We do not take our readers for granted, and we hope that you return when we do, but we stand with our union.

Not a surprising endorsement, considering the Oahu Farm Bureau is a subsidiary of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

Dean Okimoto, Hannemann’s re-election campaign co-chair and fellow Iolani School alum, is president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

Oahu County President Grant Hamachi announced the endorsement at Hannemann’s campaign headquarters this morning.

“Mayor Hannemann has been the only Honolulu mayor who has shown a strong commitment to farmers and ranchers on Oahu.  With Mayor Hannemann at this leadership post, we will have the necessary attention and support from the City,” said Hamachi, in a statement.  “We’re proud and excited to announce the Oahu Farm Bureau’s unequivocal endorsement of Mufi Hannemann as Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.”

Hannemann was happy to have the support.

“The importance of agriculture to our 21st Century Ahupua`a and our economy must be underscored.  One of the objectives of our 21st Century Ahupua`a program is restoring fallow farm land to productive agriculture and thereby preserving our green, open spaces.  The industry not only does that, but farming puts fresh food on our tables and reduces our need for imports, serves as a basis for our unique regional cuisine, and provides export markets for our commodities,” said Hannemann, in a statement.  “Agriculture is part of our island heritage, and it’s imperative that we do everything we can to support it.  I’m very gratified by the endorsement of the Oahu Farm Bureau because it validates everything we’re doing to help this vital sector of our economy.”

Speculation about what the Republican governor might do next has been percolating since she was re-elected in 2006. Several political analysts believe she might be interested in the U.S. Senate, while others have suggested she may want to serve on a corporate or nonprofit board.

This is the only job, where I got elected, and for four years people are going to be asking me that. They asked me within weeks of getting elected. I said, `I just got elected, come on.’

I think it’s especially, even more so now, with the fiscal situation. We’re going to face an extremely tough fiscal situation and the remainder of my time in office is going to be a big, big challenge fiscally.

What if U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona becomes president and asks her to play a role in his administration?

No. I just told you. I have 26 months and I have to focus. It would be, you know, turning my back on the public. `Oh, things got a little tough. I think I’ll go to Washington.’

No. My responsibility is here.

Actor Jack Black’s character in the blockbuster “Tropic Thunder” is named “Jeff Portnoy,” which might be fun except that the character was described by a film critic as “an obese substance-abusing comic trapped in a series of flatulent cross-dressing comedies.”

The movie, written and directed by Ben Stiller and shot on Kaua’i, is about the filming of a war epic that goes wrong when the actors square off against a real militia.

Black, speaking of his character, told Orlando Sentinel critic Roger Moore:

Look, a lot of him is me, obviously. I haven’t done multiple-character comedies that are all about farting. But I do fart in some of my movies, and I am fat, in, well, pretty much all my movies. So I understand this guy. There’s a little Chris Farley-John Belushi, a little angry Tom Sizemore in there, too. I’ve phased the excess partying out of my life. But the guy is not a long trip for me to take.

Portnoy said he heard his name might be a character in the movie during filming and tried to get a film publicist to let him on set to talk with staff or at least make light of the situation. No deal.

“I don’t know Stiller and don’t have any idea where they got the name from,” he said. “It’s not a common name, but there are a few Portnoys in NY and LA,” he said.

One bummer is that Portnoy’s Google search listings have been pushed downward by the Black character. Another? “Not only didn’t I get paid, but they simply did not capture the real me,” he joked.

No one invited us –or minority Republicans, either — but we figured we’d ferret out the results since it’s political season and all.

The highlights:

State Constitutional Convention
*54% oppose having a constitutional convention if it costs $5 million to $9 million.
*68% oppose a constitutional convention if it costs $10 million to $19 million.
*71% prefer legislative alternatives to a constitutional convention if a convention would cost about $9 million.
*78% do not have any suggested changes to the constitution.

Mass transit
*59% on Oçahu favor a fixed-rail mass transit system.
*Support for rail is highest on the Leeward Coast (49% strongly favor) and Wai’anae (37%), compared to the North Shore (29%), Honolulu (29%), and the Windward side (25%).

Most important issues facing the state
*Economy (26%)
*Infrastructure (16%)
*Cost of living (10%)
*Education (8%)
*Traffic (5%)

Most important issues influencing their vote
*Economy (16%)
*Candidate themselves (14%)
*Infrastructure/roads/transit (14%)
*Education (7%)
*Cost of living/gasoline (4%)

In a television spot that began airing recently, Hannemann is shown at the end of the clip holding a basketball before saying, “I can’t do it alone,” and passing the ball off screen.

Low takes the pass and responds with,

“Count me in. Mahalo Mayor Mufi,” before hoisting a three that is shown dropping through the net.

Low signed his first professional basketball contract in July, a one-season deal to play for the Sydney Spirit of Australia’s National Basketball League.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the package includes free housing and transportation.

Low, a 6-foot-2 point guard, is a 2004 ‘Iolani School graduate from Honolulu and recent standout at Washington State University.  Hannemann is a 1972 graduate of Iolani School.

Obama, who is back on the campaign trail following a week on Oahu with family and friends, has reportedly narrowed his choices to Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, according to a report in The New York Times.

After months of political calculations and soul searching, what could have helped clear his head in order to make such a momentous decision?

Hanging in his hometown of Honolulu, according to The Times.

The resolution, which does not have the force of law, asks the city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services to amend the current pay structure to allow for the use of credit and debit cards.

Most Mainland cities accept credit or debit card payments for property taxes as do Kauai County and Hawaii County.

The city administration is reluctant to amend the current payment process because they say the two percent transaction fee charged by most card companies will have to be passed on to residents.

The resolution was introduced by City Council member Charles K. Djou.

Djou wants to make the process convenient for residents.

“Residents increasingly use credit and debit cards for all forms of financial transactions and it’s time for the City to enter the 21st century and accept credit cards for real property taxes.   It makes no sense that the City accepts credit cards for vehicle tax and delinquent property tax payments, but refuses to accept credit cards for timely property tax payments,” said Djou.  “Most U.S. cities, including Kauai and the Big Island, already allow for payment of property taxes with credit and debit cards; it’s time for Honolulu to do the same.”

Property tax payments are due tomorrow.

An August negotiations summary of contract talks between the state and HGEA Unit 3 — which represents non-supervisory white collar workers — has some folks in political circles talking, however.

From the “union proposals” portion of the summary:

Article (New) — Work Week
Four (4) day, eight (8) hour work week proposal with no adverse impact on compensation, benefits and working conditions.

In Utah, which started a mandatory four-day work week for most government employees this month, and in the state pilot, the work day is about 11 hours.

Jodi Chai of HGEA explained that the Unit 3 proposal, which is similar to proposals from several other bargaining units, was floated before the state pilot was announced.

“Just keep in mind that this is merely a proposal and this was actually prior to the governor’s pilot project and it was just merely to start the discussions,” she cautioned.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has had a site for sometime as has University of Hawaii engineering professor Panos D. Prevedouros.

In the last week, Honolulu City Councilmember Ann H. Kobayashi unveiled her campaign headquarters on University Avenue and her campaign Web site.

Supporters can donate online and keep up with the candidates.

Brian Schatz, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, appears in a
montage of people on the Web site presumed to be Kobayashi supporters.

Schatz, asked whether he has endorsed Kobayashi, said the party does not
take sides in primaries.

He said he did not authorize the Kobayashi campaign
to use his picture.