The Verified Complaint In Equity: The Declaration Of Independence
The 1840 Hawaiian Constitution and the Fourth of July
OHA LLC Records Being Destroyed?
Kealoha Barred from Practicing Law
Kealoha joint task force needed
Legislative Leaders Counting Votes In Case They Try To Override Vetoes
CB: …The Legislature is considering a special session to override Gov. David Ige’s possible vetoes of at least 11 measures, according to memos circulated to lawmakers this week.
The bills mentioned in a Senate memo include proposals to reform Hawaii’s asset forfeiture programs, allow the interisland transportation of medical cannabis, increase the annual cap on tax credits for the film industry and tax Hawaii’s real estate investment trusts.
Absent from the list, however, is Senate Bill 1292, a proposal that would tax short-term vacation rentals while allowing hosting platforms like Airbnb to act as tax collectors….
Senate leadership is still considering whether or not to hold the session, Senate spokesman Richard Rapoza said. Meanwhile, House Speaker Scott Saiki wrote in a memo to state representatives Wednesday that he plans to provide a status report on a potential override session by Friday.
Saiki said in the memo that he is discussing the possibility of an override session with Senate President Ron Kouchi.
Each chamber would need two-thirds of its members voting in favor to override a veto. For the 25-member Senate, that means 17 votes, and for the 51-member House, 34 votes.
Lawmakers have until noon Monday to reconvene if they want to try to override any of the governor’s vetoes. That’s also the day Ige must veto a bill or allow it to become law without his signature….
read … Legislative Leaders Counting Votes In Case They Try To Override Vetoes
HPD: Time of Blind Following is Over
HNN: …when Chief Ballard was asked, she talked about former Chief Louis Kealoha.
She didn't waver when condemning the culture fostered at HPD during Louis Kealoha's time as chief.
According to Ballard, it was a time of blind following and when she raised her concerns she was ignored, Ballard stated that the HPD culture today is headed in an unequivocally different and better direction.
"I do not want anybody to blindly follow me. If you think that you're going to get promoted by just agreeing with me because I'm the Chief then you will never go anywhere in this Department and we have made that perfectly clear," Chief Ballard said.
Ballard added that she expects people to question her and that she calls the ethics commission on a regular basis to make sure that HPD is heading in the right direction….
read … Chief Susan Ballard says HPD headed in better direction
Katherine Kealoha mingles with fellow inmates at Federal Detention Center
SA: … Katherine Kealoha, the former deputy prosecutor- turned-convicted-felon, has been moved out of a segregated cell into the general population at the Federal Detention Center, where she has her Bible and rosary beads but still has not seen her husband, former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha.
“She was segregated as an ex-prosecutor but she only tried state cases, not federal ones,” said her attorney, Earle Partington, who visited her Tuesday at the facility located near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and expects to return Saturday.
“She doesn’t feel any threat at all,” Partington said. “She’s pleased to be in general population and the women have been nice to her. I’m surprised at how upbeat she is.”
Kealoha, 48, requested that she be moved into general population and is planning to ask that her husband be allowed to visit her, Partington said.
“Louie’s forbidden to meet her because he’s a co-defendant,” Partington said. “Kat’s requesting an exception because they’re (uh) married, (yeah that’s the excuse).”…
(Query: Should the Feds let the Kealoha’s meet in prison in hopes that they will expose more of their operatives as part of the further coverup they would be planning in those meetings?)
In the meantime, Partington said he has been ferrying messages to Kealoha from her mother in Colorado.
The mother, who is paying Partington’s legal bills, has been inquiring about “motherly stuff,” Partington said. “Her mother gave me all sorts of messages. She’s a Roman Catholic and wanted to make sure Katherine has her own Bible and rosary. … She does.”
Partington is also working to arrange cancer treatments (a ticket out of jail) for (“chronic malingerer”) Kealoha.
She had a malignant tumor partially removed from her neck but some of it is still attached to her spine, Partington said (with a glint in his eye).
“She does have cancer,” he said. “It’s not life-threatening.” (Uh-huh)
read … Katherine Kealoha mingles with fellow inmates at Federal Detention Center
State to take closer look at FEMA’s repayment requests to some eruption evacuees
HNN: … State leaders have begun intervening after dozens of Kilauea eruption evacuees were told they may have to give back the disaster assistance payments they received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In the aftermath of the eruption, one of the most destructive in Hawaii history, FEMA officials approved 1,002 applications for the Individuals and Households Program ― totaling more than $11.6 million.
But given that the payouts are put together using taxpayer money, the agency reviews all of the payments after each disaster and often finds a small percentage of cases where assistance was given to people who were not eligible…
“In general, I trust FEMA’s processes to be aligned with the laws," said HI-EMA administrator Tom Travis. "I don’t always agree. They don’t always seem fair, but they have to follow the laws and statutes and protect the taxpayers’ money.”
Larry Bragg, Jr. is one of the 77 Hawaii Island residents who got a potential debt letter from FEMA. He lives off the grid in a home near Opihikao.
FEMA is asking for proof that he resided there when the eruption started. If he can’t provide it, he must pay back the $2,293 he received, which was primarily for rental assistance….
"They're having an issue because my property doesn't have a physical street address. I'm not on the road. I just really have a TMK (Tax Map Key) number," said Bragg.
17 of the 77 people who received letters involved proof of occupancy issues, according to HI-EMA. Travis says he plans to focus his efforts on this group…
The most recent figure for the total value of the repayment letters is roughly $493,000….
read … State to take closer look at FEMA’s repayment requests to some eruption evacuees
City Council passes bill that reserves 160 parking spaces for car-sharing companies
HNN: … The Honolulu City Council on Wednesday voted to pass a bill that will increase parking availability for car-sharing services around Oahu.
The proposal allows car-share companies to rent a total of 160 city-controlled parking spaces ― 80 off-street parking spots, and 80 on-street spots. The spots will be used to stage vehicles that can be rented on-the-spot, by the hour, using a mobile app.
While supporters say the service provides the public with another transportation option, thus reducing the need to drive their own cars into Urban Honolulu, opponents worry it’ll take away much-needed spaces in places like Chinatown and Waikiki.
“Every time I come to Honolulu, I have a hard time trying to find parking,” said Choon James, who testified in opposition of the bill.
The bill allows for no more than two car-sharing spaces per street block, and companies will have to pay an annual fee for each spot.
The price depends on the location: at the city-owned lot at the intersection of Smith and Beretania streets, the annual rate per space for a car-share company would be $3,150.
That's more than double what the public would pay ….
read … City Council passes bill that reserves 160 parking spaces for car-sharing companies
Maui Council Votes to Kill Affordable Housing
MN: (Skip 16 paragraphs of excuses.) … Deputy Director Linda Munsell said 250 West Maui units should be built yearly in order to meet demand.
However, fewer than 400 units have been completed or are currently under construction since 2015, an average of only 100 units per year. Of the 400 units, only 245 are workforce, or affordable. Between now and 2025, more than 1,500 new units will be needed for West Maui residents, she said, adding that some are in the planning stages.
“We currently estimate that because of various barriers, similar to the barriers faced by these two projects, only another (300) or 400 units will be built in the next six years,” Munsell said. “Maybe half of those will be workforce or affordable units.” …
read … Unaffordable
Sign or Veto?
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