November 9, 2022 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

November 9, 2022 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:01 PM :: 1944 Views

General Election Results--Second Read

75% of Hawaii Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closing

First 100 Days of Carpenters Union Green Administration--‘98 acres around a rail station’ -- ‘State of Emergency’

SA Editorial: … A quick glance at expectations, to keep Green on his promised path:

>> Aloha Stadium: With 98 state-owned acres around a rail station, workforce housing must be a major use here. This is a rare opportunity to make headway on a statewide housing crisis that Green said “has reached a state of emergency.”

>> Homelessness: He vows to reduce homelessness by more than 50% over the next four years, and effectively eliminate chronic homelessness by 2030. It’s promising that he had a hand in creating Iwilei’s H4 clinic, a public-private partnership that serves as a new health-care model for the homeless, and partnered with HomeAid Hawaii to build the first of the aforementioned “kauhale” communities.

>> Environment/coastal erosion: Green should implement a statewide climate change and resiliency plan to mitigate damage caused by sea-level rise; and invest new state and federal resources in a multibillion-dollar green economy to create thousands of new jobs.

>> Schools: Ige promised to be the education governor, and while he did make headway on air-conditioning in sweltering schools, the COVID-19 pandemic has left Hawaii students with alarming learning losses. The Green administration will need to press schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi to make significant strides to raise the educational levels of the keiki who will be Hawaii’s future.

Last but not least, high-cost-of-living issues are already squeezing many hard-working families. If economic recession hits, the governor and his team must be ready with a robust social-safety net. There will be no more pandemic- related federal bailouts, so it’ll be up to smart state budgeting and efficient essential services to help those living on the edge in high-cost Hawaii….

As Explained: Josh Green Owned and Operated by Carpenters Union, PRP

read … More housing tops Green’s full slate

Donald J Trump Again Helps Democrats Win Elections

M: … Thiessen proceeded to explain he couldn’t process how Republicans could underperform so badly given the challenges the country currently faces.

(Clue: ‘Donald J Trump’)

“I think it might have or maybe it wouldn’t have,” he replied. “There’s a broader issue, which is, think about this. We had the worst inflation in four decades, the worst collapse in real wages in 40 years, the worst crime wave since the 1990s, the worst border crisis in U.S. History. We have Joe Biden, who is the least popular president since Harry Truman – since presidential polling happened – and there wasn’t a red wave.”

“That is a searing indictment of the Republican Party,” he said. “That is a searing indictment of the message that we have been sending to the voters. They’ve looked at all of that, and looked at Republican alternative and said no thanks. That is–the Republican party needs to do a really deep introspection look in the mirror right now because this is an absolute disaster for the Republican Party and we need to turn back.” …

(Clue: Look in mirror, see Trump looking back.)

(NOTE: GA Senate will go to a runoff, again. Watch Trump help Warnock win, again.)

NYP: Here’s how Donald Trump sabotaged the Republican midterms

R: Democrats' risky midterm strategy to elevate election deniers appears to pay off

read … Fox News Pundit Declares, ‘This Is an Absolute Disaster for the Republican Party’ as Midterm Results Roll In

Hawaii’s Voter Turnout Plunged In 2022 Election

CB: … As of late Tuesday, 41% of registered Hawaii voters turned out for this election. That was out of more than 731,000 ballots mailed to active voters in advance of the general election. More results are expected sometime in the next 24 hours as each individual county tabulates the last of their votes, but historically, this round doesn’t include many more ballots….

(41% turnout in a General Election would be an all-time low since Statehood.)

Beyond encouraging people to register and vote earlier, Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago (straightfacedly) said there’s not much else his office can do to keep the lines short (like opening more voter service centers)….

(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)

Recent efforts to increase Hawaii’s turnout have mostly focused on making it easier to vote.

(Clue: ‘Abject failure’.)

In 2019, Hawaii implemented an all mail-in ballot system; in 2021, the state incorporated voter registration into applications for driver’s licenses and state IDs courtesy of a bill introduced by Sen. Chris Lee. …

read … Hawaii’s Voter Turnout Plunged In 2022 Election

Hawaii Republican Vote Suppressed Again: Scores of in-person voters in line; first election results delayed (just like 2020)

SA: … Scores of in-person Hawaii voters were still in line to cast their ballots when polls closed at 7 p.m., and elections officials said that means the first results will likely be delayed until 8 p.m.

(Trump’s conspiracy theories make it sooo easy to suppress the Republican vote by putting them all in one place.)

Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago said the first batch of results is expected to include about 300,000 votes.

At voter service centers statewide, voters encountered long lines through much of Tuesday. Some reported waiting up to two hours to cast a ballot, and a number of voters expressed frustration over the wait.

(Nago and Co made sure the lines would be long by choosing to minimize the availability of Election Day voting locations.)

While most in Hawaii opted for mail-in voting, more than 5,500 voters selected the in-person option….

(Many are Republicans who fell for Trump’s conspiracy theories. This makes them easy pickings. The negative impact of Trumpism shouldn’t be surprising since Trump only entered the 2016 race after his friend Bill Clinton asked him to help Hillary Clinton get elected.)

“I hope election officials are paying attention because this is not a very welcoming environment.”

(Yes. They are paying attention and they like the fact that this is an unwelcoming environment.)

On Maui, voters at the island’s only voter service center were waiting about an hour to cast their ballots. And on Kauai, the line to the voter service center started at the sidewalk….

At the voter service centers, voters started lining up as early as 4 a.m.

Despite a number of hot races, voter turnout this year in Hawaii appears to be sluggish ― and could be at or below 2018 levels. As of Monday, about 213,000 voters on Oahu had mailed in or dropped off their ballots and about 4,000 voted in person. In the 2022 primary, 228,522 Oahu voters cast ballots ….

read … LIVE: Hawaii polls close with scores of in-person voters still in line; first election results delayed

8 Years later -- Hawaii hate crime trial begins for beating of white man

AP: … Alo-Kaonohi punched and kicked Christopher Kunzelman and Aki hit him with a shovel when Kunzelman tried to fix up the house he purchased in Kahakuloa village, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Thomas told the jury.

Alo-Kaonohi dragged his finger down Kunzelman’s face and said his skin was the wrong color, Thomas said.

The attack, which left Kunzelman with injuries including a concussion, two broken ribs and head and abdominal trauma, never would have happened if it weren’t for his race, Thomas said…..

Kaonohi pleaded no contest to felony assault in state court in July 2019 in the case and was sentenced to probation. The trial in U.S. District Court in Honolulu is only to determine if they are guilty of a hate crime. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted….

Aki later told police Kunzelman was acting like a “typical haole,” Thomas said….

Kunzelman said he decided to take two pistols to Maui after hearing that a contractor he hired to do mold remediation had been assaulted when he showed up and after hearing his realtor say that the close-knit community of Native Hawaiians had a problem with white people.

Kunzelman said he and his family never got to live in the Maui house and now reside in Puerto Rico….

AP: Man testifies about Hawaii beating he says was hate crime

read … Hawaii hate crime trial begins for beating of white man

Maui man pleads guilty for role in Mokulele Airlines drug trafficking

SA: … Siosifa Koka, aka “Sifa,” changed his plea Tuesday morning to guilty to one count of conspiracy before U.S. District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson. Koka is facing between 10 years and life in prison and up to a $10 million fine when he is sentenced by Watson at 9 a.m. Feb. 23….

According to a third superseding, eight-count indictment filed Nov. 18, 2020, Koka conspired with Robert Darnell Beal, aka “Oso”; Pongitini Latu Fonua Jr., aka “Tis” or “Tin”; Vaitaki Manoa Jr., aka “Junior” or “June”; Bernadette Irene Salt; Tasmania Stan Milo, aka “Tas”; Feofaki Vakalahi, aka “Aki”; Kalisitiane Takivalu Oliveti, aka “Taki”; and Sione Olevao to possess and sell more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, more than 500 grams of cocaine and more than 400 grams of fentanyl.

The group was active from at least 2009 to 2019, according to federal court documents. In February, Oso was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in the drug trafficking operation.

In a plea agreement filed Tuesday, Koka admitted to selling methamphetamine to Olevao and “others on Maui” and Samuel Veatupu on Hawaii island. Koka would fly “pounds” of methamphetamine on Mokulele Airlines to Hawaii island to avoid close scrutiny of his luggage and carry-on bags, according to court documents.

Koka also used Sione Fehoko to move the illegal drugs between Maui and Hawaii island. Fehoko was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and reported to custody June 1. Veatupu was indicted June 21, 2012.

Veatupu pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and five years of probation on Nov. 4, 2013.

Koka got two to three pounds of methamphetamine from Fonua, who sourced it from the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2014, Koka started to receive methamphetamine from Oliveti….

read … Maui man pleads guilty for role in drug trafficking ring

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