Hilo Complex DoE Manager Arrested for P-Card Theft
Campaign Spending Reform: Two Bills Pass, Four Killed
Another Sue-n-Settle targets Hawaii and American Samoa Fisheries
Report: Hawaii's hotel revenue back to pre-pandemic levels
Hawaii bill would boost rental tax credit fourfold
Maui: Feds Take Aim at Alleged $145M Ponzi
Tale of Two Systems: State Wouldn’t Charge Alleged Child Molester, Feds Won’t Give Him Bail
SA: … Dwayne Yuen, 50, was indicted by a federal grand jury Feb. 16 and pleaded not guilty to a single count of possession of child pornography.
FBI agents received information in July that Yuen was involved with a 14-year-old girl starting from when he was coaching her youth basketball team during her freshman year of high school in 2016 and continuing through 2020. The FBI obtained copies of sexualized text messages, sexually explicit photographs and “electronic financial transactions showing that Yuen sent (the victim) money on multiple occasions,” according to an FBI affidavit.
Yuen had sought to be released into the custody of his mother, Gail, who appeared in court Thursday.
In a memo opposing the government’s efforts to keep him jailed until trial, Assistant Federal Public Defender Jaquelyn Esser acknowledged that the allegations of possession of a child pornography can endanger minor victims and the community. She argued that Yuen is employed as a Realtor, has no prior criminal record and lives with his mother, whom he helps care for.
(Esser wanted to be Honolulu County Prosecutor. Wow.)
She also argued there has been no further physical contact between the victim and Yuen.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom A. Trader ruled Thursday that the government “met its burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence” that Yuen will pose an “unreasonable danger to the community” if released.
Yuen’s alleged conduct happened after other allegations of sexual assault and abuse outlined in lawsuits brought against him and Punahou School by former players were said to have occurred. Yuen left Punahou in 2006 and settled the lawsuits in August 2021….
(Translation: The State and County have known about this since 2006. They did nothing. The Feds finally get involved and they won’t let this guy have bail. What a contrast.)
read … Former girls basketball coach accused of child porn remains in jail
HB84: Allows Counties to Reverse TVR permits from 1980s
SA Editorial: … to make it clearer in the Hawaii Revised Statutes that the counties have authority to rescind permission to operate a short-term rental in a residential area.
House Bill 84 would amend language in a law, HRS 46-4, which describes the counties’ authority to eliminate a nonconforming use permit. The changes would make it clear that this authority also would apply to nonconforming use permits for short-term rentals — such as those the city issued to Oahu residential properties before they were banned in 1989.
This is important because a relatively small number of vacation rentals were given permits for their nonconforming use….
Related: Maui pushing to phase out 3,000 short-term rentals
read … Making Takings Legal
De-Covidization: Cheating on Medicaid to be Illegal Again Starting April 1
SA: … Starting April 1, continuous enrollment will no longer be automatic, and the state will be checking whether current Medicaid members are still eligible and ending coverage for those who are not.
The state Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid, hopes to make the transition as seamless as possible.
At the same time, Medicaid enrollment is at a historic high in Hawaii because of this provision, according to DHS. More than 465,000 people are currently enrolled in Medicaid, representing roughly one-third of state residents and including more than half of the state’s keiki.
Since March 2020, Medicaid enrollment jumped 42% with more than 138,000 new enrollees.
To prepare for this “unwinding,” the department’s Med-QUEST Division is asking members to update their contact information and be on the lookout for a pink envelope in the mail, starting in April….
read … Continuous coverage of Hawaii Medicaid ending
Hawaii Tourism Authority turnover continues as another top exec resigns
SA: … The Hawaii Tourism Authority, the state agency responsible for Hawaii’s tourism marketing, just announced its 14th staff departure since 2020, representing a nearly 44% turnover rate for the agency, which is still facing repeal by the state Legislature.
Marc Togashi, HTA’s vice president of finance, resigned effective Tuesday to start a new leadership position at the state Department of Human Resources Development….
Togashi’s departure is another big leadership loss for HTA. Since 2020 the agency has hired eight new employees to replace some of the 14 who left, but still has six positions open and five in active recruitment….
read … Hawaii Tourism Authority turnover continues as another top exec resigns
Schizophrenics Kill Three in Hawaii
KITV: … A Kauai man whose family says suffers from mental illness is accused of killing his own father….
"At some point after high school, he started showing signs of mental illness that took over his life, especially after the past two or three years. He just wasn’t the same. His family was really concerned about him," said Bryson Ponce, Assistant Chief of police, Investigative Services Bureau at KPD….
There are 187,000 adults in Hawaii who have a mental health condition and more than 500,000 people live in communities where there are not enough mental health professionals to treat the population, according to a report from NAMI Health….
Forty percent of these conditions go undiagnosed in the islands, according to the report. That could be a contributing factor in family violence.
"We actually have one of the highest rates in Hawaii across the country of those who are unable to seek help or not seeking help and not being diagnosed," said Dr. Blendine Hawkins, licensed marriage and family therapist.
Hawkins said 370 clients are typically assigned to one marriage/family therapist, however, there are only between 600-700 therapists statewide.
Kody's sister has been vocal on social media about her brother being mentally ill. She said her family has suffered due to lack of resources to treat the mentally ill.
This case on Kauai is similar to one from January 2023 on the Big Island, where 21-year-old Josh Ho was charged with second-degree murder for stabbing both of his grandparents to death.
Ho's mother said her son suffered from Schizophrenia.
Mental Health officials on Kauai said in a statement: "We are very sorry to hear of the loss of Kody and Delwood Gardner. We need people to know that here on Kauai, NAMI volunteers provide family support groups and access to all NAMI state and national programs via zoom and telephone."
KHON: Experts call for more mental health services on Kauai
read … Hawaii health experts explain danger of undiagnosed mental health conditions
Maoists Rally for Abortion Attacker
SA: … Abortion rights advocates (Maoists) gathered Friday outside Honolulu District Court in support of a San Francisco woman charged with harassment for an incident involving a man who was protesting against an abortion rights march in Waikiki in June.
LINK: Photo of Minton being arrested by HPD.)
(Professional protester) Aleada “Saber” Minton was originally accused of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, but the charge was reduced Feb. 15 to harassment, with a bench trial on the petty misdemeanor scheduled for Friday. However, District Judge Harlen Kimura continued the trial to Monday due to several unrelated cases being heard before Minton’s trial could begin.
Her supporters called for the state to drop the harassment charge, saying Minton merely took video of anti- abortion protester James Kelii Wallace as he “confronted protesters with a graphic sign and megaphone, spewed hateful anti-abortion lies, and aggressively videoed individual protesters with his phone.”
Wallace said outside the courthouse Friday that Minton used her camera to hit his megaphone, jamming it into his lip….
Members of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights Hawaii and Refuse Fascism Honolulu (Translation: Maoists.) who held a news conference outside the courthouse Friday described Wallace as a “well-known provocateur” who is often seen harassing patients, employees and others entering the Planned Parenthood clinic in Honolulu and at women’s marches and abortion rights and LGBTQ events….
read … Rally held for woman accused of harassing anti-abortion protester
Hawaiian homesteaders on Molokai say spill of hundreds of gallons of fuel made them ill
HNN: … The fuel ― stored in about a dozen, 50-gallon drums ― was dumped there back in 2015 by a DHHL contractor who was hired to haul away abandoned cars.
Some of the drums had been split open, spilling fuel onto the ground and contaminating the soil….
During a meeting of the Hawaiian Homes Commission on Wednesday, DHHL interim Chair Ikaika Anderson apologized to beneficiaries and questioned why the DHHL’s previous management allowed the problem to fester.
Anderson said he first heard of the dumping late last month and traveled to Molokai to inspect the property and haul away the fuel.
He said he then called the Department of Health, which cleaned up the land and removed the contaminated dirt.
Anderson added that one of the neighbors got so sick from the fumes that he put him up in a hotel during the clean-up effort, paying the $5,300 hotel bill out of his own pocket.
“This fuel sat in this truck since at least 2015. Why? Why was this allowed to happen? I can’t answer that. But again, the Anderson administration at the DHHL addressed a dirty, eight-year old problem in two weeks,” he said (pandering relentlessly).
(Dreamily,) Anderson said he’s not worried that some homesteaders may sue the department for their illnesses….
read … Hawaiian homesteaders on Molokai say spill of hundreds of gallons of fuel made them ill
'It's a health hazard' -- Dilapidated restrooms, sinking piers plague Maui harbor
KITV: … Mona Cherry, one of the workers, called the restrooms at the facility "horrendous."
"It's a heath hazard. You need a hazmat suit to go in there," Cherry complained.
A spokesperson from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) reported homeless people have been washing their clothes in the toilets, clogging them, which leads to closures.
According to DLNR, the bathrooms are vandalized on a regular basis. People have been tearing off toilets, sinks and urinals, and DLNR staff members "try to repair them as soon as we can," the spokesperson added.
Another worker, Sean Conroy, pointed to the sinking piers.
"Why hasn't it been fixed? No, they just condemn it and basically said 'tough luck,'" Conroy alleged.
The harbor has received $20 million for repairs and, according to DLNR, construction on piers will resume shortly.
Last week, frustrated boaters took it upon themselves to haul out heaps of trash that have been left at the facility as well as another boat harbor in Ma'alaea on the island's south side. …
read … 'It's a health hazard' -- Dilapidated restrooms, sinking piers plague Maui harbor
Following state’s costly missteps, parents push for solution to safely open new Kihei high school
HNN: … Ten years ago, the state Land Use Commission ordered a grade-separated pedestrian crossing — like an overpass or an underpass — would have to be built so the students can get to school safely.
Instead, the state built a $16 million two-lane roundabout.
The intention was to slow traffic down on busy Piilani Highway.
The DOE had hoped the roundabout, along with crossing guards and school-operated shuttles for students would be enough to safely open the school.
However, the LUC said earlier this month it’s still not safe enough and demanded a grade-separated pedestrian crossing be built — like it ordered a decade ago.
The DOE still needs to find approximately $20 million for that and it could take up to five years to build.
Parents are upset, frustrated and running out of patience.
“Our school principal Halle Maxwell has purchased two shuttle busses. So, we should easily be able to shuttle the students to and from school safely on shuttle buses,” said Kihei mother of four Rebecca Hill….
MN: Crossing debate aside, students want school open
read … Following state’s costly missteps, parents push for solution to safely open new Kihei high school
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