DoH Survey Shows 92% Intend to Get Vaccinated
Survey: What do you think about the City's Plan to Eliminate Lanes, Jam up Traffic?
State sees impressive response in prize giveaway program aimed at encouraging vaccinations
KHON: … On Sunday, June 6, the Hawaii Department of Health reported more than 78,000 people have entered the giveaway ….
KHON UPDATE Monday: Over 100,000 residents sign up to win prizes in state incentive program
KHON: Lt. Gov. Says Hawaii Incentives Could Boost Shots 5-10%
DoH: STATE OF HAWAI‘I, HEALTHCARE, BUSINESS COMMUNITIES LAUNCH NEW VACCINATION INITIATIVE
read … State sees impressive response in prize giveaway program aimed at encouraging vaccinations
Hawaii Plans to Vaccinate Itself out of COVID Bondage
LI: … Hawaii officials have forced tourists to quarantine, arrest them, and mess up their travel plans for failure to follow the state’s aggressive and arcane COVID policies…..
read … Hawaii Plans to Vaccinate Itself out of COVID Bondage
Fireworks shows returning: Displays in Hilo and Kona will celebrate the 4th
HTH: … The county plans to proceed with “abbreviated” festivities, Messina said. He said he consulted with Mayor Mitch Roth, the Fire Department, the Health Department and Civil Defense, and they felt they could proceed under the recently loosened restrictions from Gov. David Ige that allows people to go mask-less outdoors.
Still, he said, there won’t be many of the traditional festivities….
Hilo’s event won’t include the classic car show or keiki activities leading up to the fireworks show. The only event other than the fireworks will be a dress rehearsal of the county band at Mooheau Bandstand prior to the fireworks. Nor will there be extended road closures, he said.
People will be allowed to join their families and friends in county parks, but tents and canopies won’t be allowed….
read … Fireworks shows returning: Displays in Hilo and Kona will celebrate the 4th
Monthly Index Tracks Robust Rebound in Sales at Hawai‘i Restaurants
HB: … The index tracks more than 4.2 million restaurant transactions each month from more than 130 restaurants and hot food outlets across the Hawaiian Islands. The index includes a spectrum of local restaurants, including casual and fine dining; Waikīkī and Neighbor Island resort areas; and quick-service restaurants and hot-food sales from selected stores.
The strongest categories were resort/Waikīkī, with average daily sales up 10% in April over March, and O‘ahu restaurants, up 9%.
Pick-up and take-out sales were up 8% at quick service restaurants, a category that includes fast food outlets and hot food purchased at selected stores. Even food delivery orders grew 7%, despite increased in-restaurant dining….
read … Monthly Index Tracks Robust Rebound in Sales at Hawai‘i Restaurants
HB862: Stripping HTA Funding Takes Away Activists Meal Ticket
TG: … for the first time ever, HTA expanded beyond marketing and came up with the most comprehensive, sustainable and regenerative tourism plan, involving three new focuses that prioritized Native Hawaiian culture, community, and the environment. It cited an increase in $7.5m to support those efforts.
But just as they finally launched their recovery strategies – and tourism’s floodgates opened post economic collapse – the legislature, in a last-minute gut-and-replace move, introduced House Bill 862, stripping HTA’s funding and responsibilities in April. In one of the earlier amended versions of the bill, the legislature cut all of its financing for any Native Hawaiian organizations, cultural programming, and environmental nonprofits it had already been funding for years, causing immediate uproar in the community and over 200 public testimonials in opposition.
“You want to use us, you want to take all you can from our home, our resources, and our way of life and give us little to nothing in return,” testified Mapuana Da Silva, executive director of the Kailua-based cultural nonprofit Hika’alani.
According to Maggie Kahoilua, a Kona-based philanthropist, the bill perpetuates the cycle of occupied powers destroying national identity, further erasing knowledge of the Hawaiian kingdom. “A lot of people don’t even know the Hawaiian kingdom exists, and that’s what they prefer.”
“If this bill passes, we will return to unchecked tourism without a specific accountability mechanism to assure any significant investment back into pono environmental and cultural stewardship,” said Mahina Paishon-Duarte, a representative from Aina Aloha Economic Futures…
read … Hawaii bill seeks to gut funding aimed at protecting environment from tourism
Another Gangster Leaves The Hawaii Stage
BJ: … Roy Ryder was … one of the major players in Hawaii’s most brutal criminal ring of the 1970s and 80s. And an admitted gangland killer.
His most famous moment was in 1974 when Ryder turned on his associates and testified against Alvin Kaohu, Dannette “Sister” Leota, Nappy Pulawa, Bobby Wilson and Henry Huihui in the kidnappings and gangland-style murders of gambling figures Benny Madamba, Fuzzy Iha and Monte Nery.
The sensational trials were covered by the New York Times.
But the case took a radical turn in 1979 when Ryder recanted his accusations. So prosecutors turned another gang member, Kenneth Lendt, and were able to convict Henderson Ahlo, James Palama and James Kealohapauole of killing Madamba. The others got a pass on that one. Ahlo, Palama and Kealohapauole got life terms. Lendt has taken part in the killing but was granted immunity and put in the witness protection program, as was “turned” criminal from the first trial, Henry Huihui.
Most all the key players are now dead. Pulawa is said to be living on Maui. Huihui died under such government secrecy that there was never even a death certificate in his real name.
Huihui admitted in court that “I personally caused the death of David Riveira by shooting him. Riveira had been stealing money from rackets Huihui controlled. He also confirmed that he ordered the killing of Hawaii Inland Boatmen’s Union chief Josiah Lii.
That whole unraveling of syndicated crime here began with Ryder’s 1974 decision to escape state charges by becoming a government witness. (Ryder’s daughter Jacqueline, 26, was found shot to death in 1981 at a Kaneohe Marine Base rent-a-car office. The murder was never solved.)
At one point, it seemed there’d be no convictions after Ryder’s recant. Then the federal investigators entered the picture. Honolulu prosecutor Charles Marsland said “In my trial, Mr. Ryder turned right around and said he did the shooting, and since he was immunized there was nothing we could do and the case blew up. Henry Huihui [and the others] walked.”
The feds took over and turned Huihui. That was the beginning of the end for the syndicate….
Kaohu died last March. Huihui died in 2015. Now Ryder at age 88. Services will be held on June 13 at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary in Kaneohe….
read … Another Gangster Leaves The Hawaii Stage
Broken Promise? Native Hawaiians’ Ongoing Feud With Bank of America
CB: … Last summer, the Maui County Council hired former Hawaii Attorney General Margery Bronster to pursue a lawsuit against Bank of America for what many consider to be its failed obligation to the islands’ indigenous people. The council approved paying Bronster’s firm more than $200,000.
But since then, the county and its attorneys have been struggling with how best to take on the nation’s second largest bank, which has more than $2.3 trillion in assets and has orchestrated its own years-long campaign to quiet the controversy. Nearly a year later, no lawsuit has been filed and Maui County has for the most part been keeping discussions about the case in executive session.
Bank of America has said through lawyers and lobbyists that it kept its promise to the islands’ Native Hawaiians, although not as originally envisioned. As proof, the bank points to a letter it received from the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 2007 that states it fulfilled the $150 million commitment.
Maui County faces a number of challenges in pursuing the issue, including whether it even has legal standing.
Officials who have weighed in on the dispute — including Hawaii Gov. David Ige and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz — say they don’t see many options when it comes to forcing Bank of America to make good on its original promise. Ige, in particular, says the state has no grounds to pursue a legal claim because it could not find an enforceable contract or settlement agreement with the bank.
Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin said in a statement to Civil Beat that Maui County is off base with its potential lawsuit.
“While we respect the issues faced by the native Hawaiian community, this is a meritless claim relating to a pledge made in 1994,” Halldin said. “The Bank fulfilled its pledge and the state confirmed that in 2007.”…
read … Broken Promise? Native Hawaiians’ Ongoing Feud With Bank of America
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