HB2125: Criminalize Parental Involvement in Education
HSTA Seminar: How to Transsexualize K-12 Students
Homicide Surge Caused by COVID Criminal Releases
SA: … Randal Lee, a retired Circuit Court judge who is an assistant professor in criminal justice at Hawaii Pacific University, said the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the criminal justice system and shuttered the courts, possibly emboldening criminals.
“The system is supposed to process cases expeditiously, but the pandemic kind of screwed things up. A lot of times there were offenders who figure there is nothing happening. … They are not in the (criminal justice) system right away, and they end up getting into more trouble,” Lee said.
“There is the trend that people are resorting to the use of guns not only in committing crimes, but resolving disputes. This mainland trend is seeping into Hawaii.”
Alm said the increase in firearm ownership in Hawaii, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, isn’t necessarily to blame for the rise in recent shootings.
“If people are going through the legal process of getting a gun, they are less likely to commit crimes with a gun. In many cases involving firearms, the guns are stolen or borrowed,” Alm said. “We will be looking very carefully at this recent spate of crimes to see how these firearms were acquired, whether legally purchased, stolen or otherwise.”…
read … Hawaii officials alarmed by surge in fatal shootings
Honolulu Human Trafficking Task Force: 40 Investigations But No Convictions And Few Arrests
CB: … Since early 2019, the Honolulu task force — a federally funded coalition of prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, along with the nonprofit Susannah Wesley Center, a victim service provider — has conducted at least 40 trafficking investigations but has yet to secure a single conviction, according to the task force reports….
In contrast to the experience in Honolulu, the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, which was formed in 2010 after receiving the same U.S. Department of Justice grant that would later create the Honolulu task force, has helped prosecute more than 770 felony trafficking cases since 2012, according to a report from the group. Charges were filed in 94% of those cases and 95% of the cases that went to a jury trial ended in a guilty verdict….
read … Honolulu Human Trafficking Task Force: 40 Investigations But No Convictions And Few Arrests
Kaua‘i council, boards, commissions return to in-person meetings March 28
TGI: … In-person meetings for the Kaua‘i County Council and County of Kaua‘i Office of Boards and Commissions will return beginning Monday, March 28.
The decision comes on the heels of Gov. David Ige’s announcement that his statewide emergency proclamation related to COVID-19 will expire at 11:59 p.m. this Friday, March 25.
While virtual platforms for public meetings are not required, the County of Kaua‘i and County Council are committed to maintaining virtual options, which will continue to provide added convenience for all participants. …
read … Kaua‘i council, boards, commissions return to in-person meetings March 28
Kaua‘i Federal employee pleads not guilty to federal charges
TGI: … A former Kaua‘i-based federal worker was arraigned last week for using his government credit card to make about $17,000 in unauthorized purchases.
Scott Poland, who appeared via telephone before the U.S. District Court of Hawai‘i Thursday, pled not guilty to 43 counts of theft of government money and property.
The charges were racked up during a six-month period in 2017, the indictment states….
KHON: Former Kauai fed racked up $17K unauthorized charges
read … Kaua‘i man pleads not guilty to federal charges
UH Admits Ocean Acidification, Coral Die-off a Bunch of Hype
SA: …A study published this month in the journal Scientific Reports found the coral species experienced significant mortality under conditions that simulated ocean temperatures and acidity expected later this century under the Paris Climate Agreement.
But none of them completely died off, and some were actually thriving by the end of the 22-month study.
“It was very surprising,” said Chris Jury, a postdoctoral researcher at UH’s Institute of Marine Biology and study co-author.
Projections suggested 99% of the coral would die before the end of the experiment.
“We didn’t come close to that,” he said.
Instead, the results showed that 61% of the corals exposed to the warming conditions survived, compared with 92% exposed to current ocean temperatures….
REALITY: Crichton: Environmentalism is a religion
read … Hawaii corals found to be more resilient than first thought
Hawaii case moves further than any other climate suit
BL: … A potentially landmark trial among a slate of national climate misinformation lawsuits is inching closer to reality in a Hawaii state court, if it can overcome the last obstacles left in the energy industry’s legal arsenal.
A Hawaii judge last month tossed bids by Exxon Mobil Corp., Sunoco LP and other companies to dismiss a case brought by Honolulu, a first for nearly two dozen similar cases trying to move ahead in state and local courts. According to many of these complaints, energy supermajors have known about fossil fuels’ role in catastrophic global warming—and lied to consumers about it—for decades.
Honolulu’s case now leads the pack, but the discovery process that could reveal a trove of energy company inner communications is still a ways off, lawyers say.
“I’m not sure that we are green light to go to the discovery phase in Hawaii,” Yale Law School professor Doug Kysar told Bloomberg Law. “There might be quite a bit of procedural and preliminary wrangling that the oil industry can continue to throw out there.”…
REALITY: Crichton: Environmentalism is a religion
read … Oil Giants Wage ‘Endless’ Disputes Before Climate Case Trials
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