Bill would limit Gov's power, Lingle says

Gov. Linda Lingle is criticizing a legislative proposal that she says would strip future governors of the power to unilaterally curtail spending or to establish new programs.

Lingle told a Rotary Club meeting Friday that the measure would set up a clash between her successors and the Legislature over who has the final say over spending decisions.

She says the attorney general's office has written an opinion stating the bill is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.

The governor said the legislation, were it law, would have prevented her from cutting spending to match declining revenues.

“;Had I spent everything that (legislators) had appropriated previously, we would be hundreds of millions of dollars additional in the hole,”; Lingle said.

But Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Donna Mercado Kim says there should be some limits on a governor's powers.

Navy takes part in security exercise

An annual security training exercise begins tomorrow at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.

The week-long Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2010 exercise is the largest anti-terrorism/force protection exercise conducted nationwide across the Navy. It is the first year Navy commands in Hawaii will participate.

The Navy said the exercise is designed to enhance the training and readiness of Navy security personnel.

Officials said the exercise is not in response to any specific threat, but is a regularly scheduled exercise to maintain a high level of readiness for naval installations.

Hearing set on plan to ax Big Isle bands

HILO » Typically, few people, if any, attend the Hawaii County Council's public hearing on the annual budget proposed by the mayor.

But Council Chairman J Yoshimoto expects that to change tomorrow night when testimony will include comments on Mayor Billy Kenoi's proposal to eliminate the Hilo-based Hawaii County Band and the West Hawaii Band. The move would save $347,000 by eliminating 34 positions in Hilo and 11 more in Kona.

Yoshimoto says he expects the proposal to generate a larger-than-normal turnout at the hearing, which he says “;should be interesting.”;

People may also comment on other parts of Kenoi's $375 million budget request. In all, it seeks to cut spending by $11.7 million, eliminate 62 positions and furlough numerous county workers two days a month.