For The Record: Hawaiian Homelands Debunks Kalaeloa Raceway Story
Winner and Still Champ! Oh, No!!
1874: Liliuokalani Cheers as Marines Occupy Queen’s Palace
Olelo: Meetings on Native Hawaiian Recognition
How Bumpy Kanahele Gets State Land and Contracts
SA: ...last month, Kanahele and the 70 residents of Pu‘uhonua o Waimanalo — or "Refuge of Waimanalo" — celebrated the 20th anniversary of the date in June 1994 when Kanahele ended his 15-month occupation of Makapu‘u Beach Park in exchange for a lease on a spectacular swath of state-owned land that he continues to govern.
A generation ago, Kanahele was called all kinds of names by Hawaiians for starting — and then abandoning — a series of occupations in exchange for a 55-year lease on state-owned land.
"I was told I was a sellout, li' dat," Kanahele said matter-of-factly. "I've also been called an outlaw. That'll never leave me."
Later, Kanahele drove a golf cart to the highest point in what's commonly referred to as "Bumpy's Village." Framed by the Koolau Mountains behind him, Kanahele looked out over a gorgeous view of the ocean and Manana (Rabbit) Island in the distance.
"Look what happened to us outlaws," he said.
Unlike Kanahele's Makapu‘u Beach Park occupation that drew international attention, what's happened on the mauka side of Waimanalo over the past 20 years has largely been hidden behind a gate that guards the entrance to Pu‘uhonua o Waimanalo.
Asked why state officials gave him and his nonprofit Aloha First organization a lease for $3,000 per year, or $250 per month, Kanahele said the government's philosophy toward his sovereignty efforts back in 1994 was, "Throw 'em in the corner, hide 'em from the public and we'll deal with 'em later."...
The lease with the state Department of Agriculture was extended in April 2001 and now expires on March 31, 2056, according to agriculture officials. According to the terms, however, the land will be transferred to a "sovereign nation of Hawaii, established for the benefit of Native Hawaiians" once a new sovereign entity is created.
BEST COMMENT: "The story, which was placed by Waihee, is inaccurate when it says that Mr Kanahele is the only one having a land base. There are quite a few native Hawaiians who would take issue with this misstatement of fact. The state has a crazy plan that they are going to control everything through this new state tribe they think they are putting together to replace the dead in the water OHA scheme. Control, control, control - it's all they know how to do, while the native's continue to suffer from it. Bumpy buries the bones for the OHA and the NHOs and has an 8a NHO contract only given to OHA Inouye insiders."
read ... Bumpy
Shimabukuro, Martin Defend Illegal Dumping Violator with $240K Unpaid Fines
SA: The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has ordered the operator of Oahu's only auto racing venue to vacate the Kalaeloa property he has leased for the past seven years, citing what the agency calls multiple violations of a now-terminated rental agreement.
The department has turned the case over to the attorney general's office for enforcement, including the possibility of pursuing an eviction and attempting to recover more than $40,000 that DHHL says is owed in delinquent rent and utility payments.
The race track operator, George Grace III, is fighting back in court. And some prominent people have written letters on his behalf, including City Council Chairman Ernest Martin and state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro.
The dispute between the agency and Grace over the 38-acre DHHL parcel has been ongoing for months and came to a head at the June 16 meeting of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, which oversees the department.
The commission voted 8-0 to pursue enforcement action against Grace and 17 other former holders of revocable permits, the month-to-month rental agreements, saying tenants still were either in default despite the DHHL's attempts to seek resolutions or were not eligible for new monthly leases.
On the same day the commission took that vote, Grace sued the agency and its nine commissioners.
Grace, owner of Save Oahu's Race Tracks LLC, alleged in the court documents that the defendants acted arbitrarily in denying him due process over the termination of his permit and in seeking to destroy his business. Grace cited the DHHL's failure to establish administrative rules for the permit program — rules that he said would have served to check the "unbridled discretion" of agency employees and provide a way for permit holders to challenge the department's actions. Without rules, DHHL officials were able to harass and interfere with his business, including giving permission for activities that he later was penalized for, he alleged.
Grace also filed a request for a temporary restraining order, asking the court to temporarily prevent DHHL from pursuing enforcement. A hearing has been set for July 29 on his motion....
Grace's troubles have not been confined to DHHL.
City records show nearly $240,000 in unpaid fines against Grace and his company for several grading and stockpiling violations dating to 2012 at the Kalaeloa site. All but one of the violations has since been corrected, according to a city spokesman.
The unpaid fines have been referred to city attorneys for legal action.
Background: Fireworks, dirt, and stolen trucks: Colleen Hanabusa and the Honolulu Raceway Deal
read ... GGIII
Low Voter Turnout Due to Perceived Corruption
SA: In recent years, legislators have:
»Tried to pass a bill that would allow them to accept expensive gifts (which can often be used to influence a vote on a bill).
» Passed a bill that exempted themselves from part of the State Ethics Code, allowing use of their positions to solicit or receive favors for themselves or others;
» Killed a nepotism bill that would have prevented state employees from hiring family members.
» Refused to hear most bills aimed to improve government ethics.
These actions overshadowed the few bills that will strengthen lobbyist regulations and increase government transparency that passed the Legislature and became law. In 2014, legislators passed a bill to help the public identify potential conflicts of interests from powerful boards and commissions. Despite the bill's unanimous support, the governor included this on his intent-to-veto list, then rescinded his decision a week later after public outrage.
read ... Camille Lim
Chaotic and Belligerent Abercrombie--Budget Again Slipping
Borreca: Before Abercrombie can declare an economic victory, though, he has to deal with a state budget that is again slipping. Last week he was forced to double the state discretionary spending freeze, going from 5 to 10 percent because of concerns about a softening economy.
The third thing that makes this year different is that Abercrombie brought much of it down upon himself with his chaotic and belligerent governing style.
Attacking seniors for not supporting his call to tax pensions, rigid support for the Public Land Development Corp. in the face of environmentalists' opposition, a series of public squabbles and the musical-chairs style of constant Cabinet-level vacancies have made Abercrombie an unpopular governor.
read ... Borreca
Cayetano's negativity taints heated race for U.S. Senate
Shapiro: Cayetano says he supports Hanabusa because of their mutual respect from working together, but there was little apparent respect in their battles when her start in the state Senate overlapped his final years as governor.
Hanabusa led a Senate move to oust Cayetano's attorney general, Margery Bronster, in the middle of Bronster's investigation of corrupt Bishop Estate trustees.
Trustee Henry Peters was a power in Hanabusa's Waianae district, and she was in contact with trustee Richard "Dickie" Wong, a former Senate president, for advice on how to attain that position herself.
Senators also ousted Cayetano's budget director, Earl Anzai, and Cayetano responded by appointing Anzai attorney general, leaving Hanabusa to publicly wonder whether Cayetano was thumbing his nose at her or giving her the finger. Lots of mutual respect there.
Then there was Hanabusa's push in the Legislature to pass a $75 million tax credit for an aquarium proposed by Ko Olina developer Jeff Stone, who had sold Hanabusa her Ko Olina condo and rented her a spacious Fort Street Mall law office.
When Cayetano vetoed the tax credit, saying it served no public purpose, she threw a fit and unsuccessfully sued him. More mutual respect.
Reality: Cayetano: Hanabusa's Broken Trust connections lead to Ko Olina
read ... Real Cayetano
VIDEO: Schatz, Hanabusa Agree On Jones Act
BIVN: “The Merchant Marine act, also known as the Jones Act, was enacted in the 1920′s and requires any cargo carrier bringing goods between the mainland of the United States and Hawaii to be a United States flag, and a United States built ship. Some believe this adds to the cost of goods for Hawaii residents.
Please comment on the Jones Act and whether there should be a modification or exemption or whether the Jones Act works well for Hawaii in its current form.”
read ... United Against the Public Interest
Desperate Abercrombie Unleashes 15 Minute Campaign Commercial
SA: ...the video is meant to "recast him in a kinder and gentler light," adding, "obviously, over the last four years he has aggravated people with his tone and antagonized everyone from legislators to the AARP to a whole bunch of other people."
read ... Antagonist
Could Kalihi be the next Kakaako?
ILind: Ridership in rail systems tends to diminish the further one gets from the urban core.
The way to deal with this is through expanding the urban core through Transit Oriented Development.
Unfortunately, TOD has its limits. Even TOD begins to diminish the further one gets from the Central Business District.
The one place where TOD might work is Kalihi. Kalihi might redevelop into a high-density urban area with the advent of rail.
It might be a good idea to move the prison out of Kalihi. Kalihi needs to be rethought.
Unfortunately, if Kakaako is any indication, when Kalihi is redeveloped, it won’t be for the locals.
read ... Could Kalihi be the next Kakaako?
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