Thousands of HSTA Members Could be Targeted by New Anti-Bullying Policy
Senate Announces Leadership, Committee Chairs
Full Bilingual Hawaiian-English Bible Published
Walden versus OHA’s LLCs
OHA Operatives Squeeze DLNR Harbors Division for Money as Ala Wai redevelopment Looms
SA: …In examining DLNR’s overall land management practices, including at the harbors (most of which are on previously submerged lands which are ‘Ceded lands’ therefore OHA gets 20%), the Star-Advertiser found many cases that at best raised questions about its practices and at worst reflected shoddy oversight. Critics say the lax oversight undermines what is in the best interests of the public (OHA) and the 1.3 million-acre land trust the department oversees.
(Most of this article is about “30-plus roofed structures” built at their docks by fishermen and charter captains at Honaunau in the 1980s. Really.)
The cases ranged from DLNR charging monthly rent for years to a for-profit company at a rate about six times less than what it was charging nonprofits, to taking more than a decade to resolve a lease dispute even though the lessee stopped paying rent for the whole period, accumulating hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
“It’s negligence,” said Mary Maxine Kahaulelio, 80, one of two Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners who successfully sued the department in 2014 for breaching its trust obligation related to a Big Island lease. “They’re failing to care for our land.”
The newspaper’s findings come at a time of heightened scrutiny for the department. The state auditor is conducting an audit of the Land Division at the request of legislators. And employee complaints filed against the division’s top managers in recent years have questioned whether management actions have been in the best interests of the trust. …
… Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor in Waikiki is a good example, (ceded lands jackpot time! OHA gets 20%.) according to Suzanne Case, who heads the department and its governing board. “If it were a private piece of land, it would be full of high-rises already,” she said (hint, hint).
Case cited two examples to highlight what she considered department successes: managing the 2017 International Union for Conservation of Nature conference under budget, allowing the agency to return $2.9 million to the Legislature; and the June launching of a state landownership database accessible to the public online…..
read … Lax oversight by DLNR allows businesses to use state land for free at a Kona harbor
Open-Carry: Hawaii Paints itself into corner
SA: …the issue is open carry — the carrying of pistols in plain view — and the court, and states like Hawaii, have found that they have backed themselves into a corner. Because if it’s constitutional to prohibit concealed carry as the 9th Circuit Court has ruled, and the Second Amendment grants the right to “bear” arms (which means to have on one’s person), then it has to be unconstitutional to similarly prohibit open carry, because to ban both concealed and open carry directly contravenes the U.S. Constitution….
read … Big implications for open-carry ruling
Lt. Gov. needs a real job or save us the big salary
Shapiro: … why we need a lieutenant governor, a $150,000 job with a big suite of offices on the fifth floor of the Capitol, if he or she needn’t be around to fulfill the only significant constitutional responsibility of the office — filling in for an absent governor.
Hawaii LGs have struggled to find meaningful roles since statehood. They come into office with grand plans, only to find themselves toiling at the governor’s whim with assignments that are often menial.
Three LGs — James Kealoha, Tom Gill and Jean King — clashed with their governors and quit to run against them. Nelson Doi ran for Honolulu mayor out of boredom and Tsutsui became so frustrated by Ige’s refusal to use him that he quit mid-term to become a lobbyist.
George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Ben Cayetano, Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz did their time as LG relatively quietly and were rewarded with eventual ascension to governor or U.S. senator, but four to eight years of subservience and little responsibility is hardly good preparation for top leadership.
Hawaii LGs say they perform a secretary of state function, but not really.
Since the LG was long ago stripped of election oversight, the only ministerial functions are minor matters like name changes and document maintenance.
The 47 states that have real secretaries of state — 35 of them elected — give the office major constitutional responsibilities such as running elections, keeping state records and archives, professional licensing, business registration, corporate filings and oversight of lobbyists and political campaign finances.
If Lt. Gov.-elect Josh Green wants to make a difference, he should convene a working group to conceive a real job description for the office, with meaningful constitutional responsibilities independent from the governor, and sell it to the Legislature and voters as a constitutional amendment.
If we can’t sensibly reinvent the job, we should abolish the lieutenant governor and leave filling in for absent governors to the attorney general or budget director….
read … Lt. Gov. needs a real job or save us the big salary
Hygiene Center Homeless Vortex: Drug dealing, public drinking, street sex, street brawls, stabbings and murders
SA: … the intersection of Maunakea and Pauahi streets has become a vortex for drug dealing, public drinking, street sex, street brawls, stabbings and murders.
This dramatic and sustained spike in crime was an unfortunate result of the city’s well-intentioned (idiotic) effort to provide social services to mentally ill, substance-abusing and homeless citizens (without forcing them into shelters). As part of this plan, a free public hygiene center with showers and bathrooms was put into the same building on Pauahi Street.
Unfortunately, this location is on a block where drugs and sex can easily be obtained, and the facilities are right between two cheap liquor stores that also sell drug paraphernalia….
The influx of social service and hygiene clients expanded the market for illegal activity and produced a dramatic increase in aberrant and dangerous behavior. The street has since spiraled out of control, as if someone poured gasoline on fire.
The challenges our Chinatown community face each day are real. Businesses are moving out, and drug dealers and gangs are moving in. Keiki and kupuna are in real danger.
I’ve been punched, spat on, attacked by dogs and am a victim of attempted robbery. My building has been repeatedly vandalized and my car, in the city parking lot on Pauahi Street, broken into. I cornered the thief, and fortunately, he dropped his knife. For safety, we installed security cameras and during the software tutorial, someone sold and smoked crack with his customers right by the hygiene center.
City planners just spent over $1 million on bulb-outs, a controversial traffic experiment “for the safety of pedestrians in Chinatown.” But instead of safer streets, we feel more and more unsafe. What we really need is funding for a team of 24/7 foot patrolmen who could ensure the public’s safety….
read … With crime putting Chinatown at risk, police patrols needed now
Hanalei Residents Angle for Six More Months Without Tourists, TVRs
KGI: …A major concern is that people want to be sure road and bridge repairs are completed by the time Kuhio Highway is reopened.
A transition period of at least six months or more was a key goal of the group.
During this time, island residents would be welcomed into Wainiha and Haena, while tourists could visit only via shuttle. The convoy system would end, but it was suggested that road repairs could continue, especially since this method would help reduce traffic. This process would need to be managed by someone at a checkpoint…..
“We’re a strong, united community, and we want this to be a beacon, a treasured area, and create the new normal that everyone on island could enjoy,” said Joel Guy, vice president of the Hanalei Haena Community Association, which hosted the meeting….
read … Six More Months
Bill Would Keep Hordes of Tourists out of Leilani Estates
WHT: …Puna Councilwoman Eileen O’Hara has introduced a resolution urging Hawaii County to grant temporary control of Leilani Avenue to the Leilani Estates Community Association.
She said she hopes the measure, which will be taken up during a committee meeting Monday, will give the association representing most of the property owners in the lava-ravaged subdivision a seat at the table with county administrators regarding future decisions and make litigation over control of the road unnecessary.
The association has asked the county to maintain its security checkpoint on Leilani Avenue at the entrance to the subdivision or give it temporary control the public road, which now ends at the famed fissure 8. Other roads in the subdivision are private.
Board members, who have considered installing a gate, say they are concerned about being overwhelmed by visitors hoping to see the lava flow field, which covers private property, or criminals seeking to take advantage of homes that remain empty.
The association is trying to make its case in U.S. District Court in a class-action lawsuit filed against the county Thursday….
UPDATE: Legislation calling for the county to temporarily close road into Leilani Estates fails
read … Temporary Leilani handoff proposed
New Age Quacks Behind Anti-Vaxxers Mobilizing to Keep Your Kids Sick
KGI: …vaccines would be added to the list.
The new vaccines on the list would be: HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine), MCV (Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine), Tdap (Tetanus-diptheria-acellular pertussis), Hepatitis A, Influenza, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus.
Currently, DOH requires for school children DTaP/DTP/Td (diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis), Polio, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) Hepatitis B, Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) (for preschool attendance) and Varicella (chickenpox).
A meeting is set for Dec. 21 for the public and state Department of Health to hash out the pending updates to the vaccine and examination rules for kids, and parents are gearing up.
“This is a time to get public input, so please show up there to clarify our resistance to getting mandatory immunizations,” Kauai resident Toni Lilijengren (of the crackpot new age ‘Dolphin Touch Wellness Center) wrote to The Garden Island….
Those opposed to flu shots cite the (non-existent) potential to trigger the autoimmune disorder Gullian-Barre syndrome, vascular disorders and narcolepsy, (debunked, fraudulent) ‘studies’ linking the immunizations to an increased chance of Alzheimer’s disease, and (their blind, ignorant) fears the shots contain ingredients like mercury and aluminum.
Many (All honest) health officials say those fears are misguided (hysteria spread by the same hucksters behind 911 troootherism, birtherism and anti-GMO activism)….
HTH: DOH looks to update immunization requirements for students
read … Anti-Vaxxers
When hype overpowers fact, we get mongoosed
Cataluna: Overheated public relations campaigns and news coverage that unquestioningly repeats a press release are not exclusive to our current era.
Take the case of the mongoose’s introduction to Hawaii. Hindsight has perfect vision and we all know what a mistake that was, but to read some of the coverage of the hype is still stunning. The mongoose was set up to be a fierce, furry savior.
In March 31, 1883, the Pacific Commercial Advertiser joined in the campaign to bring the animal to Hawaii with this description:
“He is a famous ratter, surpassing the cat or the ferret. He is described as a lively little urchin, about the size of a weasel, as having a snaky body, vicious looking claws, a sharp nose, villainous eyes and looks like ‘murder incarnate.’”
In September of that year, the owner of a sugar mill and plantation on Hawaii island brought what was reported to be the first shipment of mongoose from Jamaica to be released in his fields.
“Mr. Purvis has had an opportunity of observing just what the mongoose will do in its native home, and says that it will not molest poultry or come about the premises where people live to disturb anything, but has a perfectly insatiable appetite for killing rats,” the Pacific Commercial Advertiser reported. “These are the first mongooses ever brought to these Islands and in all probability they will increase rapidly and prove very useful in destroying all kinds of small vermin.”
By October of the following year, Hawaii newspapers were reporting wild success stories.
“In one field of 69 1/2 acres, at some distance from where the mongoose had been placed, which had formerly been disastrously rat-infested a year before, there was not found, this season, a single stick bearing the marks of recent rat bites.”
That article did concede mongoose had a taste for poultry and eggs, but assured they’d leave larger fowl alone.
By September 1885, though, no one could pretend any longer.
“Complaints come from Hilo of their killing and eating chickens and ducks by wholesale,” the Honolulu Advertiser reported….
And we’ve fallen for the trick over and over again: the promise of a quick fix, a solution with no downsides, an idea imported from somewhere else without full disclosure of the negative consequences it wrought even in its homeland. Incomplete understanding mixed with a deep sense of frustration and the naive belief in too-good-to-be-true promises. That was then, and that is now….
read … When hype overpowers fact, we get mongoosed
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