Amazon.com has pulled the trigger. As reported earlier, a looming Hawaii state tax law change relating to online affiliate marketers has prompted the Internet retailer to close the Amazon Associates accounts of Hawaii residents. Members of the local tech community are pushing Gov. Linda Lingle to veto HB1405, but Amazon.com is acting pre-emptively, clearly hoping [...]
Entries from June 14th, 2009
Amazon Dumps Hawaii Affiliates
June 30th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · 4 Comments · Hawaii, Politics, Technology, The Web
Tags: affiliates·amazon·marketing·retail·taxes
Bookmarks for June 29th
June 29th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · No Comments · Links
When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on June 29th: EPA awards $200,000 Brownfields grant to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands: The funding will be used to start clean up work on the Department’s East Kapolei site, clearing an area adjacent to locations planned for development of affordable [...]
Review: Apple iPhone 3GS
June 27th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · 3 Comments · Gadgets, Reviews, Technology
I’ve had the iPhone 3GS for a week now, so I thought I’d share my impressions as someone who upgraded from last year’s iPhone 3G. There are dozens of excellent exhaustive reviews out there (see Engadget and Gizmodo‘s take, as well as that of the New York Times‘ David Pogue), so I’ll just touch on [...]
‘The Fuel Film’ Comes to Hawaii
June 24th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · 1 Comment · Events, Hawaii, Politics, Technology, Video
An award-winning documentary on America’s addiction to oil and the promise of alternative energy is coming to Honolulu. “The Fuel Film” (formerly “Fields of Fuel“) will be screened one night only, this Friday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. The film follows director and activist Josh Tickell as he travels around the country, uncovering the massive [...]
Bookmarks for June 22nd
June 22nd, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · No Comments · Links
When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on June 21st: School Program Cuts Problem Behaviors In Fifth Graders In Half: The study was conducted in 20 public elementary schools in Hawaii. Participating schools had below-average standardized test scores and diverse student populations with an average of 55 percent [...]
Kanu Hawaii Day of ‘Living Aloha’
June 20th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · 1 Comment · Miscellaneous
Kanu Hawaii, in partnership with The Institute for Human Services and other groups, is coordinating a “Day of Living Aloha” today. The online social network — focused on sustainable living, environmentalism, and “island style activism” — is calling upon people across all the islands to volunteer today to improve our communities. At Kuhio Park Terrace, [...]
Tags: kanu·kanuhawaii·service·volunteer
Mobile Medical Clinic Coming to Big Island
June 17th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · No Comments · Hawaii, Health, Technology
Kaiser Permanente is shipping a 500-square-foot, 10-wheel Mobile Health Vehicle to the Big Island, hoping to improve the accessibility of heath care services in largely rural Hawaii County. The vehicle was placed on a ship today in San Francisco, and will be officially unveiled July 2. When fully operational beginning July 21, it will continuously [...]
Tags: big island·Health·kaiser·medicine
HonuGuide Available for $10
June 16th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · No Comments · Hawaii
The 2009 Honu Guide, containing over a hundred coupons highlighting local green businesses and dozens of articles on sustainable living, is now available for $10. The 50 percent discount comes as we near the halfway mark for the year, but most of the coupons (offering $3,500 in savings overall) are good through November and December. [...]
Tags: green·guide·honu·sustainable
Bookmarks for June 15th
June 15th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · No Comments · Links
When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on June 15th: Scientists Find That Squid’s Bioluminescence Comes From Eye-Related Genes: The squid, commonly called Hawaiian Bobtail squid, has a light organ that is totally separate from the eyes. The new finding is that this organ is light sensitive and [...]
Hawaii Affiliate Marketers Push for Lingle Veto
June 14th, 2009 by Ryan Ozawa · 16 Comments · Business, Hawaii, The Web
A largely overlooked piece of legislation sitting on Gov. Linda Lingle’s desk has been dubbed “the bill that will devastate Hawaii’s online media industry” by a local online marketer. Dean Takamine of Synertech Media is now hoping that local internet businesses and technology companies will come together and convince the governor to veto HB1405. HB1405 [...]
Tags: affiliates·businesses·lingle·taxes·veto
