:
  "In the end we are left with the conclusion that in'" [...]
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  Posted: April 19, 2009, 5:30am EDT
  

• After the Tea Party What?

  
  
  More than a thousand people showed up to the successful Honolulu Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party, a protest against out of control government spending, bailouts, liberal political policies, new taxes, more taxes, increased fees and higher taxes. The gathering was held at the Hawaii State Capitol on [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 2:00am EDT
  

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin Goes Tabloid

  
  
  The Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper came out in a new tabloid size starting today. Gone is the old broadsheet of old that had been the mainstay of the newspaper for more than 100 years. [...]
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  Posted: April 14, 2009, 4:30pm EDT
  

• Tidbits for the Holiday Weekend

  
  
  Happy Friday. In many parts of the Christian world, this is Good Friday. For some people it's a holiday, an observance before the Easter holiday, which is this Sunday. Hope you all have a good' [...]
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  Posted: April 10, 2009, 1:18am EDT
  

• Tea Party Websites Online

  
  
  The new official website for the Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party is now online. Find out more about the upcoming Tea Parties being held on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii [...]
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  Posted: April 09, 2009, 2:15am EDT
  

• The Cancer of Same Sex Marriage & Civil Unions

  
  
  The cancer of gay marriage has been gaining momentum in recent weeks. I am alarmed to learn that 4 states (MA, CT, IA, VT) now support the marriage of same sex couples. This [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2009, 2:30am EDT
  

• Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party

  
  
  HAWAII TAX DAY TEA PARTY ON APRIL 15
  
  The Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party is part of a nationwide campaign of tax protests set for April 15, 2009. The purpose of the April 15 protest/rally is to "Repeal the Pork, Cut Taxes and Spending". According [...]
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  Posted: April 07, 2009, 12:00am EDT
  

• Friday 5 - April 3, 2009

  
  I'm not a food blogger, but the Friday 5 is about food, so here goes.
  
  1. What is your favorite fizzy, bubbly drink?
  
  Would a root beer float count? I don't do any alcoholic beverages.
  
  2. What is your favorite [...]
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  Posted: April 04, 2009, 2:00pm EDT