Debunked: Caldwell’s ‘Vancouver Tax’ Does Nothing to Ease Rental Crisis
Feds: Hawaii #2 for White Collar Crime
Hawaii Mortgage Debt--2nd Highest in USA
Office of Hawaiian Affairs censors itself
SA Editorial: … Elected representatives of Native Hawaiian beneficiaries decide on matters affecting the trust fund the Office of Hawaiian Affairs manages for them. Each individual trustee is supposed to cast his or her votes freely, based on the best interest of those beneficiaries. But surely few of those constituents realize that as a matter of policy, “loyalty” to the Board of Trustees is supposed to factor in pretty heavily.
That, it seems, is what the board expects of one of its members, name still undisclosed, who is facing accusations of disloyalty. The trustees discussed in private, executive session last week whether a panel of three would investigate the allegations that one member made public statements disloyal to OHA and unsupportive of its decisions.
The board has deferred the matter — but should simply drop it.
The voting record on any issue is on the public record, so the fact that not all members of an elected body agree on any particular issue is known. The majority position stands, but this shouldn’t deprive the minority of the right to object to it.
Any court in the land would agree with that — the Supreme Court itself enables justices who dispute any ruling to file a dissenting opinion.
Media-law attorney Jeffrey Portnoy, who represents the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and other news organizations, rightly described this OHA practice as “problematic.” It’s arguably a violation of constitutional free speech rights. Is the board’s suggestion that trustees have none? …
read … Office of Hawaiian Affairs censors itself
Kauai: Former Police Chief Target of ‘nine-year vendetta of continuous harassment’
KGI: … Retired Kauai Police Department Chief Darryl Perry is asking the County of Kauai to pay him $2 million in damages due to what he described in a claim filed against the county last month as “a nine-year vendetta of continuous harassment.”
In the claim, Perry accuses former Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. — along with several other high-ranking county administrators and KPD officers — of engaging in a prolonged, conspiratorial campaign against him involving harassment, abuse, threats, unwarranted disciplinary action, and non-payment of accumulated sick and vacation leave….
“These actions were pervasive, willful and wanton and one with conscious indifference,” Perry wrote on a form dated May 13, notifying the county of his claim….
Perry said only that he hasn’t heard anything from county officials yet regarding a settlement, and gave the following statement: “I was reluctant to go ahead and file this claim, but those responsible need to be held accountable.”
Perry submitted a letter of resignation in June 2018 and stepped down as chief of the KPD a month later, after 11 years with the department. His retirement came after years of conflict with former Mayor Carvalho, who suspended Perry in 2012, sparking a lawsuit over the extent of mayoral authority that reached the Hawaii Supreme Court, which ruled essentially that Carvalho overstepped his bounds….
HNN: Kauai’s retired police chief files $2M harassment claim against county
read … Retired police chief Darryl Perry claims harassment
7 Years Later -- KPD assistant chief Mark Begley reinstated
KGI: … One of the Kauai Police Department’s top-ranking officers was reinstated last week after a seven-year absence that began amid a heated dispute involving several senior KPD officers, multiple county attorneys, the Police Commission and the mayor.
Until last Wednesday, KPD Assistant Chief Mark Begley had been on paid administrative leave since March 2012, when he filed a stress-based worker’s compensation claim, citing a hostile work environment, according to documents filed in a federal lawsuit Begley initiated in 2016 against the County of Kauai and KPD, also naming several senior KPD officers.
In that lawsuit, Begley claims that now-retired KPD Chief Darryl Perry and his successor, former Acting Chief Michael Contrades, harassed and retaliated against him for reporting allegations that another assistant chief acted inappropriately toward a subordinate female officer.
Begley was allowed to return to work roughly a month after his lawyers filed a motion asking the court to order the county to do so and only two days before a judge was set to rule on the matter.
The female police officer later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, but the dispute between Begley and Perry continued.
Eventually, then-Mayor Bernard Carvalho got involved and suspended Perry, who hired an attorney and eventually got a ruling from the Hawaii Supreme Court which found Carvalho had overstepped the bounds of his mayoral authority….
Around the time Perry’s case against the mayor and the county was being resolved, Begley filed his suit in federal court.
By that point, it was June 2016, five years after the internal KPD dispute had started.
Today, three years, a dozen attorneys, and thousands of pages of legal filings later, the case is nowhere near a conclusion….
read … KPD assistant chief Mark Begley reinstated
30 Convictions in 30 Years—Criminal Finally Busted by Feds
HNN: …Federal prosecutors want to keep a 48-year-old suspect connected to a Honolulu gang behind bars until his trial for possession with intent to distribute.
Samuel John Medeiros, Jr., known as “John John,” is considered a danger to the community and a flight risk.
He has 30 prior convictions at the state level for crimes including burglary, theft, and drugs.
(That’s one per year for every year since age 18. But the state always let him back out so he could have a 2nd or 22nd chance to do it again.)
Honolulu police and deputy U.S. Marshals arrested Medeiros on Thursday night on federal charges after a grand jury indictment. Medeiros was already facing trial for the same crime in state court. (Oooops!)
Source say Medeiros is connected to a gang responsible for a spike in crime on Oahu, including a stabbing at a Kalihi apartment complex on June 11.
An HPD task force targeting the gang members has made dozens of arrests in the past few weeks, but Medeiros is the first one to get the attention of federal authorities. (Ooops!)
He faces a 10-year to life prison term with his criminal history….
read … Soft on Crime til the Feds Get You
Hawaii’s traffic fatalities have soared 18% so far this year
SA: … A total of 52 traffic fatalities have been recorded in Hawaii in 2019 through Wednesday, according to the latest statistics from the state Department of Transportation.
That’s an 18% increase over the 44 recorded during the same period last year.
A total of 27 occurred on Oahu, followed by 10 on Hawaii island, nine on Maui and six on Kauai….
The majority of the deaths were pedestrian accidents, at 22, followed by 18 involving motor vehicle occupants, and 12 involving motorcycles, mopeds and scooters. There were no bicyclist or ATV operator fatalities recorded during the latest time period….
read … Hawaii’s traffic fatalities have soared 18% so far this year
Grade Inflation: More Hawaii public students receive honors diploma
HNN: … More than one fourth of Hawaii’s Class of 2018 graduates earned honors, according to the latest College and Career Readiness Indicators report.
To get the certificate, students needed to complete all high school diploma requirements in addition to earning extra math and science credits while maintaining a cumulative 3.0 grade point average.
The honors certificate program began in 2016.
That year, 18% of students graduated with honors. For the Class of 2018, it was 28% .…
Grade Inflation: Hawaii -- High GPA and Low Test Scores
read … More Hawaii public students receive honors diploma
Disbarred Lawyer and Mafia Associate John Carroll announces run for mayor of City and County of Honolulu
SA: … Carroll served four terms as a state House member and one term as a state Senator. Carroll previously ran for governor but was defeated by Andria Tupola in the Republican primary in August 2018….
Carroll has retired from practicing law after 51 years. (No. He was forced to quit in lieu of disbarment. He is therefore a disbarred lawyer.) …
(Rail builders should be pleased to see anti-rail voters saddled with the most ineffectual possible leadership.)
Reality for those very few who can handle it:
read … Disbarred Lawyer for Mayor
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