HB1481: DelaCruz Gut & Replace to Bypass Opposition to HCDA Control of East Kapolei
Community-based report on Maunakea released
Honolulu 8th-Worst for Middle Class Homebuyers
VIDEO: Trump Tax Impact on Hawaii
Ige Appoints Three to BoE
Just Shut Up; The Price of Pandering to Anti-Vaxxers
Woman Hounded by Inouye Staffers After Fending off Senator’s Sexual Advances
CB: …Thirty years later, Bailiff now says she was subjected to continual sexual harassment by Inouye. But she says just as damaging was the wall of protection that went up from staffers intent on shielding the senator, knocking her off what had been a promising career path….
The inappropriate behavior started when she went into Inouye’s office one day to ask him to sign a document. Instead of just signing it, Bailiff says the senator asked her to rub his shoulders.
“It was immediately awkward,” Bailiff says. “But sort of couched in this elderly man sort of way.”….
She says she told Inouye staffer Jennifer Goto — now Jennifer Goto Sabas, who later rose to be Inouye’s chief of staff and is currently a prominent Hawaii lobbyist and the director of the Daniel K. Inouye Institute. But Bailiff says Sabas essentially shrugged.
“She was like, ‘Oh yeah you know, he just needs that, you’re not special, that’s what he does to everybody,’ sort of thing,” Bailiff says.
Sabas (of course) says she doesn’t (choose to) remember this….
Inouye asked if she had eaten — she hadn’t — and invited her up to his hotel room for a late dinner. After they walked into the room, the senator asked her to sit next to him on the bed. She did for a moment but quickly got up.
“How do I react to this and keep my job?” Bailiff remembers thinking. “How do I extricate myself from this without offending the senator?”
Inouye followed her and put his arm around her. He started to talk about how lonely he was. She reminded him that she was married, and he replied, “I’m married, too.”….
After Bailiff got back to Washington, D.C., she says she eventually told Inouye’s then-chief of staff, Patrick DeLeon what happened.
“I don’t want you to tell anybody this. I am not going to cause any problems,” Bailiff says she told DeLeon.
But DeLeon denies this ever happened.
“She never talked to me,” DeLeon says. “I can’t quite remember who she is because it was so long ago. … If one of the staff or interns had complained about it to me I would have remembered. That’s something you can’t forget.”
But Bailiff says she was barely out of DeLeon’s office when he called Giugni, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms. Giugni went around the office and asked her colleagues if Bailiff had talked to them about Atlanta and told them not to talk to her, she says….
Bailiff says she called up Giugni and told him that she didn’t want to make trouble for the senator. She says Giugni asked her how much money she wanted to keep quiet….
The harassment also came up in Bailiff’s 2011 divorce, records show….
read … One Woman’s Story Of Sexual Harassment By Hawaii Sen. Dan Inouye
Gut-n-Replace: HB2010 Delacruz Retaliation Against HTA
SA: …The disturbingly common practice, known as “gut and replace,” was applied, for example, in lawmakers’ deliberations over funding for the Hawaii Tourism Authority. In this case, Senate Bill 2224, aiming to cut the agency’s funding by 40 percent, did not make progress when it passed to the House.
So the content of an unrelated measure, House Bill 2010, was gutted. It became the vessel into which was poured the contents of SB 2224 as a replacement. And what makes heads turn over that strategy is that state Sen. Donavan Dela Cruz, the Ways and Means Committee chairman hearing the bill today, has some history with the HTA that, critics rightly assert, puts him in a conflict of interest….
Dela Cruz, who voted for the bill’s twin in the Senate, acknowledges a part-time position as a communications director for DTL Hawaii. DTL is an offshoot of WCIT Architecture, a company where Dela Cruz worked while it had secured an HTA contract.
More recently, these companies have competed less successfully for contracts (so Delacruz is retaliating)…..
Background: Retaliation: Sen DelaCruz Guts Tourism Marketing after Loss of WCIT/DTL Contracts
read … Retaliation
Gut-n-Replace: HB1985 is New Vessel for Maunakea management bill -- to be debated Thursday
HTH: …Legislation to create a new management authority for Maunakea is getting another chance after apparently stalling in the House.
The original measure, Senate Bill 3090, has until Friday to pass the House Finance Committee. But without a hearing being scheduled, lawmakers in the Senate are proposing to insert an updated version of that bill into another measure — House Bill 1985 — that already passed the House….
That bill initially pertained to reports on use and value of public lands, but now would establish the new authority, under the proposed rewrite. The new version will be heard before the Senate committees on Water and Land, Ways and Means, and Higher Education at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Sen. Kai Kahele, one of the sponsors of SB 3090 who has been championing the proposed new authority, said the Senate wants to “continue the conversation on Maunakea.”
Such rewrites are often referred to as a “gut and replace.” Kahele claimed the Senate is being transparent because it is providing 72 hours notice….
read … Maunakea management bill to be debated Thursday
Mafia-Connected ‘UnderSheriff’ Dead
ILind: …For those who recall the 1980s in Hawaii, Caminos was also a highly controversial figure.
He was at the center of the political scandal that rocked the State Judiciary in the mid-1980s, along with the courts’ deputy administrator, Tom “Fat Boy” Okuda.
The 1986 report by a special citizens panel appointed by Chief Justice Herman Lum reviewed allegations, and found several different types of mismanagement in the Sheriff’s Office under the day-to-day management of “Undersheriff” Caminos (the panel found that the title of “Undersheriff” was not authorized by law and was apparently made up by Caminos and Okuda, who claimed the unauthorized title of “High Sheriff”).
The panel also found that Caminos had been the beneficiary of improper hiring and promotion practices that bypassed civil service protections, and recommended that he be demoted and returned to the position of bailiff. That didn’t happen. Instead, the sheriff’s office was transferred out of the Judiciary, and Caminos was one of the political survivors.
Caminos was also dogged by rumors and allegations stemming from his personal, family, and community ties to those on the other side of the law in his Waianae neighborhood.
One of those on the other side of the law was a cousin, Charles K. Stevens Jr. When Stevens was indicted federal charges in 1991, a number of documents were unsealed in the court record.
According to a Honolulu Advertiser story by
Walter Wright:
“Stevens, indicted this week on federal drug and gun charges, was at the center of a secretive ans well-organized narcotics operation that had connections to law enforcment and the local political-business world, according to federal surveillance documetns unsealed Wednesday.
“Affidavits from unnamed FBI informants are peppered with alelgations that Stevens has connections to local law enforcement authorites, including frequent references to Stevens’ close family and social contacts with relatives of Caminos.
Caminos’ brother, Lincoln, is also mentioned in the lengthy documents in connection with Stevens, as are Frederick “Freddy Boy” Caminos, identified as the first deputy’s son, and another son, James “Jimmy” Caminos….
HNN: Hawaii law enforcement community paid tribute to First Deputy Sheriff Frederick Caminos
read … Yesterday’s obit: Frederick “Cappy” Caminos
Are more Honolulu homeless becoming armed aggressors?
HHC: A recent rash of stabbings certainly suggest that Honolulu’s streets are becoming more and more dangerous as homeless drug addicts and psychotics increasingly take over public spaces while authorities dither.
The incidents have included a homeless man’s random face and neck-slashing box-cutter attack on an innocent woman enjoying her lunch in Waikiki on March 21, a homeless man’s vicious neck-stabbing of another homeless man along Fort Street Mall downtown on March 31, and the chest-stabbing on April 1 of a man near the restrooms where homeless people often congregate in Thomas Square, near the Honolulu Art Museum….
read … Are more Honolulu homeless becoming armed aggressors?
Kahului: Homeless pace up and down street Screaming All Night Every Night
MN: …Most of the around 20 homeless people who linger by the fence were gone by 8 a.m.
Neighborhood resident Alicia Sardinha said homeless people stay up all hours of the night, talking and laughing loudly and fighting. Some scream obscenities and threaten to kill each other, she said.
“They pace up and down the street screaming. It’s no longer an occasional problem but an every-night problem,” she said.
Sardinha, who has lived in the area for more than 50 years, said: “I was raised at the pool. My children used it growing up, and now their children are not allowed near there without being escorted.”
Sardinha has written to Mayor Alan Arakawa for help and has called police. She received a response from David Nakama, Maui County’s homeless program coordinator, who said he hears her concerns about Kaulawahine Street.
“Homeless service outreach, who are out there continually, have been working with many of these individuals for years offering assistance to get them sheltered,” Nakama wrote in a email. “Some have accepted the help, while many still haven’t. Oddly enough, several of those people in that area actually have housing but are choosing to hang out with their friends.”…
One man who was leaving the area Monday morning said he has been living there for five years….
Ishiki said that any notice to vacate comes with offers of outreach services by the Family Life Center and community police officers, prior to eviction….
For various reasons, some homeless people choose not to accept help from others, including their families, Ishiki said….
the notice to vacate is a way to get homeless people to accept outreach services, a strategy that has seen some success.
read … Notice to vacate is enforced near Shiraishi Pool in Central Maui
U.S. Vets promotes its ‘master lease’ idea
SA: …U.S. Vets wants its fellow homeless organizations to take a bigger role in getting people off the street by taking financial responsibility for the people they’re trying to house.
“How are we expecting people (landlords and property managers) to trust in our own clients if we won’t?” said Darryl Vincent, chief operating officer for U.S. Vets.
Since 2006, U.S. Vets has been taking the legal and financial responsibility for the “master lease” on homes, condos and apartments across Oahu — and now Kauai and Hawaii island — and is working to convince more island homeless agencies to try the same approach….
instead of trying to convince a Hawaii landlord or property manager to take a chance on renting to a homeless person when they have so many other applicants, U.S. Vets holds “the master lease” and is responsible for collecting rent, paying for damage, filling vacancies and dealing with any problem tenants.
“They get their rent whether it’s rented or not,” Vincent said.
In many cases, Vincent said, landlords and property managers don’t even know whether their units are vacant because U.S. Vets continues to pay the rent.
One of the 14 Hawaii organizations that U.S. Vets is working with at the Hawaii Community Foundation to house homeless families is taking its first attempt with a master lease on Hawaii island….
read … U.S. Vets promotes its ‘master lease’ idea
Measure proposes leasing of library sites
HTH: …A bill that would rent out library land and facilities as a way to generate revenue is proceeding through the state Legislature as quietly as libraries themselves.
Senate Bill 2919 sets up a pilot program at three libraries in the state where leases of up to 55 years would be granted to lessees selected in a competitive process by the Department of Education. Money from the leases would be deposited in a newly created libraries facility fund to be used for state library programs.
The state Board of Education can select up to five public library land sites as candidates for participation in the pilot program before choosing three. During the identification and selection process, the board must host at least one public meeting in each affected community and foster library and community participation, under the measure….
SB2919: Text, Status
read … Measure proposes leasing of library sites
What's the solution to fix Guam Memorial Hospital?
GPDN: …because of poor leadership and management, it no longer meets our needs. I believe that we deserve better.
GMH has long been one of the agencies where politically connected friends and family got jobs. When critical agencies serve as places of political hires, how can we expect a top quality medical facility?
GMH has been a financial drain on GovGuam and will continue to bleed money unless changes are made. Due to excessive spending for personnel and contractual costs, it continues to struggle. As a result of its continuous financial imbalance, the hospital falls short on medical supplies, equipment and maintenance.
The hospital employs too many people, some of whom earn exorbitant salaries and contracts. Are these well-paid fat cats really necessary?
The governor faults the Legislature for “inadequately appropriating for the hospital.” There is no end to the blame game or GMH’s many excuses for not meeting the medical needs of our people. The loss of accreditation is looming large. Inadequate reimbursements for Medicare, Medicaid and insurance claims will continue. Unpaid vendor bills will continue to increase….
There are several clinics and medical facilities on Guam that offer a wide variety of expertise. Might we consider entering into public-private partnerships to integrate the various capabilities and maximize medical care for all?…
Many of our people are forced to travel with family members and incur staggering expenses in strange and intimidating places because Guam could not offer the required critical medical care….
Thanks to medical facilities like the Guam Regional Medical City, off-island medical trips have become less necessary…
read … What's the solution to fix Guam Memorial Hospital?
Anti-GMO Activists Promote School Shooting Conspiracy Theories
KGI: …An internet conspiracy theorist tied to Alex Jones has launched a new website dedicated to attacking gun control advocate David Hogg, and claims it’s protected by free speech.
The content on “Hoggwatch.com” features content exclusively related to the 18-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, who survived the February shooting that killed 17 people.
Many of the articles are written by Mike Adams, the founder of (anti-GMO) Natural News — a bombastic website seeking to debunk widely accepted scientific theories.
But Hoggwatch.com, which began publishing stories after the Feb. 14 massacre, pushes conspiracy theories that Hogg is a paid actor who wants to shift American ideology…..
Comment: “Natural News is a leading anti-GMO website. This is the latest reminder that Kauai’s regressive leftists have a lot in common with Birthers and other right-wing conspiracy nuts. I continue to be amused at their ability to look down on Trump supporters when they have so much in common. Maybe they are ashamed of the resemblance?”
read … Conspiracy theorist launches website focused on Parkland survivor
TVRs: Why an Anti-GMO Activist Chooses to become ‘Outraged’ over a Seawall on Maui
CB: …For the first time in almost a decade the state is allowing the construction of a 400-foot long, football field-length seawall revetment for the Hololani Resort-Condominium in West Maui. Longtime community members (Anti-GMO activists like me) are (choosing to be) outraged with the decision.
Granting permits and easements for this seawall would set a horrible precedent (bla bla) and initiate a domino-effect (bla bla bla) as flanking erosion pushes successive beachfront owners to replace sandbags and open beaches with increasingly hardened structures (blablablabla). In West Maui alone, seawalls have contributed to the loss of approximately four miles of beaches to coastal armoring. (bla, etc….)
On March 28, the Senate Water and Land committee voted 3-2 to authorize the easement for the Hololani Resort seawall construction. Sens. Gil Riviere (North Shore) and Lorraine Inouye (Hawaii island) voted in opposition, noting that the same committee had just accepted the state Sea Level Rise report and (choosing this issue to assert that) the approval of a seawall would send the wrong message….
(As we all know, belief in sea level rise is turned on or off according to the situation. So why is anti-GMO hypester Tiare Lawrence turning on the ‘outrage’ now? Keep reading….)
Most of the seawall supporters are Hololani condominium owners and many, if not most, of the Hololani condominiums are Airbnb-type vacation rentals….
(Translation: Anti-GMO activists are working for the hotel industry.)
Precisely as Explained: Report: Hawaii’s Billion-Dollar Consensus Proves Nobody Really Believes in Sea Level Rise
read … Phony Outrage for Profit
Caldwell to Announce New TVR Scheme
SA: In his sixth State of the City speech today, Mayor Kirk Caldwell will unveil his plan to allow for more legal bed-and-breakfast establishments and transient vacation units across Oahu, but only if the operators are also the owners of those homes, abide by stricter guidelines, pay higher property taxes and pay stricter penalties when they run afoul of the law.
Caldwell, who previewed his speech to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday, said “unhosted” transient vacation units would be banned from areas zoned for single-family residential but allowed in apartment and business mixed-use zones and only for owner-occupants. Property owners with homeowner’s exemptions could rent their homes as TVUs for a maximum of three months out of the year.
Operators of TVUs would have to pay annual property taxes at the same rate as hotels and resorts, $12.90 per $1,000 of assessed value, instead of the $3.50 per $1,000 paid for by most residential property owners, if they operate as TVUs for more than 30 days, Caldwell said….
Property owners meeting those requirements also would need to obtain city-issued registration numbers, which must be displayed in advertising for the TVUs, Caldwell said. Those caught advertising illegally would be fined a minimum of $25,000 a day and progressively up to $100,000 a day, he said. Failure to pay would result in liens against those properties and other penalties, he said.
Hosted bed-and-breakfast establishments would be allowed in single-family residential as well as apartment and business mixed-use zones. Those with B&B establishments, like their counterparts with TVU operations, would need to have homeowner’s exemptions and obtain registration numbers.
Unlike TVU operators, however, those running B&Bs would be allowed to operate through the entire year. B&B operators would pay property taxes at $6.90 per $1,000 of value, roughly half of the hotel-resort rate but nearly double the homeowner’s rate, he said.
B&B operators who fail to show their registration numbers in ads would be penalized under the same guidelines as TVU operators, except there would be no limit on the maximum daily fine….
SA: Mayor’s vacation rental plan gets cool reception
read … Scratching Around
Caldwell Pays $108 each to Catch Chickens
SA: The issue of feral chickens — and what happens when they cross the road — is again rearing its head at Honolulu Hale.
The city is looking for a better way to deal with chickens after its first attempts resulted in a cost of $108 per chicken caught and killed.
“A hundred dollars is a lot of money just to capture a chicken,” said Deputy Customer Services Director Randy Leong.
One reason the city found it difficult to capture feral chickens was because they would run from city property to state or private property where the city-paid staffers could not go.
“I don’t want to humorize this, but really, the chickens often cross the road….”
read … Send Caldwell
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