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Tuesday, July 16, 2024

July 16, 2024 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:03 PM :: 780 Views

RNC: Shirlene Dela Cruz Leads Hawaii GOP Delegates Voting for Trump

Honolulu Highest Yearly Inflation in USA

Hawaii: Highest Electric Rates, Lowest Electric Usage

Kauai: Hanapepe Fire Approaches Kaumakani, Immediate Evacuations Ordered

Palestine Activists at UH Manoa Oppose RIMPAC

Who Needs Collective Bargaining? Teachers Get $10K 'Differential' for Another Year

Agriculture: Record Spending on Invasive Species

Naming Names: Incumbents Buying Factional Allies in Legislature

CB: … Gates, who was endorsed by Shimabukuro, received donations over the past six months from major political and business players such as real estate developer Jeff Stone, Jennifer Sabas of the Daniel K. Inouye Institute (she’s also a lobbyist), Edward Schultz of Hawaiian Host, lobbyists Ann Chung and Nonie Toledo (aka Joanne Hamm), Ironworkers For Better Government Local 625 and Alexander & Baldwin HIPAC.

Eli has some labor support as well as contributions from two state representatives: Friends of Richard Onishi (who is retiring this year) and Friends of Linda Ichiyama….

In HD45, Cross Crabbe, Gates’ office manager, raised $8,800, with donations coming from the personal funds of Reps. Gates ($1,250), Quinlan ($1,000), Todd ($250) and Nakamura ($250)….

In SD23 Clayton Hee contributors include attorney Michael Green and lobbyist Bob Toyofuku. Hee has been publicly endorsed by former Govs. John Waihee, Ben Cayetano and Neil Abercrombie.

Ben Shafer raised $16,000 and has nearly half that amount left in cash on hand. Donors include another former incumbent, Gil Riviere, North Shore environmental activist Denise Antolini, former gubernatorial chief of staff Mike McCartney, former Honolulu City Council Chair Ernie Martin, former school superintendent Charlie Toguchi and current state Sens. Les Ihara and Glenn Wakai.….

May Mizuno contributors include Friends of John Mizuno, Friends of Calvin Say (he will retire from the Honolulu City Council this year), Friends of Gil Keith-Agaran (he left the state Senate last year) and Friends of Nadine, which is the candidate committee for House Majority Leader Nadine Nakamura.

Mizuno’s Democratic primary challenger is Ikaika Hussey, a community activist. His campaign patrons include Kim Coco Iwamoto, Randy Moore of the Hawaii Department of Education and Kauai political activist Gary Hooser….

Mike Lee, who is running against Rep. Natalia Hussey-Burdick, has benefitted from donations from the Hawaii Carpenters Market Recovery Program Fund PAC, the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters PAF and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. That has helped Lee to out-raise Hussey-Burdick $51,000 to $28,000 in the District 50 contest (Kailua, portion of Kaneohe Bay).

And Ian Ross leads by a modest financial margin fellow Democrats Ikaika Olds and Pat McCain in the House District 23 seat (Moiliili, McCully), an open primary. Contributors to Ross include real estate developer Christine Camp, several legislative incumbents and Ross himself….

Incumbent Rep. Tricia La Chica raised just under $36,000 between Jan. 1 and June 30. Her campaign reported $2,000 donations from the campaigns of fellow Reps. Quinlan, Chris Todd and Nicole Lowen. Rep. Nakamura’s campaign also donated $300…

HD20--Kevan Wong got a big boost from more than a dozen members of the House who donated a combined $14,250 either personally or through their campaigns.

They include Bert Kobayashi, who currently holds the District 20 seat but decided to retire this year, Nadine Nakamura, Andrew Garrett, Kirstin Kahaloa, Micah Aiu, Darius Kila, Sean Quinlan, Linda Ichiyama, Kyle Yamashita, Mark Nakashima, Jenna Takenouchi, Scot Matayoshi and Lisa Kitagawa.

Ironworkers for Better Government, the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters and the Hawaii Realtors PAC all contributed the maximum $2,000 to his campaign….

HD20--Tina Grandinetti raised $35,000 since in the first six months of the year, including more than $12,000 in small donations of $100 or less. Her campaign has spent $13,000.

Her top donors include Kim Coco Iwamoto and the Patsy T Mink PAC, with each donating $2,000. Grandinetti’s campaign got $1,000 from Senate spokesman Matt Prellberg as well as from advocate Ashley Lukens. Sen. Les Ihara, whose district overlaps with House District 20, also donated $500….

read … Hawaii Lawmakers Have Big Money Advantages In This Year's Election Campaigns - Honolulu Civil Beat

The accident that led to Miske’s downfall

ILind: … Caleb-Jordan Miske and Jonathan Fraser were hanging out at the mall as they often did, meeting up with friends near a popular vape shop.

The boys were best friends, likely because they had so much in common. Both were into cars and illegal street racing, bragging on social media about their “Team Mad Dog.” They shared a love of dogs, pit bulls in particular.

Both smoked weed, and were laid back, nice kids, people said.

On that evening, Caleb was showing off his “new toy,” a black 1993 2-door Honda Civic sedan, older than he was, that he had purchased for $2,250 two days earlier after seeing it on Craigslist.

As friends stood around the car, Caleb invited Johnny to take a spin with him to see what the car could do. Johnny hopped in the passenger seat and they took off, heading toward Kailua on Kaneohe Bay Drive, doing a loop and then heading back.

As they approached the shopping center, witnesses reported hearing the engine revving as the Honda flew toward the Makalani Street intersection at what was later estimated at 93 miles per hour, nearly three times the posted speed limit.

At that moment a white 1998 Chevy S10 pickup truck that was turning left from the opposite lanes appeared directly in front of their car. There wasn’t time to hit the brakes or leave skid marks before the Honda hit the right front side of the truck, leaving a two foot long gouge in the road at the point of impact and sending both vehicles spinning. The truck, with significant front end damage, spun 37 feet across the intersection, while the Civic went airborne and ended as a crumpled wreck against line of Areca palms on the far side highway.

It was 7:54 p.m., the moment their lives, and that of Miske’s father, Honolulu business owner Michael J. Miske Jr., changed forever….

HNN: Jury deliberation continues in sprawling Miske trial (hawaiinewsnow.com)

read ... The accident that led to Miske’s downfall

80% Fake? HPD investigating complaints about false arrests by officers looking for drunk drivers

HNN: … The Honolulu Police Department’s Professional Standards Office has received multiple complaints stemming from drunken driving arrests, the department confirms.

Hawaii News Now has been reporting on drivers who had zero alcohol detected in breath or blood tests but were still taken to jail.

A handful of those drivers have filed complaints seeking internal investigations into the officers’ actions.

“This may be an ongoing problem,” said Ammon Fepuleai.

Body camera videos obtained by HNN show Fepuleai being arrested in November 2023, even though the Breathalyzer showed a reading of 0.00.

Fepuleai filed his complaint shortly after the arrest.

The Major in the Professional Standards Office responded weeks later with a letter that said the investigation was complete and, “upon a review of the facts available by the officers’ immediate command, they were not able to find sufficient evidence to sustain your complaint.”

Fepuleai believed PSO didn’t take his case seriously.

Another driver who filed a complaint with PSO, a high school senior who was arrested in March for DUI but also had a Breathalyzer test result of 0.00.

HPD confirmed they have two other active investigations.

The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office told HNN earlier this year that 80% of the DUI cases forwarded from the police department are rejected….

read … HPD investigating complaints about false arrests by officers looking for drunk drivers

Hawaii Ag Agency Has So Much Money They Can’t Spend it All

CB: … Hawaii Gov. Josh Green last week slashed $10 million from the Department of Agriculture’s budget aimed at limiting the spread of invasive species.

Green said the agency likely couldn’t spend the money before it lapsed because the agency didn’t have the staffing to effectively identify and oversee initiatives that would put it to use. The biosecurity program still has another $10 million that Green left in the budget.

in explaining his vetoes last month, Green cast doubt on how “feasible and executable” it would be for the short-staffed department to effectively spend the funds appropriated in House Bill 2619. …

The agriculture department has faced persistent staff vacancies in recent years and has other appropriations to manage, Green said in June. …

The administration’s almost $10 million cut was surprising, Wayne Tanaka of the Sierra Club said. …

(TRANSLATION: Sierra Club wants to reverse your income tax cut.)

read … Hawaii Ag Agency Won't Get All The Money Slated For Pest Management After All - Honolulu Civil Beat

More video monitoring on Skyline sought

SA: … To deter crime, the city’s use of overt video monitoring of the public is expected to grow if a new Honolulu City Council measure is adopted.

City laws already allow open video surveillance cameras from fixed locations in places like Waikiki and Chinatown, at city-owned buildings and on city streets and roads to detect traffic violations or to manage the flow of vehicle traffic.

But Bill 37 would amend existing city laws to allow video monitoring at fixed spots “in and around the city rail system for the purposes of the general prevention and deterrence of criminal activity.”…

read … More video monitoring on Skyline sought

Hawaii Drug Pricing Lawsuit Targeting PBMs Gets Tossed by Judge

BL: … A federal judge dealt a blow to Hawaii’s litigation against the country’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers, dismissing the state’s lawsuit that argued the companies inflated the costs of insulin and other drugs.

Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi of the US District Court for the District of Hawaii on July 12 granted the motion to dismiss from CVS Health’s Caremark, UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx, and Cigna Group’s Express Scripts. The ruling came during a video teleconference hearing with attorneys for the PBMs and Hawaii Attorney General Anne E. Lopez, who first filed the lawsuit in state court October 2023. ...

State attorney general has 45 days to file amended complaint….

STAT: Vertex sues HHS over a fertility program, Hawaii loses a PBM suit | STAT (statnews.com)

read … Hawaii Drug Pricing Lawsuit Targeting PBMs Gets Tossed by Judge

Hawaii county homeless camp: Drug Deals and Domestic Violence

HTH: … What happens at the camp is often unsavory, said another nearby business owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity. With a clear line of sight to the camp from his business, customers are treated to a tableau of fights between residents, domestic violence, apparent drug deals and more, he said.

“There’s domestic violence every two hours,” the owner said, adding that a simple fence which was installed to control ingress and egress to the camp was almost immediately pulled down. “Everyone (of my customers) has to watch.”…

read … Merchants have mixed views about county homeless camp

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