Honolulu Ranks 112th for People with Disabilities
Biden Admin grants ‘targeted’ Jones Act waiver for ship bringing fuel to Puerto Rico
Rising costs, construction woes hamper clean energy efforts in Hawaii
Hawaii County Bill 220 - Gun Carry Ban in “Sensitive Places”
Secretary of Defense Visits Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, Meets With Hawaii State Officials and Families
Socialist Ex-teacher charged with child porn now indicted in sex assault
SA: … An Oahu grand jury Friday indicted a former Oahu public school teacher on charges of continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14 and promoting child abuse.
Alden Bunag, 33, (a socialist and gay activist) was charged June 15 in federal court with distribution of child pornography but was not charged with sexual assault since that did not fall under federal jurisdiction.
However, the federal complaint reveals Bunag, in online chats with a Philadelphia teacher, said he had sex with a 13-year-old former student during lunch breaks at school. He also said he used camera equipment to record multiple “sexual encounters” with the boy.
The state indictment charges him with three counts of continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14 for allegedly engaging in three or more sexual acts from Aug. 1, 2016, to Sept. 27, 2017.
According to the state Department of Education, Bunag worked from 2016 to 2017 as a part-time temporary teacher at Ilima Intermediate School. He had been a substitute teacher since 2017 in the Leeward District and had worked in various positions since 2012.
He was most recently a part-time temporary teacher at Pearl City High School, where he had held a permanent secondary teaching position from 2020 to 2021.
According to information obtained by the FBI, Bunag also taught dance and ran a photography business under the names amb.creative media and alden.alternatemedia ….
Background:
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Twitter @AldenBunag: “Socialist high school teacher fighting for a better society for my students to graduate into. Artist, dancer, singer, photographer, writer, creative educator”
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read … Ex-teacher charged with child porn now indicted in sex assault
No decision on charges 1 year after alleged Makaha police chase
SA: … More than a year after an alleged police car chase left a 14-year-old boy in need of long-term medical attention, prosecutors have yet to decide whether three Honolulu police officers will be charged or cleared for allegedly causing the single-car crash in Makaha and fleeing the scene.
Dayton Gouveia, who doctors estimate will need health care services totaling some $7 million over the course of his life, is continuing to battle city attorneys in court. Four other passengers in the car sustained injuries in the early- morning crash and are also suing, along with the driver, Jonaven Perkins-Sinapati, who suffered brain damage.
In all, three separate civil complaints have been filed against the city, the Honolulu Police Department and the three officers: Joshua Nahulu, Jake Bartolome and Erik Smith, all District 8 patrol officers at the time of the crash….
read … No decision on charges 1 year after alleged Makaha police chase
Woman’s felony charges dismissed due to recent Obrero ruling
MN: … A recent Hawaii Supreme Court ruling led a 2nd Circuit Court judge to dismiss a case Thursday against a Makawao woman who was facing felony charges for allegedly threatening her neighbor and repeatedly ramming the neighbor’s car while two children were in the vehicle last year….
After neighbors testified at a preliminary hearing July 8, 2021, in Wailuku District Court, a judge upheld the felony charges. Later that month, Herfert was arraigned in 2nd Circuit Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In arguing for the case to be dismissed Thursday, Deputy Public Defender Tyler Stevenson cited the state Supreme Court ruling that a grand jury indictment for serious felony charges is required before a defendant can be arraigned in Circuit Court….
Hupp said Herfert had an argument with her neighbor and “repeatedly rammed the neighbor’s car” while children were in the car.
“It’s on video,” he said.
Herfert also allegedly threatened the neighbor with a metal pipe, according to the complaint.
Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the case without prejudice….
read … Woman’s felony charges dismissed due to recent Obrero ruling
Maui gun case could set Hawaii precedent
SA: … Maui County prosecutors last week appealed a judge’s dismissal of firearm possession charges against a Maui man — a challenge that potentially could set new precedent for Hawaii’s gun laws.
Circuit Judge Kirstin Hamman dismissed firearm charges, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling on the Second Amendment protecting the right to carry a gun outside of the home and calling into question permitting requirements like those in Hawaii, which are among the strictest in the country.
Maui County prosecutors appealed the dismissal to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, where the fate of how Hawaii’s gun laws are applied could be tested….
In the Maui case appealed to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, police arrested Christopher L. Wilson, who was “hiking and gazing at the moon,” for trespassing on another man’s property near Maalaea in December 2017, court documents show. Wilson told police that he had a loaded .22 pistol in his waistband for self-defense purposes, documents show.
Wilson was charged with a felony for carrying a firearm in an improper place and a misdemeanor for carrying ammunition in an improper place. He was also charged with misdemeanors for criminal trespassing and failing to obtain a firearm permit.
Wilson’s public defender, Ben Lowenthal, cited the Supreme Court’s June decision when he moved in July to dismiss the first two charges….
read … Maui gun case could set Hawaii precedent
Charging ahead at Department of Planning and Permitting
SA Editorial: … A vendor will be chosen to install a new automated system designed to cut the approval process by about three months. The solicitation for vendor bids ended Friday, and officials want the system installed and in use by the end of this month. So does the public.
The automated system is geared mainly to deal with the prescreening of permit applications. This essentially means scanning for basic omissions of application data or other, easily discoverable errors. It’s important to remedy what had been a five-month logjam at this entry point; DPP is promising a reduction to a week to 10 days at this step….
read ... Charging ahead at Department of Planning and Permitting
How Hawaii brought its population of girls in prison to zero
NBC: … A decade ago, more than 100 adolescents were imprisoned at the facility. When Patterson arrived two years later, the number had dropped by about half, according to data from the state's Department of the Attorney General and Office of Youth Services.
For Patterson, who came to the youth facility after running Hawaii’s Women’s Community Correctional Center, reducing the girls population required decreasing the number of young people put on probation, as violators often got sent to his facility. It also meant addressing the fact that they were the “most vulnerable of the high-risk” and often had suffered heavy trauma related to things like sexual exploitation, abuse at home or exposure to drug addiction, he said….
read … How Hawaii brought its population of girls in prison to zero
Aloha Stadium to become Post-Apocalyptic Drive-Thru
KITV: … Starting next Friday, October 7, the parking lot will transform into a drive-through haunted house, featuring six interactive scenes to scare, all from inside your car.
It's the third year that nonprofit Habilitat has hosted the event.
Last year's theme "Dead End: The Apocalypse" sold out, and organizers expect this year's "The Aftermath" -- to be bigger and better than before.
"It's going to be post-apocalypse," says Preston Pacleb-Timbol, Habilitat Admissions Representative. "People really love the clown scene -- there's going to be a ton of them. There's going to be lots of jump scares. Once you go through all the scenes, they all kind of tie together. If you really pay attention, we're gonna get you guys."….
read … "Post-apocalypse" drive-through haunted house coming to Aloha Stadium
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