Senator Russell E. Ruderman Member Feed

About Senator Russell Ruderman

Russell E. Ruderman was elected to the State Senate in 2012, representing all of the district of Puna and the town of Pahala in Ka‘u.

Russell graduated from Overbrook High School, Philadelphia, PA in 1971, and received a BS in Biology from Penn State in 1975. In 1985, he sailed to Hawai‘i from San Francisco on a small wooden boat. A pioneer in the natural foods industry for many years, in 1998, he founded Island Naturals, a group of retail grocery markets on the Big Island with locations in Hilo, Pahoa, and Kailua-Kona. Island Naturals is a strong supporter of local farmers and value-added producers and has been a constant champion of environmental issues like eliminating plastic bag pollution. For his work, Russell was named "Small Businessperson of the Year" for the State of Hawai‘i by the SBA in 2015, and also received Hawai‘i County's first "Keeping it Green" award for his many innovations at Island Naturals.

Russell has served on the Hawai‘i County's Agriculture Advisory Committee, Solid Waste Advisory Committee, UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center Advisory Committee and the Hawai‘i County Environmental Management Commission. In 2014, he was named "Legislator of the Year" by the Friends of the Library of Hawaii.

In his free time, Russell enjoys playing katchikatchi music with his band El Leo The Jarican Express and rock 'n roll guitar with Terrapin Station. He has four daughters and two grandchildren.

The Public Access Room's March 2016 Newsletter is now available!

In this Issue:

Rules, Rules, Rules! - It's where you can find answers to a wide variety of questions.

Get to Know Your Deadlines: Second Decking and Second Crossover - Understand what these deadlines mean.

Diversity of Process: Variations on Democracy - See how Hawaii's Legislature differs from those in other states.

Website Resources: "Reports and List" - Our Favorite Page!

Learning Sessions: Brown Bag Workshops in April - Learn about Floor Sessions, Orders of the Day, and Conference Committees.

As always, please let us know if we can be of any assistance! We look forward to hearing from you.

Head over to Par's website http://lrbhawaii.org/par/ and find them on the "Newsletters" section

PUBLIC ACCESS ROOM (PAR)
A Division of the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB)
State Capitol, Room 401
415 S. Beretania St.
Honolulu, HI 96813

Phone: 808/587-0478*
TTY: 808/587-0749
Email: par@capitol.hawaii.gov
Website: http://lrbhawaii.org

* Toll Free from All Islands
Hawai‘i..... 974-4000, ext. 7-0478
Maui............ 984-2400, ext. 7-0478
Kaua‘i.......... 274-3141, ext. 7-0478
Moloka‘i/Lana‘i...(800) 468-4644, ext. 7-0478
O‘ahu........... 587-0478

TAX ASSITANCE OFFERED FOR LOW INCOME AND OVER 50 INDIVIDUALS THROUGH AARP FOUNDATION

Need Help With Your Taxes? AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Hawaii Offers 36 Free Sites for offers free, individualized tax preparation for low-to moderate-income taxpayers - especially those 50 and older. Don't forget to bring your important documents to the site!

Click here to read more: http://www.aarp.org/applications/VMISLocator/searchTaxAideLocations.action

HAWAII STATE BAR ASSOCIATION OFFERS PRO BONO SERVICES

Members of the public who are seeking the services of an attorney may call, fax or e-mail the HSBA Lawyer Referral and Information Services staff. They will be referred to attorneys who have been pre-screened. If the individual qualifies after the assessment, they will be referred to avail of free legal services. Contact is (808) 537-9140, fax (808) 521-7936 and e- mail is LRIS@hsba.org.

Every Wednesday evening, attorneys are available from 6 to 7 pm to provide legal information by phone. The legal line phone number for Honolulu is (808) 537-1868.

The public is also given access to Justice Rooms where trained volunteer pro bono attorneys provide legal advice to self- represented litigants.

For other services and information go to:
http://hsba.org/HSBA/FOR_THE_PUBLIC/Legal_Assistance/HSBA/For_the_Public_/Legal Assistance.aspx

Students in Support of SB2083

I was very impressed with a visit today from student members in support of SB2083, which prohibits smoking in a vehicle when a minor is present. My visitors actually changed my position on this bill. Pictured are Sally Ancheta, Marwin Sarmiento, Tatiana Ferreira, Keiko Kurohara, and Senator Ruderman.

UH Announces Proposed Tuition Changes for Fall 2017

The University of Hawaii will be presenting its proposed tuition schedule for fall 2017 through spring 2020 to the community at open public meetings statewide from March 28 to May 5. The meetings will explain the rationale for the tuition proposal and what the increases will be used for and are intended to solicit feedback from students, faculty, staff and the general public.

After input is received and considered, a final recommendation will be presented to the UH Board of Regents at a public meeting for action in June 2016.

Click here to read more.

Meeting with Jane Sanders

With Jane Sanders (wife of Senator Bernie Sanders) in Honolulu. She is warm and genuine, and generous with her time and attention. A great honor to meet with her!

Boy Scouts of Hawai‘i Honored for Community Service at the Capitol

Honored to have the opportunity to welcome Boys Scouts of Hawaii to the Capitol yesterday. Boys Scouts have performed over 80,000 hours of service work in the past year and over 250 boys became Eagle Scouts.

SUSTAINABLE WORKSHOP AT EARTH MATTERS FARM IN KA‘U

When: Saturday, April 2nd at 10 am to 2 pm
Where: Earth Matters Farm, 2 miles down South Point Rd, on the right
The corner of Kamaoa and South Point Rd

RICHARD PAREA IS A CERTIFIED KOREN NATURAL FARMING INSTRUCTOR. HE HAS DEVEOLOPED A NATURAL FARMING TECHNIQUE THAT IS UNIQUE TO OUR LOCAL AREA CALLED KA‘U NATURAL FARMING.

LEARN TO CULTIVATE YOUR OWN LOCAL MICRO-ORGANISMS FOR SUSTAINABLE GARDENING AND FARMING

LEARN THE INTERFACE BETWEEN SOIL AND PLANTS AND HOW TO STRENGTHEN PLANTS ABILITY TO RECEIVE AVAILABLE NUTRIENTS

This workshop is sponsored by the HFUU, Ka‘u Chapter and Earth Matters Farm and the cost is $25 and FREE to all HFUU Members, join the Farmers Union!
There will be a garden fresh lunch included.

For more information or to sign up please call Greg Smith @ 808-443-3300
Or email to: earthmatterskau@aol.com

Big Island Delegation Welcomes Governor Ige as Guest Speaker

The Big Island delegation enjoyed meeting with Governor Ige to discuss Big Island concerns. We meet weekly and today's guest was our Governor, invited by Senator Kaiali‘i Kahele.