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Friday, August 10, 2018
August 10, 2018 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 6:03 PM :: 2968 Views

As SEC Closes in on Elon Musk, UHERO Continues to Dream Up New Ways to Send Him Money

Socialist Star Comes to Hawaii to Back the Biggest Loser of them All -- Kaniela Ing

Randall O’Toole: Build up or build out?

Hanabusa got more than $176K from mysterious Mitsunaga PAC

HNN: …"Defend Hawaii Now" has been running a television ad since Aug. 2 that included the voice of Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard endorsing Hanabusa and criticizing Gov. David Ige's leadership. It also reminds voters of the false missile alert and the escape of killer Randall Saito from Hawaii State Hospital.

The report filed Wednesday says the PAC has spent about $113,000 for television advertising and the rest on polling, printing and mailing — all in support of Hanabusa.

Also filed Wednesday, which was a deadline for filing reports on late campaign spending by PACs, was an organizational report for "Defend Hawaii Now" that identifies former Honolulu Police Officer Ernie Moritomo as the only official of the PAC….

When campaign spending officials realized last week that the ads were running without any disclosure, they sent two letters to a P.O. box listed on the ads ordering the organization file its disclosure documents and pay a $500 fine for failing to disclose advertising spending up to that date.

The organization still has not filed that report.

Unregistered PACs are often called "ghost PACs" because the spending is often timed to avoid disclosure of organizers and donors, sometimes until very late in an election cycle.

The report filed Wednesday shows that all of the money spent by Defend Hawaii Now was from contributions from a limited liability company called Waimea Associates, LLC. State business registration records show Waimea Associates is managed by Dennis Mitsunaga.

Mitsunaga owns an engineering firm that has had many non-bid government contracts.

The amount Defend Hawaii Now has spent immediately put it in the top 10 PACs in spending on this election.

The largest by far is "Be the Change," funded by the Hawaii Carpenters union, which has spent nearly $3 million primarily to help Hanabusa and state Sen. Josh Green, who's running for lieutenant governor.

Other top-spending PACs are also tied to unions. AiKea UNITE HERE, funded by the Ironworkers and unions, has spent about $280,000 supporting Ige. The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly has spent about $322,000 supporting Hanabusa and state Sen. Jill Tokuda, who's running for lieutenant governor.

read … State filings: Hanabusa got more than $176K from mysterious PAC

DPS to probe own mistaken release

HTH: …Since Brian Lee Smith was mistakenly freed on July 24, the state Department of Public Safety has delegated the responsibility of releasing inmates from the Hilo jail to just two people — the warden and the chief of security, Deputy Attorney General Laura Maeshiro, representing the department, told 3rd Circuit Court Judge Melvin Fujino during a hearing in which the jail’s warden, Peter Cabreros, was to explain the mishap….

(Translation: UPW members just can’t handle the responsibility.)

read … DPS to probe own mistaken release

Anti-Telescope Protesters Ecstatic over Ex-Parte Communications

SA: …Gon, senior scientist and cultural adviser with The Nature Conservancy, was in the 5-2 majority that voted to allow construction of the 18-story, cutting-edge telescope near the 13,803-foot summit of Mauna Kea.

Gon also voted for the original 2014 TMT conditional use permit allowing construction during his first stint on the board. That permit was invalidated by the Supreme Court in late 2015 over due-process issues, leading to a redo of its contested case hearing and the repeat vote of the BLNR.

In his court notice, Wilson said Gon sent him an email pertaining to the TMT case July 28.

“I did not review the substance of the email, but immediately replied by email to Mr. Gon that I did not read the email and could not do so,” he wrote.

Two days later he received a second email from Gon that Wilson said he did not open. That prompted the notice warning against the ex parte communication.

Asked to comment, Gon declined Thursday, saying he was advised by the state Attorney General’s Office to make no TMT-related comments to the press.

“I apologize, but I should comply with the AG’s guidance,” he said in an email.

Former Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. attorney David Kimo Frankel said he was “shocked and appalled” (Translation: Ecstatic) to hear of Gon’s actions — especially considering that the BLNR was involved in a hearing just eight months ago in which ex parte communication was an issue that led to the recusal of at least one member of the board.

“The irony is resonating,” Frankel said. “It’s kind of unbelievable that he wouldn’t know the rules of the game.”

read … Ecstatic

Star-Adv: Council Needs to Face Down ACLU to Solve Homeless Problem

SA: …the fact remains that Honolulu can’t tolerate allowing for routine life on the streets: It’s unhealthy and dangerous, to campers and neighbors alike. And as the encampments have shifted increasingly toward residential areas, bringing crime and other problems with them, the public health and safety concerns have become paramount.

So moving homeless individuals and families off the sidewalks to someplace that’s safe is a benefit to all, assuming it’s done in a humane fashion….

Those seem to be the goals articulated by Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration, and its latest proposals to further restrict obstructions on public sidewalks just might advance those goals. But the ideas can’t get a fair chance, or the particulars even be discussed, if the legislation stays bottled up in a City Council committee.

That’s been the fate of Bills 51 and 52, which were shelved at a July 25 meeting of the Committee on Public Works, Infrastructure and Sustainability. The deferral was requested by Councilman Trevor Ozawa, who said he was concerned about legal liability.

He’s right about the general risk of constitutional challenge with such measures, and even Caldwell has shared that concern. But it’s worth taking the risk to give this idea a shot. Further, the Council should consider adding the mayor’s proposed constraints in the final language to mitigate that problem….

read … Give homeless bills a hearing

Hawaii opioids: number of addicted women giving birth quadrupled over 15 years

TG: …The number of US women who gave birth addicted to opioids has quadrupled in the last 15 years, increasing the number of infants who face a long, painful withdrawal at birth, according to new government data.

However, as with many health problems in America, there is vast regional variation. While the rate of women who gave birth addicted to opioids in Hawaii matched the national average, the rate increased 53-fold in West Virginia….

States with the highest increases each year were Maine, New Mexico, Vermont and West Virginia. The lowest increases were in Hawaii and California.

In Vermont, the rate of women who presented with an opioid addiction increased 97-fold, from 0.5 cases per 1,000 in 2001 to 48.6 in 2014. In West Virginia, the rate increased 53-fold, from 0.6 cases in 2000 to 32.1 in 2014.

Comparatively, in 2000 in Hawaii, 0.6 women per 1,000 went into labor addicted to opioids. In 2014, that rate increased to 2.4 women per 1,000. That is still a four-fold increase over 14 years, but far below Vermont’s 2014 rate….

read … US opioids: number of addicted women giving birth quadrupled over 15 years

Star-Adv:  Because Sea Level Rise is Fake, We (again) Encourage you to Send us King Tide Pics Instead 

SA: Citizen scientists are invited to help document king tides around the Hawaiian isles today and tomorrow.

King tides are the highest astronomical tides of the year, and tend to occur in Hawaii during the summer months of July and August, and during the winter months of December and January in conjunction with new moons and full moons, according to the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, which is running the project.

The Hawaii and Pacific Islands King Tides Project seeks to gather at least 3,000 photos this summer. Photos of the elevated water levels provide a glimpse into the future of how sea-level rise may impact Hawaii’s coastal ecosystems and communities. They help provide a visual of how sea level rise would look on Hawaii coastlines….

(IQ Test: Are you distracted by the use of future tense expressions such as ‘would’?)

Reality -- for the few who can handle it: Sea Level? Oahu Rising Two Feet Every 1000 Years

read … King tide survey seeks help from Hawaii’s citizen scientists

High-Tech Tax Credit Scammers Lose Control of Manoa Innovation Center

HPR: …Until July, the state Hawaii Technology Development Corp. had run the Mānoa Innovation Center as an incubator for tech-start-ups. That state agency had had a 25-year lease for the facility from its landowner, the University of Hawaii, that expired in 2015, and had been renewed on a month-to-month basis.

UH will now run the Mānoa Innovation Center. Vissilis Syrmos, UH vice president for research and innovation, tells PBN the university’s first priority is figuring out its funding model and how to pay for needed upgrades to the 30-year-old building. It needs everything from updated furniture to roof repairs. After that, UH will continue to run it as an incubator for fledgling tech companies.

The transfer has been a revenue set-back for the Hawaii Technology Development Corp. The state agency has lost some $800,000 as it scaled down operations to leave the MIC.

read … So sad

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