Crooks and Cronies: Who’s Getting Paid from the FY 2016-17 OHA Check Register
FBI arrests retired HPD major, police officer linked to alleged corruption investigation involving Kealohas
KHON: …A retired Honolulu police major and a current Honolulu Police Department officer are in federal custody.
They were arrested by the FBI Sunday.
Both received target letters from the federal government last year in connection with the alleged corruption investigation into former police chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine, a deputy prosecutor.
This comes just two days before a federal grand jury is set to expire after convening for two years without an indictment.
FBI Special Agent Arnold Laanui confirmed the arrests, but tells us the case is under seal, so details of what they were arrested for and why cannot be disclosed at this time.
The FBI tells us retired major Gordon Shiraishi and current officer Bobby Nguyen were arrested Sunday….
Kealoha’s attorney, Myles Breiner, told our Always Investigating reporter, Gina Mangieri, that he contacted the FBI after learning about the arrests.
Officials told Breiner they did not need his clients’ cooperation regarding Sunday’s arrests.
Breiner also said Katherine Kealoha has not received a target letter.
In a statement, Louis Kealoha said: “I am very saddened and disappointed to hear about the recent arrests of Bobby and Gordon. These two individuals are good men who have dedicated their lives to serving our Honolulu community. I know that when all of the evidence comes to light, they will be exonerated of any wrongdoing.”
We checked the federal court docket and found that neither Shiraishi nor Nguyen have been scheduled for an arraignment yet, but it could be as soon as Monday morning.
read … FBI arrests retired major, police officer linked to alleged corruption investigation involving Kealohas
New HMSA rules cut back women’s cancer screenings
SA: This year the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state’s largest health insurer, decreased coverage of women’s health screenings to align with industry standards (save money)….
That has raised concern among some patients who only recently found out about the benefit changes.
Pap smear screenings used to detect cervical cancer are no longer covered annually for women between 21 and 65. The new standard is every three years.
And mammograms, used to diagnosed breast cancer, are covered only for women ages 40 and older — no longer for those between 35 and 39, HMSA said in benefit change documents.
The health insurer said it (thinks it can get away with this if it claims to have) made the changes based on recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of national experts, which relies on scientific evidence….
read … New HMSA rules cut back women’s cancer screenings
Civil Beat Mentions Kawananakoa Married to transsexual
CB: Fairy tales about princesses and their boundless fortunes typically don’t end like this, with a shock wedding to a decades-younger transexual with a sordid past and questionable intentions, all under a scrim of court-mandated gag orders.
(NOTE: This is the first time any media source other than Hawai’i Free Press has mentioned the fact that Abigail Kawananakoa married a transsexual.)
The stupefying denouement of the tale of Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, though, should prompt deeper reflections in this community’s media audiences about what sorts of softly supported storylines they sometimes ingest without protest, especially about their most prominent fellow citizens, such as Kawananakoa.
This polarizing character doesn’t hesitate to boast of being rich, royal and powerful, once even describing herself as the “big cheese” and plopping onto a roped-off throne at Iolani Palace, as a right of her “heritage,” causing a community backlash, leading to the resignation of the palace’s managing director and curator.
Fawning passages of media accounts over the years, including in Civil Beat, have characterized her presence as generating a “sense of awe, respect and deference,” her philanthropic vision bolstering “a wide range of Native Hawaiian issues,” and her athleticism as being so superior she “could have reached Olympic gold in any sport if she had chosen that path.”
Related: Kawananakoa Estate: Sex, Drugs, and Inequality
read … Sordid
HTA Pays to Mail Homeless Back to mainland
KGI: Kauai Economic Opportunity has successfully repatriated four homeless individuals to their family on the Mainland and is working on returning two more.
The efforts were made possible by a $25,000 grant contributed by the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association…..
The funds, which come from HLTA’s nonprofit arm, Hawaii Hotel Industry Foundation, were intended to provide assistance to eligible clients who were ready to relocate to a safe shelter and pursue sustainable employment, as well as to repatriate some homeless back to the Mainland.
“It assists those who can provide assurance of housing with family, friends, organizations or independently outside of Kauai but lack the resources to do so,” Ferreiro-Fujiuchi said….
So far, KEO has helped four people return. The first was a 40-year-old man from Alaska. While he could barely afford food and clothes in Hawaii, he had a family member across the ocean who was willing to give him a place to live. After he arrived in Alaska, the KEO staff contacted his mother, who assured them he was in her care.
Soon after, KEO helped three more individuals return to their home states of Nevada, New Mexico and Montana. KEO is currently working on two more repatriation cases…..
In 2015, collaborating with Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa and the Institute for Human Services, HLTA donated $25,000 to the Maui Family Life Center for a similar program. HLTA is in discussion with Hawaii Island Mayor Harry Kim’s office and intends to give another $25,000 to agencies on the Big Island this fall.
SA: Thanks to Homeless, Kakaako closure boots bodysurfers from exclusive spot
read … KEO helps homeless get back home
Global Warmers Upset You aren’t Taking Hawaii Climate Commission Seriously
CB: Best Comment: “The end is near but the Hawaii Climate Commission is here to save the day. They will meet over lunches and dinners. Over dinner at fine restaurants they will hire consultants who will issue reports and publish preparedness recommendations.
Oh thank God for our fearless bureaucrats. Now we can all rest assured that our blessed islands are secure. Thank you Dr. Chip, for agreeing to be paid for your brilliant insights about the dangers of a land-falling hurricane.”
read … Seriously?
Bloomberg: For Puerto Rico's Sake, Scrap the Jones Act
BB: …From Hawaii and Alaska to Puerto Rico, U.S. states and territories that rely heavily on shipping have always borne a disproportionate burden from a law that seeks, with less and less success, to retain a U.S. merchant marine and commercial shipbuilding capability.
Even before Hurricane Maria shattered its infrastructure, Puerto Rico was poorer than the poorest U.S. state, with unemployment far higher than on the mainland. Its 3.4 million people, still mostly without electrical power or telecommunications, with many lacking even potable water, face a mammoth, years-long task of rebuilding. They're also flat broke.
Making them pay more for imports from the mainland would be wrong under any circumstances, but at a time like this it's disgraceful. Congress is considering measures that would exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act or scrap the law altogether. For decency's sake, the first is the least it should do. Far better if it puts an end to this nonsense once and for all.
read … For Puerto Rico's Sake, Scrap the Jones Act
Guam: This is the Time to Push for Jones Act Exemption
MV: Business and political leaders on island are saying that now may be the best time for Guam to push for exemption from the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, or the Jones Act, after President Trump suspended the Jones Act for Puerto Rico to facilitate hurricane aid shipments bound for the storm-battered commonwealth.
Bobby Shringi, chairman of the board for the Guam Chamber of Commerce, said the recent shipping issues with Puerto Rico and the lifting of the Jones Act open the door for Guam to pursue exemptions for the marine law, which was enacted nearly a century ago.
“However, it’s more than the adverse impacts during times of disasters, as our residents pay dearly at the registers because of the Jones Act on a daily basis. With the recent decision of Delta Airlines to end services on Guam, what is truly needed are changes towards cabotage laws in general,” he said.
Guam’s location makes these federal mandates challenging for residents, Shringi said….
read … Guam business, political leaders push for lifting of Jones Act
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