Confucius Institutes Rebrand to Circumvent U.S. Policy, Report Finds
Hawaii -- Fewest Guns Per Capita Traced to Crimes
Tourist Count 89% of Pre-Pandemic, Spending hits 112.3%
State Extends Deadline for Applicants for Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority
Kiddie Porn: Federal Court Hands Down 10 Year Sentence
Star-Adv Endorses: Sam King brings new ideas to Office of Hawaiian Affairs
SA Editorial: … Sam King, an attorney, has built a high public profile as an outspoken advocate in support of the Thirty Meter Telescope project atop Mauna Kea. His drive, emphasis on good government, experience with project management and unshrinking support for TMT are all valuable assets.
King’s big idea is nudging OHA toward a focus on early childhood education and parenting education for families with kids 0-4, a good idea that can now be leveraged with the state’s efforts in this area. He’s endorsed by OHA incumbent Kelii Akina, a high-profile crusader for fiscal responsibility, and says, “OHA must continue to volunteer itself for extensive independent audits of its finances and operations to demonstrate that it remains a pono steward of public land trust revenues.”….
LINK: https://votesamking.com/
read … Editorial: Candidates bring new ideas to Office of Hawaiian Affairs
No, we don’t need to coddle the sovereignty fringe
ILind: … “sovereignty folks” who rely on half-truths, untruths, misrepresentations, the denial of history, suspension of disbelief, or plain old lies, as the basis for their claims.
And I think that those who would just shrug and excuse these distortions do a disservice to those who are pursuing or have grounds for valid land claims, as those claims based on pure mumbo jumbo confuse the issues and devalue legitimate claims that stand up to scrutiny.
In addition, of course, we allow proponents of these off-base ideas to (a) use them to deceive and rip off others, or (b) get themselves into rapidly increasing legal jeopardy with the risk of escalating penalties out here in the “real” world ….
read … No, we don’t need to coddle the sovereignty fringe
Target date for new Aloha Stadium is now 2026 (and counting)
SA: …The request-for-proposals process doesn’t begin until a month after a green light from the governor, and a completed environmental impact statement is still being reviewed for approval by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
“This is all due diligence. It’s not going to take forever,” DBEDT Director and Stadium Authority board member Mike McCartney said.
Board member Michael Yadao questioned why it will take eight months to develop and submit proposals to build the new Aloha Stadium.
“There’s a lot more involved than just the stadium,” said Chris Kinimaka, public works administrator for the state Department of Accounting and General Services.
The preferred contractors (three for the stadium, two for the entertainment district) were announced in 2021 and early this year. While separate groups will build the stadium and the entertainment district, a winning proposal for the stadium must account for linking it to the rest of the project….
“Part of it is (the potential builders) didn’t know for sure if it was going to happen,” board member John Fink said….
Stadium manager Ryan Andrews discussed plans for online auctions of old Aloha Stadium memorabilia, including seats, to “begin by the end of the year and continue into next year.”….
Big Q: What do you think about the state’s plan to build a new stadium in Halawa by 2026?
read … Target date for new Aloha Stadium is now 2026
SHOPO Continues to Attack ‘Outsider’ Maui Police Chief
MN: … Seven employee complaints alleging a hostile workplace have been filed against Police Chief John Pelletier and several members of his executive staff, according to a police union official who described the situation as unprecedented and “troubling” (standard procedure when an outsider is appointed Chief) ….
KITV: 'It was a dictatorship': former Maui police officers shine light on complaints against department chief
read … Board to discuss complaints against chief, executive staff
Campaign finance deadline missed by 30 Hawaii candidates, incumbents
SA: … Some 30 political candidates — including incumbents — failed to file mandatory financial disclosure statements by Monday’s deadline and will be fined $50 ahead of the Aug. 13 party primary elections, according to the state Ethics Commission.
The disclosure statements include a wide range of information, including the sources of candidates’ income; business ownership interests; officer or director positions in businesses; debts; real property interests; clients represented before state agencies; and creditor interests in an insolvent business, according to the commission.
The information is public and available at tinyurl.com/2bb4wh8j. ….
The commission did not receive financial disclosure information from:
>> Heidi Haunani Tsuneyoshi, a Honolulu Council member who is running for governor as a Republican….
>> Rose Martinez, a Democrat running for House District 40.
>> Former state Sen. Brickwood Galuteria, who is running for an at-large OHA seat.
The candidates who filed late and will receive the same $50 fine are:
>> State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, a Democrat who is running for reelection for Senate District 17….
read … Campaign finance deadline missed by 30 Hawaii candidates, incumbents
NIMBY worsening Hawaii’s housing crisis
KHON: … Tens of thousands of homes, maybe more.
That’s what some experts are targeting to help ease Hawaii’s housing crisis. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s office said they’re working on it, but it will also need the support of folks in wealthy communities.
Currently, the city has plans for 200 project-based vouchers over the next five years.
Up to 40 of those could go to Ewa and Central Oahu each. Up to 20 could go to East Honolulu and Kailua through Kaneohe each, and up to 20 in Waianae.
NIMBY — or not in my back yard, is a phrase that isn’t unique to Hawaii but it has sunk its fair share of affordable housing developments on the islands and experts are worried it could be a massive barrier to solving our affordable housing crisis. It happened in Kailua in 2020, in Maui last week, and the proposed Manoa Banyan Court project has heavy community pushback.
“NIMBYism is a very significant problem. If everybody says okay, I recognize we need affordable housing, but just not here. Well, then where?” Krucky said.
Next week, Mayor Blangiardi plans to award nearly $40 million toward affordable housing projects that Krucky said will create a sizeable number of units dedicated to being 60 years at 60% of area median income.
“That’s just the beginning of the process. Right? We’re still gonna have to go through approvals and council we’re gonna have to get community buy-in these developers have to finish up their, their projects to launch them. So there’s a lot of work ahead of us,” Krucky said….
read … NIMBY worsening Hawaii’s housing crisis
Were Dangerous 'Forever Chemicals' Released in the Red Hill Fuel Spill? The US Navy Isn't Saying
M: … The Navy's official report on the 2021 spill found that, after the fuel escaped, it sat in a fire suppression system line for months, the kind of line that typically contains chemicals used in firefighting foams.
Some of those chemicals, dubbed "forever chemicals" because they do not break down and formally known as PFAS, are a collection of nearly 9,000 compounds that have commercial and industrial use. But they also can accumulate in the body and have been linked to infertility, some types of cancer and birth defects.
During a House hearing July 19, Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele, D-Hawaii, asked a Navy official about the potential for contamination with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, as a result of the fuel leak into the Navy's water system at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam ….
read … Were Dangerous 'Forever Chemicals' Released in the Red Hill Fuel Spill? The US Navy Isn't Saying
In handwritten note to court, Katherine Kealoha asks that her conviction be overturned
HNN: … Katherine Kealoha has sent a handwritten note to the court seeking to overturn her conviction in the Mailbox Trial.
The reason: She claims ineffective counsel.
In her filing, she argues that one of her attorneys pledged to reporters after her conviction that he would “appeal, appeal, appeal.”
However, that appeal was never filed….
PDF: Katherine Kealoha's note to court
read … In handwritten note to court, Katherine Kealoha asks that her conviction be overturned
Two Brun associates sentenced
TGI: … As former county council member turned drug kingpin Arthur Brun awaits transfer to a mainland prison, associates Steven Keli‘ikuli and Orlando Manguchei were sentenced to prison terms this week.
Keli‘ikuli, 53, who pled guilty to conspiring to distribute between 200 and 350 grams of meth this March, was sentenced to 41 months in prison at an O‘ahu courtroom Thursday.
Judge Derrick K. Watson sentenced Keli‘ikuli to three years supervised release and fined him $100….
Orlando Manguchei, 51, a Brun enforcer and ex-convict was given 44 months in prison and three years of supervised release for a weapons charge Wednesday….
Brun received 20 years without possibility of parole this May after Judge Watson determined that the 15-year sentence he agreed to in his plea deal was too lenient….
read … Two Brun associates sentenced
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