County Council passes Bill 49: Raid the 2% land fund deposits for 2 years; understandable but short sighted move by the Council. Here is a brief summary of the vote: 5 in favor of raiding the fund deposit, 4 opposed. Bill passes.

As the County works through how to balance its budget for the coming year, including what valuable programs will be eliminated or significantly reduced, this is a good time to think about what we each can do to stop the downward economic spiral here on the Big Island and throughout the State. Here are several suggestions:

We each take the economy into to our own hands:

SUMMARY: For a long time the County has had the answer to in-town Waimea's traffic problem and the funds set aside to do so. The County, however, has repeatedly chosen to ignore the pubic need, bowing instead to special interests --the property owners along the County's Lalamilo connector road corridor. As a result planning for the critically needed Lalamilo Connector Road is still in political cyberspace.

JUDGE IBARRA RULED IN FAVOR OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII’S CONDEMNATION OF LAND TO ALLOW FOR COMPLETION OF THE MAMALAHOA HIGHWAY. AT LAST! GLORY! GLORY! BUT in terms of the “Big Picture” overview of this case, the Rule of Law won out, not just because of Judge Ibarra but also with the help of Robert Thomas, attorney for the C&J Coupe Family. Yes he is a great lawyer, but even a great lawyer could not win in an eminent domain case claiming that condemnation of a strip of land for a critically needed road may instead have been a pretext for undue accommodation of a developer.

In watching the drama of the Super Ferry fiasco, the issue of interest to me has been: when the rule of law was not followed by a government entity, but the outcome you believe is nevertheless in the public interest--- what do you do? As Judge? As citizen –whether an attorney or not? What is your opinion?

I was in favor of the Super Ferry (provided appropriate environmental standards were followed). I also agree that the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision regarding the State’s approval of the Super Ferry was correctly decided.

We are at a transformational point in history in terms of the means, immediacy, and breadth of news reporting. For us news consumers-regardless of our political point of view - these advances are worthy of great celebration. But wait why so many angry faces in the main stream media (MSM). And watch out, because this anger is aimed at you. As you read this, the small group that currently controls the news media is working to stop citizen bloggers and other alternative internet news outlets from encroaching on THEIR territory.

May 5th was “World Freedom of the Press” Day, a day to discuss the importance of journalism and the role of journalists. Underscoring the important role of the news media, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said “Independent print, broadcast, and online media outlets are more than sources of news and opinion. They also expose abuses of power, fight corruption, challenge assumptions, and provide constructive outlets for new ideas and dissent.” [Can you guess already in what direction this commentary is going?]