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“BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,”

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January 14,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Waimea, Hawaii yesterday an emergency alert was sent at 8:07 a.m.,”BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” the emergency alert read.

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Hawaii says ballistic missile threat alert was false alarm. Residents of Hawaii were thrown into a panic Saturday morning after the state sent an emergency alert warning of a ballistic missile threat. But officials minutes later said that it was a mistake.

Dr Strangelove

“NO missile threat to Hawaii,” the state’s Emergency Management Agency tweeted at 8:20 local time (1:20 ET) , but the follow-up alert to state that it was a false alarm wasn’t sent until 8:46 a.m, ouch…

dr-strangelove

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One last sunset: Ridgewood man dying of cancer to spend last days in Hawaii

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By Kathryn Brenzel | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Ed Schwartz drinking from a coconut he picked off a tree during a previous trip to Maui. (Photos courtesy of Julie Tung)

RIDGEWOOD—With only a few weeks to live, a Ridgewood man is on his way to fulfill his dying wish: to see the sunset in Hawaii.

“I think it’s one of the most beautiful places on the planet,” said Ed Schwartz, whose battle with blood cancer can no longer be waged medically. “Doctors are telling me I only have a few weeks. I’d much rather spend the time there, in paradise.”

Schwartz, known locally as “Eco Ed” for his work as an environmentalist, began his journey to Maui on Wednesday, along with his wife, Julie Tung, and his son, Kyle. They took off this morning from Teterboro in an air ambulance, heading to Oakland, Calif., in order to take a charter plane for the rest of the way. Friends and community members have raised more than $35,000 on a GoFundMe page to help make the trip possible.

After undergoing chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and various trials, Schwartz has run out of treatment options and doesn’t have much time left, Tung told NJ Advance Media by phone, when they stopped to refuel the medical transport in Omaha, Neb. They don’t have a set plan for their visit, except to relax and enjoy the scenery, she said.

“We don’t have a game plan. We don’t know how long we’ll have,” she said. “If he could just see one last sunset, it will be worth it.”

Schwartz was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare form of blood cancer, in late 2013. Before he started chemotherapy, he asked his doctor if he could first take a trip to Hawaii, Tung said. The answer was “yes, but you’ll die.” So, they held off on the trip, but now, knowing that the cancer is incurable, “it’s time to go,” she said.

 

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/05/one_last_sunset_ridgewood_man_dying_of_cancer_to_s.html#incart_river

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Report: These Five States Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Hawaii Have Highest Liability Per Taxpayer

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Report: These Five States Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Hawaii Have Highest Liability Per Taxpayer

Josh Siegel / @JoshDailySignal / August 31, 2014

Taxpayers in Alaska who enjoy keeping their money will be happy to see a new report that claims the country’s 49th state is best able to fund its obligations.

Residents of Connecticut may not feel as good.

The Truth in Accounting report ranks the states by “taxpayer burden,” a measure that represents the amount each taxpayer would have to pay his or her state’s treasury to fill its financial hole.

Truth in Accounting, a Chicago-based nonprofit, determined that the states with the highest taxpayer burden — deemed “Sinkhole States” — are, in descending order, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Hawaii.

The “Sinkhole States”

The states with the largest “taxpayer surplus” — called “Sunshine States” based on having assets available to pay their bills — are, from the top:  Alaska, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and South Dakota.

The “Sunshine States”

Taxpayer burden is calculated by determining each taxpayer’s share of state debt after setting aside capital-related debt and assets.  Remaining debt is primarily unpaid pension and retirement health promises.

In its fifth annual report, released this month, Truth in Accounting says states that have unfunded pension liabilities put a burden on future taxpayers, even though “they will not receive any services” from the retired employees who earn those pensions.

States with taxpayer surplus, on the other hand, fund pension costs during the year employees earn the benefits, and the money is set aside for that year.

Connecticut, which the report considers to be in the worst financial shape, has an overall budget shortfall of $61.4 billion, which breaks down to $48,100 per taxpayer.

Truth in Accounting reports that most of Connecticut’s retirement benefits have been promised but not funded.

A Connecticut law requires the legislature to pass a balanced budget. This likely explains why the state chose not to report its entire retirement benefit liability. The report says:

One of the reasons Connecticut is in this precarious financial position is state officials use antiquated budgeting and accounting rules to report Connecticut’s financial condition. Since employee retirement benefits are not immediately payable in cash, the related compensation costs have been ignored when calculating balanced budgets.

Alaska, reported to be in the best financial shape, has an overall budget surplus of $13.5 billion, which breaks down to $46,900 per taxpayer. The report says Alaska has enough money to pay state employees’ retirement benefits and other outstanding bills:

Alaska is in good financial shape because the legislators and governors have only promised citizens and employees what they can afford to deliver.

See how your fared state by reading the Truth in Accounting report.

The worst performing states

https://dailysignal.com/2014/08/31/report-five-states-highest-liability-per-taxpayer/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailydigest&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvanKZKXonjHpfsX56eUoX6C0lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DTMVrI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D

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HAWAII IS GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROP FLASH POINT

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HAWAII IS GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROP FLASH POINT

BY AUDREY MCAVOY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WAIALUA, Hawaii (AP) — You can trace the genetic makeup of most corn grown in the U.S., and in many other places around the world, to Hawaii.

The tiny island state 2,500 miles from the nearest continent is so critical to the nation’s modern corn-growing business that the industry’s leading companies all have farms here, growing new varieties genetically engineered for desirable traits like insect and drought resistance.

But these same farms have become a flash point in a spreading debate over genetic engineering in agriculture.

Kauai and Hawaii counties have moved in the past several months to regulate genetically modified organisms and the pesticides the farms use. In Maui County, a group is collecting signatures for a potential ballot measure that would impose a temporary ban on the crops.

“People are very concerned, and it’s my job as a council member to determine whether those concerns are valid and take steps to protect them,” said Gary Hooser, a councilman in Kauai.

Hooser and the council passed a law last year, over the mayor’s veto, to require large farms to create buffer zones around their crops and to disclose what pesticides they use. The law is set to take effect in August.

Seed companies with Kauai operations – Syngenta, Pioneer, BASF and Agrigentics – have sued the county to stop the law, saying they are already regulated by state and federal laws and there is no need for additional county rules.

“We don’t plant anything that isn’t permitted and approved through the proper regulatory agencies, be it the EPA, the FDA and UDSA,” said Mark Phillipson, the head of Hawaii corporate affairs for Syngenta, referring to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FOOD_AND_FARM_SEED_FARMING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-19-09-55-39