Dash of Calabash

BOE member Cec Heftel objects to the idea that the state has a budget surplus in a letter to the editor in the Honolulu Advertiser Sunday October 9, 2005.

How dare anyone say, “We’re blessed with nearly a half-billion-dollar surplus,” and in the same breath walk away from direct responsibility to adequately budget for, fund and fix our schools.

Simply stated, we don’t have a surplus, we have a deficit school system without needed allocations to repair brick and mortar and equip our schools with necessary supplies and computers. We have the opportunity to do the “right thing” now and into the future by putting available funds where they are so desperately needed.

Bonds are issued to build schools. So, would this over-taxation actually be used to build schools or would it have to stay in the general fund to increase the state’s debt ceiling for bonds? If so, then what guarantee do we have that the money would be used to build/expand/repair schools? If the money is allocated to the DOE to increase their budget, then what happens next year when we don’t have a surplus? How will we fund the DOE’s increased budget? What does the law actually say? –laurab

For more on Hawaii Education issues go here.

Red Light Cameras reduce traffic accidents at intersections, right? Well, not exactly. The real story here.

So what if the government likes it too? The Kelo v. New London decision continues to have unimaginable but totally predictable consequences. In this case it appears to take on somewhat of a racist element.

Florida’s Riviera Beach is a poor, predominantly black, coastal community that intends to revitalize its economy by using eminent domain, if necessary, to displace about 6,000 local residents and build a billion-dollar waterfront yachting and housing complex.

Look for ever more stories in this vein. Whole story here.