Honolulu Police Department Considering Firearm Rules Changes
Confirmation bias in the pros and cons of minimum-wage studies
Will Hawaii have to beg for a Jones Act waiver too?
After Sykap Case Overreach, Rhoads Bill Binds Police and Criminals Together against Prosecutors
SA: … A draft bill clarifying how prosecutors may charge suspects with felonies in Hawaii would prohibit shopping for favorable grand jury panels and judges if initial attempts to charge a suspect fail.
Prosecutors could not turn to a judge and ask the official to find probable cause if a grand jury rejects their request for charges, and vice versa, state Sen. Karl Rhoads, chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Rhoads is working with state Rep. Mark Nakashima, chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, on the bill to find a version that representatives and senators can agree upon should the Senate secure the two-thirds majority needed to call a special session of the state Legislature….
“The legislature further finds that repeated attempts at prosecuting the same felony is not contemplated by the constitution,” the bill states. “Whether by presenting the allegations to a different grand jury after a prior grand jury did not find sufficient evidence for an indictment or by using both the grand jury and preliminary hearing process after the first forum rejected the evidence, the prosecution should not have multiple opportunities to present the same evidence.”…
(Obviously this benefits criminals, but check out the rationale….)
Kau cited Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm’s decision in 2021 to charge three Honolulu police officers with murder and attempted murder after a grand jury failed to find probable cause to charge them in connection with the April 5, 2021, fatal shooting of 16-year-old Iremamber Sykap after an alleged crime spree and high-speed pursuit through the streets of Honolulu.
“That case is on their minds, and they probably believed those police officers should not have been charged by a complaint after a grand jury didn’t find probable cause,” said Kau.”They are putting this into statute because they don’t trust the prosecutor’s office to do justice.”…
PDF: Obrero Draft Amend 801-1-092922
read … Hawaii lawmakers seek consensus on charging felonies
Military to Remove Red Hill fuel from pipes within weeks
KITV: … But safely emptying the more than 100 million gallons in the underground fuel tanks, won't be easy. There's one million gallons of fuel in pipes that must first be removed to reduce the risks of another major spill.
"The first step is the removal of the fuel from those pipelines, do that safely, and that's something we're going to do hopefully in the next couple weeks," said U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Wade, commander of the Joint Task Force Red Hill.
Once the pipes are cleared, the Department of Defense will work on completing hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs before defueling the tanks and eventually shutting down Red Hill for good.
"We will look at every one -- every line item -- to see if we can do better, more effectively, quicker within the right bounds and safety perimeters," he said. "And then when that's complete and we have the approval from the regulators, then we will start to defuel."
The military plans to use a 10.5-million gallon tanker to move the fuel to the mainland over several months and a second tanker to relocate the rest of the fuel to an undisclosed facility near West Oahu….
Big Q: With a new leader in charge, will the Red Hill tanks be safely defueled by July 2024, as targeted?
HNN: Commander overseeing Red Hill’s defueling says he’s ‘committed to getting this right’
CB: The Defueling Of The Red Hill Storage Facility Is In This Admiral’s Hands
read … Military task force established to safely defuel Red Hill working to remove fuel from pipes within weeks
Miske’s Kamaaina Termite faces another lawsuit
ILind: … there are a couple of other pending cases against Kamaaina Termite. In March, the company was sued by First Security Insurance of Hawaii, over the cost of damages allegedly done to the Mauna Kea Resort by Kamaaina employees.
According to the complaint, Kamaaina was hired in April 2020 to provide fumigation services at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Kamaaina’s (bumbling drug-addict) employees allegedly left an unattended hose running on the roof.
“Water pooled on the roof structure and found its way to the structure below through seams fastened by clips in the tenting,” the complaint states.
This lawsuit was put on hold in May, and no further actions have been take….
read … Miske’s Kamaaina Termite faces another lawsuit
Despite strong need, youth drug treatment center on Kauai sits empty 3 years after it was built
HNN: … Initially, the county of Kauai was supposed to be responsible for finding an agency to run the place after Grove Farm donated the property.
“When the land was donated to the county the condition was very simple,” Rapozo said. “The county was to have this place opened for our kids in two years.”
But after negotiations with providers fell through twice, the county council voted to give property back to Grove Farm last month. Meanwhile, drugs are increasingly infiltrating the lives of our youth….
Rapozo added, “The fact that now this is back, really in the hands of the community. We don’t have to deal with the state procurement laws. And we can go out and find the best operator to help our kids.”
Land owner Grove Farm also wants to get the facility open but needs help with funding.
“Kauai has no shortage of wealth. We just need a little of it to get this place open,” said Rapozo….
SA: Recreational cannabis can damage brains of youthful users
read … Despite strong need, youth drug treatment center on Kauai sits empty 3 years after it was built
Bribery News: Hawaii Commission To Vet New Bills To Boost Public Access To Government
CB: … A commission to increase government transparency is set to vote on several measures Wednesday that would reduce the cost of public records, archive government board meetings, subject lawmakers to term limits, require certain legislative groups to abide by open meetings laws and require the state Office of Elections to publish a voters guide.
The proposals comprise the first round of bills that the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct could recommend to the Legislature, which opens its next session in January. The House convened the commission after two former lawmakers were charged with taking bribes to influence legislation, just a piece of what has become one of the largest public corruption cases in state history….
read … Hawaii Commission To Vet New Bills To Boost Public Access To Government
Voters To Decide If Construction Interests Have Too Much Say In Honolulu Planning
CB: … The Honolulu Planning Commission, long criticized as an insider-ish clique dominated by construction interests, could get something of a makeover soon, if voters approve a charter amendment that would change the mix of the nine-member board.
The city planning commission is now entirely made up of people from the real estate and construction industry or related unions. Over the years, their perceived pro-development mentality has stirred a lot of controversy, including, most recently, the debate over the reappointment of Pane Meatoga III, a long-time construction union official, to the commission….
“It’s one of our most powerful commissions, and makes a lot of difficult decisions, important ones for the city,” said council member Andria Tupola, chair of the executive matters and legal affairs committee, at a council hearing in October that discussed the charter amendment. In an earlier hearing, held in September, she had noted the commission was “definitely controversial, as to how the people are chosen.”
Resolution 21-156, which was introduced in July 2021 and adopted in April 2022, would ask voters to consider amending the city charter to require the commission to include four members with specialized skills, including at least one who is knowledgeable about Native Hawaiian traditional practices or Hawaiian law and land usage and another who is an expert on climate change, sea level rise or the environment.
The measure also adds that at least one of the nine members should have experience in land-use planning and another should be knowledgeable about land development and construction. These two specifications are not really a change because the board already has a large contingent of developers and planners….
read … Voters To Decide If Construction Interests Have Too Much Say In Honolulu Planning
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