A ground breaking ceremony for the new Clarence TC Ching complex was held on the UH lower campus on July 17th. The complex will provide new locker rooms, training room facilities, offices, state of the art bleachers, and a 800 seat sand volleyball court. Officials from the University of Hawaii, Lawmakers, and Governor Neil Abercrombie were all on hand for the dedication.
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Over the past month, Senator Ige and members of the Senate welcomed and honored a few guests to the Hawaii State Capitol.
Students from Pearlridge Elementary and Waimalu Elementary visited the state capitol in March where Senator Ige educated the students on the legislative process as well as shared some insights on the history of the state capitol building.
Senators and Representatives joined the Governor for the singing of House Bill (HB) 2096, which extends the mitigation of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax increase. HB 2096 maintains the UI rate that employers will pay for calendar year 2012. Without this measure, a business would have had to pay an additional $550 per year for each employee. This measure will thus help avoid an increase in costs for every business in the state.
This bill also maintains the Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount at 75 percent of the Average Weekly Wage, rather than the normal 70 percent for calendar year 2012; and allows the UI fund to accept loans from the state general fund or the federal government, should the need arise.
Students from Pearl City Elementary also joined legislators for the signing. The students are Alycia Pasion, left, Jessica Miller, Iris Ponce, Jasmin Nagasawa and Naomi Reupena-Tuaiao and teacher Russell Minobe.
Senator David Ige and members of the Senate honored Hawaii born author Kaui Hart Hemmings during a floor presentation at the Hawaii State Capitol. Hemmings is the daughter of former Hawaii Legislator Fred Hemmings and the author the of the novel the Descendants. The Descendants was awarded an Academy Award for best original screen play based of off the book written by Hemmings. (Photo courtesy of Senate Communications)
Shawn Idefonso and his family proudly show off his artwork with Sen. Ige. Shawn is under the direction of Roy Chang at Aiea Intermediate. Come down to the State capitol to view the artwork of the students of Aiea which is on display in the Chamber level of the capitol and in Senator Ige's office.
On February 21, 2012, the Hawaii State Senate congratulated Melvin Kauila Clark, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Community Health Centers, on his many years of service to the people of Hawaii.
The 26th Legislative session is officially underway and despite the economic challenges that we face, I remain hopeful and optimistic that this will be a great year for our state. Here is a link to our January Newsletter complete with a recap of last session and ways to stay connected with my office throughout the session.
The State Capitol will be participating in the First Friday Activities on April 1st from 5-7pm to showcase the Art in Public Places Collection. Works of art created by local artists are displayed in state buildings and rotated throughout Hawai‘i in order for all people to have access to visual arts in various styles, techniques and media. There are almost 200 works on display in the Senate offices. Come by my office in Room 215 and see the pieces on display.
March's Capitol connection covers:
• Senate Education Week
• Meet the Staff
• Capitol Artist Program
To read a copy of the Capitol Connection, click here.