Double Nothing is Nothing: City announces updated and corrected ridership numbers for Skyline
Maui GE Tax increase guaranteed to hurt poorer residents
Can Hawaii residents afford 100% renewable energy?
DHHL Seeks Recommendations for 2024 Legislative Package
Red Hill Surge Tanks First to be Drained
Legislative System Designed to keep Crooks in Power
SA: … It’s common knowledge that some legislators use their title and position to help their friends and hurt their enemies (aka people who disagree with them). They kill legislation for personal and/or political reasons — regardless of the public policy impact. Committee chairs insert conditions into bills after the vote, without public review or even the knowledge of committee members. And of course it’s well known that chairs will often kill bills without giving a reason or any notice whatsoever.
These are the worst kept secrets that virtually everyone knows about — custodians, journalists, legislative staff and probably every state employee who’s ever set foot in a conference room.
These unethical breaches of public trust go unchecked because top leadership ignores, supports, or initiates these actions — AND because most individual legislators accept it as “just the way it is.”
This is the way it is, the way it’s always been, the way it’s going to be. So why not just play the long game, keep your head down, and support those in power?
Why risk losing your committee assignment, money for your district, and maybe some extra little title that leadership has bestowed upon you? Why rock the boat, as Randy Roth recently urged in an opinion column (“‘Going along to get along’ leads to government corruption,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, June 29)?…
read … Legislators with integrity should fight unethical leadership
Witness Intimidation: Lawyers Try to Spring Miske’s Half-Brother
ILind: … During a hearing in federal court on Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over a motion asking the judge to reconsider a 2021 ruling that has kept John Stancil, the half-brother of accused racketeering boss Michael J. Miske Jr., behind bars pending trial.
Stancil’s attorney argued that releasing him is the simplest and easiest solution to a host of problems he has had at Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center, although release was opposed by prosecutors and was not apparently not supported by a confidential pretrial services evaluation of the option.
Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield took the matter under advisement, saying he would issue a decision as soon as possible….
Mark Inciong, who presented the government’s case at Monday’s hearing, said the lack of available space meant that certain defendants in the Miske case are held in the same modules, something that would “never, ever” be done by choice. And, during the hearing, Hawaii was described as the only federal court district in which there are no relatively nearby federal or state facilities that can be used to enforce routine separations between co-defendants and witnesses when required.
The only new and relevant information that emerged during the hearing is that a third key witness against Miske has been moved into “witness protection” at his own request. Harry “Harry Boy” Kauhi, who pleaded guilty at the beginning of 2022.
As part of his plea, Kauhi admitted being a member of a racketeering conspiracy which Miske controlled and directed, and to have taken part in the 2016 robbery of another drug dealer at gunpoint in which several pounds of methamphetamine were stolen from the dealer’s car, and then split among the robbers. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop charges involving other crimes admitted by Kauhi, including taking part in two murder-for-hire plots, several robberies and drug trafficking.
Kauhi had been housed in a module with several other Miske-related defendants and witnesses, including Jacob “Jake” Smith, who has admitted being “on call” to assault victims when requested by Miske. Smith was also extensively involved in drug trafficking, took part in murder-for-hire plots Miske allegedly set in motion, and had a hand in other crimes as well.
During the hearing, it was disclosed that there had been an altercation between Smith and Kauhi, after which Kauhi requested being placed in witness protection.
As I reported in the Civil Beat story:
A check of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ online inmate locator confirmed that records of Kauhi’s location with the BOP system have been removed. All information about two other key witnesses who have also pleaded guilty and are expected to be key witnesses against Miske and others, Wayne Miller and Lance Bermudez, has similarly been excised from the online locator.
During a hearing to review and approve Bermudez’ change of plea and associated written plea agreement, Judge Derrick Watson noted that Bermudez was being held in an undisclosed location for his personal safety.
So at this point, there are at least three witnesses being held in witness protection in “off the books” locations.
One other note, unrelated to Monday’s hearing. Court records show that the preliminary hearing for Preston Kimoto, one of Miske’s original co-defendants who was arrested for witness tampering while out on bond pending trial, agreed to a fourth consecutive delay in the deadline for the government to file charges.
On July 3, Civil Beat published my story explaining that the repeated delays in the preliminary hearing appears to indicate plea negotiations are underway or perhaps an indiction Kimoto has already agreed to cooperate with prosecutors (“The Miske Files: Ex-Kamaaina Termite Manager Is Next In Line To Negotiate A Plea“).
Two days later, on July 5, Kimoto’s attorneys agreed to a fourth delay, pushing Kimoto’s preliminary hearing back to August 14….
CB: Miske’s Half-Brother Wants Release To House Arrest Pending Trial
read … Hearing airs frustration felt by defense attorneys and prosecutors alike
UH law school not alone in offering luxury trips to Supreme Court justices
AP: … For decades, the University of Hawaii law school has marketed its Jurist-In-Residence program to the Supreme Court as an all-expenses-paid getaway, with the upside of considerable “down time” in paradise.
The justices have enthusiastically participated.
“Your colleagues who were here most recently were Justices (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg, (Anthony) Kennedy, and (Stephen) Breyer, and I believe they all would recommend the experience highly,” the law school’s then-Dean Aviam Soifer wrote in a 2010 email trying to draw Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the school in Honolulu. “We will, of course, cover first-class airfare, excellent hotel accommodations, and all other travel expenses.”…
“This is a level of luxury that most Americans will never see. And the fact that the justices are receiving it by virtue of their positions seems to be outside ethical bounds,” said Gabe Roth, the executive director of Fix the Court, a nonpartisan watchdog group dedicated to following the Supreme Court.
The particulars of these excursions are often shrouded from public view because the justices are only required to offer a spare accounting on their annual financial disclosure forms.
But details obtained by the AP reveal that these trips, which would cost the justices thousands of dollars if paid out of pocket, are in some cases subsidized by anonymous donors to the schools whose motivations can be difficult to assess….
read … UH law school not alone in offering luxury trips to Supreme Court justices
Honolulu City Council OKs property tax relief measures
SA: … During a special Council meeting Friday, the panel voted 8-0 — with Council member Andria Tupola absent from the meeting — on the third and final readings for two measures introduced by Vice Chair Esther Kia‘aina in 2022: Bills 37 and 40.
Both measures took effect upon approval….
However, as drafted, the measures will apply to the tax year beginning July 1, 2024, and thereafter.
As adopted, Bill 37 increases the threshold income level for the real property tax credit to $80,000 from $60,000. It also provides a tax credit for homeowners whose property tax exceeds 3% of their income, the city says.
To qualify for this tax credit, the combined income of all titleholders for the property must not exceed $80,000, and the homeowner must file for the credit by Sept. 30, the city says….
Likewise, Bill 40 increases the exemption amount to $120,000 from $100,000 for homeowners, and to $160,000 from $140,000 for kupuna.
For those who already have homeowner exemptions and kupuna exemptions (age 65) the amount will change automatically. For those who do not have homeowner or kupuna exemptions, residents must file for their homeowners exemption by Sept. 30, the city says….
read … Honolulu City Council OKs property tax relief measures
Proposed City bill to penalize false statements made to inspectors
KHON: … The Honolulu City Council will be introducing a measure this week proposing to penalize people for making false statements to a city official which could be penalized as a misdemeanor offense….
Waters said, “People are concerned if you lie to your council member that could be a crime, that’s not what we’re talking about. This is for inspectors and investigators.”
He said the proposed bill will likely go through drafts to narrow its language, Waters said there was a specific department and a particular issue in mind when the bill for city ordinance was drafted.
“People are claiming is smaller than it really is. They are doing that so they don’t have to comply with the monster home laws,” Waters said. “We really just want to give the Department of Planning and Permitting another tool to crack down on this.”
Waters said the intention is to empower city inspectors to make sure developers are following the city’s building code, but there could be some challenges….
read … Proposed City bill to penalize false statements made to inspectors
Lawsuit claims MPD recruit who nearly died suffered from ‘Beat Down’ hazing ritual
HNN: … A Maui police recruit who nearly died during a training exercise last year has filed suit, alleging she was put through a hazing ritual called “Beat Down Friday.”
Alexa Jacobs’ body temperature was 107 degrees when she arrived at the hospital and her organs began failing. She was 27 years old at the time of the incident.
Jacobs was hospitalized for life-threatening heatstroke, according to the suit, fell into a “coma caused by hazing at the hands of the Defendants who were her training officers.”
“The recruit next to her saw her lips turned bright blue. No one cared. The supervisors didn’t care. We’re talking about a lieutenant, a sergeant, and a detective,” said Jacobs’ attorney, Michael Green.
recruits were forced to do an extra cross-country run that was not part of the standard physical fitness assessment “to crank up the pressure on the recruits.”
It also says Jacobs and some of her classmates were ordered to get into a plank position outside of the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens off Kanaloa Avenue until a classmate caught up with the rest of them.
That’s the last thing Alexa remembered before passing out….
It says it took around five minutes before Pallone-De La Torre called dispatch for an ambulance. A dispatcher later said the call didn’t seem r to be an emergency based on how it was reported, the suit said. While waiting for the ambulance, one of the recruits asked Wada if he was going to do anything, to which he responded, “I’m not a medic,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also says that the defendants stayed in a cool, shaded area under a tree and left Jacobs “lying unconscious on the dirt pavement under the scorching sun while they and the other nine recruits took refuge in the shade across the street.”…
Additionally, the lawsuit claims Jacobs arrived at the hospital as a “Jane Doe” and none of the defendants accompanied her in the ambulance or went to the hospital to check on her….
read … Lawsuit claims MPD recruit who nearly died suffered from ‘Beat Down’ hazing ritual
Hawaii’s Aging Population Is Straining EMS Services. Expanding This Program Could Help
CB: … Between 2015 and 2019, the number of calls from Oahu residents over age 75 increased by nearly 15%. With the state’s population aging fast, Howe knew the numbers would only worsen.
“There’s a direct correlation between the aging population and their use of the EMS system,” he said….
Many of those calls are from people with issues that don’t necessitate an emergency room visit, like anxiety, confusion, minor falls or requests for a blood pressure test.
But Howe also saw a solution that would prevent these calls from diverting ambulance services from needier callers.
On the Big Island, a program that has been operating since 2016 provides home visits and safety assessments for older people, as well as visits to homeless encampments, helping those residents to avoid reaching out to EMS for non-emergencies.
It is based on what’s called a community paramedicine model, in which EMS workers are tasked with providing primary and preventive services. It makes health care services more readily accessible and facilitates more suitable use of the emergency system….
EMS workers can contact health providers and provide some patients needed care on the spot — rather than transporting them to the emergency room. It’s a “big change in the way we have been doing EMS in the United States,” Howe said.
The department has also shared public service announcements and provided education to the public on when people should reach out to 911.
“I don’t think we’re going to get people to not call 911 when they need help,” Howe said. “We just have to make sure that we can give them the kind of help they really need, not way more than they need.”…
read … Hawaii’s Aging Population Is Straining EMS Services. Expanding This Program Could Help
County Calls for Emergency Uncle Billy's Demolition
KITV: …"I thought that was the crack house... down there," Leverett-King referenced on the other side of the hotel known as 'County Club,' "But we hear that it's right next to a four-star billing hotel. So I was a little surprised about that."
"All of the properties here on Banyan Drive are state properties, which are leased," County Council member Sue Lee Loy explained, "We have two very active hotels right now with the Grand Naniloa and Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. Right in between both of those hotels is Uncle Billy's, which has been closed since 2017 and has attracted a lot of unlawful behavior."
The state has contracted security 24-7 to try to stop people from entering Uncle Billy's, but security guards aren't authorized to enter the building if somebody does. The DLNR conducted sweeps in April and June, but where do the unhoused people go from there?
The Grand Nani Loa is bordered by not just the one deteriorating building, but also a second. 121 Banyan has also attracted squatters in the past. That second building is the complex known as Country Club, and DLNR told KITV4 a new agreement will have a developer renovating the property under a long-term lease.
As for Uncle Billy's, the agency says it supports expediting any demolition and in the meantime, the DLNR is accepting bids this week for fencing the property this summer….
read … County Calls for Emergency Uncle Billy's Demolition
In bid to combat crime, city hires private security guards to patrol Waikiki after dark
HNN: … The guards are all off-duty officers who work for Matt Levi Security. They’re dressed in black shirts that say ML Security on the front chest and the word “SECURITY” spans the back.
Most just carried a sling bag, because they are not allowed to carry all their HPD police gear — no handcuffs or belt with their duty weapon.
They are required to call police if a more serious response is needed.
A total of four guards work each shift, which is from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., seven nights a week.
The city’s contract with Matt Levi Security is for six months — through Nov. 30.
Federal post-pandemic recovery funds are covering the $450,000 price tag….
read … In bid to combat crime, city hires private security guards to patrol Waikiki after dark
Dispute Over Assets Leads To Eviction Of Chinese Temple
CB: … A Chinese religious society temple was evicted from a building on North Kuakini Street in Honolulu on Monday as part of a legal battle between some worshippers and the society’s current leadership over assets.
The Huang Tin Tin Hu Temple is under disputed ownership.
The organization that runs it, the Gook Doo Sam Heung Society, has existed for 70 years but saw a transfer of control and name changes over the past two decades.
Two lawsuits challenge the society’s current governance.
Plaintiffs from among the 500 people who actively worship there, claim the society’s current leadership improperly held meetings that enabled them to make decisions to sell the temple and transfer assets – including cash and stocks – to a separate entity without oversight from longstanding members and their descendants.
They also argue the building that housed the temple, which was dedicated to the society in 1975, was never intended to be sold.
The land value of the address is valued at $850,000 according to City property records….
In 2021, the Gook Doo Sam Heung Society’s name was changed to Inspire Futures Now and then merged with the Chang Foundation. The plaintiffs argue that these actions occurred without sufficient notice of meeting….
HNN: ‘Sad, ugly’ ownership dispute leads to eviction from Chinese temple
read … Dispute Over Assets Leads To Eviction Of Chinese Temple
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