Feds: $540M in Highway Funds can be spent on Rail
Screaming Haole Papaya Chopper Returns to Farm—to Apologize
Protester, a Convicted Felon, Puts Human Remains at Telescope Site, says he has more
HTH: A Hilo man says an ahu built at the Thirty Meter Telescope site atop Mauna Kea should be protected after he deposited human remains there.
(2x Convicted Felon) Palikapu Dedman, who is facing potential criminal charges, told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald he placed iwi, or bones, belonging to an ancestor on the stone altar last September and then again earlier this month after realizing the first set of bones went missing.
He declined to provide details for how he got the remains but claimed they belong to relatives and that they are from Ka‘u, his ancestral home. Dedman said he has more….
He said he wanted to show the area is a Hawaiian burial site….
Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth said his office is reviewing the report from DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement regarding the iwi, but couldn’t estimate when a decision on criminal charges will be made….
VIDEO: Remains Placed On Mauna Kea Stir Controversy
PDF: Dedman Criminal Transcript
read … Human remains placed at TMT site
Caldwell Caught in $324M Lie – Forced to Admit he Canceled Community Paramedic Program Designed to End EMS Abuse
SA: …Djou said that a small percentage of ambulance users regularly use EMS, and those people “have adopted 911 almost as taxi service. And this tiny minority overburdens our system.”
Djou called for re-establishing the community paramedic program, which dedicates a small group of paramedics to addressing chronic, nonemergency 911 callers.
“It’s a good, smart, valuable program” that he would work to reinstate, he said.
The program was terminated shortly after Caldwell took office in January 2013, with Rigg citing the need to focus resources on the struggle to fill shifts caused by a large number of vacancies at the time, which also triggered wide absenteeism.
On Thursday, shortly after the mayoral candidates’ forum at the Willows, Caldwell and spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke told the Star-Advertiser that the program had ended under Ireland and Carlisle.
When the Star-Advertiser showed administration officials evidence that the program was canceled during Caldwell’s tenure, Rigg on Friday said he had lost track of when the program ended and had given wrong information to the mayor and Broder Van Dyke the previous day….
(Translation: We tried to put this over and Rigg is our designated fall-guy.)
Reality: Homeless Rack up $324M in Ambulance Rides, Hospitalizations after Caldwell Cancels Program
read … Caldwell is a Liar
Police miss deadline on rape kits
SA: All four of Hawaii’s county police departments have failed to comply with a Sept. 1 statutory deadline requiring them to report to the attorney general’s office the number of untested rape kits they have in storage and the dates the forensic evidence was collected from alleged victims of sexual assault.
The county police reports are supposed to form the basis of a final report due to the Legislature on Dec. 1 that outlines comprehensive policies for clearing out backlogs of untested kits, procedures for testing new ones, and how best to notify victims if their processed kit produces a development in their case. Some of the untested kits are known to date back to the 1990s….
read … Police miss deadline on rape kits
After Two Years one Member of Police Commission Finally Does Her Job
HNN: It has been two years since Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha was first accused of abusing his position to give his wife an advantage in a financial dispute with her family.
Since then…a federal prosecutor has been investigating more serious allegations. Hawaii News Now reported exclusively last week current and former officers were informed by prosecutors there is enough evidence to charge them with serious felonies.
In the meantime… Kealoha's management of the department has also come under fire; for alleged favoritism in promotions…lax discipline for police violence and a culture too tolerant of domestic abuse.
During all this time…the police commission had not once publicly questioned the chief about these important issues. If there was questioning…it was in secret.
All that changed last week…when newly-appointed commissioner Loretta Sheehan ("Shee-in") asked about all these issues in an open meeting.
This is the way it should be….
KGI: KPD officers still wear body cameras
read … About Time
Obama’s Billion Dollar Tax Credit Scam: US Senate Investigates NextEra, SolarCity, SunRun, Sun Edison, and More
WSJ: Congressional lawmakers have launched a formal investigation into whether solar-energy companies improperly received billions of dollars in tax incentives from the Obama administration.
The Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday sent letters to seven foreign and domestic companies in the solar industry, expanding a more limited probe started earlier this year.
The recipients included three firms in the residential solar industry, SolarCity Corp., Sunrun Inc. and Sungevity Inc., and four solar utility companies—SunEdison Inc., Abengoa SA, NextEra Energy Inc. and NRG Energy Inc.
Next Scam: First Wave-Produced Electricity in US Goes Online in Hawaii
read … Lawmakers Probe Tax Incentives Received by Solar-Energy Firms
‘Floating prisons’ is 30-year-old problem
SA: …Kudos to our congressional delegation for highlighting the plight of these foreign fishers (“Politicians say they will help foreign fishers,” Star-Advertiser, Sept 15).
However, my question is, why now? According to reports, this so-called loophole is over 30 years old — just about the time we started seeing ships docking at the Ala Moana Boulevard/Nimitz Highway loop.
Also, KHON News reported about these “slave-like working conditions” in 2013. If I am not mistaken both U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz were in office at the time.
My only conclusion: This is a news story now because it’s from Associated Press and Whole Foods decided to stop purchasing from the fish auction. It is the typical wait-till-the-public-makes-noise, knee-jerk reaction I have come to expect from our leaders….
IF: Hawaii-longline-industry-takes-action-in-wake-of-slavery-reports
CN: Hawaiian lawmakers promise reform for confined fishermen
read … Wait
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