Police Allege Isabella Kalua Duct-Taped and Locked in Dog Cage Before Death
‘Community Based Energy’: $27.5M in GEMS for Hawaii Democratic Party Officials, Maui Councilmember
Strike Halted, Tentative Agreement Reached Between Alliance Unions and Kaiser Permanente
DOH: 93% of people who died from COVID in Hawaii this year were unvaccinated
HNN: … The state said since January, 36 fully vaccinated people have died in Hawaii.
That compares to 447 unvaccinated people who have died.
Put another way, 93% of this year’s COVID deaths were among those who did not get the vaccine….
DOH said in analyzing breakthrough cases between Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, researchers found fully vaccinated people up to 59 years old were 34 times less likely to die of COVID than unvaccinated people. Meanwhile, fully vaccinated individuals over the age of 60 were nine times less likely to die.
During that same time period, health officials said 146 vaccinated people were hospitalized compared to 1,659 unvaccinated individuals were hospitalized….
read … DOH: 93% of people who died from COVID in Hawaii this year were unvaccinated
'Hawaii’s public agencies are not little politburos' -- Don’t gag public servants
SA Editorial: … Those who serve on the boards of public agencies perform a vital service for all of us. They are chosen for their expertise and good judgment, and accept the responsibility of serving the public to the best of their abilities. They often are volunteers, serving without compensation.
That’s why it’s so disheartening — outrageous, actually — that these civic-minded individuals would be told to shut up, conform, or get out.
The most recent example comes from a new proposed code of conduct for the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA). One of the draft rules would require a board member to “resign his/her position as a board member if she/he intends to publicly oppose a board action before doing so.”
Thankfully, the proposed gag order appears to be going nowhere. An HTA committee has recommended against the change, and board members have objected to the rule. Full board approval would be required to change the code of conduct….
Unfortunately, misguided public officials too often choose “controlling the message” over the discomfort of public dissent. For example:
In 2015, the Honolulu Ethics Commission adopted a policy, later rescinded after a public outcry, prohibiting the executive director and his staff from engaging in “media activities to air concerns/grievances regarding the operations of the Ethics Commission, or interpret or comment on any decisions or advisory opinions.”
In 2019, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees investigated trustee Keli‘i Akina for publicly criticizing an action of the board, on the grounds that he violated OHA’s code of conduct that requires support for board decisions….
Hawaii’s public agencies are not little politburos. Their job is not to control the message. They are supposed to do their best to achieve their goals, correcting missteps along the way, allowing full and open discussion to guide the process.
Yes, it can get messy. But the public can be trusted to sort things out. That’s how it works in a free country….
read … Don’t gag public servants
Honolulu police sergeant arrested for sex assault
HNN: … A Honolulu police sergeant was arrested Thursday night for sexual assault.
Police documents show that officers booked 46-year-old Sgt. Kennison Lee at around 6:30 p.m.
The Honolulu Police Department had stripped Lee, a former HPD corporal, of his police powers back in 2018 when he was arrested on suspicion of sex assault.
Charges for the current case are pending and Lee is now on desk duty.
An HPD spokesperson said Lee has 21 years of service ….
read … Honolulu police sergeant arrested for sex assault
Federal Jury Awards $7M To Woman Assaulted In Court Cellblock In Hawaii
CB: … A federal jury awarded $7 million in damages to a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a deputy sheriff in a First Circuit Court cellblock in Honolulu in 2014.
Elizabeth Mueller was in HOPE probation, a drug probation program, when she alleges she was assaulted during an illegal strip search by Freddie Carabbacan, a deputy sheriff who was sergeant of the courthouse cellblock at the time.
An internal investigation into the incident substantiated Mueller’s claims and found that Carabbacan violated departmental policies governing searches of inmates. Male sheriffs are prohibited from searching female inmates.
Carabbacan was fired in 2015, but a third party arbitrator awarded him his job back in 2016….
Gavigan argued that the state shouldn’t be held liable for what happened to Mueller because Espinda took steps to fire Carabbacan, and was forced to reinstate him because of his union contract.
(Another UPW success story!)
read … Federal Jury Awards $7M To Woman Assaulted In Court Cellblock In Hawaii
Shooting Review Board Says Officers Were Justified In Killing Honolulu Man After Chase
CB: … Spencer was found a short time later at the intersection of North King Street and Middle Street, where he left the Honda and began running.
As he fled, an HPD sergeant and officer began chasing him and noticed that he was carrying a gun. They then heard Spencer fire the gun and started shooting back.
Spencer fell to the ground and dropped his gun, then picked it up and held it to his own head, according to the prosecutor’s report. He then got up and limped away.
More police officers arrived on the scene and took “rolling cover” behind a police car following Spencer.
The officer followed Spencer to the New City Nissan car dealership and shouted at him to drop the handgun, but instead Spencer pointed it in the officers’ direction.
“Fearing for his life and the other officer near him, Officer (redacted) fired multiple rounds from his handgun towards (Spencer) who fell to the ground,” the prosecutor’s report states.
Officers then administered first aid and transported Spencer to The Queen’s Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
In October 2020, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney said that the officers and sergeant were justified in the shooting and declined to prosecute….
Link: LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER INDEPENDENT REVIEW BOARD
read … Shooting Review Board Says Officers Were Justified In Killing Honolulu Man After Chase
‘Man’ Beat Rap on Shooting Last Girlfriend, now charged with assault, kidnapping of new girlfriend
SA: … Dustin Ferrentino Raymond, also known as Dustin I. Ferrentino-Raymond and Lustik, is scheduled to appear at his preliminary hearing Monday at Honolulu District Court on charges of two counts of second-degree assault and one count of kidnapping.
He was released from custody Wednesday after posting a $25,000 aggregate bail bond, according to the Hawaii Department of Public Safety website….
(Abolish Cash Bail!)
In a criminal complaint, Honolulu police said Ferrentino Raymond struck his girlfriend, 28, on the top of her head and on her left hand with a 2-inch metal pipe. He also allegedly kicked her in the back and repeatedly slapped and punched her in the face.
The complaint alleged he also shattered her cellphone screen with the pipe and held his girlfriend against her will.
The next morning, the woman fled the apartment while Ferrentino Raymond was sleeping. Once outside, she asked a passerby to use that person’s cellphone to call a taxi….
(Abolish the police!)
In 2018, Ferrentino Raymond was acquitted in a May 2017 assault case after a jury returned a not guilty verdict. In that case, prosecutors had accused him of pulling up next to his ex- girlfriend in a sport utility vehicle while she was driving in Kalihi Valley with a passenger and allegedly firing four shots at her with a revolver.
Other court documents show Ferrentino Raymond is scheduled to appear at trial later this month at Circuit Court on charges of abuse of a family or household member and second-degree terroristic threatening involving another individual. The alleged crimes occurred in January and April….
Ferrentino Raymond has a criminal record of two felony convictions for terroristic threatening….
(Wipe the criminal records of the convicted!)
read … ‘Man’ charged with assault, kidnapping of girlfriend
Plan to reapportion electoral districts up for review
MN: … The State Reapportionment Commission will be holding a series of virtual public hearings for each island. Meetings will be held at 2 p.m. Dec. 3 for Lanai, 6 p.m. Dec. 3 for Molokai, 6 p.m. Dec. 6 for the Lahaina area and 6 p.m. Dec. 7 for the Kahului area….
Following the public hearings, the commission will revise the plan and adopt a final version by the end of February. The final plan will be implemented for the 2022 elections.
The hearings will be held via Zoom. To access links to the meeting, learn how to submit testimony or view the proposed plans, visit elections.hawaii.gov and click “Reapportionment.” Or, call (808) 453-8683 for more information….
read … Plan to reapportion electoral districts up for review
Capacity limits lifted, though change ‘not much help’ to some
MN: … Katie Karsten, co-owner of Kahale’s, Maui’s Local Dive Bar, in Kihei, said the lifting of the cap, is “not much help at all” but “it’s moving in the right direction.”
“But with our square footage and with the social distancing requirements it won’t make a big enough difference to matter,” she wrote via Facebook Messenger Friday. “We will still be forced to 50 percent of our occupancy.”
A Zippy’s Restaurants official had similar sentiments on how the new order would apply to the Kahului restaurant.
“The lifting of indoor capacity limits may be good for some restaurants, but the 6-foot distancing requirements effectively reduces our capacity to 50 percent anyhow,” said Kevin Yim, vice president of marketing and communications. “Our dining rooms have many built-in booths that cannot be moved, therefore, we have to block those booths out.”…
read … Capacity limits lifted, though change ‘not much help’ to some
State’s largest solar-battery project gets green light
MN: … The project site would cover nearly 450 acres of old sugar cane fields between Kuihelani Highway and Maui Veterans Highway, which is within a 4,353-acre parcel about 2 miles south of Kahului.…. The land is being leased from Mahi Pono…
Punu said during her presentation to the commission that this project is a temporary use of the land through a 25-year agreement with Hawaiian Electric Co. to serve customers on Maui.
The equipment has a lifespan of about 35 to 40 years, but AES Kuihelani Solar officials said that the components will be decommissioned and recycled after the project’s agreement; any components that cannot be recycled or repurposed will be removed off island. The land will then be restored to its original condition….
Maui Electric paying 8 cents per kilowatt-hour…
read … State’s largest solar project gets green light
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