by John Bond, Save Ewa Battlefield
Go Rail Go Rail leader Maeda Timson is being appointed to represent Kalaeloa on the Board of Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) by Governor Ige with a term running July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2021.
Timson worked at First Hawaiian Bank as vice president while FHB Chairman Don Horner was HART board chair. She organized large groups of screaming union supporters to crash, harass and threaten at public meetings including attendees at a 2012 Kapolei public town hall meeting where rail alternatives were presented. Nationally respected rail presenters were shouted down by the whipped-up mob. Timson urged the screaming mob, including union members and high school students to flood the meeting and give them "a hard time." Hawaii News Now did a story on it. When the students actually started listening instead of screaming they were pulled out of the meeting.
HCDA hasn't been to the Kapolei Neighborhood Board in years to inform the public about what is going on in the 5000 acre former Navy base development district loaded with Hawaiian and WW-II historic sites, including an NPS nationally recognized December 7 battlefield.
HCDA never has any board meetings in West Oahu when the public can be informed- instead all meetings are only downtown during business hours for the benefit of the very few that can make them. HCDA is known for being very manipulative to prevent public testimony. Requests to be sent board minutes on a mailing list is never honored. All decisions are made in small backroom meetings without public consideration.
Big things are happening now as HCDA Kalaleoa under Jessie Souki, former HART lawyer who largely wrote the $300 million Rail EIS. Rail is all about Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Souki knows that under the private Texas Hunt family control the massive 5000 acres present lots of insider backroom deals and profiteering without public awareness and consultation.
HCDA is asking the Navy to turn over ALL lands, giving them total control of utilities, water, golf course, horse stables, planned PV farms, beach front property. Hunt Corp controls HCDA Kalaeloa as the Master Developer.
HCDA will give the Hunt family lease controls, water and electricity costs and sub-lease opportunities worth half a billion that only a few insiders will ever know about. Just like RAIL - lots of sub-contractor opportunities with no accountability.
Hunt is a big backroom player in Rail TOD schemes and scams. Special "deals" are given to West Oahu politicians to "cooperate" with Hunt's land development agendas.
The Hawaii State "Preservation" Division is in the pocket of HCDA and Hunt Corp and rubber stamps all projects without consultation.
When Maeda Timson as chair of the Kapolei Neighborhood Board she refused to allow veterans supporting saving Ewa Battlefield, a December 7 Pearl Harbor attack site, to speak about a supporting board resolution. Ewa, Waipahu and Kailua boards later unanimously passed supporting resolutions and the historic site was placed on the State and National register.
2012 VIDEO: Maeda Timson organizing Pro-Rail Disruptors
2012 HNN: Rail supporters crash anti-rail town hall
Related: Ige Nominates Maeda Timson to HCDA
Related: Ige ‘Elated’ about $2.4B Rail Tax Hike