Is the Pacific Ocean now “ceded land?”
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted April 17, 2021
Let's Make Hawaii Pono Again
CB: … From the embezzlement of CARES Act funds, to city building inspectors taking bribes, to Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard’s resignation after criticism of her leadership, one wouldn’t be unjustified in saying that there is a government meltdown in progress in Hawaii.
But as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, what we are witnessing is only a fraction of the actual dysfunction that is rampant in our islands. Set aside the flowery, plumeria-scented talk of “pono” governance and leading with “aloha.” Hawaii has become rotten to the very core and there is a toxic, nefarious culture of corruption that must be addressed before our entire system implodes on itself….
read … Let's Make Hawaii Pono Again
Honolulu Police Commission reached ‘full flower’ by ousting Ballard
SA: … Steven Levinson and Loretta Sheehan, both reform-minded police commissioners who resigned last year, have also said there isn’t a need to overhaul the city charter to give the commission more authority.
Levinson has often emphasized that the makeup and culture of the panel determines its success or failure, rather than the rules that are in place.
He applauded the new iteration of the Police Commission — now including Doug Chin and Michael Broderick, who have both shown a willingness to challenge Ballard — for being critical of HPD.
“If the commission continues in this way, we’ll see a major step forward over the past … which has been developing over the couple of years but has really flowered with this evaluation,” Levinson said….
read … Honolulu Police Commission under scrutiny with chief Susan Ballard’s exit
Office of Hawaiian Affairs keeps going on Kakaako Makai
SA: … The Office of Hawaiian Affairs says it is pressing ahead with master-planning for its Kakaako Makai property, even if unable to include residential towers. Its efforts to overturn a state ban on that were rejected by lawmakers, with support from district residents.
OHA insists changing the law is the only way to reap enough revenue from the property. Good luck with that, say the adamant residents. As long as legislators feel bound to please their voters — and they do — the OHA preference seems a nonstarter….
read … Office of Hawaiian Affairs keeps going on Kakaako Makai
State Awarded Money To A Bidder That Blew The Deadline, Then Took It Back
CB: … Sand Island Treatment Center, which for years has won state contracts to treat people facing drug and alcohol addiction, missed a February deadline to bid for a new infusion of state cash. The deadline was on a Friday, but Sand Island didn’t turn in its paperwork until the following Monday.
A state regulation specifies that bids “shall” be rejected if they’re late.
But somehow, the facility was nonetheless awarded about $2 million over two fiscal years, the amount it requested.
Now, the state has decided the award was a mistake and rescinded it, saying Thursday that Sand Island was incorrectly allowed to respond to a revised RFP even though it blew the original deadline….
“It is an impact for sure,” Mersereau said in an interview before the final decision. “But more of a concern and more of a priority would be to make sure the procurement process is adhered to.”
Sand Island issued a statement saying, “We are saddened that treatment-resistant clients will not benefit from Sand Island’s long-term continuum of care. The Center is one of a very few long-term care treatment facilities in the state that specialize in the needs of the clientele placed through ADAD (the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division.)…
read … State Awarded Money To A Bidder That Blew The Deadline, Then Took It Back
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Dubin appeal
ILind: … The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to accept attorney Gary Victor Dubin’s appeal of his November 2020 disbarment by the Hawaii Supreme Court. Since that time, he has not been licensed to practice law in Hawaii state courts.
The Hawaii Supreme Court’s Order of Disbarment followed several years of litigation as Dubin repeatedly thwarted attempts by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel to have him suspended or disbarred. Dubin proved to a be a skilled legal street brawler, defending himself by aggressively attacking ODC, its staff, outside attorneys, and hearing officers. But although he won a series of legal skirmishes on technicalities, the court finally rejected his defenses as unsupported by the evidence, and approved the ODC-recommended sanction of disbarment, which Dubin calls “a professional death penalty.” ….
Both the U.S. District Court in Honolulu and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had put automatic reciprocal discipline proceedings on hold pending the outcome of Dubin’s petition to the Supreme Court.
But on April 14, following the Supreme Court’s rejection, Federal District Judge Jill Otake issued an order lifting the stay on reciprocal proceedings and allowing its disciplinary proceedings to resume, over Dubin’s objections. Those procedings were launched by U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson’s September 15, 2020 “Order to Show Cause why Respondent Gary Victor Dubin (“Respondent”) should not be disbarred from practicing in this court pursuant to Local Rule 83.4(b) based on the Order of Disbarment issued by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court on September 9, 2020.”
It seems likely the 9th Circuit Court will also lift the stay on its own “Order to show cause,” and proceedings challenging Dubin’s license to practice in federal courts will resume in both settings.
In the meantime, Dubin repackaged his petition to the Supreme Court as a civil lawsuit, which was filed in Honolulu’s federal court on April 12.…
read … U.S. Supreme Court rejects Dubin appeal
Proposed legislation would damage HTA
SA: …Two bills are being considered at the state Legislature that, if passed in their current form, would cripple HTA’s ability to sustainably manage tourism and compromise the branding of our visitor industry at a time when Hawaii tourism is expected to take years to rebound. House Bill 862 was reconfigured to strip out HTA’s vital cultural, environmental and community programs that are essential to how we share Hawaii with the rest of the world as well as HTA’s ability to manage the destination.
HB 200 eliminates the dedicated funding source for HTA via the transient accommodations tax, which is collected from the monies spent by people staying in legal accommodations in Hawaii. In its place would be a temporary and much smaller source of funding through the American Recovery Planning Act in 2022, and then the state’s general fund thereafter….
read … Proposed legislation affecting HTA would damage tourism
Advocates warn of underreported child abuse in Hawaii
SA: … “The numbers of cases are down compared to 2019, but that does not mean there’s less abuse happening,” Executive Director Jenna Tomas said. “It means when we look at the numbers, there’s less abuse being reported.”….
read … Advocates warn of underreported child abuse in Hawaii
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