Senate Committee on Water and Land to Hold Public Hearing on Chaining Dogs

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

I blogged earlier about how much I have a distaste for people that allow their dogs to roam free w/out fenced in yards.  My wife has a permanent scar on her face from being attacked by a dog on her own street.

It is people that “Tethered” their dog by keeping them tied up most of the time that mauled my wife.

People… if you have a dog on your property… please get a fence and keep them fenced in. Why tie your dog up all the time?

The Senate Committee on Water and Land will be holding a public hearing on “tethering” animals this Friday at 3:00 PM in the capital conference room 229.

SB30

RELATING TO ANIMALS.
Animal Welfare; Tethering

Prohibits, with exceptions, the practice of tethering dogs.

SECTION 2. Chapter 711, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

Ҥ711- Dog tethering. (a) It shall be unlawful to tether, fasten, chain, tie, or restrain a dog, or cause a dog to be tethered, fastened, chained, tied, or restrained, to a dog house, tree, fence, or any other stationary object.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a person may:

(1) Attach a dog to a running line, pulley, or trolley system, so long as the dog is not tethered to the running line, pulley, or trolley system by means of a choke collar or pinch collar;

(2) Tether, fasten, chain, tie, or otherwise restrain a dog pursuant to the requirements of a camping or recreational area;

(3) Tether, fasten, chain, or tie a dog no longer than is necessary for the person to complete a temporary task that requires the dog to be restrained for a reasonable period;

(4) Tether, fasten, chain, or tie a dog while engaged in, or actively training for, an activity that is conducted pursuant to a valid license issued by the State of Hawaii if the activity for which the license is issued is associated with the use or presence of the dog; or

(5) Tether, fasten, chain, or tie a dog while actively engaged in any of the following:

(A) Conduct that is directly related to the business of shepherding or herding cattle or livestock; or

(B) Conduct that is directly related to the business of cultivating agricultural products, if the restraint is reasonably necessary for the safety of the dog.

Full detail of bill here.

Filed under: Community, Idiots, Legal, Legislature, Security | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

2009 Pork Report: $4 Million Plus Spent on Coqui Frog Control

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

Hat tip to Nancy Cook Lauer at All Hawaii News.

The 2009 Hawaii Pork Report has been released and you can view it here.

Something of note for Big Island residents:

“Alarm over the rapid spread of the coqui frog, especially on the Big Island, has inspired a multitude of projects such as the Stop Coqui Hawaii program, the Coqui Frog Working Group, the Volcano Area Coqui Network, and Silent Night Hawaii, just to name a few. Councils and community organizations have popped up all over the state and petitioned for funding to combat the coqui infestation. Without skipping a beat, the legislature released grants for several groups by passing coqui-related bills.  One measure allowed the DOA’s Hilo office alone to increase its staff by more than 300 percent with the sole purpose being to “develop a comprehensive coqui frog plan

Through 2007, more than $4 million in federal, state and county funds have been allocated toward the infestation. Yet despite statewide eradication efforts, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported that the state coqui population continues to grow…

…Hawaii County spent $31,000 to figure out that potassium bicarbonate, better known as baking soda, has “proven to be
ineffective on coqui frogs.” pg. 10

Full Hawaii Pork Report

For 4+ million, they could have provided everyone with several pairs of ear plugs!

Filed under: Big Island, Community, County Council, Environment, State Affairs | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Trial Footage from Puna Residents Murder in Thailand

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

Earlier, I posted the video of the confession of the murderer that killed Puna Resident Gary Poretsky.

Here is footage of him getting lead into court there in Thailand as well as a few other things:

Sixty one year old former Perth resident William Thomas Douglas was sentenced to four years jail for the murder of 46-year-old Hawaiian resident Gary Bruce Poretsky in the Northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai in March 2008

However the former Australian Army Vietnam War veteran will serve just two years after having his sentence cut in half for pleading guilty.

Douglas claimed to have been working as a police informer during the 28-years he has lived in Chiang Mai and is reported to have boasted of having killed two drug traffickers while working with the police.

A witness told the court Douglas “pulled out the gun and shot Gary two times in the chest. Gary fell to the ground and then Douglas fired a third shot into his head.”

Douglas claimed that Mr Poretsky had antagonised him by criticising the Vietnam War and had said “Australia should not have followed the US into the Vietnam War and that Australia and Thailand were dictated to by the US.”

This is field edited news footage.

A full report on the trial can be found here: http://photojourn.wordpress.com/2008/…

Filed under: Legal | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Today’s KO

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

It’s been a while… Audio a must:

Filed under: Idiots, KO's | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Pahoa Student Documents the Vog Day from Last Week… Video

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

Last week on Tuesday, we had really high levels of VOG here in Pahoa.  I had never seen it this bad before.

When I dropped my son off at school, they mentioned that Civil Defense had put Pahoa school on stand-by for possible evacuation and that if Pahoa School got evacuated… the preschool would as well.

Some of the kids did end up getting sick and sent home.

I just found this youtube clip that shows just how voggy it actually was.

Filed under: Environment, Health, Pahoa | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The Murder of Puna Resident Gary Poretsky (The Admission)… The Video

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

I previously blogged about the murder of Gary Poretsky here, here, here, here, here and here.

Gary Bruce Poretsky, a 46-year-old resident of Hawaii was shot to death in the Northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai in the early morning of March 22, 2008 by Australian man William Thomas Douglas.

Douglas turned himself in to police several hours later. In this video shot on March 23 Douglas clearly says he shot Mr Poretsky because he didn’t like him. At his trial in October, 2008 he claimed he couldn’t remember shooting Mr Poretsky.

Douglas was sentenced to four years prison for the murder of Mr Poretsky with the sentence being cut in half to two years because of his guilty plea. This is field edited news footage.

More information is available here:

Filed under: Legal, Puna | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

County Research Tracks Festivals’ Economic Impact

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon
Media Release

For years Hawai’i Island communities and organizations have hosted festivals and events that showcase island culture and arts, and those public celebrations generate millions of dollars annually in economic activity.

Now the County of Hawai’i is launching a research effort to get a better fix on just how much business is being generated by the festivals and events, and who benefits.

The Hawai’i Tourism Authority (HTA) has just announced it will distribute more than $415,000 to non-profit organizations that will put on 47 events on Hawai’i Island this year ranging from music and film festivals to a Chinese New Year’s celebration and a rodeo.

The county Department of Research and Development administers the HTA funds through the County Product Enrichment Program. The county this year plans to collect more hard economic data on the events as part of the reporting process when event organizers detail how they spent the money they have received.

The festivals and events are conceived at the grassroots level, and often amount to communities joining together to celebrate their own traditions in an organized way that is welcoming to the general public, said Diane Ley, interim deputy director for the county Department of Research & Development.

“Most of these people are doing what they do because they have a passion for it, they love it,” Ley said. “They are rodeo fans, so they put on a rodeo, but they don’t think in terms of the economic impact that rodeo has on the Pana’ewa area.”

“It’s a young industry. It’s an industry that doesn’t necessarily think of itself as an industry,” Ley said of the festivals and events.

Ley cited other examples such as soaring sales of taro chips in Wailea village the day of the mochi pounding festival. “That had to have an economic impact on that business,” she said.

“This is community economic development,” said Hawaii Island Mayor Billy Kenoi. “It’s empowering the communities to say, this is something that we value and we treasure, not just because it’s part of our culture or because it’s part of our heritage, but because it’s really important for the economy of our area.”

The new reporting requirements ask the non-profits who put on the festivals to ask their suppliers how much of a business boost they get from the events.

The suppliers will also be polled on whether they in turn buy goods or services from other businesses to supply the festivals. That way, the county can begin to track the economic “ripple effect” from the festivals and events, Ley said.

To review the list of Hawai’i County events funded by HTA under its County Product Enrichment Program, click on the link at the bottom of the news release posted at:

http://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/index.cfm?page=news_releases&news_id=136

Filed under: Announcements, Big Island | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Blog Features

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

I’ve been adjusting some of my feeds and links on my blog the last few days.

I’ve removed the pictures from the left side and combined them with some of the movies I’ve posted to make a new page at the top.

I added a couple new blogs that are worth checking out:

Barbara Uechi over in Kona runs Guavabee another blog related to Big Island events with an emphasis on Kona events.

Don Rey has his Hawaii Sunshine Chronicles, where he likes to target local media and other Hawaii related events.

Brad Cavanaugh has Canspice which is another Big Island blog run by a fellow who grew up just across the Canadian border from me.

I’ve moved my calendar down on the left column to put my events more towards the top of the page.

I dropped a couple RSS feeds that weren’t getting much attention and just taking up space on my site.

And while the Legislature is in session, I’ve added a few legislative links on the left.

I’m always looking for more suggestions, so if you have any, feel free to let me know.

Filed under: Blogs | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Grass Itch Answers?

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Damon

My son has a great time at his school.  Sometimes he just has too much fun.

There is a grass hill at his school and the kids like to roll down the hill.

Problem is that my son keeps getting small little grass cuts all over his body which is making him itchy.

I’ve told the teachers not to let him roll down the hills like that… but boys will be boys and it’s not like the teachers can keep an eye on him all the time.

Anyone have any solutions for “Grass Itch”?

Filed under: Health, Kids | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

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