Hawaii Mission Academy Sued Over ‘White Privilege’ Attack on Hapa Girl
The Kansas Experiment: Ten Years Later
HB2024: UH Outlines Mauna Kea Leases to be Abandoned
Duke Aiona Running for Governor?
Zane Logan Proves Police Commission ‘Vetting’ is a Sham
Shapiro: … members of this inept commission who should rethink the value of their services after their lazy vetting failed to bring this basic information to their attention and the public’s….
The matter would disqualify Logan from the job only if he breaks his promise to maintain hands off and be sure there’s no special treatment by HPD in cases involving his son.
Of greater concern is the persistent bumbling of the Police Commission in vetting the candidates for chief.
Commissioners have one major function: hiring and firing the chief. They took a year to do it, mainly so they could lay most of it off on a consultant and not have to break a sweat themselves.
Yet in all that time and after spending all that money, they failed to uncover information that could have been found in the most basic background check.
The information almost certainly would have come out if they’d left the public comment period open longer instead of rushing to vote soon after their consultant unveiled the finalists.
Asking candidates whether they have anything to add at the end of interviews doesn’t constitute vetting.
The shame is if they’d done a decent background check, they could have questioned Logan about it publicly to clear the air before making an appointment instead of leaving it to roil the air afterward.
Now we’re left to argue whether to live with a distraction that, fingers crossed, will blow over or prolong the never-ending chaos that holds down HPD by reopening the hiring process….
read … Shapiro: With our Honolulu Police Commission, stability for HPD is elusive
Logan: I did not tell Police Commission About Criminal Son
SA: … During my meeting with the Honolulu Police Commission, I did not disclose that I had an adult son who had issues with substance abuse or had a criminal record. At the time, I knew of some of Zane’s early traffic infractions, but I was not aware of nor did my son advise me or my wife (Zane’s stepmother) of his lengthy traffic and criminal record. Further, I was not aware of the extent of his substance abuse issues because I have not seen him in three years and have only spoken with him twice via phone during that time.
read … Incoming Honolulu police chief Joe Logan says he is prepared to help build a better HPD
Feds: Molester Cop Used HPD Database to Find Potential Underage Prostitutes
HNN: … In their motion to detain Jordan, prosecutors alleged that he is a potential flight risk given his status as a former police officer charged with child sex offenses. They also argued he’s a danger to the victims, which include three minors and an adult female he’s accused of cyberstalking.
According to prosecutors, Jordan contacted one of the teenage girls in January 2020 by Instagram, posing as a pimp named “Joey.” They said he told the girl how she could work for him as a prostitute.
“We didn’t go over your prices . . . 100 f*%k, 50 bj,” one of the text messages said, documents showed.
Prosecutors said Jordan later met the girl by a bathroom at a city park where he allegedly “assaulted her and then gave her money.” They said Jordan knew that the girl was underage because he looked up her information on the police department’s database.
That same month, prosecutors said Jordan — using his alias “Joey” again — messaged another teenage girl and asked her to meet him at a shopping center. They said he then assaulted her and tried to give her money.
When the girl reported the alleged assault to the police, prosecutors said he “accessed the police report using his HPD credentials.” Then he tried to delete and Instagram account that he used to contact the teen to allegedly conceal his identity, they said.
“Jordan has been a hands-on sexual offender of multiple children for over nearly half a decade ... a prolific sexual predator,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Olson wrote, in her memorandum supporting the Office of the U.S. Attorney’s motion to detain.
The court documents also alleged that Jordan posed as a teenage girl to cyberstalk a woman he once met as a police officer. Prosecutors said he sent the woman sexually explicit photos of her taken when she was a child, then threatened her if she didn’t send him additional nude photos….
More Sham Vetting: HPD Rejects 95% of Applicants
HNN: Sex crimes case against ex-HPD officer might be the ‘tip of the iceberg’
Background: Former Honolulu Police Officer Indicted and Arrested for Child Sex Offenses
SA: Motion details charges against ex-Honolulu police officer described as ‘prolific sexual predator’
KITV: Feds looking for more underage victims of former HPD officer to come forward
CB: Legislature Erred In Letting Police-Involved Fatality Review Panel Expire
read … Prosecutors call ex-HPD officer indicted for child sex trafficking a ‘prolific sexual predator’
Hawaii delegation backs off radar as military rethinks Pacific missile defense
SA: … Hawaii’s congressional delegation is pulling back its support of a controversial missile defense radar after years of fighting the Pentagon to get it built here.
Under both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the Department of Defense has attempted to pull funding for the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii, citing difficulty in finding a suitable place to build in the islands and a desire to explore alternatives. The military is looking to spaced-based systems as well as putting ground- and sea-based radars farther into the Western Pacific.
Over the last two years, members of the delegation successfully fought to continue funding for the project, which was expected to create construction jobs and what supporters hoped to be long-term technical and engineering work to help keep local students pursuing those fields in the islands.
However, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser last week that he no longer supports HDR-H.
“Based on new and ongoing assessments, there seem to be better, more-effective ways to protect Hawaii from missile attacks without this program. For that reason, I will no longer be supporting it,” Schatz said.
U.S. Rep. Ed Case agreed, saying he is awaiting further military review of missile defense options for Hawaii.
“The Department of Defense is reassessing how best to protect Hawaii from missile attack and pending that reassessment has not supported continuing HDR-H as is in the proposed FY23 budget,” Case said in an email to the Star-Advertiser. “I am suspending my support for HDR-H while the DoD works through its review, while supporting a full and timely review to assure Hawaii’s defense.”
Riki Ellison, chairman of the nonprofit Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said it appears a decision has been made that such a radar system “is more important forward in Guam, and they see the threat to the U.S. homeland in Guam as a priority.” ….
read … Hawaii delegation backs off radar as military rethinks Pacific missile defense
Energy prices spike 20%
HTH: … Residential energy rates in Hawaii have increased by nearly 20% since March thanks to impacts to global fuel supply chains.
According to a monthly summary of power rates by Hawaiian Electric, residential energy cost nearly 49 cents per kilowatt hour as of June 1. By comparison, one kilowatt hour of residential energy cost a little over 40 cents in March….
Hawaiian Electric spokeswoman Kristen Okinaka said via email Thursday that a household that uses 500 kilowatt hours of energy in June will pay $263.48, an increase of $22.22 from the same power consumption in May. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated last October that the average American household uses about 893 kilowatt hours of energy per month….
read … Energy prices spike: Hawaiian Electric says increase due to rising fuel prices
Rental prices are soaring in Hawaii as economy rebounds
HNN: … According to a recent report, median rental prices rose statewide from 2019 to 2022.
Honolulu saw an 11% increase
Hilo saw a 15% jump
And Kahului, Wailuku and Lahaina saw nearly 16% hikes.
SA: Hawaii gas prices are up 39% from a year ago
read … Rental prices are soaring in Hawaii as economy rebounds
Housing: Holding back Hawaii’s economy
HTH: … in considering the impact of housing shortages, let’s expand our view to consider the broader impact this problem has on businesses and the general barriers it presents to our overall economic development. The shortage of affordable housing, however you define that product, is detrimental to Hawaii’s efforts toward sustainability. It gets in the way of attracting and retaining the workers we need not only to keep us going as remote communities in the middle of the ocean, but to expand the industries we need, like health care, education and technology. It impacts everything ….
read … Housing: Holding back Hawaii’s economy
Judge overturns county ban on short-term rentals in ag districts
HTH: … The future of Hawaii County’s authority to prohibit short-term vacation rentals in agriculture districts hangs in the balance, after the 3rd Circuit Court judge overturned a state Land Use Commission ruling upholding the county’s right to do so….
The commission filed a notice of appeal Thursday with the Intermediate Court of Appeals and plans to discuss its appeal at a Wednesday meeting in Honolulu and via Zoom. Information about participating and submitting public testimony is available at "Agenda-for-JUNE-8-2022.pdf"
read … Farm dwellings as vacation rentals: Judge overturns county ban on short-term rentals in ag districts
Pro-life has deep meaning, since together, we matter
SA: … My story begins with my mother’s strength to keep her pregnancy — to keep me.
Eighteen years ago, my mother wept on the cold bathroom floor, her mind swimming. Like many other women, my mother was faced with an array of harsh realities that drove her to consider an abortion. Many find themselves basing this decision on socio-economic factors if they assume they cannot provide for a child. In a 2004 survey of 957 women having an abortion, 1 in 4 said their foremost reason for having the procedure was that they were not ready for a child and could not provide for them.
My mother was no different, facing financial difficulties, drug use before and during the pregnancy, poverty, and lack of familial assistance. She had many reasons to say she, too, was not ready for a child. Instead, she chose to keep me, and my life is a testament to why abortion should be the last resort, and why the 99% of abortions that are not promoted by cases of rape or incest should be reconsidered….
SA: Column: Reproductive rights are basic human rights
read … Column: Pro-life has deep meaning, since together, we matter
QUICK HITS: