The Strange Case of Bank of America
It’s been a long time since the Hawaii Republican Party was a force to be taken seriously
Shapiro: … I got an email not too long ago from the head of a conservative faction of the Kauai Republican Party, who declared, “We are waging war against the forces of evil.”
I shook my head, discouraged our political discourse has sunk so low that Republicans and Democrats talk about each other like this.
Then I read on and discovered the “evil” he railed about wasn’t Democrats, but fellow Republicans of differing views.
Such is the sad state of today’s Hawaii GOP, mired in irrelevance as members bash, sue and purge each other; issue apocalyptic ideological threats; and spread tabloidlike gossip of marital infidelity among adversaries.
Against this backdrop, I read with sorrow that state Rep. Cynthia Thielen, Hawaii’s last elected Republican with any semblance of broad credibility, will retire next year from the Kailua House seat she’s held for 30 years.
Thielen, 86, calls herself “The last Eisenhower Republican,” citing this quote from the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower: “In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with people’s money, or their economy, or their form of government, be conservative.” …
She’s the last of a long line of tough, practical-minded Republican legislators like Pat Saiki, Andy Anderson, Richard Henderson and Mary George, who operated effectively in a Democratic state by arguing their points forcefully but without personal rancor.
Thielen stuck with the GOP and tried to rekindle a two-party state as others such as Anderson, Charles Djou, Kymberly Pine and Beth Fukumoto left the party over the ugly infighting and ideological wars.
It’s been a long time since the Hawaii Republican Party was a force to be taken seriously, and it will be less so with Cynthia Thielen’s departure from the Legislature….
Borreca: If Hawaii Republicans want to succeed, they should follow example of Cynthia Thielen
read … Retiring state Rep. Cynthia Thielen held her ground with grace
Andria Tupola Launching 2022 Republican Gubernatorial Campaign
TGI: … In 2018 the Republican from Oahu received 131,719 votes, 33.7%, to 244,934, 62.7%, for incumbent Gov. David Ige….
She referenced the standoff on Mauna Kea between protesters and government over the Thirty Meter Telescope.
“That’s a very in-your-face look at the way our government deals with issues. And that’s just one issue,” she said.
Tupola was on Kauai Friday night as well. She spoke about bullying to about 100 people at Kukui Grove Center during a program organized by Hale Opio Kauai….
read … Off and running
TMT is First Telescope to Pay Substantial Rent
SA: …The stalemate at Maunakea is in its third month, with no end in sight. It is a difficult, divisive time for many in the community, and the pathway to resolve the current conflict in a way that is beneficial to all sides has been unclear. But we are encouraged by the steps that are being taken and the leaders who are emerging to find a way forward. More are needed, from every sector of the community in Hawaii, to bring people together in finding a solution.
Recently, University of Hawaii Board of Regents Chair Benjamin A. Kudo issued a call for peaceful resolution based on the elements of repentance, forgiveness, gratitude and love. We support this.
On the heels of this, Hawaii Island Mayor Harry Kim unveiled his “Way Forward” vision plan on what Maunakea could be and symbolize for Hawaii. While we acknowledge part of the ongoing debate has to do with TMT being built in Hawaii, Mayor Kim’s plan addresses a number of the larger issues beyond TMT for which Maunakea has become a flashpoint. These include native Hawaiian self-determination and the past management of Maunakea.
We call on leaders from across Hawaii to find a way to facilitate dialogue about these issues and to find a way forward for all….
TMT is also the first telescope to pay substantial lease rent, ramping up to $1 million a year when operational. Eighty percent of the lease rent will go to the Office of Maunakea Management and 20 percent will go to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs….
read … Culture, science can coexist on mauna
Aloha Stadium: Next Boondoggle Getting Started
SA: … The process of selecting a developer for the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District will take a major step in coming months as the state prepares to send out requests for qualifications from prospective partners before the end of the year.
Following the RFQs, a short list of developers to receive requests for proposals will be announced in the first quarter of 2020 as the state aims to have the new stadium ready in time for the University of Hawaii football team’s Sept. 2, 2023, home season opener.
read … Redevelopment of Aloha Stadium to take next step
Recent Violence AGAIN Demonstrates Need to FORCE Homeless into Shelters
SA: … Manuel Nunes Jr. allegedly shot Douglas Balinbin in the back and head with a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with bird shot following an argument.
Maui police described the two men as vagrants. Balinbin survived, and Nunes Jr. was arrested on multiple charges, including second-degree attempted murder. A woman with the same last name as Nunes was arrested on suspicion of hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence and ammunition charges.
The day before, on Sept. 11, police said, Jeremy Tackett, 41, drove through the same Safeway parking lot in a 1996 Acura, ran over a raised parking island, turned and collided into a 2003 Mazda van occupied by a woman, then crashed into an unoccupied 2006 Ford Escape and an empty 2019 Nissan.
Tackett died at the scene. A woman in the van he hit suffered non-life- threatening injuries….
As Lindsey-Kahaleauki and Kaimiola arrived in a Jeep, a couple dozen homeless people — primarily single adults — occupied what appeared to be disabled vehicles in the parking lot, shuttled shopping carts or just sat on the pavement. The pair knew those living in the parking lot by name and said the homeless people there have ignored their repeated offers of help or won’t even bother to talk.
But they keep trying.
Family Life Center’s outreach workers are expected “to know every homeless person on the island,” Lindsey-Kahaleauki said….
“We hardly have any families out there now,” he said. “For the ones that want help, we’ve got the programs. It’s the ones that don’t want the help, who would rather be out drinking and drugging with their friends. That’s a different category of people.”…
Maui Rescue Mission tows its shower trailer to Kanaha twice a week to offer showers and laundry service to about a dozen people, said Abel Garcia, director of outreach and operations.
It’s greatly appreciated, Meyers said.
“A hot shower is like, wow!” she said. “It’s a great service.”
A new partnership between Mental Health Kokua and Maui police is already getting help for a handful of chronically homeless people with sometimes long police records. Their pilot project called LEAD, or Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, started in May. A similar program was launched on Oahu in 2018.
Maui’s LEAD program relies on a single outreach worker, Lori Naluai, and two Maui police sergeants, Jan Pontanilla and Joy Medeiros. They’ve already seen early success. Four chronically homeless adults — three women and a man — have since moved off the street and into homeless shelters, where they receive help that could include mental illness and substance abuse treatment. Two more chronically homeless people are on the cusp of agreeing to join them, Pontanilla said.
“We try to find these individuals who are constantly in the judicial system,” she said. “But it’s all voluntary.” (That’s the problem.)
The four homeless people who have agreed to join the 30-day LEAD program have had multiple “involvements” with Maui police and multiple arrests. One woman alone has had 250 police “involvements” and 43 arrests between 2010 and this year, none of them felonies, Pontanilla said….
read … Recent violence belies Maui’s progress in getting the homeless into more stable situations
Investigators set their sights on owners of Hawaii’s illicit massage parlors
SA: … On any given day, the scores of illegal massage parlors in Hawaii each can take in thousands of dollars from sex transactions. Over the course of a year, the revenue at a single establishment can climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
By one conservative estimate, the illegal operations collectively generate more than $30 million annually in the islands….
read … Investigators set their sights on owners of Hawaii’s illicit massage parlors
STDs in Hawaii are at an all-time high
SA: … State health officials recorded 7,732 cases of chlamydia, or 544.3 cases per 100,000 population, in 2018. That compares to 5,972 cases, a rate of 463.6 per 100,000 people, in 2008.
Gonorrhea more than doubled over the past 10 years at 1,496, with a rate of 105.4, compared to 611, or 47.4, while syphilis infections jumped to 180 cases, or 12.7, from 38 cases, a rate of 3 per 100,000 a decade ago.
That corresponds with the overall rates of U.S. infections from chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, which have risen for the fifth year in a row …
SA Editorial: STD cases on the rise in Hawaii
read … STDs in Hawaii are at an all-time high as more take part in online hookups
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