Full Text: Insurance Company Lawyers Debunk Green’s Fake Lahaina Fire Settlement
34 School Bus Routes Restored
Kaleo Manuel Memorial Waterway: Governor signs off on transition of Mokuʻula from the state to Maui County to become tourist attraction
BIN: … Gov. Josh Green announced he signed papers to “purposefully transition” Mokuʻula from the state to Maui County for its cultural restoration….
(TRANSLATION: Green is celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the Lahaina fire by arranging for 1000s of acre-feet of water to be continually dumped into the ocean, thus rendering development that much more unlikely and making the cost of developable land that much higher. Profit: KSBE.)
Mokuʻula is a former island (inland sandbar) that served as the preferred residence for high-ranking aliʻi through the mid-1800s, including use as the royal compound for the Pi‘ilani family of chiefs from the 16th century.
(TRANSLATION: It will be a new tourist attraction.)
The island was surrounded by a 17-acre pond, Loko o Mokuhinia, that was filled in 1914 due to hygienic and development purposes when it became stagnant, according to an environmental assessment that was filed for an ecosystem restoration project in 2018. In 1918, an executive order established the site as the current Malu ʻUlu o Lele Park, with the pond and island now located approximately 2 to 3 feet below the ground, according to state documentation….
(CLUE: Water rights control development of affordable housing.)
read … Maui wildfires one year later: Governor signs off on transition of Mokuʻula from the state to Maui County for its cultural restoration
Early votes suggest apathetic turnout for Hawaii primary
SA: … In a sign of a likely dismal turnout when all of the ballots are counted, only about 198,000 people across Hawaii have voted ahead of Saturday’s primary election — a considerably lower proportion of total votes when compared with the 2022 and 2020 primaries.
Once again, Hawaii voters already have shown an overwhelming preference for mail-in ballots — over 196,000 votes compared with only 1,800 people who have voted in person so far ….
In the 2020 August primary, 407,190 votes were cast, and most — 401,716 — came in through mail-in ballots.
The numbers dropped to 340,159 total votes in the 2022 primary, with 330,837 cast through mail-in ballots….
Voter service centers provide accessible in-person voting, same-day voter registration and collection of voted ballots.
City and County of Honolulu
>> Honolulu Hale courtyard, 530 S. King St. (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today, 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. Saturday)
>> Kapolei Hale, conference rooms A, B and C, 1000 Uluohia St. (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday)
>> George Fred Wright Wahiawa District Park, ceramics room, 1129 Kilani Ave. (11 a.m.- 6:30 p.m. today)…
SA: Editorial: Low voter turnout trend must end | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com) -- In the 2022 general election, former state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro edged her opponent, Samantha DeCorte, by just 40 votes in a contest that drew 9,946 ballots, a 0.4% majority.
read … Early votes suggest apathetic turnout for Hawaii primary | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
State's Legal Expenses For Maui Wildfires Topped $6 Million
CB: … Lawyers hired to represent the state in wildfire litigation and advise the government on other issues like public financing and bankruptcy litigation received more than $6 million in state payments between October 2023 and June, according to wildfire expense reports Civil Beat obtained through a public records request.
Two law firms that served on Gov. Josh Green’s climate advisory team accounted for a majority of those expenditures. They include the law firm Hueston Hennigan, a key player in negotiating the recent $4 billion settlement. The state paid the firm $1.7 million as of June 30….
Multinational law firm O’Melveny & Myers, which also sat on Green’s climate advisory team, received $3.9 million from the state through May.
The firm was originally contracted to provide legal services and advise the state on a possible Hawaiian Electric Co. bankruptcy, according to budget testimony from the Attorney General’s Office….
The contracts for O’Melveny & Meyers and Hueston Hennigan were paid out of unused coronavirus relief funds, according to the budget testimony….
read … State's Legal Expenses For Maui Wildfires Topped $6 Million
Problems in Honolulu’s FDC?
ILind: … Ching’s disclosures provided an unusually unflattering assessment of security and management in the federal facility, which is more typically viewed as the “gold standard” for corrections administration, standing in stark contrast to state’s troubled prison system….
Smith was among a group of inmates placed in the hole for “investigation of fighting” following what he called “the well-known July 12, 2021 riot,” according to his complaint.
Well-known? Perhaps among FDC inmates, but quick online check failed to turn up any public reports of a riot in the FDC in or around that date in 2021, or at any time, for that matter. Reference to the riot was incidental to Smith’s primary complaint, which provided no additional details, so I hesitated to take it at face value.
However, a bit of digging located two other inmate complaints also referring to the alleged incident and adding further specifics.
Reading through the complaints filed in federal court, it seems likely that they were not completely independent, and may have copied from a common source….
But generally, the judges’ orders did not deny an incident took place with up to 35 (or more) inmates fighting or that at least 20 inmates were sent to the hole as a result, nor did they address the underlying allegation that correctional officers condoned illegal gambling within the FDC, with or without the knowledge of top FDC officials. …
Hurst, who claims he had no gang affiliation, said in his complaint the fighting started after an inmate lost over $1,000 in a poker game. Hurst said he had “never participated in the gambling that goes on in the unit at large tables that frequently have 6-8 participants.”
Correctional officers “watch as tables of inmates play poker for substantial sums of money….The gambling tables can clearly be seen by overhead cameras as well,” according to the complaint. It alleges official “indifference” contributed to the riot.
Hurst alleged that a counselor in the housing unit told inmates at an orientation meeting, “we know you are gambling, just make sure you pay your debts and don’t get us involved.” ….
Hurst said he was watching television in front of cell 125 when “a group of 5 Paisa gang members attacked inmate (Kekai) Watanabe over the issue of gambling.”
“When innate Watanabe was attacked, one of the Paisa gang members shouted instructions up to the second tier of the unit for more gang members to join the fight and bring weapons,” according Hurst’s complaint later filed in federal court….
He alleges that none of the Paisa gang members or any others involved in the fighting were charged for the incident, and none received penalties, such as loss of “good time.”…
ILind: A bit more information about alleged gambling in the Federal Detention Center
read … Problems in Honolulu’s FDC? | i L i n d
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