Politics

We posted a petition in January to oppose appointment of Carleton Ching, a lobbyist for developers, as head of the Department of Land and Resources (DLNR). Your testimony is needed to the State Senate Committee on Water and Land, during or before their hearing March 11, 2015 at 10AM in Room 229 at the State Capitol. Email the committee at WTLtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov or submit testimony online. The following information is from KAHEA, which with at least 22 other Hawai`i groups opposes the nomination of Carleton Ching as Director of DLNR: ...

Another petition, this one to ask the Hawai’i Senate not to confirm the new governor’s pick for chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. This is a blatant example of the standard government “revolving door” of industry lobbyists and executives taking positions of power in the agencies meant to regulate those industries, then moving back to well-paying jobs in the industries they just served while in the government, then back to a regulatory agency… ...

Though Deep Green Resistance is skeptical of the ability of citizens to petition decision makers to make decisions in the interest of the people and the aina, we share this petition as a quick way to voice your opposition to a blatant conflict of interest on the Hawai’i House Agriculture Committee:

Although national and even state level elections are generally so controlled by big money that they don’t offer us much leverage for intervention, we can often have some influence over local politics. Though local jurisdictions are often constrained by state and national laws specifically designed to prevent communities from defending themselves against corporate interests, a lot of important decisions do happen at this level. (And more and more localities are turning to CELDF style radical legal approaches to assert the rights of community and environment over the “rights” of corporations.) ...

What: HomeRule Concert Where: Waimea Middle School, Hawaii Island When: June 21st 12 noon - 4PM More info: event Facebook page The Hawaii Center for Food Safety Action Fund has teamed up with Hawane Rios to put on a free concert to support getting more people to register to vote before the primary election. All across Hawai’i we are winning the rights needed to protect our children from pesticides and GMOs, and that will only continue if we elect better politicians, and keep in office those that have helped us thus far, such as Margaret Wille. ...