Kawananakoa Estate: Sex, Drugs, and Inequality
10 Years Later: Without Inouye Protection, Many are Arrested
SA: … On Dec. 17, 2012, Nishimoto was landing in Honolulu when the flight crew announced that Inouye had died.
“I remember people crying on the plane,” Nishimoto said. “That’s a moment I’ll never forget. People were visibly shaken.”…
(Cry? Yes. Many would soon be arrested.)
It Begins 2014: Al Hee Indicted on Exact 2nd Anniversary of Inouye death
read … Daniel K. Inouye’s legacy lives on 10 years after his death
Abigail Kawananakoa, Native Hawaiian activist and heiress, dies at age 96
SA: … Campbell Estate heiress Abigail Kawananakoa — the wealthy descendent of Hawaiian royalty whose private life was thrust under a spotlight during a bitter fight over her $215 million trust fund — died Sunday at the age of 96….
Her activism ground to a halt when she fell victim to her 2017 stroke. The crisis prompted longtime lawyer, James Wright, to ask the court for control of the woman’s estate in a move that was spelled out in a successorship plan set up by the heiress in case she became incapacitated.
But with her partner of 20 years, Veronica Gail Worth, by her side, Kawananakoa insisted she was fine and fired Wright. She then married Worth, who took her last name.
FLASHBACK: Kawananakoa Estate: Sex, Drugs, and Inequality
read … Abigail Kawananakoa, Native Hawaiian activist and heiress, dies at age 96
Who CWS Takes Kids From
CB: … Pacific communities in Hawaii are more likely to be impoverished than Asian or white communities. A 2018 state study found that Hawaii families on average experienced a 7.7% poverty rate. That rose to 12.6% for Native Hawaiians, 17.9% for Samoans, 21.9% for Tongans and 46.2% for Marshallese families.
Rosete-Medeiros says the constant stress of struggling to pay for housing, child care and other necessities makes it difficult for parents to be present for their children and can lead to poor coping mechanisms and ultimately abuse or neglect….
in 2011, the rate of Indigenous Pacific child victims was 6.6 per 1,000 children, according to federal data. In 2020, that rate was even higher: 9.9 per 1,000 children.
That’s twice as high as the rate for white children and five times the rate for Asian children in Hawaii, the federal reports say.
The latest 2021 data from the state shows the problem persists. Last year, Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian children made up 33% of the state population but nearly 45% of children in foster care. Pacific Islander children made up just 5% of the population but nearly 10% of foster children….
According to Child Welfare Services, the reasons that Native Hawaiian children are removed from their homes are the same as Hawaii families in general: last year, in most cases of confirmed victims, the state determined that parents had an “inability to cope with parenting responsibility” or displayed an “unacceptable child rearing method.” More than a third of the time, drug abuse was a factor. In less than 5% of cases, “inadequate housing” and “heavy continuous child care responsibility” were cited….
read … Racial Disparities Vex Hawaii’s Child Welfare System. Can They Be Fixed?
Prosecutors cite concern with “fabricated evidence” in appeal of Miske cell phone ruling
ILind: … At the end of the hearing, Mansfield issued an order directing prosecutors to turn over all cell phones belonging to the defendants that were seized in the case, including those taken from Miske’s Kuuna Street residence when he was arrested in July 2020. Mansfield gave the government just 48 hours to comply and turn over the cell phones to a defense analyst by Friday, December 9, without further conditions or restrictions….
On the same day, U.S. Attorney Clare Connors, and the three Assistant U.S. Attorneys prosecuting the case against Miske and six remaining co-defendants, signed off on a Third Superseding Indictment returned by a federal grand jury. An earlier post here noted the latest indictment added two charges of obstruction of justice against Miske for “causing” false character reference letters to be submitted to the court at a hearing in August 2020 to determine whether he would be released on bond pending trial (“Updated indictment adds two charges against Miske”).
Instead of turning over the 18 cell phones, including three from which no data could be recovered, prosecutors appealed Mansfield’s ruling to Federal Judge Derrick Watson, who is assigned to handle the Miske case.
In their appeal, filed on December 9, prosecutors allege defense attorneys were confused about the technical issues and, as a result, provided false or misleading information on which Mansfield based his decision….
In their appeal, prosecutors assert “there is simply no need for the defense team to take custody of the 18 cellular telephones,” because the government has already made them available for inspection and analysis at the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office for over two months….
read … Prosecutors cite concern with “fabricated evidence” in appeal of Miske cell phone ruling
Court ruling favors kuleana family in West Maui
MN: … In 2009, West Maui Land Co. subsidiary Makila Land filed suit in 2nd Circuit Court claiming it was the true owner of the parcel known by the name of the Land Commission awardee, Olala, and that it received the land title from Pioneer Mill.
Kapu and his family say they are the owners of the land, as unlike Makila, they are direct descendants of the original owner Olala, and alternatively because they had gained title to the land by adverse possession, according to court records….
read … Court ruling favors kuleana family in West Maui
Native Hawaiian fishing permit approved for Papahanaumokuakea
SA: … Fishers with a permit to engage in Native Hawaiian subsistence practices in the expansion area could trade, barter or sell fish caught during the trip to recoup costs of the fishing trips, but the council decided to cap the amount they can recoup at $15,000 per trip.….
Wespac member Shae Kamakaala has argued that the traditional uses of the monument expansion area did not include fishing for food….
William Aila Jr., chair of the monument’s Reserve Advisory Council, said Native Hawaiians wouldn’t go out to the expansion area for cultural purposes when they can catch fish close to shore….
He also said that with separate permits for noncommercial fishing and Native Hawaiian subsistence fishing, enforcing the $15,000 limit or even the individual permits would be difficult, but allowing the sale of fish opens the door for prohibited commercial fishing in the monument’s expansion area.
“How would you enforce that someone’s going to limit how much they sell?” Sakoda asked the council. “If someone brought back fish under a noncommercial fishing permit, there’s no way to (ensure) that no one’s going to slip them some cash for a fish that they give them. … Once (fish) gets back to the main Hawaiian Islands, you’ve lost sight of it already.”
Wespac, to quell the concerns about commercial fishing in the expansion area, also decided to prohibit “trip mixing” — noncommercial and cultural fishing in the same trip. Additionally, recouped costs for fishing trips cannot include vessel maintenance and “external” costs of the trip….
SA: Notably, the two dissenters in the 9-2 Wespac vote were both Hawaii-based
read … Native Hawaiian fishing permit approved for Papahanaumokuakea
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