Legal Fees: OHA Lawyers Bill 15 Times Higher
Lahaina Injection Wells: Maui Mayor Scores Council for Refusing to Consider County's Settlement Offer
DLNR Hikes Small Boat Harbor Fees
Debunking the Latest Anti-Telescope Conspiracy Theory
KITV: … A social media post from Mauna Kea activists Onipaa Kakou goes on the offense against the Governor and his wife Dawn.
(Theory appears to originate with former Puna residents Leonard Horowitz and Sherry Kane. That should settle the issue.)
It found a paper trail that (pretends to) indirectly connects the Iges to a big payout from TMT International Observatory. The post says TMT paid more than $3 million to a "Private Security Group" whose owners also run a real estate firm- whose clients are the Iges. The post implies Governor Ige has a conflict of interest with TMT.
(In reality it shows that the Ige rental house is managed by a property management firm which is owned by a husband and wife who also own a security company which provides security for TMT. Truly lame stuff here.)
The Governor's office told KITV4 on Sunday, "The Iges do not have any financial relationship with TMT. They contracted Pacific International Realty, Inc. to manage the home they have rented out. Any suggestion of a connection between this property management contract and TMT is utterly without merit." ….
PDF: Truly Lame Theory
(Here’s a better theory. Many anti-telescope activists are directly or indirectly funded by OHA. OHA wants to use the protests to grab control of the master lease for Mauna Kea. Wow.)
ILind: “the links between Gov. Ige and the TMT, via the TMT’s security contractor, are indirect and distant at best and, based on the information currently being reviewed, would not give the governor a substantial financial interest in the TMT itself. And having a “substantial financial interest” is what would be needed to trigger a possible conflict of interest in this case.”
ILind: One more thing…a rental ad for Gov. Ige’s Aiea home
More Paranoia: TMT opponents expecting sweep this week
read … About What Happens to your Brain if you Smoke Too Much Weed
I Am One Hawaiian -- Those blockading the highway on Mauna Kea do not speak for me.
CB: … I am a Hawaiian. I am an American too. I do not find these to be incompatible. Other Hawaiian patriots have not. Robert Wilcox and Prince Kuhio Kalanianaole served in the U.S. Congress after annexation as servants of all the people of Hawaii, not solely Hawaiians, as did Sen. Dan Akaka.
I am one Hawaiian. My opinion of Hawaiian matters is mine and I would never dream of determining for other Hawaiians how their Hawaiian identity should be defined or that their cultural sensibilities are not valid. It seems to me that during the last 50 years an orthodoxy of “Hawaiian-ness” has developed and been taught to our children as what it means to be Hawaiian. I reject this viewpoint. I refuse to accept that those who speak the Hawaiian language, and study hula, traditional handicrafts, or lua, have greater worth, legitimacy, or validity as Hawaiians than I, or my family.
I am frankly indifferent to the TMT; I have no particular interest in or opposition to the TMT. I am also indifferent to the specific spiritual beliefs of my fellow Hawaiians. If they want to construct a world view that is based upon any or no religion, that is their choice.
That they have the freedom to decide that choice for themselves, however, is something about which I am not indifferent. I believe that the rule of law should both protect their right to follow the spiritual path they elect and give it no greater privilege in society over others’ paths.
I believe in religious freedom, but not unlimited religious freedom. I do not believe that my position on the limits on religious expression is a cultural imposition by colonial occupiers. In this I join the thinking expressed in constitutional frameworks that have long been in place in Hawaii: “All men are free to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience; but this sacred privilege hereby secured, shall not be so construed as to justify acts of licentiousness, or practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the Kingdom.”
These words are to be found in the constitutions of the Hawaiian Kingdom of 1852, 1864, 1887, and even that Queen Liliuokalani purportedly wished to proclaim on Jan. 14, 1893. Even some modern sovereignty proponents seemingly agree. Hawaiiankingdom.org contends that the Constitution of 1864 is still in full effect. Hawaii-nation.org proclaims a constitution that describes “the right of everyone to religious freedom and spiritual practices, providing that it does not infringe on anyone’s right to life, liberty and their pursuit to happiness.”….
read … I Am One Hawaiian -- Those blockading the highway on Mauna Kea do not speak for me.
Report shows 3 preliminary concepts for new Aloha Stadium Boondoggle
SA: … A report for the Aloha Stadium Authority lays out three preliminary concept options for the new Aloha Stadium across the facility’s current 96-acre footprint in Halawa.
Option “A” would be where the present stadium sits, “B” would be west of the existing facility and “C” to the south. They each include site plans of what the layouts might look like with surrounding mixed use retail development, rail station, parking and other amenities.
The report, posted on the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District website, nased.hawaii.gov, is part of an environmental impact statement preparation notice (EISPN) required by the environmental impact statement (EIS) process….
(NOTE: None of the ‘options’ involve the only sane idea—keeping the existing perfectly good stadium.)
read … Report shows 3 preliminary concepts for new Aloha Stadium
New law requires Hawaii’s private schools to be licensed or accredited
SA: … The new law defines a private school as “an educational institution that teaches students in any grade from kindergarten through grade 12 and that is licensed or accredited by the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, Hawaii Council of Private Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Western Catholic Educational Association, Association of Christian Schools International, or a similarly recognized entity that meets or exceeds the standards set by the aforementioned entities.”
All 101 member schools of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools are licensed, and many are also accredited by HAIS and or WASC. Another five schools are licensed by the Hawaii Council for Private Schools but are not HAIS members….
“The number of schools that we see that are neither accredited nor licensed is only about seven or eight, but there are schools that we’re not even aware of,” said Philip Bossert, executive director of the association…
read … New law requires Hawaii’s private schools to be licensed or accredited
Dr Feeeel-Gooood: Insulin Price Cap on Legislative Agenda
CB: … Rep. John Mizuno plans to introduce a bill this coming legislative session that would help local diabetics by capping the price of a 30-day supply of insulin at $100….
Really? What kind of insulin? And how much is a ‘30-day supply’? Walmart ‘caps’ the price of ‘human insulin’ at $25. Here is a really good run-down on why pricing controls don’t really solve the problem. Read it if you dare >>> HERE.
Meanwhile researchers come up with improved insulin analogues which just won’t be sold in Hawaii at $100/mo. Oh well, Hawaii diabetics can just do without.
read … Bringing Down Skyrocketing Insulin Prices
Hawaii’s 129 Judges Are The Top Paid Judiciary Employees
CB: … The chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court argued in March that proposed $1,000 annual pay raises for judges over the next six years wouldn’t even keep pace with the cost of living in the islands. He said that would make it more difficult to recruit and keep good lawyers on the bench, because experienced attorneys in private practice can earn substantially more.
Ultimately the Hawaii Commission on Salaries upped the increases to $2,000 annually for the next six years, about a 1% annual increase.
The first installment of those raises appear in the latest addition to the public employee salary database: the Hawaii State Judiciary. Although the judges will be getting only half of what Recktenwald sought, they are by far the highest-paid among the court system’s 1,922 workers….
read … Hawaii’s 129 Judges Are The Top Paid Judiciary Employees
Why Is Tulsi Gabbard Paying This Obscure Consultant Big Bucks?
CB: … Kris Robinson grew up in the same controversial religious sect as Gabbard. Now, he’s one of the top-paid vendors on her 2020 presidential campaign….
in the first six months of 2019, federal campaign finance records show Gabbard paid Robinson and his company more than $259,000….
Meanwhile: Neo-Nazis Brag About Boosting Gabbard's Small-Donor Count
read … Why Is Tulsi Gabbard Paying This Obscure Consultant Big Bucks?
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