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Feds Bust Kaniela Ing for Multiple Campaign Spending Violations
HNN: … Ing was already under fire for other campaign spending violations in his state House campaigns, for which the state Campaign Spending Commission fined him $15,000.
He blamed inexperience and the demands of campaigning and full-time employment for those violations.
(Notes to Ing: 1) Nobody on the Federal Campaign Commission is going to be concerned about ‘the consequences to your political career.’ 2) Horizontal stripes make you look fat.)
And on Friday he blamed his accountant for the sizable corrections he had to make in his congressional spending reports.
In a report filed Monday and widely reported in the media, it appeared Ing had found considerable financial backing for his Democratic primary campaign.
But in a filing a day later, about which the media was not informed, Ing cut his reported donations by half — and more than doubled his expenses.
In the Monday report, Ing reported he'd raised $201,865 between April and June.
But in an amended report posted a day later, he corrected the donation number to $100,983.
That first report also claimed expenses of $39,492 which was revised the next day to $100,593.
The faulty report made it look like Ing had a respectable $262,830 in cash on hand for the remaining weeks of the campaign, when he actually had a balance of $100,847….
The Federal Election Commission also caught several errors and omissions in Ing's first report of his congressional campaign in May and ordered the campaign to amend that report, adding missing information about some donors and expenses. …
(Really Obvious Questions: Which Federal Penitentiary do you think Ing will end up in? Will they have a vocational program for BMW mechanics?)
read … Embattled congressional candidate fires accountant after more campaign reporting errors
‘Pro white’ candidate expelled by state GOP
HTH: …The Hawaii Republican Party says it expelled a candidate for state House District 2 after it became aware of his racist views.
Bryan Feste, who is running as a Republican for the Hilo seat, told the Tribune-Herald that he wants an “all white nation” and shared campaign material that states he is “pro white” and uses derogatory language for Jewish and black Americans….
State Party Chairwoman Shirlene Ostrov said she had met the 29-year-old candidate before but was not aware of his views until she saw some of the fliers. Feste said he moved to Hawaii three years ago to be with his parents in Hawaiian Paradise Park….
Also running as a Republican for the seat is Grace Manipol-Larson….the district covers Hilo, Keaukaha, Panaewa and Waiakea….
read … ‘Pro white’ candidate expelled by state GOP
Commission investigates Kauai charter school, replaces governing board
SA: …The Charter School Commission has decided to appoint a new governing board for Kanuikapono Charter School in Anahola, Kauai, and investigate allegations of mismanagement.
Any spending by the school will have to be authorized by commission staff, who also will hold the school’s debit and credit cards until a new board is named.
The unanimous vote Thursday by the commission came after several Kanuikapono staff, parents and a former board chairwoman urged commissioners to take action to set things right at the school, which was founded in 2002 and had 194 students in kindergarten through 12th grade last year….
The commission is investigating a range of possible wrongdoing, including violations of governance regulations, lack of internal financial controls, employment and admissions practices, and credit card use.
The school’s leadership has been in turmoil for months. On April 16, leaders of its affiliated nonprofit known as Kanu INC, which is a vendor to the school, improperly took over the school’s governing board, according to the commission. On June 15 several support staff were terminated, including Wojak, Dawson and administrative assistant Desirea Peterson — a move they see as retaliation for alerting authorities to wrongdoing on campus….
“To have a (bank) signatory that is 10 years old that doesn’t work at our school, and the only other signatory to be the director of our school, I knew that was wrong.”….
BREG: Kanu Inc Temp Filing EXPIRED
read … Commission investigates Kauai charter school, replaces governing board
More Hawaii voters are casting ballots by mail
SA: …Data from Hawaii’s four counties show a pronounced uptick in the number of people requesting absentee mail-in ballots for this year’s primary election on Aug. 11.
Rex Quidilla, election administrator for Honolulu, said about 150,000 mail-in ballots were put in the mail in recent days. That’s a 16 percent increase over the roughly 129,000 Oahu voters who asked for mail-in ballots in the 2016 primary election….
The increase is even sharper on the Garden Isle, the county with the smallest population. Lyndon Yoshioka, Kauai County election administrator, said his office mailed out approximately 12,100 mail-in ballots Wednesday. That’s about 26 percent more than the approximately 9,600 mail-in ballots that were issued to voters in the 2016 primary.
Absentee mail-in ballot requests are also rising in Maui and Hawaii counties.
Maui County election administrator Shirley Magarifuji said her staff mailed out 25,179 ballots July 13. Magarifuji did not have the number of absentee requests from 2016, but said it’s more than the absentee mail-out requests received in the 2016 general.
Hawaii County election officials could not be reached for comment, but the state Office of Elections reported there were 37,776 ballots mailed out Tuesday. That’s also a whopping increase from the 2016 primary, when there were 26,967 absentee mail-in and absentee walk-in ballots combined recorded….
read … More Hawaii voters are casting ballots by mail
Charter Amendments: Will Maui Vote TVRs Off the Island?
MN: Three amendments to the County Charter will make their way onto the general election ballot Nov. 6, following Friday’s vote by the Maui County Council.
One amendment would establish a $20,000 penalty for illegal transient accommodations and another would expand the uses of the county’s Open Space, Natural Resources and Scenic Views Preservation Fund. The third amendment is intended to streamline the processing of claims against the county.
All changes would go into effect Jan 2, 2019, if approved by the voters.
The mayor does not have to sign off on the resolutions, which received their second and final approval by the council Friday.
The three charter amendment proposals will be the only ones to appear on the ballot this year, according to the County Clerk’s Office….
Currently, the maximum penalty for operating an illegal transient accommodation without a permit is $1,000.
read … Three charter amendments make it to Nov. 6 ballot
Eruption sparks downturn for Big Isle hotels
SA: …Hawaii island’s hotel occupancy dropped in June by its largest amount in almost five years as the continuing eruption of Kilauea Volcano kept visitors away.
Hawaii island’s occupancy rate fell 6 percentage points to nearly 69 percent in June, according to data released by Tennessee-based STR, which tracks hotel performance across the state. It was the Big Island’s largest monthly occupancy decline since November 2013, when occupancy fell 11 percent to just over 54 percent.
“These numbers simply represent the huge disruption from the volcanic activity,” said Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC. “It’s a huge impact.”…
read … Eruption sparks downturn for Big Isle hotels
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