Dubin Disbarment? Another Step in the Process
Ige Signs Emergency Proclamation to Build Homeless 'Ohana Zones
Ige: Lofty ideals, few practical solutions
UHERO Economic Forecast: Record-high Visitor Numbers--Unimpressive Income Gains
HELCO Pushing $13.4M Rate Hike
Josh Green: Pay to Play
SA: …Is it a surprise that Lt. Gov. Josh Green gave the most important job on his staff, chief of staff, to Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters operative Brooke Wilson (“Lieutenant governor’s office staff shaping up,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 5)?
It shouldn’t be. After spending $1 million on ads supporting candidate Green for lieutenant governor, the carpenters union expected and now has received direct access to the Legislature and the executive branch of Hawaii. No sane politician is going to say no to a chief of staff, especially one with union connections.
What is surprising is that there is nothing being said by the Star-Advertiser or any other watchdog organization that maybe this might be a pay-to-play — paid in full by Lt. Gov. Green….
read … Pay to Play
Kaneshiro Corruption: Murderer May be First to Walk Free
HNN: … The attorney for convicted murderer Dae Han Moon sent a letter to the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, requesting information about the federal public corruption investigation that has widened to include the prosecutor’s office.
Victor Bakke, Moon’s attorney, asked to see the target and subject letters the Department of Justice sent to Keith Kaneshiro and two of his deputies, Chasid Sapolu and Jan Futa.
Deputy prosecutor Chasid Sapolu has received a subject letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sapolu was the original trial prosecutor on the case….
read … Defense attorneys question cases prosecuted by deputies under federal probe
Impeachment process unclear for Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro
SA: … It seems like some of this is uncharted territory,” said Tracy Yoshimura, a business consultant who started the petition and is seeking to have Kaneshiro removed from office….
By Friday afternoon more than 700 people had signed the Kaneshiro petition, according to the website.
The charter says the city’s top elected law enforcement officer can be impeached for “malfeasance, misfeasance or non-feasance,” though it doesn’t define those terms.
A petition signed by not fewer than 500 registered voters is required to start the process, and the charter gives the state court system jurisdiction over the proceedings. Once the petition is filed, “hearings shall be held on all such charges,” according to the charter.
But beyond that the city law is silent on how the process works.
And state law provides hardly any guidance. It only says the Circuit Court has jurisdiction over “actions for impeachment of county officers who are subject to impeachment.”
Nothing else about the process is outlined.
Rules for civil procedures would apply to impeachment cases, but even those don’t provide much clarity.
When asked to explain the process, the Judiciary declined comment. The city shed some light:
“The issue of impeachment of a city official has not been tested in recent years, and the last case involving an elected official happened under a previous version of the City Charter and state statutes that have since been amended,” it said in a statement. “There may be new interpretations under the current laws that need to be considered.”
The last time an impeachment petition was filed on Oahu was 16 years ago when voters attempted to remove then-Councilwoman Rene Mansho from office.
read … Impeachment process unclear for Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro
Civil Beat Law Center Files To Unseal Secret Kealoha Court Documents
CB: … The Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest wants the federal court to allow the public to see court records that have been kept under seal in the corruption case against former deputy prosecutor Katherine Kealoha.
“There’s just no explanation as to why these documents were sealed or at the minimum why information is hidden,” said Brian Black, executive director of the Civil Beat Law Center.
Black filed the motion Friday in federal court in Honolulu.
Beginning in September, Kealoha’s attorney, Cynthia Kagiwada, began filing sealed documents on her client’s behalf as her Nov. 14 bank fraud trial date approached.
Based on those filings, which have never been public, both Katherine Kealoha and her husband, former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, were able to get the November bank fraud trial postponed until June after they face a separate corruption trial along with four other police officers in March….
read … Civil Beat Law Center Files To Unseal Secret Kealoha Court Documents
Pu‘uhonua o Waianae gets $150,000 to help build new encampment
SA: … The leaders of the Pu‘uhonua o Waianae homeless encampment next to the Waianae Small Boat Harbor on Friday received a $150,000 check that represents a major kick-start toward their dream of raising $1.5 million to find a new location that would move them off of oceanfront state land.
An anonymous donor has agreed to match up to $500,000 given to Dynamic Community Solutions, Pu‘uhonua o Waianae’s nonprofit organization. So the $150,000 check presented Friday from the REIT Way Hawaii Community Giving Campaign — along with $6,000 previously donated to alohaliveshere.org — means Pu‘uhonua o Waianae now has $312,000 toward finding a new permanent location and outfitting it with “tiny homes” for each of the current 270 occupants of Pu‘uhonua o Waianae….
read … Pu‘uhonua o Waianae gets $150,000 to help build new encampment
Solar Homes Hit By High Electric Bills
HNN: … Some residential electric customers on Oahu got sticker shock when they opened their power bills over the last few months. A few claim their bills doubled or even tripled between October and December.
A few customers we spoke to had photovoltaic systems that draw energy from the sun. They’re supposed to save on energy costs, but those savings disappeared.
“It was a huge selling factor for us to know that our home came equipped with 30 panels,” said Chad LaHousse, who moved into an Ewa Beach home in September. “We heard stories that our bill would be the minimum 30 dollars a month or whatever it is.”
Instead, LaHousse’s monthly bills have topped 200 dollars.
Jesse Sacayanan also has solar panels. He saw his power bill jump from just under 20 dollars a month during the summer to more than a hundred dollars.
“I think last month I hit 120, and I never hit a hundred in the eight years I’ve been here, so something’s going on,” he said.
According to Hawaiian Electric Company, that something is cloudy weather during September and October, which affected solar energy systems.
read … Some HECO customers shocked by spike in power bills
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