Commentary from Senator Sakamoto
May 11 - 19, 2006
Education
It is encouraging to see that Hawaii is continuing to make progress in getting good teachers into our classrooms. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported on May 15 that the federal Department of Education found that over the past three years Hawaii raised its number of qualified teachers from 76 percent to 86 percent. It is also encouraging to see that the Hawaii Department of Education has just signed a contract with Teach for America that will bring 55 new teachers to Leeward Oahu this summer and another 55 the following year (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 12). Teach for America is a national program that seeks to involve socially conscious graduates from elite colleges in disadvantaged areas.
Kaka'ako
The Legislature amended the law to prohibit the Hawaii Community Development Authority from (1) selling public land in the Kakaako Community development district and (2) approving any residential development makai of Ala Moana boulevard. It recently came to light that the measure would also prevent the construction of residential lofts for scientists working at the Kamehameha Schools' Life Sciences Research Complex (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 18). While this is unfortunate, the issue can be looked at in next year's legislative session and the law amended in a manner consistent with the intent of this year's legislation. The bottom line for any future revision is to ensure that we do not lose sight of Kakaako's unique value for the people of Hawaii.
Gas Cap
Although the gas cap has been suspended for two weeks, gas prices in Hawaii have not gone down as some have expected. The Honolulu Advertiser on May 18 reported that if the gas cap were still in place, gas prices would be 13¢ lower instead of going up 1¢. This is somewhat ironic in light of the fact that the gas cap was blamed for the high price of gas in Hawaii. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that Hawaii consumers are not being charged exorbitant prices and being taken advantage of by oil producers.