Grassroot Institute of Hawaii sends Jones Act waiver request to President Trump
Hawaii ports closed for Hurricane Lane
Honolulu: $100 Worth Only $80.40
Lane Cat 2: Hurricane Warning for Oahu, Maui County
With Hurricane Bearing Down, Majority of Homeless Drug Addicts Still Refuse to Accept Shelter
CB: …By late afternoon, Lake Wilson began to swell.
Rose Coleman, an outreach worker with the nonprofit Alea Bridge, descended steps carved out of a muddy slope near the lake to a tent where, it turned out, a homeless woman was asleep. Coleman didn’t want to wake the woman, who she knew to be deaf, and hoped people from a neighboring camp would look out for her if the storm brought water gushing up toward her encampment.
Outreach workers across the state ramped up their efforts to inform unsheltered homeless people about Hurricane Lane’s approach. …
Coleman and two other outreach workers drove from one homeless encampment to the next. Of the roughly 20 people she talked to Thursday, just five agreed to enter designated evacuation centers in gyms or cafeterias of public schools….
There are an estimated 4,495 homeless people living on Oahu and 6,530 statewide, according to the latest point-in-time count.
Many plan to ride out the storm in the tent encampments where they live.
Such was the case at the Waianae Boat Harbor, where 189 of the usual 250 residents of the longtime homeless camp were still residing Thursday, near the ocean’s edge.
Camp leader Twinkle Borge told Civil Beat earlier this week that 28 children from the camp had been relocated to stay with family or friends, but that most of the adults planned to stay.
By 4 p.m. Thursday, 15 people found shelter in the cafeteria of Leilehua High School in Wahiawa. Coleman sat with one of her clients outside, coaxing him to stay put and avoid the liquor store. She said she has 60 to 80 clients who are homeless or recently housed, all of whom abuse drugs or alcohol.
More than 430 people had entered evacuation shelters across Oahu by Thursday afternoon, according to city spokesman Andrew Pereira. The shelters hosted a mix of people, including Oahu residents and tourists looking for a stable place to wait out the storm….
Phillips estimated he had talked with 100 homeless people over the course of two days and that half had entered evacuation shelters.
“Most of the response is, ‘I’m OK, I’m fine,” he said….
The city also provided buses to evacuate seven homeless shelters on Oahu, including Hale Mauliola on Sand Island near Honolulu Harbor and a shelter run by U.S. Vets in Waianae. Thirty families living in Kahauiki Village, a permanent housing project along Nimitz Highway, also evacuated to shelters or left to stay with family or friends.
After a conference call with city officials and homeless service providers Wednesday afternoon, Jason Espero, the director of homeless services for the nonprofit Waikiki Health, decided to prepare all 135 adults who live in Next Step homeless shelter to evacuate Thursday morning….
HNN: Residents of Waianae homeless camp say they're staying put through Lane
read … The Homeless Must be Forced to Accept Shelter
First Responders Waste Time Because Homeless Mentally Ill Cannot be Forced to Accept Shelter
MN: … In the March 2017 column, I wrote about a woman, Ann (not her real name), who lived at the airport. The story is sad. The police and outreach workers were persistently being called and asked to take care of her. Despite addressing the calls, there was little anyone could do because Ann did not want help. She wanted to live at the airport.
Countless hours were spent by the Maui Police Department, outreach workers and other agencies and departments responding to appeals made by the public. This was an extreme waste of limited resources, and even when this was explained, the calls didn’t cease. They wanted her moved!
A similar scenario is now happening in Kihei with Jenny (not her real name). Jenny loves where she lives — it has an ocean view with beach access. The problem lies in the fact that her home is a public beach park.
Adding to this dilemma is the fact that Jenny was pregnant (she recently gave birth) and many folks were concerned for her and her baby’s safety. This concern prompted innumerable calls to MPD, Department of Health, Department of Housing and Human Concerns, Mental Health Kokua, Ka Hale A Ke Ola and Family Life Center, just to name a few.
Over 100 hours have been logged responding to these calls. Again, a waste of limited resources, but the police and outreach workers need to respond to each call….
read … Persistent callers waste limited resources
Career criminal brandished knife at cop. They let him go. So he stabbed somebody.
HHC: …Waving a knife at a police officer isn’t enough to get you locked up these days, even if you have a lengthy rap sheet that includes arson, assault, burglary, theft, and numerous other offenses.
So what happens next? A stabbing that may very well cost another man his life.
Police were called to a clothing store in Kaneohe the other day because a shirtless and agitated Robert Midel was stomping around waving a knife. A responding police officer felt he was such an obvious threat that he trained his service pistol directly on Midel, video of the encounter shows.
But that wasn’t enough to have Midel locked up.
No, he was instead transported to a nearby hospital for a medical evaluation to, you know, try to figure out whether he was nuts or something. Apparently, the good doctors determined that he was sane enough to be released, and everyone just forgot about the whole knife thingy.
So just a couple days later, surprise, Midel allegedly stabbed another man inside the Nuuanu YMCA, and the victim is now on life support and may not survive much longer.
Midel and the victim were both living in a 68-bed transitional housing facility for men at the YMCA, which is located on one side of notorious drug-bum hangout Kamamalu Playground.
This being transitional housing, both the victim and alleged perp would be considered homeless for statistical purposes such as the annual “Point in Time Count” farce.
But the victim was no bum. No, he was gainfully employed, very friendly and respectful, and was saving money to bring his kids over from Guam and Saipan, according to co-workers. It’s unclear now whether he’ll ever make it out of the hospital alive. …
SA: Stabbing at YMCA was unprovoked, witnesses say
read … Career criminal brandished knife at cop. They let him go. So he stabbed somebody.
Shelter shortage? Hawaiian officials face questions as Hurricane Lane approaches
USAT: …With Lane already battering the Big Island on Thursday, the warning by Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Tom Travis that the Aloha State does not have enough shelter space set off alarm bells in an area not used to dealing with such huge storms….
read … Shelter shortage? Hawaiian officials face questions as Hurricane Lane approaches
Will Hawaii Offshore Windfarms Interfere with Military Operations?
R: …Offshore wind industry developers are working with the U.S. Department of Defense, BOEM, and the states of California and Hawaii to ensure that future offshore wind developments there are compatible with military operations and training….
read … Offshore Wind Market Update
Anti-Dairy Activists Sense Opportunity in Hurricane Lane
HTH: …Heavy rain from Hurricane Lane caused a wastewater pond at Big Island Dairy to overflow Thursday, sending untreated effluent into a nearby gulch.
Jake Mecham, dairy business manager, said the farm, located mauka of Ookala village, received nearly 25 inches of rain in 24 hours….
(Pandering relentlessly,) Valerie Poindexter, Hawaii County Council chairwoman and Ookala resident, said she could smell the cow manure (we can’t have that in an ag zone, now can we?) early in the morning. She called it a “double whammy” for residents also being hit by the storm….
read … Lane washes wastewater into Ookala gulch
Big Island Police Refuse to Take Murder Witness’ Report
HTH: …“She was slumped over with pretty much the full weight of her body held up by the man,” Klein told the jury. “And she appeared to be lifeless, unable to stand on her own, in other words.”
“Could you see anything on the clothing of the woman that caught your attention?” Hashizaki asked.
“It was blood stains,” Klein replied.
Klein testified that after he stopped the vehicle, he “went around to the front of the car and yelled at the man.”
“I said, ‘What’s going on here? What’s happening?’”
According to Klein, Rutledge “let the woman drop to the ground” and approached him.
“He was yelling, ‘She made me do it.’”
According to Klein, Mondragon shouted at him to get back in the vehicle and drive away, and he complied. He said he drove to the Pahoa police substation, but was unable to get an officer to take his statement, so he and Mondragon left for home after about 10 minutes….
read … Witness
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