Full Text: Drunk Prosecutor Resigns from Kaneshiro's Office
Hawaii Has No Hate Crimes (Officially)
Guess What: Hawaii Housing Is Expensive!
Hawaii GE Tax: Broadest Sales Tax in US
SB1280: Cab Companies Offer to Retrain Uber Drivers
ML&P, Grove Farm Owners Really Thrilled with Suzanne Case for DLNR
Omidyar's Civil Beat: "It would be hard to imagine a nominee better qualified than Suzanne Case for confirmation as Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources chairperson."
It should be noted she is also the sister of former Hawaii Congressman Ed Case and a cousin of Steve Case, principal investor in the Maui Land & Pineapple Co., which owns 24,300 acres of residential, resort and commercial land on Maui, the 8,300-acre Puu Kukui Watershed Preserve and the Grove Farm on Kauai. (It should also be noted that Omidyar has ownership of ML&P as well, but that isn't mentioned.)
read ... What Large Landowners Think
Senate Committee Approves 5-Year GE Tax Hike
CB: The Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday voted to extend a 0.5 percent General Excise Tax surcharge for Honolulu’s rail project another five years beyond its Dec. 31, 2022 expiration.
The vote on House Bill 134 indicates that lawmakers are supportive of helping the city complete it’s $6 billion driverless commuter rail project despite cost overruns and questions of lax oversight.
But by limiting the extension to five years with additional caveats, the senators also showed that they don’t want to write a blank check to the city and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation without more assurances about how those taxpayer dollars are being spent....
“First and foremost, the Senate is very clear that it wants to make sure that the job that was started is completed,” said Sen. Jill Tokuda, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee. “In terms of the information that we’ve been provided we feel that this is giving HART and the city a great deal of opportunity.”
The bill still must get through conference committee, where House and Senate members will hash out a final version. Legislation can dramatically change or even die during conference committee, which is conducted largely out of the public eye.
Another proposal related to the GET, Senate Bill 19, appears to have stalled out in the House Finance Committee as there has been no hearing scheduled for the measure, meaning HB134 is the likely candidate for a final vote....
Sen. Sam Slom loudly criticized the project for having a nearly $1 billion deficit with just over 2 miles of railway actually constructed.
He told Caldwell the city should be grateful that the Senate is even considering extending the GET surcharge for five years, saying that his colleagues thrown out a financial “lifeline” to bail out the project even though there are still many unanswered questions.
“The city and HART have had long enough time to demonstrate to us that they can keep their word, that they know what they’re doing, that they can give us accurate information and figures that match, and that has not been the case,” Slom said. “The only thing we can do is deny them the taxpayers’ money. It’s not our money, I keep reminding them, it’s taxpayers’ money.”
Slom, who voted against HB134 along with Sen. Gil Riviere, said he also intends to ask Attorney General Doug Chin for an opinion on the “legality and constitutionality” of the state’s 10 percent administrative fee on the GET surcharge.
The current version of the bill does not address the fee, which will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the state for the duration of the surcharge.
read ... Still Can be Killed
No Resignation Yet: Kenoi Hires Three Criminal Defense Lawyers, Attorney General Takes Over Felony Theft Investigation
KHON: More troubles are in store for Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi as an ethics complaint has now been filed over his improper use of a county-issued credit card.
We’ve also learned that the Hawaii County prosecutor is turning over the criminal investigation to the state attorney general.
The prosecutor tells us that it’s better if the investigation is handled outside of the county.
Kenoi has also hired three Honolulu criminal defense attorneys: Howard Luke, Todd Eddins and Richard Sing. (Maybe all of Malu Motta's friends will contribute $100 a plate to Kenoi's Legal Defense fund.)
It’s hard to say how much of a legal battle is ahead for the mayor. KHON2 spoke with a criminal defense attorney who says there’s enough evidence to at least support a criminal investigation.
Records released last week of Kenoi’s pCard statements show a lot of charges well beyond the much publicized charge of nearly $900 at Club Evergreen, a hostess bar on Kapiolani Boulevard.
There were tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses, numerous charges for rooms, meals and drinks at several hotels, and more than $400 at another Honolulu hostess bar called Camelot.
“As it stands right now, if he was using the government’s credit card to buy things he wasn’t supposed to and he was doing it on purpose then that would be a criminal offense,” said criminal defense attorney Victor Bakke. “Offense of theft and, in this case, it would be a felony theft because of the amounts involved.”
read ... Felony Criminal
Unlike Others, Kenoi Still hasn't Been Fired for P-Card Theft
SA: Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi and former Hawaii Technology Academy Principal Jeff Piontek are members of an exclusive club....
Piontek's case similarly drew media attention when he was charged with multiple theft counts in 2013 for allegedly using credit, debit and gift cards from his charter school for his personal use, which court documents say included trips for him and his girlfriend to Australia, Qatar and England. The criminal case is pending.
Piontek, who could not be reached for comment, was fired from his position in 2011 after allegations of misuse of public funds surfaced....
Kenoi's card, which has since been cut up, did not have the typical categories blocked. (And he still hasn't been 'fired.')
The Star-Advertiser asked the six agencies it polled how many pCards over the past five years have been taken away because of inappropriate purchases. Four of the six — the city, Judiciary, Department of Education and House — said none had been removed.
Only the University of Hawaii, with more than 1,300 active accounts, and the Department of Health, with 172 cardholders, reported instances in which cards were taken away during the five years.
UH rescinded six pCards, typically due to poor record-keeping or not following purchasing rules, according to spokesman Dan Meisenzahl.
At the health agency, one person had the card taken away because of inappropriate purchases, according to spokeswoman Janice Okubo. An investigation was triggered when the cardholder initially did not submit an invoice for phone charges, and that led to discovery of additional discrepancies, she added in an email. The case was referred to the attorney general's office.
Okubo and Meisenzahl detailed extensive procedures that their respective agencies followed for monitoring purchases.
Daniel Hanagami, chief special agent at the attorney general's office, said sufficient policies are in place throughout the system to guard against pCard abuses. Problems crop up, though, when the policies aren't followed precisely and exceptions are allowed, he added.
Hanagami said he was aware of one pending pCard investigation that his office was conducting involving a state clerk, but he didn't have details.
The other charter school case that raised questions about oversight involved questionable purchases with a Halau Lokahi Charter School debit card, which is not part of the pCard program. Three former employees of the school were arrested on suspicion of theft and money laundering but have yet to be charged.
read ... Fire Kenoi
Legislature May Do Little to Address Hawaii’s Housing Shortage
CB: The Legislature’s most ambitious proposal this session — to set aside $50 million for the Rental Housing Trust Fund — is half of what Gov. David Ige requested, and is expected to produce only about 400 new rental units in the next three to four years....
An omnibus measure known as House Bill 1354 could still secure money for public housing improvements as well as the construction of new affordable housing projects, such as micro-units and housing for homeless veterans.
But as of Tuesday, advocates said the bill lacked specific proposed appropriations, leaving observers in the dark as to how committed policymakers are to the initiatives....
Other measures aimed at increasing the production of low-income housing include House Bill 277, which would help fund infrastructure for affordable housing projects; Senate Bill 974, which would allow the Rental Housing Trust Fund to subsidize mixed-use rental projects; and Senate Bill 971, which seeks to ensure that rental projects remain affordable.
But lawmakers have also advanced House Bill 1469 to cap how much money the Rental Housing Trust Fund receives from the conveyance tax, the fund’s primary dedicated income source.
read ... Dolittle
Don't rush into buying Alii Place
SA: House Bill 1366 — which proposes that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources begin the process of acquiring the property at an asking price of about $90 million — is racing along toward passage. There needs to be more due diligence first.
Ordinarily a bill that has passed one house and has approval of its last committees in the other has been probed and widely discussed. That has not happened in this case, which suggests that legislators should approve only funds to do the initial due diligence on the acquisition idea.
What happened here is that HB 1366 started out as a place-holder type of bill seeking "to appropriate funds to identify, plan, and acquire or build upon real property in urban Honolulu to provide office space for state governmental agencies and offices." That generic version of the measure received testimony from a single source, the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) comptroller Douglas Murdock. He gave support to the bill "provided the measure does not replace or adversely impact priorities indicated in the executive budget."
When it moved to the Senate, lawmakers added a provision that DAGS consider lease buyback options (essentially a monetizing program), facilitate facility agreements with private investors and conduct an inventory of property leased to state offices.
No official word of Alii Place was aired publicly until Monday's hearing, in which the bill is suddenly full of specifics. The bill, now Senate Draft 2, asserts that the state spends about $10.15 million on leasing more than 420,000 square feet of office space in downtown Honolulu.
Alii Place, now owned by the San Francisco-based Bristol Alii Holdings LLC, has 337,370 square feet of space in a prime location, across Richards Street from the state Capitol. About a third of that, 114,663 square feet, is currently available for state agencies, according to the bill....
"The bill would have an adverse effect on the City and County of Honolulu because real property owned and occupied by the state for public purposes is exempt from real property taxes," he said in testimony....
State Rep. Mark Hashem, one of the sponsors of the bill, said the investment in Alii Place would be cheaper than another proposal, to build a $270 million office building in Liliha. But that's a false economy because the state has not yet committed to Liliha, either: The first $15 million in planning and design money (white-collar make-work project) was set aside only last session....
read ... Alii Place
Telescope Stand down While Ige, UH negotiate Payoffs for OHA
WHT: Gov. David Ige announced Tuesday that the nonprofit corporation behind the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea agreed to his request for a weeklong halt of construction.
The stand down came in the midst of the annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo and five days after law enforcement officials arrested 31 people who participated in an ongoing protest of the $1.4 billion project.
Ige said in a statement that the stand down would allow time for him to “evaluate the situation from multiple perspectives.”
“Mahalo to TMT for its willingness to pause its activities during this time,” Ige said in a statement. “I also thank UH President (David) Lassner and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chair (Robert) Lindsey for their leadership on this issue. I will continue to work with them in the coming days.”....
Kealoha Pisciotta, a TMT opponent and protest organizer, applauded Ige for taking action, calling it clear evidence that he recognizes the worldwide groundswell of public support for “halting further desecration of the sacred mountain,” (but, according to Pisciotta, the 'sacred' is available for $50M a year rent.)
On Friday, OHA trustee Peter Apo called on Ige and the University of Hawaii to adopt a 30-day moratorium on construction in order to work out a (cash) solution everyone, Native Hawaiians and the scientific community can live with.
read ... Payoffs
Maui Memorial: "We cannot wait for one more session or one more study"
MN: ...there are certainly some very large cuts that will affect more people on the horizon if we stay on this path of decline.
Here we are with a viable plan - a prudent plan that can reduce and eventually eliminate financial dependence on the state, a progressive plan that will grow services and jobs, a comprehensive plan for a health care delivery system that stimulates much-needed physician recruitment and in turn cultivates relationships and opportunities to keep our local medical school graduates here in Hawaii. This is a sustainable model that will continue to flourish by its own achievements.
We cannot wait one more session, one more study, or one more day....
HB1075: Text, Status
read ... Medical Executive Committee at Maui Memorial Medical Center
Arakawa: Maui County to explore buying MECO, forming co-op (good) or Public utility (bad)
MN: Mayor Alan Arakawa wants to explore the possibilities of making Maui Electric Co. a public utility, one that could even compete against Florida-based Next-Era Energy Inc., which is seeking Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approval to acquire MECO's parent company, Hawaiian Electric Industries.
"We are probably going to hire a consultant to really look at the potential (possibilities) . . . also to give us an analysis what is best," Arakawa said in an interview at this office Tuesday afternoon. "There are may options: buy the utility; form a co-op like Kauai; form our own utility to compete." ....
(There's a huge difference between a coop and a 'public utility'. In a coop only the ratepayers get a vote. They literally have to pay for the consequences of their decisions. In contrast, publicly owned utilities are just pots of gold for politicians to loot.)
Arakawa said he has been hearing a "mixture" of good and bad comments about NextEra, and, as of right now, he's not sure if he can be supportive of the acquisition "because there is no information out there for us to analyze."
He speculated on how the company, with no roots in Hawaii, would be run. He said its board members and stockholders do not have the knowledge of the state or being in the community. He added that profits would not stay on Maui.
With the possibility of the county setting up its own utility, Arakawa said a public company is "not looking at profits."
The county already is in the utility business with its water and sewer systems, so it has experience, he said.
The county has spoken to Parker Ranch on the Big Island, where the ranch is considering setting up its own grid, Arakawa said. The county has also looked at the nonprofit Kauai Island Utility Cooperative established in 2002. The cooperative is owned and controlled by its members. It has more than 32,000 electrical accounts on Kauai, according to its website.
Arakawa's move also was probably aggravated by a recent letter from HEI that it is not interested in the trash-to-energy program to generate power.
The county has worked with HEI and MECO for three years on the issue and could have taken its source of "firm power" to market, but held off due to the utility's wishes, Arakawa said. But now the utility is backing off, he added.
"Relationships are very important. We had a history. Within a few months, if HEI has its way, they will no longer exist. That entity will be gone like how Pioneer Mill is gone and Wailuku Sugar is gone."
Arakawa will discuss his proposal for Maui County to look into establishing an electric company while addressing at the Hawaii Clean Energy: Future Directions In Law, Policy and Finance today on Oahu.
MN: Residents need to confront NextEra in large numbers
read ... Another Co-op
How charter school system in Hawaii is a success
SA: On March 31, Hawaii's public charter schools were front page and center of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
One article was entirely positive and celebratory, but the other certainly looked to have a negative undertow. Both showed how the charter school system is working in tangible ways.
SA: Why charter schools?
read ... Lynn Finnegan
House bill Authorizes Marijuana Stores on Ag Land and in Residential Areas
WHT: A state House bill attempting to create a regulated medical marijuana dispensary system throughout Hawaii will be reviewed by its final committees today.
House Bill 321 establishes a system of medical marijuana dispensaries in the state and puts limits on the amount that can be purchased. The legislation also prohibits counties from enacting zoning regulations that prevent the use of land for licensed dispensaries. (Drug store in the house next door.)
Also included in the bill is language that clarifies the right of qualifying patients potheads and primary caregivers drug pushers to transport medical marijuana and authorizes any licensed physician (flying in from California) of a qualifying patient to issue a written certification.
read ... Drug Stores
Tax break for cesspool conversions advances
WHT: Aiming to reduce the 55 million gallons of raw sewage that enters the ground daily — and makes its way into Hawaii’s drinking water — state lawmakers are pressing forward with a bill that would ease the financial pain of converting to modern waste disposal systems.
House Bill 1140 would establish a $10,000 tax credit for homeowners to connect to a sewer system or install a septic system or aerobic treatment unit. Priority would go to homes near public drinking water wells and within 200 feet of shorelines, streams and wetlands. The credit would be good until 2020.
The bill passed out the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday.
read ... Cesspool
Lobbyist Spending Is Concentrated at the Top
ILind: It is much easier to compile this kind of overview of lobbying activities than it used to be just a few years ago, thanks to an increasingly robust online reporting system implemented by the ethics commission.
The commission now uses the state’s data portal, data.hawaii.gov, to make its various types of documents readily available to the public. Lobbying reports include registration statements filed by individual lobbyists documenting their authorization to lobby on behalf of client organizations, as well as expenditure reports filed by organizations employing lobbyists. The commission also makes available expenditure statements filed by individual lobbyists, although these are of little use because the vast majority of these report no expenditures due to a quirk in disclosure requirements.
But even with better public access, it’s still a challenge to make sense of the numbers.
read ... Lobbying
DoT Orders Commuters off Shoulder Lanes While Senate Votes on Rail Tax Hike
KHON: One week after an open ZipperLane and broken ZipMobiles created traffic chaos, some westbound drivers are apparently still using the H-1 Freeway shoulder lane to get home.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation issued a reminder Tuesday that motorists are not allowed to use the shoulder lane during daily afternoon rush hour traffic.
The lanes were opened for emergency use last Tuesday and Wednesday only, the department said.
At that time, temporary highway signage and message boards were placed to notify motorists that the westbound shoulder lane was open in two H-1 sections between the Radford Drive Overpass and the Kaneohe/Honolulu Off-Ramp (Exit 13B) and between the Kaonohi Street Overpass to the Waimalu/Pearl City Off-Ramp (Exit 10).
These sections are no longer open as travel lanes and should be used for vehicle breakdowns and emergencies only.
HDOT says it is considering long-term plans to open the right shoulder lanes in these areas to alleviate afternoon rush-hour traffic.
read ... Keeping Traffic Jammed
Former Gov. Linda Lingle talks Hawaii politics
KHON: As for Hawaii politics, Lingle believes the Republican Party will eventually cut into Democratic dominance, the way it did when she was GOP chair and then governor.
"Having a governor is a big plus for the Republican Party. It allowed us to bring in people to the government who may not have previously had a chance," she said.
She is troubled with Republicans who switch parties after taking office.
"Basically, they want to be in a position of what they see as power. They want to head a committee," she said.
As Republican Party chair in 2000, Lingle led the GOP to a resurgence. So why go to work in Illinois' political arena when she can help her party at home?
"Our current chair, Pat Saiki, has done a terrific job in really what was a rebuilding phase. And now they'll have an election for a new chair in May. I think it's time for others to step up and give it a try," Lingle said.
Some conservatives still believe Lingle acted less like a Republican than a Democrat. She calls that criticism a compliment.
"I think that was why I was able to generate the highest vote total in Hawaii history. It's because people knew that I would always put the state ahead of the party. I think that's important for anyone," she said.
Lingle said recent election defeats of Charles Djou, Duke Aiona, and other Republicans don't mean they can't win in the future. It largely depends on what they do now.
"How do they contribute to the community when they don't win an election and what happens to them later?" she said.
read ... Lingle
BOE approves school meal price increase
KITV: Student lunch increase by 25 cents; breakfast by 10 cents
read ... Increase
Five of HPD's breathalyzers broken at the same time
KITV: up until last week, five of the total twelve devices around the island were broken.
The ones at the Wahiawa, Kahuku, Kailua, Pearl City and Kalihi stations were all down over a three-month period. The one in Kahuku remains broken.
When something like this occurs, officers have to drive the suspects out of the area to the nearest working machine.
"It takes more time, it means they can't be back out on the road making another arrest when they're chaperoning this DUI offender all around the island finding an intoxilyzer that works, so it has its consequences," says Arkie Koehl, spokesman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
If the machines can't be fixed by an HPD employee, they are shipped out to Kentucky for repair by the company.
HPD tells us they are purchasing three new machines at a cost of 85-hundred dollars each, but those are not here yet.
read ... Broken
Some rethinking the Justice Reinvestment Act
KITV: In 2012, Hawaii lawmakers enacted what's called the "Justice Reinvestment Act." Its purpose -- to reduce Hawaii's prison population and stop convicts from reoffending.
But, three years later, some are following the money trail and questioning who it's really helping....
The reopening of Kulani prison on the Big Island last July helped relocate dozens of mainland inmates back to the islands. It was part of the $3.4 million Justice Reinvestment Act to reduce Hawaii's ballooning prison population and beef up community-based programs to prevent convicts from reoffending.
But, it's a different story this legislative session.
"You are not going to see anything in this legislative session in decriminalization," said Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, who represents Puna.
In fact, Buenaventura says the trend this session has been toward tougher sentencing. Renovations to Hawaii's largest prison has sent many local inmates back to mainland prisons.
read ... Reinvestment?
Work furlough inmates arrested in robbery, kidnapping investigation
KHON: According to police dispatch, the initial call came in at 3:47 p.m. from a home at 1234 Matlock Avenue.
Police say four victims were held against their will and the suspects fled.
At 5:25 p.m., police arrested two men in a car near the intersection of King and Victoria streets.
Robert Suati Gibson, 31, and Kalai Palakiko Tavares, 34, were booked on four counts of kidnapping. Tavares was also arrested for carrying illegal drugs.
The Department of Public Safety confirms the men were out on work furlough, which means they were supposed to be at their jobs, and scheduled to return at 5 p.m.
KHON: OCCC work furlough inmate William Williams arrested
read ... Another Two
Hawaii Homosexual Child Molester Charged: 57 Counts, 12 boys Victimized
YWV: A former Surprise man is facing 57 counts of child molestation with more than a dozen victims in an investigation dating back to 2006.
Derrick Gardner has been in an Arizona jail since late last month after he was extradited from California where he was serving time for unrelated charges.
Gardner was indicted back in 2010, but skipped town before he could be arrested.
ABC15 obtained court records that show Gardner had a very disturbing pattern of giving boys alcohol and pills until they passed out. Records indicate, shortly after, he would molest them.
Police interviews with victims indicate a pattern where Gardner would groom his nephews' friends by purchasing expensive things for them and even giving them cash.
Gardner has lived at several homes over the years. Records show Gardner was a registered sex offender from a crime in Hawaii in the 1980s, but at some point stopped complying with the requirement to register.
read ... Another One
City Worker Arrested as Peeping Tom
HNN: A city worker is out on bail after allegedly spying on a woman using the restroom at Newtown Neighborhood Park. Bo Bitler, 38, is a parks department employee.
The 41-year-old victim asked to remain anonymous. She said she decided to share her story to warn people about the potential risk. There is a storage room in the middle of the restroom that separates the men's bathroom from the women's bathroom. A see-through metal screen runs all the way around the top.
The woman said she stopped to use the restroom at the park just before noon on March 31. She parked along the road behind a truck and went into the women's bathroom. Once inside the stall, she said she heard strange noises, but didn't see anything. Then she heard the sounds again.
"As I started to look up again and I started to look around I noticed there was a man above that screen looking down on me. I started screaming. I started yelling. I started calling him a pervert," she said.
read ... Pervert
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