Arrived in Kihei last night. Slept in and got a late jump on the day. Drove up to Haleakala National Park. It’s a 1.5 hour drive from Kihei. Did a 2.4 mile hike on the Halemau’u trail. 1.2 miles down to the “Rainbow Bridge” and back. Very beautiful.
Next we went up to the Visitor Center at 9,740 feet. Walked up White Hill and took some amazing photos. Finally it was up to Pu’u ‘Ula’ula overlook at 10,023 feet. By this time we’d been waiting for the sunset and it was now about 42 degrees. Watched the sunset and drove back to Kihei.
My Great State of Alaska is in the middle of a massive budget crisis. This is directly due to a revised DOWNWARD revenue forecast. The Department of Revenue is now projecting the average price of a barrel of oil at $57.78, down from last fall’s forecast of $74.41. This means that State revenue for FY2010 is now estimated to be at $3.1 billion while last year’s estimate for FY2010 was $5.1 billion.
As our Governor’s press release says, “Given current market conditions and oil prices, we have made reductions in the proposed spending plan for next year. We are continuing our efforts to provide important public services, while cutting back on areas that can certainly wait until we see improvement in our revenue stream.” That would seem to be an understatement given that the revenue is down, according to my 8th grade math skills, a staggering 39.22% (3.1 divided by 5.1 equals 0.6078, 1 minus .6078 equals .3922).
A little recent history of the Dep’t of Law’s Operating Budget thanks to the Office of Management and Budget (in millions)
FY2008 Actual 71,379.6
FY2009 Authorized 83,652.2
FY2010 Governor 80,472.4
FY2010 Governor AMENDED 86,485.9
FY2010 Governor v. FY2010 Governor AMENDED 7.5% increase
But have no fear! The Governor has a reason for my Department’s increase! As her press release states, “There are also some proposed operating increases in the amendments including … $6.0 million for the Department of Law to proceed with oil and gas and Endangered Species Act issues.” Hmm, not for me? Not for criminal prosecutions? Well her statement certainly is interesting. Endangered Species Act issues? I wonder what that could mean…
Aces versus Victoria Salmon Kings. Minor league hockey at its best tonight at the Sullivan Arena. The Aces won in a shoot-out 3-2. Great game.
Traveling down to Maui in a couple weeks. I am completely psyched up for this trip. Never been to Hawaii before so this should be a lot of fun.
It’ll be great to get away from the snow and cold for a week. I’ll miss KD.
vacations | operator101 | 
Monday 23 February 2009 10:04 pm | 
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