Trial of Billy Kenoi associate Malu Motta details illegal gambling

White confirmed earlier testimony from other witnesses that in late 2003, security guards working at game rooms for Joseph and Motta were unhappy about low pay or lack of pay from Joseph and decided in a meeting Jan. 4, 2004, that things had to change.

Two groups of the unhappy guards — almost all of them Samoan — went to game rooms on Kalakaua Avenue and Kona Street early that morning and took over security from Joseph's men, according to White and earlier testimony from Taufetee and others.

Three men who had been working for Joseph — Lepo Utu Taliese, Romilius Corpuz Jr. and Tinoimalo Sao — changed allegiances and joined the group headed by White and his three partners, various witnesses said.

Three days later, on the afternoon of Jan. 7, 2004, Joseph, Motta and Kevin "Pancho" Gonsalves allegedly shot Taliese and Corpuz to death and critically wounded Sao with a .22 caliber gunshot to the face.

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Maui: Proposed hospital gets go-ahead from review panel

Malulani got these approvals also, but there is a difference--support from MMMC.  Maui News: "After the hearing, Hoyle said there may still be challenging questions ahead from the other panels. But he said he was upbeat, and he thanked supporters, including Maui Memorial Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Wesley Lo, who testified in favor of the project."

Hawaii corporatism at work.  If you are inside the 'corpus' then you get approved.  if you are outside the 'corpus' you are Malulani.  Maui PUSSH reports that the US DoJ is looking at anti-trust issues related to the SHPDA rejection of Malulani's CON application.

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Freeze: Legislature to keep big raise, refuses to touch HGEA

Advertiser: The bill was heard before a standing room-only crowd on the third floor of the Capitol yesterday morning as the House committee also considered and killed three measures that would extend the retirement age for public workers and reduce state and county contributions to the retirement fund for public workers who retire before the Medicare age.

SB: Yielding to public (ie union) opposition, state lawmakers shelved a pair of proposals that would have cut retirement and health benefits for public workers to make up the projected $75 million shortfall in this year's budget.  (This is why taxes are going up.)

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Pork Dreams: Hawaii to get $948M from stimulus (or is it $678M? or $2.2B?)

Inouye said formula-based spending in the bill for Hawai'i is estimated at $678 million. The state would also get additional money through tax relief, federal Medicaid reimbursements and extended unemployment benefits.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank, said Hawai'i could receive $2.2 billion from the stimulus bill's spending and tax provisions.

Another estimate came from the Federal Funds Information for States, a state-financed research group, which found Hawai'i would get more than $940 million from the bill's spending provisions....

"We don't think it will necessarily be the panacea for the (State) budget situation," said Barry Fukunaga....

"Throughout this whirlwind of discussion and debate, compromise and concession on the stimulus plan in our nation's capitol, I always had one eye firmly on my beloved Hawai'i to be sure that we not only got at least our fair share...." -- Dan Inouye

Do the math: Hawaii is 0.4% of the US population.  $787B x.004 = $3.15B  Even with Inouye chairing Appropriations, Hawaii came up short on pork.  Maybe Inouye couldn't find enough Hawaii projects controlled by his cronies.  Are we suffering from a crony shortage?

LINK: SB coverage

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