State Launches ABLE Savings Program for Disabled
Kalihi Uka Elementary hosts first HIDOE school-based vaccination clinic for elementary students
Oahu Ambulances may now take patients to urgent care
Alleged Miske Gangster About to Walk Away Laughing (again)
ILind: … It looks like Michael Buntenbah is about to be saved by the bell and avoid trial on felony assault charges in state court because prosecutors have taken too long to get that case to trial. The charges in state court are separate from pending federal charges….
The assault charge in the federal case is related to Mr. Buntenbah’s employment as a bouncer at Miske’s M Nightclub in downtown Honolulu’s Waterfront Plaza, formerly known as Restaurant Row.
“Buntenbah was identified on multiple occasions as the assailant in assaults which took place at the club,” prosecutors have alleged.
Although Miske racketeering trial is unlikely to begin before September 2022, Buntenbah is scheduled for a separate trial in state court during the first week of January on two counts of felony assault stemming from a January 2016 beating of two men at Miske’s nightclub. The Class C felonies each carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Trial in the state case has been postponed multiple times since the charges were filed in May 2017, and was finally rescheduled to a firm date to begin January 4, 2022.
However, Buntenbah’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Reiko Ann Bryant, filed a motion to dismiss the case on Friday, November 5, arguing the cumulative trial delays have exceeded the time allowed by court’s procedural rules.
Attached to Bryant’s motion is a November 3 letter from Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lawrence Sousie, the latest in a string of prosecutors who have rotated in and out of the case.
“My review of the file leads me to believe there may be a Rule 48 issue,” Sousie wrote (without even smirking)….
The incident, allegedly involving Buntenbah and others believed to have been employed by the nightclub, was described in court documents filed in a civil lawsuit against the nightclub and its owner, Leverage, Inc., which federal prosecutors allege was controlled by Miske.
Buntenbah, while not admitting any wrongdoing, settled the civil lawsuit last year with a $30,000 payment by his State Farm Fire and Casualty Company….
Police chased down and arrested David Pedro for assaulting Kaipo Cullen. In March 2018, more than two years after the incident, Pedro was charged with third degree assault, a misdemeanor. That case was also dismissed “with prejudice” the following year for exceeding the Rule 48 time limit….
Buntenbah had been charged with third degree assault in an earlier 2013 case for allegedly attacking Frederick Williams, brother of NFL star lineman Trent Williams. In the highly publicized incident, Trent Williams was allegedly hit on the head with a champagne bottle wielded by Miske, who was also charged along with his half-brother, John Stancil. All charges were dropped when the Williams brothers declined to return to Hawaii to testify at trial.
Buntenbah was released from the Federal Detention Center on $500,000 bond in September 2020, pending trial, currently scheduled for March 2022, but likely to be delayed again until September. He is subject to house arrest and GPS monitoring, among other conditions, but was recently given permission to travel to the Big Island to work on a residence he owns in Pepeekeo….
read … State and County Just Won't Get the Job Done
Djou: Lessons For Democrats, Republicans And Hawaii From The Mainland Election
Djou: … For Democrats, the clear lesson is their 2018 capture of Congress and 2020 capture of the White House were stern rebukes of Donald Trump, not an endorsement of far-left progressive policies.
From Buffalo, where a moderate write-in candidate defeated a socialist democrat endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to Seattle, which elected a Republican running on a law-and-order platform to municipal office for the first time in three decades, to Minneapolis, center of the George Floyd/Black Lives Matters protests, that soundly defeated a ballot measure to defund the police, the far left was soundly rejected in liberal jurisdictions.
If voters in staunch Democratic areas turned away from progressive campaign politics, Democrats must learn that the people want sensible moderates, not the radical far-left.
For Republicans, the lesson is just as stark. With Trump out of office, silenced on Twitter, and kept away from the campaign trail, the GOP can actually win elections again.
The arrogant, selfish, potty-mouth brand of populist politics offered by Trump led directly to Democrat victories in 2018 and 2020. But just one year later with Trump gone from the scene, Republicans showed they can win in historically Democrat areas by campaigning on centrist, sensible policies and keeping Trumpism far away.
For Hawaii the lesson is centrist policies work, the far left and far right do not. The blue states of New Jersey and Virginia along with the deep blue cities of Seattle, Buffalo, Minneapolis and New York, all demonstrate that staunch Democrat districts — even if they do not want Trump — also do not want to defund the police, critical race theory, or massive government expansion….
read … Lessons For Democrats, Republicans And Hawaii From The Mainland Election
How Rail Got to $12.45 Billion and 11 Years Late
HB: … We sorted through more than a decade of cost overruns, audits and reports to explain how the price soared and why completion fell behind schedule. ….
read … How Rail Got to $12.45 Billion and 11 Years Late
With restrictions eased, experts say Hawaii could soon see ‘wave’ of international travelers
HNN: … Hawaii’s doors opened wider Monday to international travelers and experts are predicting this will help jumpstart a rebound for the state’s economy.
“I think it’s gonna come and when it comes, it’s gonna be a wave,” said Jerry Agrusa, University of Hawaii-Manoa School of Travel Industry Management professor.
“One of the things that’s happening right now is the airlines are all gearing up. They’re getting the flights out. There’s more demand than there is supply at this time.” …
Agrusa says the state will see more activity from the Asian market, specifically families and newlyweds from South Korea long waiting for a vacation and with money to spend….
Hawaii gets its most revenue from Japanese visitors, but the holdup is a strict 10-day quarantine when they go home….
read … With restrictions eased, experts say Hawaii could soon see ‘wave’ of international travelers
DOH: No current plans to mandate COVID-19 vaccine in Hawaii public schools
KITV: … Even with a green light from the federal government to vaccinate more keiki against COVID-19, the state says it currently has no plans to make it a requirement for Hawaii's students.
That's according to a spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Health on Monday. Right now, coronavirus vaccines are only required for public high school athletes. According to the DOH, there are nearly 115,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 in Hawaii.
That's about 8% percent of the state's population….
read … DOH: No current plans to mandate COVID-19 vaccine in Hawaii public schools
Union: Lack of security to blame for worrisome rise in assaults on Queen’s nurses
HNN: … The Hawaii Nurses Association says workers at the Queen’s Medical Center are being assaulted by patients ― and that the lack of security at the hospital is to blame.
In a complaint sent out Monday, the union said the hospital is not taking employee concerns seriously.
And Hawaii Nurses Association members say the attacks have gotten worse over the past year. The union’s president says some workers have been punched in the face, even knocked out cold….
read … Union: Lack of security to blame for worrisome rise in assaults on Queen’s nurses
Crash involving off-duty Hawaii Island police officer under investigation
HNN: … The police department called the incident “extremely concerning” and said all factors are being closely examined.
Around 1:40 a.m. Sunday (ie closing time), police responded to a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Kekuanaoa Street and Kilauea Avenue in Hilo.
It was determined that an off-duty officer driving a subsidized police vehicle lost control after failing to make a right turn. The Dodge then struck a traffic light pole and hedges on the side of the road.
HPD said the officer is a 12-year veteran of the force….
Factors of the crash weren’t immediately known. Investigators will later determine if criminal charges should be filed (they can get away with covering this up completely)….
HTH: Police seek witnesses to officer-involved traffic crash
read … Crash involving off-duty Hawaii Island police officer under investigation
8 Felonies in 12 Years--Surprise: He Does it Again!
HNN: … The 30-year-old Puna Man allegedly broke into and ransacked a home on Kukane Road in Keaau in September.
Police also say later in the month, he pushed through an electric gate at a home on 13th Avenue in Paradise Park. In that instance, authorities said he allegedly unplugged a surveillance camera before attempting to get into the home….
(Idea: Indict ACLU as co-conspirator.)
Prosecutors also say Saragosa-Taoy is a repeat offender who has eight prior felony convictions, and warrants out for his arrest….
(And what a surprise. He was out on the streets so soon!)
read … Soft on Crime
Never-Ending Pork for Solar and Wind Developers: Hawaii governor urges bolder climate action: Net zero is 'not good enough'
TH: … Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) called on Monday for global emission reduction goals that aspire beyond "net-zero," as (so) island communities (will) continue to bear the disproportionate effects of climate change (high electric bills)….
Hawaii faced a severe hurricane season in 2015 followed by “intense rain bombs” in 2018 — phenomena that Ige said are “threatening our existence” and require immediate action.
(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)
While Hawaii was the first state to commit to 100 percent renewable energy — and plans to fulfill this pledge by 2035 — state officials now recognize that net-zero goals would be insufficient, according to the governor.
Ige underscored the need to transform his state's transportation infrastructure, including aviation and marine transit. Hawaii is currently working on electric planes for inter-island flights, as well as aircraft that operate on sustainable fuels for longer-haul journeys, the governor said.
State officials are also looking into switching inter-island shipping to local, sustainable biofuels, as well as hydrogen to power medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and equipment, according to Ige. Hawaii has also prioritized investments in natural resources, with a goal of capturing more carbon than the state emits, he said…. (Ca-Ching!)
“We did see one of the silver linings in this pandemic,” Ige said. “As all businesses and organizations went to working from home, we saw how rapidly our air cleared and our oceans restored our vibrant coral communities. And we do know that if we give our nature an opportunity, they will help us more than we ever realized.”
(REALITY: COVID shutdowns did not impact CO2 levels much: BBC, Nature)
read … Hawaii governor urges bolder climate action: Net zero is 'not good enough'
Ala Wai pork project back on the table
SA: … If the city accepts that plan, it would get forwarded to the federal government. While funding isn’t assured, Kozlov said “given what’s at stake, I think if we have a really solid plan, the likelihood is really high.”…
read … Ala Wai project back on the table to develop a new flood risk management plan
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