For those that know her we said goodbye to our right hand young woman, Stephanie Ghilarducci, last Friday. Infected from birth by California, back she went. Here’s a picture of her small private farewell event at Cafe Sistina. We will miss the “Italian Filly.” Contact her at sghilarducci@hotmail.com if you would like to say Aloha. Temporarily taking her place will be Connie Liu who was our intern at ATR last summer and did an outstanding job. Connie is off to UCLA Law School in mid-August. Permanently stepping in for her at that point will be Anna Maria Preston as Executive Assistant to the President. Some of you know her from Senator Sam Slom’s office.
Biggest thing on our plate right now is a massive nationwide education project on the Akaka bill. Our purpose is to assure that as many people as possible know what that legislation says and doesn’t say. Watch the Honolulu Advertiser on Wednesday, June 15, 2005. GRIH has placed a major full page (almost) advertisement on the subject.
Our attorney in Washington, D.C., Bruce Fein (bruce@thelichfieldgroup.com) is looking for your personal stories, events, or thoughts about what to expect if the Akaka bill passes. The triggering event was Governor Lingle’s testimony in early March 2005. She said passage of the bill would unify Hawaii.
We believe that any action by government which is based on extending privilege, property, prestige, or special rights based on ancestry is an affront to the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The Akaka bill does just that. And it sure doesn’t unify Hawaii, the USA, or even people of Hawaiian ancestry.
Please have a look at one of our favorite blogs, Reason Out of Control