More Hawaii residents hold a college degree
Red Hill: EPA, DoH want to Hear from You
Kauai: Welfare Checks Going 100% Electronic
Rail: Broken Station Canopies Part of Blackmail Scheme
SA: … The lawsuit was filed by Bosco Petricevic, who briefly worked for Nan as its in-house litigation counsel, and alleges Petricevic learned from another company lawyer this year that the FBI approached “several” Nan employees.
Petricevic expressed concerns to Nan owner Patrick Shin “regarding FBI interviewing our employees,” according to the lawsuit. But when Petricevic asked Shin and Nan Vice President Wyeth Matsubara what was going on, Petricevic “was threatened and told to mind his own business,” the lawsuit says.
Joseph Rosenbaum, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Petricevic, said Petricevic cannot elaborate on that reference to FBI involvement because Petricevic was Nan’s lawyer, and attorney-client privilege requires that Petricevic refrain from publicly discussing legal matters involving his former client.
Petricevic worked for Nan for just three months — from March 18 to June 10 — but says in the lawsuit he had at least four discussions with Shin in which Petricevic either reported illegal behavior or warned that he would not participate in allegedly illegal behavior by the company.
Petricevic’s lawsuit, filed under the Hawaii Whistleblower Protection Act, makes a number of allegations of wrongdoing by Nan, including a claim that Nan attempted to “double dip” by pursuing damage claims with both a subcontractor and HART for the same problems.
Petricevic also alleges in the lawsuit that Shin and Nan Vice President Nick Flores “came up with a scheme to try to blackmail” a company called Thompson Metal Fabrics by threatening to report the company to the federal government unless TMF agreed to pay damages to Nan.
“When Mr. Petricevic explained the highly illegal nature of such a scheme, Mr. Flores physically grabbed Mr. Petricevic and told him to shut up,” according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Petricevic expressed concerns that Shin and Nan were taking “inconsistent and dishonest positions in making claims against both TMF and HART for the sole purpose of monetary gain.”
HART has been coping with problems with metal arms that were designed to support overhead station canopies to provide shelter for rail passengers. Cracks were discovered in the lower portions of some canopy arms, prompting HART to redesign and replace portions of 15 metal arms that had been erected at three rail stations.
Nan blamed TMF for failing to fabricate the canopies according to the proper specifications, while Shin made a claim against HART alleging the problem was with the design, according to the lawsuit.….
PDF: Bosko Petricevic’s complaint
read … FBI approached rail contractor workers, lawsuit says
Is Convicted Felon Rail Contractor Patrick Shin a Recidivist?
From: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
- Name: PATRICK SHIN
- Register Number: 92972-022
- Age: 55
- Race: Asian
- Sex: Male
- Released On: 04/02/2006
Fun Read: 1:2004cr00150 US v Patrick Shin (9th circuit rejected his last appeal July 26, 2019—Judgment took effect Oct 11, 2019)
“Disposition: Probation: 3 Years; Fine: $100,000.00; Special Assessment: $100.00”
On or about September 8, 2003, in the District of Hawaii, defendants PATRICK SHIN and JHL CONSTRUCTION, INC. in a matter within the jurisdiction of the United States Navy, an agency of the executive branch of the United States, did knowingly and willfully make and use false documents, knowing the documents contained material false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and entries, by presenting to the United States Navy a false subcontractor quote; that is, after the U.S. Navy requested defendants PATRICK SHIN and JHL CONSTRUCTION, INC. to provide subcontractor quotes in support of JHL CONSTRUCTION INC.'s proposal to overhaul a drydock pump located at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, PATRICK SHIN, on behalf of and with the authority of JHL CONSTRUCTION, INC., provided to the United States Navy a subcontractor quote that he caused to be increased by a total of $200,000, thereby making it appear that the subcontractor quote was in fact higher than it actually was.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 (a) (3).
DATED: April 9, 2004, at Honolulu, Hawaii.
EDWARD H. KUBO, JR. United States Attorney
CB August, 2015: Key Rail Contractor Tangled Up in Fraud Allegations in Hawaii Courts
Nan Inc. recently won a $56 million contract to build three West Oahu rail stations. The company, which has taken advantage of federal minority business programs, is at the center of state and federal lawsuits alleging questionable business practices.
Telescope site decision imminent – or Not?
SA: … Officials with the Thirty Meter Telescope on Monday denied a report in the Canary Islands that a decision on where to construct the $1.4 billion project will happen within the next few weeks.
The newspaper El Dia reported in its online edition Sunday that officials with the TMT International Observatory developers met with La Palma business leaders and told them that the decision on location would occur within “a matter of two or three weeks.”
The report comes as the TMT International Observatory Board of Governors is meeting this week in California at its regularly scheduled quarterly meeting.
The news of the imminent decision, according to the newspaper, came from TMT observatory scientist Christophe Dumas and Gordon Squires, TMT vice president for external relations, who met with the business leaders as part of a visit to the telescope’s backup site.
In the meeting, Dumas and Squires described the difficulties that the proposed cutting-edge telescope is experiencing in Hawaii and said they believe La Palma is a real possibility as the location of the telescope.
In addition, they said the intention of the international coalition is to start construction in April….
In a statement sent Monday to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Squires said Mauna Kea remains the preferred site for the TMT, but the nonprofit continues to follow a process allowing it to relocate to its Plan B site on La Palma should it not be possible to build in Hawaii.
Squires, who is in California for the TMT board meeting, said no time frame has been identified for deciding on a location and that even if La Palma is selected as the site for TMT, it is unknown when construction might begin.
In any case, he added, the TMT has not yet received all the permits and permissions necessary to build on La Palma.
According to El Dia, the two- to three-week time frame matches what the president of the local town council has said about the timing of TMT’s decision-making….
HTH: TMT official says Hawaii still preferred site, despite Spanish news report
Oct 27, 2019: El TMT desvela a la patronal que hay "muchas opciones" de venir a La Palma
Aug 6, 2019: Canary Island Enviros -- Hawaii Inspires us to Block Telescope from OUR Islands
Sept 25, 2019: Lawsuit Strips TMT of Canary Islands Permit
FH: Activist Lawyers want to Fight Mauna Kea Tickets
read … TMT denies report that telescope site decision is imminent
Kym Pine and other lesser-known candidates for Honolulu mayor need to build name recognition, analyst says
KITV: … According to Honolulu Star-Advertiser's Hawaii Poll last month, 62% of those surveyed recognized Pine's name, compared to 38% for Amemiya and 55% for Carroll. Pine would need strategic endorsements, should well known names like Charles Djou and Colleen Hanabusa decide to enter the race….
read … Kym Pine and other lesser-known candidates for Honolulu mayor need to build name recognition, analyst says
Djou Running?
SA: Pine joins fellow Council member Ron Menor and first-time political aspirant Keith Amemiya in announcing their candidacies for the mayor’s office…
The list of names being discussed for either Congress or mayor of Honolulu includes former U.S. Rep. Charles Djou, who resigned from the Republican Party in response to President Donald Trump’s election.
Djou told the Star-Advertiser on Monday that he will not decide whether to run for future office until after the New Year.
Asked whether he is now either an Independent or a Democrat, Djou said, “It would be fair to say that I’m an independent Democratic.”
SA Editorial: Oahu voters face major decisions
read … Djou?
Unindicted Conspirator Asks Judge to go Easy on Kealoha
HNN: Marie McCauley, Kealoha’s former deputy chief at HPD…Retired police Maj. Andrew Lum…Former police Sergeant Michael Cusumano…Federal prosecutors had pictures of Cusumano’s subsidized HPD vehicle tailing Puana in the days after the staged crime….Cusumano was one of two officers picked by Kealoha for the title of Sergeant of the Year in 2014, one year after he was following Gerard Puana, the relative who the Kealohas framed for the theft of their mailbox….
CB: Friends Tell Court Former Honolulu Police Chief Kealoha Was A Model for them (TRUE!)
CB: Neither Of The Kealohas Deserve Leniency
KHON: Letters in support of Louis Kealoha puts blame on wife Katherine
PDF: Letters of Support for Kealoha
read … Friends, relatives ask judge to consider Louis Kealoha’s public service in sentencing
Lawsuit: Last-Minute Honolulu Talk on Mauna Kea Violated Meeting Law
CB: … The Honolulu City Council violated the Hawaii Sunshine Law when members discussed policing on Mauna Kea at a meeting without providing six days of public notice, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday.
Honolulu City Councilwoman Heidi Tsuneyoshi’s resolution – requesting the city administration produce a report on the police department’s involvement with Mauna Kea protesters – did not appear on the July 19 agenda for the Public Safety and Welfare Committee. Instead, council members voted on the day of the meeting, July 25, to add it to the agenda.
That robbed the public of an opportunity to chime in, said Brian Black, executive director of the Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, in his lawsuit complaint ….
read … Lawsuit: Last-Minute Honolulu Talk on Mauna Kea Violated Meeting Law
Arrests made in killing of American prosecutor in Micronesia
HNN: … Authorities in Micronesia say they've arrested suspects in the slaying of an American prosecutor who was working as acting attorney general of the state of Yap in the Pacific nation.
Yap Gov. Henry S. Falan announced the arrests Monday on the state’s website. No names were released….
Oct 24: Article names two alleged suspects, then taken down
Link: Announcement
read … Arrests made in killing of American prosecutor in Micronesia
His conviction was overturned after 2 other men confessed. Why is he being retried?
HNN: … The city Prosecutor’s Office appears unwilling to give up their fight against a Navy veteran whose sex assault conviction was overthrown after a witness recanted ― and two other men confessed to the crime.
Roynes Dural’s second trial is set for December 2.
Dural showed up at Circuit Court on Monday morning with family, friends and supporters, hoping to hear that the case would be dismissed altogether.
Instead, after more than an hour of waiting, the deputy prosecutor and Dural’s attorneys were called to the judge’s chambers for a private meeting.
When they emerged, the new trial date was set….
Dural was a Navy sailor in 2002, when he was accused of sex assault by a teenager. The girl said the incidents happened over a two-year period, but she never could provide dates. There was no DNA.
The girl and her mother testified against him and he was convicted. He got 20 years.
While in prison, the girl’s mother realized it wasn’t Dural but another man ― a school cafeteria worker ― who was having an inappropriate relationship with the girl. That man ended up marrying the girl.
There was another man who also later confessed that he was also having sex with the teen….
Hawaii News Now did reach out to the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for an explanation and hasn’t received a response from the spokesman….
read … His conviction was overturned after 2 other men confessed. Why is he being retried?
DOH: More studies needed on infrasound
KITV: … According to some doctors, most of the published research is non-scientific and more patient-experience.
"There maybe observational studies that people talk about it as symptoms but there's no really good strong studies done to actually show infrasound is harmful or dangerous," Dr. Jared Theler, Queen's Medical Center Otolaryngologist, said. "If there's a large harmful effect, it's obvious even with small studies, you can pick it up quickly. If it's a small effect, it would take a lot of numbers of patients or subject to be able to study and test."
Once the wind farm is operational, the state says it can monitor noise-levels to make sure it complies with rules.
"We would do a 20 minute survey and in that 20 minutes, they can't exceed for two minutes," Toma said….
read … DOH: More studies needed on infrasound
State’s Position On Harbor Fees Simply Not Right
CB: … For my 33-foot boat I pay $198 per month. With the new rate I will pay $455. If I were to live aboard, that would go to $765. One boater with a 20-foot boat, will see his fee going from $117 to $469 (slip, power, and dock box). ….
Related: Ala Wai Development Plan Serves OHA, not Boaters
read … State’s Position On Harbor Fees Simply Not Right
Molokai Community Health Clinic Pharmacy Program Suddenly Collapses
MN: … A longstanding partnership between the Molokai Community Health Center and Molokai Drugs is in limbo after a contract between the two organizations that allowed patients to get discounted prescriptions came to an end in September.
“I don’t believe under the current setup that us as an entity or the drugstore as the pharmacy, I don’t believe either one of us are really getting the benefit that we’re supposed to be getting to better serve our patients,” said Helen Kekalia Wescoatt, the health center’s chief executive officer.
But Kimberly Svetin, president of Molokai Drugs, said this is the first time she’s hearing that the program isn’t working.
“In 13 1/2 years, Molokai Drugs has never had to negotiate what the 340B program needs to look like,” Svetin said. “The program worked extremely well and was a win-win-win for the community, the MCHC and Molokai Drugs Inc. All MCHC had to do was sign an annual contract and receive a monthly payment check.”…
Svetin said that in August, the pharmacy met with the health center seeking an addendum — a six-month contract in which the health center agrees to pay Molokai Drugs for pharmacy services — through the end of the year, as well as two addendums to extend the agreement through Dec. 31, 2021. Molokai Drugs told the health center that it would need a signed contract by Aug. 30, or it would terminate the agreement on Sept. 30.
“Once they decided not to sign, we went through the process of ending our obligation as the 340B pharmacy for MCHC,” Svetin said. “MCHC made the decision to end the 13-plus year relationship. We did not. We wanted to continue. Too much was at stake.”
As a private business, Molokai Drugs is unable to disclose what it pays the health center, but Svetin said that any revenue above the fee that the pharmacy is paid per prescription goes to the health center for its health and drug programs. Over the life of the partnership, the health center “has received more revenue than the pharmacy,” Svetin said.
“The pharmacy pays for all operating costs, including employee management, reporting to the entity and the federal government, ordering, inventory management, inputting of patient information and paying for additional liability insurance,” Svetin said. “The pharmacy does all of the work and takes all of the risks.”…
Svetin said the health center attempted to renegotiate with the pharmacy only once in September and again in October. She said Wescoatt told them that the health center would be requiring a competitive bidding process and that they had hired an Illinois-based 340B pharmacy consultant, RPH Innovations.
Background:
Molokai Clinic: Free Stuff Stops Falling from Sky When Everybody Quits
Growing concerns about Molokai’s only health center trigger calls for CEO’s resignation
Molokai residents outraged over conditions at island’s only health center
read … How Long will it take to force Wescoatt out?
Obama Oceanfront Compound to be Built in Waimanalo, thus proving he does not believe in Sea Level Rise
PBN: … Three houses with building permits valued at more than $5 million are planned for the oceanfront estate owned by associates of former President Barack Obama, a property once known as the home of Tom Selleck’s “Magnum, P.I.” character in the 1980s….
(BTW: If Obama wants to escape sea level rise we are prepared to buy the Waimanalo oceanfront property for 10% of assessed value—cash!)
Reality: Report: Hawaii’s Billion-Dollar Consensus Proves Nobody Really Believes in Sea Level Rise
read … Nobody believes in Sea Level rise
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