Ethics: Board Member May Not Negotiate Spouse's Union Contract
DHHL Releases Draft 2019 Native Hawaiian Housing Plan
Hawaii Ranks 40th for Neighborhood Watch Programs
Post Those Tax Returns, Darn It!
Honolulu Council Kills Homeless on our Freeways
KHON: … The woman killed while apparently crossing Moanalua Freeway last night was near some homeless encampments (which are) under the roadway -- at Moanalua stream bridge (because the Honolulu Council is wasting time on ‘studies’ rather than allowing the already-enacted Bill 52 ordinance--which would let police FORCE the homeless into shelters when space is available--to go into effect).
It is unknown if she lived in one of them, but the case has heightened the concern of homeless advocates. …
"This is especially tragic when we have so many resources and shelter spaces available to help people -- and even provide transportation to get them out of that kind of bad situation."
Alexander says an average of 360 people a year find permanent, supportive housing through various homeless programs on Oahu.
"And so, we're particularly saddened when someone is killed, in that kind of setting. Saddened for the victim as well as saddened for the driver who hit that person."
As pedestrian fatalities spiked in the fall of last year, even Police Chief Susan Ballard told of back-to-back pedestrian fatalities involving people who just darted out onto the road -- and of her own close call -- while en route to an event.
"Sgt. DeFoster was driving down to drop me off, and if she hadn't been watching, there was a homeless guy on the median who was ready to just step right out in front of the car, and if she hadn't stopped, it could have been worse."…
read …Homeless near roads
Cost grows for delayed upgrade at Halawa Correctional Facility
SA: … Gov. David Ige’s administration has requested an additional $4.3 million to house Hawaii prison inmates on the mainland while contractors finish a long-delayed overhaul of the electronic locks and video surveillance systems at Halawa Correctional Facility.
(Translation: No UPW member have been laid off even though they can’t house these prisoners. We are spending money on an efficient prison in Arizona while paying UPW members to watch empty cells at Halawa.)
The latest request means the administration has now spent or asked lawmakers for permission to spend a total of $18.7 million to incarcerate prisoners in Arizona while work continues at Halawa on a project that was supposed to be completed in 2017….
read … Cost grows for delayed upgrade at Halawa Correctional Facility
Honolulu police chief Susan Ballard's evaluation report released
KHON: … KHON2 has the full results of Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard's first evaluation since taking the job.
The police commission revealed its report to Ballard privately earlier this week.
It says Ballard exceeds expectations when it comes to leadership, training and development, and communication and community relations.
She meets expectations pertaining to managerial skills, budget and fiscal matters, and her overall work with the police commission.
The police commission also says, Ballard needs to address the vacancies within the department.
Right now it has more than 200 officer positions open….
PDF: Ballard Evaluation Report
read … Honolulu police chief Susan Ballard's evaluation report released
HB1326: East Maui streams are protected regardless of permit decision
MN: … The county’s top water official clarified what he called a “misconception” in the murky debate over the connection between East Maui waters and the debated HB1326 in the state Legislature, which would extend revocable water permits for Mahi Pono, the company that recently acquired 41,000 acres of Alexander & Baldwin’s farmland.
“There is a misconception about the contested case in East Maui,”Department of Water Supply Director Jeff Pearson said last week. “That contested case that was resolved . . . (it) provided for ‘X’ amount of water in the streams. . . . That’s the law now. There are things that have to be done so they have full restoration of those streams, but no matter what happens with (Act) 126 or (HB) 1326, those streams are restored.”
Last year, the state issued a landmark decision to restore 17 East Maui streams to full or near-full capacity. In June, interim stream flow standards were set to protect area farming, cultural practices and habitat….
Mahi Pono, which is seeking the passage of HB1326, saying it is vital to farming operations, also acquired A&B’s 15,000 acres of watershed and half of East Maui Irrigation….
Pearson said. “When all these streams are restored per the contested case, there is approximately 70 million gallons of water a day that would be available for off-stream use. I’m not saying it’s going to be diverted tomorrow. But that’s the calculations that staff did at the state water commission to allow for off-stream, beneficial use.”….
(Wow. What a surprise. Swirling lies and ignorance whipping up frenzied crowds of mindless ‘woke’ people. Yep its Maui. Coulda been Kauai. Try to remember woke rhymes with joke.)
MN: Upcountry water users get 27% of their supply from East Maui, not 80%
read … Water director: East Maui streams are protected regardless of permit decision
Case allegedly exposes flaws in Hawaii’s child-abuser registry, critics say
SA: … For the past seven years, Courtney Bird, 38, has been trying to get off Hawaii’s registry for child abusers, a confidential list that includes about 40,000 names…..
The 9th Circuit panel later issued a two-paragraph order referring Bird’s case against the state to mediation. The order noted, among other things, “the apparent inadequacies” of the state’s procedures. It did not elaborate….
In 2007, Bird returned to her Oahu home from a dental appointment to discover her then-husband, Navy man Frank Fontana, performing CPR on their infant daughter, according to court records.
Investigators with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service ruled out Bird as a suspect but obtained a confession from Fontana, the records show. He eventually was sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter, a NCIS spokesman said. Fontana served less than five years behind bars.
The DHS investigation, which Bird disputes, concluded that both parents were culpable for the child’s abuse, according to the court records.
At the 9th Circuit hearing, Akamine told the three-judge panel that Bird was home on other days when her daughter suffered injuries. “She must have known and didn’t report it or didn’t do anything to prevent the abuse,” he said….
When she and her new husband, Bill Bird, tried to adopt a child in Tennessee in 2012, the background check turned up the confirmed finding of abuse in Hawaii, derailing the planned adoption, Bird told the Star-Advertiser.
“We were shocked,” she said. “I didn’t even know the registry existed.”…. (Really? After all that?)
read … Case exposes flaws in Hawaii’s child-abuser registry, critics say
Waiahole Valley preservation pact frays as state considers remedies to homestead issues
SA: … he Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., the agency that serves as landlord to about 100 households there, wants to address problems that include tenants who are delinquent on rent or no longer farm on lots where it’s required.
Other issues include cesspools that by law need to be replaced, an inadequate water system, abandoned lots and operating expenses that exceed tenant payments by $150,000 to $250,000 a year.
HHFDC and consultant SMS Research and Marketing Services recently produced a strategic plan that lays out a “road map” to address the issues. SMS Chairman Hersh Singer said the firm spent about 18 months gathering community input through surveys, meetings and presentations.
“This plan is really a community-based plan,” he told HHFDC’s board recently.
Yet many residents are concerned about details to come, including expected changes in rent and water fees. They worry that decisions could lead to the same situation they fought against with fervor all those years ago: evictions….
read … Waiahole Valley preservation pact frays as state considers remedies to homestead issues
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