The Hot Seat | The Hot Seat blog, honoluluadvertiser.com | Honolulu, Hawaii

Coming Wednesday: Live video stream Hot Seat with Mayor Mufi Hannemann

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:41:48 +0000

Got questions for Mayor Mufi Hannemann? Join us Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. for our first-ever live video stream version of the Hot Seat – with Mayor Hannemann answering your questions live during the hour.

There’s plenty to talk about: The City Council just approved property tax hikes and increases in a wide range of user fees for city services. The mayor, who had proposed some relief through property tax credits, opted not to sign the budget, but to let it become law without his signature.

The mayor also announced recently that he would set up an exploratory committee to weigh a run for the governor’s seat in 2010; he has also been mentioned as a strong potential candidate for the Congressional race.

You can post your questions for the mayor here in advance, then watch him answer your questions via live video stream on our Website Wednesday. I’ll moderate the session, as usual, and you can also post questions live during Wednesday’s chat.

Post your questions now — we’re expecting lots of questions Wednesday and the mayor will get to only as many as he can during the hour, so best to post early.

While the Hot Seat will continue to run weekly with your favorite newsmakers online and in Sunday’s Focus section, we’ll also do a live video stream version on the first Wednesday of each month. So be sure to tune in.

See you Wednesday.

Update: Watch live and submit your questions now: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/thehotseatlive

Now on the Hot Seat: Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:46:55 +0000

Welcome to the Hot Seat. As the budget picture gets worse, the state and all of Hawaii’s counties are grappling with cuts, labor reductions and charting a lean course ahead.

For the counties — charged with fundamental issues such as roads, sewers, police and fire services — cutting back has posed some touch choices. In Honolulu, that means higher property tax rates as well as higher fees for a variety of services.

What about the Neighbor islands? Joining us Wednesday will be Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi. And judging from our early postings, there’s much to talk about happening at the Council level, Mauna Kea and more.

Please remember our Hot Seat ground rules: Keep your questions concise — we want to be able to get through as many of them as possible.And keep it civil — no personal attacks please.

Ready, join in with your questions, and let’s chat with Mayor Kenoi.

Coming Wednesday: Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:26:14 +0000

As the budget picture gets worse, the state and all of Hawaii’s counties are grappling with cuts, labor reductions and charting a lean course ahead.

For the counties — charged with fundamental issues such as roads, sewers, police and fire services — cutting back has posed some tough choices. In Honolulu, that means higher property tax rates as well as higher fees for a variety of services.

What about the Neighbor Islands? Joining us Wednesday will be Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi. To join the conversation, log on at noon and post your questions for Mayor Kenoi live during the hour.

If you can't make the live session, you can e-mail your questions to me in advance at jmbelding@honoluluadvertiser.com and I'll try to post it for you during the live session. Or you can post your questions here, and I'll move them over once the live sessions starts on Wednesday.

See you Wednesday at noon, with Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi.

Now on the Hot Seat: State Board of Education Vice Chairwoman Karen Knudsen chats with you about state education budget cuts and more

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:45:35 +0000

These are indeed tough times for the state budget. That dire situation has state public school officials worried about making staffing cuts — including furloughs — that could impact our public school classrooms. What should be done to balance the education budget and deal with the large budget shortfall? With Wailupe Elementary closed, should the BOE return the site to the City or create another education facility, or is there a way to generate much-needed revenue?

Joining us live today from noon to 1 p.m. to answer your questions on these topics and public education in general will be Karen Knudsen, vice chairwoman of the state Board of Education. To join the conversation, log on at noon and post your questions for Karen live during the hour.

Just a quick reminder of our Hot Seat ground rules: Please keep your questions and comments civil — no personal attacks please.
And please keep questions on point, so that we can get through as many of them as possible — no more than two questions per person please. (If you have questions on how to participate, contact Stacy Berry, our editorial page assistant at 535-2414).

Got questions — let’s chat.

Coming Wednesday: State Board of Education Vice Chairwoman Karen Knudsen

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:36:16 +0000

The dire budget situation has state public school officials worried about making staffing cuts, including furloughs, that could impact our public school classrooms. What must be done to balance the education budget and deal with the large budget shortfall? That decision will ultimately rest with the state Board of Education.

Joining us live Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. to answer your questions on this topic will be Karen Knudsen, vice chairwoman of the state Board of Education. To join the conversation, log on at noon and post your questions for Karen live during the hour.

See you Wednesday at noon, with Karen Knudsen.

Now on the Hot Seat: State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and Rep. Joey Manahan answer your questions on conditions at Kuhio Park Terrace

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:46:42 +0000

For years, if not decades, residents of the state-run Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes have been living in deplorable conditions: chronically broken elevators that have forced disabled tenants to take the stairs, resulting in falls and injuries; unsafe aging stairwells; infestations of insects, rats and bedbugs; a lack of proper fire safety equipment; a lack of hot water; and trash chutes boarded up with plywood posing health and safety risks. The state now faces two class-action lawsuits, one in state Circuit Court and the other in federal District Court, that seek improvements in living conditions.

Read our editorials and see video coverage of this issue at:
http://tinyurl.com/Kuhio-1
http://tinyurl.com/Kuhio-2
http://tinyurl.com/Kuhio-3

On a recent tour of the public housing project, the area’s legislative representatives, Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and Rep. Joey Manahan questioned Hawaii Public Housing Authority executive Director Chad Taniguchi about the department’s inaction, despite money being allocated years ago for the repairs, and said they would hold hearings on the issue and follow up with tenants.

Both Sen. Kim and Rep. Manahan are joining us live from noon to 1 p.m. today (Wednesday) to answer your questions, here on The Hot Seat.

Got questions — let’s chat.

Coming Wednesday: State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and Rep. Joey Manahan answer your questions on conditions at Kuhio Park Terrace and more

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:46:41 +0000

The state now faces two class-action lawsuits, one in state Circuit Court and the other in federal District Court, that seek improvements in living conditions.

Read our editorials and see video coverage of this issue at:
http://tinyurl.com/Kuhio-1
http://tinyurl.com/Kuhio-2
http://tinyurl.com/Kuhio-3

On a recent tour of the public housing project, the area’s legislative representatives, Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and Rep. Joey Manahan chided Hawaii Public Housing Authority executive Director Chad Taniguchi for the department’s inaction, despite money being allocated years ago for the repairs. S The lawmakers plan to hold hearings on the issue and follow up with tenants.

Both Sen. Kim and Rep. Manahan will be joining us live from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday to answer your questions, here on The Hot Seat.

To join the conversation, watch for our New posting that will go up at noon Wednesday and post your questions there. Or if you can’t make the session live, you can e-mail your questions to me in advance at jmbelding@honolulu advertisercom or post them here and we’ll try to post them for you once the session opens on Wednesday.

See you Wednesday on The Hot Seat.

Now on the Hot Seat: Christine Camp, chairwoman of the Honolulu Police Commission, takes your questions

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:46:15 +0000

The decision by the Honolulu Police Commission not to renew Police Chief Boisse Correa’s contract certainly has folks talking. While the Commission has said the decision centered on the chief’s desire for a one-year rather than five-year deal, the decisions comes after rank-and-file officers had expressed a high level of dissatisfaction with the chief as part of the police union’s survey.

Joining us live today from noon to 1 p.m. to answer your questions on this issue will be Christine Camp, chairwoman of the Honolulu Police Commission.

Ready? Let’s chat…

Coming Thursday: Christine Camp, chairwoman of the Honolulu Police Commission, takes your questions

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:43:40 +0000

Joining us live Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. to answer your questions on this issue will be Christine Camp, chairwoman of the Honolulu Police Commission.

To join the conversation, visit this site Thursday at noon and watch for the NEW posting opening the chat titled: “Live on the Hot Seat: Christine Camp”, click on that and post your questions live during the hour. If you can’t make the chat you can e-mail your questions in advance to me at jmbelding@honoluluadvertiser.com

See you Thursday at noon, with Christine Camp, On The Hot Seat.

On the Hot Seat: Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association answers your questions

Jeanne Mariani-Belding — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:50:21 +0000

At roughly $2.4 billion, the state education budget accounts for about half of the state’s overall operating budget. And with the recession taking a toll on virtually every state department, Hawaii’s public schools are no exception.
It remains unclear how teachers’ salaries and benefits will be impacted, but in a climate of rising taxes cleared by state lawmakers, and another dire economic forecast in the wings, state labor union negotiations on several fronts are being closely watched.

Joining us live today to answer your questions on the education budget, public educators and more will be Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, which represents the state’s public school teachers.

Just a quick reminder of our Hot Seat ground rules: Please keep your questions concise and on point, so that we can get through as many of them as possible; and please keep this conversation civil, no personal attacks. (If you have questions on how to participate, contact Stacy Berry, our editorial page assistant at 5353-2414).

Ready with your questions — let’s chat.