9th Circuit: Honolulu and Maui 'Big Oil Climate Change' Lawsuits Stay in State Court
LG Poll: Luke Leads with 20%
HNN: … The poll showed former House Finance Committee Chair Sylvia Luke as the frontrunner, with 20% of the vote. Former City Councilmember Ikaika Anderson (owned and operated by Plasterers and Cement Masons Union Local 630) was in second place with 14%.
Meanwhile, Keith Amemiya (10%) and Sherry Menor-McNamara (7%) rounded out the top four….
Luke might have an edge because of a more active campaign presence….
PDF: Poll Readout
Anderson Flashbacks:
read … Poll: Nearly half of Democratic primary voters undecided in race for lieutenant governor
Poll: Case, Tokuda Far Ahead In Democratic US House Races
CB: … U.S. Rep. Ed Case is on course to easily win reelection in the Democratic primary Aug. 13. He leads political newcomer Sergio Alcubilla 65% to 8%….
Jill Tokuda, a former state senator, is leading first term state Rep. Patrick Branco 31% to 6% for the CD2 seat. But a huge number of those surveyed — 63% are not sure who they favor….
PDF: Poll readout
read … Poll: Case, Tokuda Far Ahead In Democratic US House Races
Ige signs bill removing UH from Maunakea management, naming new authority
HTH: … Gov. David Ige on Thursday signed into law House Bill 2024, which removes the University of Hawaii as the management authority of lands on Maunakea and establishes the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority as the sole authority.
The new law, Act 255 authorizes the new entity to develop a framework to allow astronomy development on Maunakea and declares astronomy as a state policy.
The legislation also requires the authority to establish advisory groups, and allows it to limit certain commercial use and activities on Maunakea on its respective jurisdictional lands.
It also provides certain restrictions on leases and a moratorium on new leases, requires the timely decommissioning of certain telescopes and allows the Authority to require an application and fee for all recreational users of Maunakea….
read … Ige signs bill removing UH from Maunakea management, naming new authority
Outrage grows as basketball coach accused of sex abuse still working with minors
HNN: … A coach’s history of alleged sexual misconduct prompted a warning from several schools to parents — while stirring new frustration among accusers.
One of them being MMA star Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who came forward in a 2020 lawsuit against former Punahou basketball coach Dwayne Yuen.
Macfarlane was one of several plaintiffs who filed suit against Punahou alleging Yuen groomed her and her sister, and sexually assaulted them when they were minors.
She took to social media to warn parents that Yuen currently coaches with the community league City High Basketball Program, an all-girls organization.
“My blood was boiling. I was triggered, in a sense, re-traumatized that, how can this known predator still be working with minors?” Macfarlane said.
“He has been able to lie and manipulate everybody into believing that he’s innocent when the reality is that we could not criminally prosecute him for anything, because the statute of limitations ended,” she added.
Hawaii basketball standout Shawna-Lei Kuehu also came forward with similar misconduct allegations.
“He has definitely benefitted from our silence and our fears and we’re grown women now and we’re not hiding in the dark corner,” Kuehu said. “But we know that there are others out there.”….
read … Outrage grows as basketball coach accused of sex abuse still working with minors
$400M Just the Beginning for new Aloha Stadium
KHON: … Plans towards building the new Aloha Stadium became official on Thursday, when Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed off on a $400 million NASED (New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District) budget.
Of the $400 million, $350 million is through the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), while the other $50 million comes from the Stadium Development Special Fund to cover expenses for “operations, maintenance and contract costs to developers of the stadium,” according to a media release….
The current goal is for a new developer to be officially selected in the third quarter of 2023, with demolition of present-day Aloha Stadium taking place in late 2023 or early 2024.
A realistic goal for the completion of the new stadium is the end of 2025, in which case the stadium would be ready for the 2026 college and high school football season ….
(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)
read … Key local figures react to new Aloha Stadium
Grove Farm Sues After Kauai County Attempts to Steal Drug Treatment Center and Use it for Bureaucrats’ Offices
TG: … Grove Farm has filed for a declaratory ruling in the Fifth Circuit Court regarding its land gift to the County of Kaua‘i, according to a Wednesday press release.
The company feels the court action is necessary to prevent the improper transfer of the land to a third party that may not use the facility as intended.
“The end goal is to use the facility in the manner for which it was intended — to heal our families and community,” Grove Farm said in the release. …
“To the dismay of many in the community, and especially the families of those most in need, the county has proposed using the ATHC for the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney staff, or teen drug court. The County has alternatively proposed simply giving the property away to the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation, Kaua‘i Region.”
Grove Farm claims the reversionary clause on the Dedication Deed remains in effect and prohibits the use of the property for anything other than its intended purpose.
“Because it has never been used for adult and adolescent healthcare for more than two years, and has, pursuant to the explicit agreement of the parties, and by operation of law, now reverted to ownership by Grove Farm,” states the release. “Grove Farm is requesting that the Court confirm this fact, and clear title to the property.”
“Our sole objective is to get the facility in the right hands as expeditiously as possible,” said Grove Farm President and CEO Warren Haruki. “Now, more than ever, we need to fulfill this huge community need for an on-island residential treatment center for Kaua‘i’s youth. The ATHC will give our youth a chance to thrive in a setting that allows them to heal with the reassurance that their loved ones are nearby. It is our responsibility — our kuleana — to give our youth hope and success. For these reasons, it was necessary to file this request for a declaratory ruling with the Court, today.” ….
read … Grove Farm seeks court ‘Clarification’ on drug treatment facility
Farmers Want Action From Hawaii Governor Candidates, Not Lip Service
CB: … Farmers and ranchers feel investing in agriculture has become more of a buzzword than an actual concern for the executive branch….
Many cite more than 12 years of politics, stemming from former Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s 2010 announcement to double local food production by 2030, which Gov. David Ige also pledged in 2016….
Farmers and ranchers can point to the issues: Labor is inordinately expensive; frayed supply chains are inflating fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and equipment costs; invasive species are chewing through crops; climate change is affecting harvests; housing on agricultural land is unavailable; land is costly; new farmers are rare; and water is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive….
read … Farmers Want Action From Hawaii Governor Candidates, Not Lip Service
Snorkel Safety Study Sheds Light On Unexplained Drownings In Hawaii
CB: … The three-year project finds many snorkeling-related deaths aren’t from inhaling water, and that long flights beforehand may play a role….
read … Snorkel Safety Study Sheds Light On Unexplained Drownings In Hawaii
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