A sharp-eyed reader flagged this photo of Tammy Duckworth and Senator Dan Akaka, who will chair a hearing next week on Duckworth’s nomination to a top Veterans’ Affairs post.

His comment: “Check out this Akaka tie!!!!!!!!!”

You have to click on the photo to see the larger version and get a good look at it.

Here’s a story with a happy ending. Popoki, the maybe/almost 1-year old black and white cat who lives at the corner of our very short street, disappeared on March 3. His people searched and searched, but he didn’t turn up. They were devastated.

Then yesterday I got an email.

On Monday, there was a call from our vet who had a call from someone based on the microchip tag on Popoki’s collar. Popoki had been hanging around his house near the Zippy’s in Kaneohe for about a week. Patrick called the fellow back and told him how to get Popoki to come to him, and then Patrick went and picked him up Monday night.

How he got to Kaneohe, about 13 miles from here, remains a mystery. It was raining when he disappeared and perhaps he just jumped unnoticed into a dry car or truck, then escaped in Kaneohe. The alternative–that someone snatched him and dumped him 13 miles from home–is also a disturbing possibility.

The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Technology has gutted HB1405 HD2, which would have taxed Internet sales in a way that led Amazon to threaten to end its affiliate program that pays local bloggers and organizations to place Amazon.com ads on their sites. The move was also opposed by the D.C.-based Internet Alliance and Direct Marketing Association. Testimony can be viewed online.

The committee decided to amend the bill by dumping its contents, but this doesn’t mean that Internet sales will continue to escape state tax.

The committee deleted the language of HB1405 and replaced it with the contents of S.B. No. 1680, S.D. 3, “which implements legislation for the State to adopt the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement”. This move was supported by most who offered testimony.

According to an open letter to its members from the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, Gov. Lingle is proposing the eliminate employer contributions for dental and vision plans for public employees, delete the life insurance coverage currently provided, increase employee co-payments, and drop the amount paid by the state from 60% of premium costs to under 50%.

UHPA also reports that although HGEA has not received a proposal from the administration, it has been told what’s coming.

HGEA was informed by the representatives of the Governor’s office that they would be receiving a proposal that progressively (think income tax rates) cut civil service salaries over the next biennium to achieve a $270 million dollar savings to the state. Further, the state would be proposing reductions in sick leave and vacation accumulations for public employees (Although the amount of revenue savings through these cuts are minimal, the HGEA sees this as just a general effort to reduce all public employee benefits under the cover of the projected decline in state revenues.)

According to UHPA executive director J.N. Musto:

I believe that all the public sector unions will oppose this effort to balance the state’s budget on the backs of public workers while the state has not attempted to utilize the revenue sources that are still available or seek additional revenues if they want the same level of public service, research, and educational quality. The state continues to hold a $184 million in the Hurricane Fund, a $100 million rainy day fund, and undetermined millions in Federal relief funds.

The full UHPA statement appears on the union’s web site.