Senate Majority Caucus

The state Senate and House of Representatives held a joint session Tuesday to honor 31 of Hawai`i’s fallen military heroes. Friends and family members of the soldiers traveled to the Capitol for the special session and were presented with a Hawai`i Medal of Honor.

Sgt. Alexis Gagalac of Wahiawā accepted the award on behalf of his twin brother, Sgt. Alexander U. Gagalac, who was killed Sept. 9 while in Iraq with the U.S. Army.

Hundreds of soldiers from Hawai`i’s military bases also attended the ceremony to honor their colleagues.

“These names will remain etched in our state’s shared history,” Senate President Colleen Hanabusa said in her closing remarks.

The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute in the Capitol rotunda.

By Hawaii Senate President Colleen Hanabusa
Jan. 16, 2008

I stood here before you a year ago, having assumed the Presidency of the Senate for the first time. On that day I informed you that the overarching theme of the Senate was sustainability for the future of our state. I asked you to remember that this journey to sustainability would not be quick or easy, and that it would require all of us to remain focused and patient in achieving our goals. (more…)

By Hawaii State Senator Colleen Hanabusa

The Star-Bulletin’s recent editorials on our state’s approach to its prison population make an interesting pair. Reading them together, I must question whether the facts play any role in the editors’ opinions.

In “Prison release scare came from legislators” (August 8, 2007), the editors accuse the Legislature of frightening the public. The facts do not support that conclusion.

Let us be clear as to who suggested that the bill would threaten public safety. The governor, in her July 10 Statement of Objections to the (more…)

By Hawaii State Senator Colleen Hanabusa

City Environmental Services director Eric Takamura’s single-minded defense of “bury and burn” as a strategy for dealing with our community’s solid waste disposal needs may be understandable as an exercise in “staying on message,” but it also demonstrates a worrisome inability to think flexibly about a problem that is not going to go away. The most positive impact of this on-going discussion could be that it raises people’s awareness of the debate on opala.

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By Hawaii State Senator Colleen Hanabusa

I am perplexed by Lieutenant Governor James “Duke” Aiona’s piece “Flawed bills need a fix, not a fight;” and I ask: “Where in the world was Duke?” We know that the governor was in Asia, but I believe Duke was here. So, why didn’t he call?

At no time did Duke contact the Speaker or me to discuss these bills. I did contact Linda Smith, the University of Hawaii, PBS, the Attorney General and others on SB 1922, all within the week (more…)

By Hawaii State Senator Colleen Hanabusa

The image that best depicts many of the prevailing attitudes toward Waimanalo Gulch may be the Three Monkeys: See no evil, Hear no evil, and Speak no evil. I have written on this topic in the past and hoped further comment would be unnecessary. However the recent commentary by city Environmental Services director Eric Takamura, “City has multipronged approach to garbage,” begs for a response.

I have never understood why bureaucrats assume that the public (whom they serve) either have conveniently short memories or simply lose interest in issues once they are no longer in the headlines.

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Senate President Colleen Hanabusa today announced that three state senators will voluntarily shift their committee assignments for the next legislative session, and a new committee will be created.        

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