Hawaii Finally Outlaws Nepotism--except Legislative and Judicial
Red Hill defueling progresses
Hawaii Ethics: 'Community of Social Workers' Banned -- Chinese Communist Propaganda Allowed
Charter School Defeats 'Strip Search' Lawsuit
Green Addresses United Nations, Admits Hawaii Failing to Implement UN Eco Goals
Green Signs 263 Bills -- Vetoes 11
New Class Action Suit Coming: Mother of student for whom ’94 Felix Consent Decree is named says DOE hasn't changed much
KITV: … A Honolulu lawyer is about to file a class action lawsuit against the Hawaii Department of Education. Attorney Eric Seitz says the DOE needs to do more for special needs students. He sued the DOE once before, in 1994, on behalf of a girl who was a student at that time, Jennifer Felix.
"I think at first when the Felix Consent Decree came out, they made a lot of progress but then slipped back to their old ways," said Jennifer's mother, Frankie Servetti.
"They basically told me to move back to California if I didn't like it and they weren't going to provide anything. It was very frustrating," she recalled, when trying to seek services for Jennifer, who has autism.
Now, 29 years later, Servetti says she sees the same exact thing.
"Intimidating parents, not providing services, making it out of reach for parents to have to fight for services, still," she said.
Servetti is glad Seitz filed a suit on her behalf in 1994. She worries about other families going through the same problems today.
"I think it's really necessary for the future of our children with any kind of disability," Servetti said.
As for Jenny, who turns 50 in September 2023, she lives in her own apartment with full-time aides, and has activities. She's a volunteer for the Maui AIDS Foundation and "she makes doggie treats and has a Facebook site. She delivers them to the Maui Humane Society every day," her mother said. …
KITV: Representing special needs students, Honolulu lawyer files class action lawsuit against the Hawaii DOE
read … Mother of student for whom ’94 Felix Consent Decree is named says DOE hasn't changed much
Anti-Nepotism Bill became law Without Green’s Signature
CB: … Back in January, Gov. Josh Green said he would sign any government reform bill that got to his desk.
“If they send it to me, I’m signing it, period,” Green said.
For the most part, the governor made good on his commitment. Thirty of the 31 so-called sunshine bills are now law, including two that were signed just late last month: House Bill 710 making it a class B felony to intentionally obstruct the administration of justice, and Senate Bill 228 establishing the offense of government fraud as a class B felony and a false claim against the state or a county as a class C felony.
But Green is quietly allowing House Bill 717 to become law without his signature, one of five bills this session. A press release from the administration Wednesday evening had little to say about his concerns, other than this: “While Governor Green may not fully support this legislation, these bills will become law without his signature because on balance, they are more beneficial than objectionable, and reflect strong stakeholder support for these measures.”
Others are quite delighted that HB 717 is now law, however. The Hawaii State Ethics Commission is calling it “a bright-line prohibition of nepotism.”
The new law applies to most state employees, except those working for the legislative or judicial branches. It forbids the hiring or supervising of a relative or household member or the awarding of contracts to businesses owned by relatives or household members.
Kee Campbell, the Ethics Commission’s enforcement director, said in a press release Tuesday, “It is a powerful message that positions of power should be earned through merit rather than inherited.”…
read … 'Objectionable' Nepotism
Six Years Awaiting Trial in Death of 9 Year Old Girl
CB: … A woman accused in the death of her 9-year-old granddaughter has been held in the Hilo jail for six years without trial while her mental condition is evaluated, the second case of its kind to surface publicly in recent weeks.
Henrietta Stone, 65, was first locked up in the Hawaii Community Correctional Center on July 17, 2017, and has remained there while her court case is on hold as she undergoes a series of mental evaluations by experts.
Circuit Court Judge Henry Nakamoto already has granted more than two dozen continuances or delays in the case, according to court minutes. Stone’s court-appointed lawyer Stanton Oshiro on Feb. 3 asked the court for more time to allow him to seek an independent mental health expert to examine Stone.
The Stone case is similar in many respects to that of accused murderer John Ali Hoffman, who has been held in the Hilo jail for seven years without trial while experts conducted a long series of mental evaluations to determine if Hoffman is mentally fit and legally responsible for his actions….
(TRANSLATION: Shysters are slow in psychiatrist shopping. And the judges let them string it along.)
read … Female Inmate’s Case Raises Concern About Prolonged Pretrial Detainment At Hilo Jail
Hawaii’s public schools lag in violence prevention, experts say
SA: … Hawaii’s public schools are lagging behind severely on student monitoring to prevent school shootings, with only one out of the state’s 295 public and public charter schools operating a “behavioral intervention threat-assessment team” that meets national best practices, some local and national experts said this week.
Kapolei Middle School is the only state Department of Education campus so far with such a team, Bev Baligad, chair of the multi-agency Threat Team Hawaii violence-prevention initiative, said in a Honolulu Star-Advertiser interview….
Baligad is leading the Hawai‘i Threat Assessment Conference this week at University of Hawaii-West Oahu, providing training for approximately 160 people from local K-12 and higher education campuses, both public and private. She is among the experts who believe “it’s not a matter of if, but when” the grisly wave of targeted mass violence across the United States will strike Hawaii again, so there’s not a moment to waste to protect vulnerable students and employees in schools.
Baligad, who also heads the UH-West Oahu Behavior Intervention Team, said it’s not enough for a school to have a safety committee or run lockdown drills. A behavioral intervention threat-assessment team, or a BITAT, is one formally trained to follow a proven science-based system to identify people who could pose a threat, and provide effective solutions before a violent incident occurs, she said….
read … Hawaii’s public schools lag in violence prevention, experts say
HART’s bid to seize Kalihi land by eminent domain moves forward
SA: … That 45-day window for the Council to object expired July 7, as the nine-member panel took no formal action to block the property’s condemnation, the city says.
Now the matter is expected to return to HART’s board of directors for a vote to acquire the property by eminent domain, the city says. The rail agency’s next board meeting is scheduled for July 20…
Meanwhile, another rail-related eminent domain action awaits a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling.
On June 29, the state’s high court heard 90 minutes of oral arguments over a years-long dispute involving the construction of a planned rail station within real estate developer Howard Hughes Corp.’s 60-acre master-planned property known as Ward Village in Kakaako….
read … HART’s bid to seize Kalihi land by eminent domain moves forward
Waters Demands Affordable Units be Built On Site
KHON: … The developer, JL Capital, is planning to build a 331 market-rate unit tower at 1538 Kapiolani Boulevard, with 101 affordable rental units at two offsite locations for people earning 80% of the average median income (AMI), for a family of four is $104,800.
The City Council Chair Tommy Waters questioned those plans to build the affordable rentals at separate locations.
Waters said, “One of the big concerns about this project is the affordable units being built off-site; they are not even being built in the same project.”…
(CLUE: The demand for ‘on-site’ affordable units makes for fewer ‘affordable units’ and that is the purpose.)
read … Residents say affordable housing is still out of reach
Report examines ‘long COVID’ in Hawaii
HTH: … A survey of 1,575 Hawaii residents found that 35% of participants reported having long COVID, an increase from the 30% reported in June 2022….
UHERO: New Publication Uncovers Link Between Long COVID, Vaccination, and Employment Outcomes in Hawaii
UHERO: Public Health Report: Shaping Health in Hawaii – The Influences of Poverty, Housing and Food Insecurity
read … Report examines ‘long COVID’ in Hawaii
Prominent Honolulu Condo Directors Pay $600,000 To Settle Retaliation Claim
CB: … Lila Mower is president of the Kokua Council and an advocate for expanding rights of condominium owners. She expressed disappointment that the court never had the opportunity to rule on the matter and thereby clarify the contours of the state condo law’s anti-retaliation provision.
“What does the court want to see in order for us to prove that retaliation exists?” Mower said.
Brown’s case, she said, reflects a situation that’s all too common: a board member or condo owner discovers and reports suspected misconduct — then faces retaliation for speaking up. In addition, she said, the individual board members will face no penalties, as the settlement will likely be paid by a firm providing liability insurance for directors and officers.
“Owners are going to have to pay for increased D&O coverage,” she said. “I always find that part unfair.”…
read … Prominent Honolulu Condo Directors Pay $600,000 To Settle Retaliation Claim
QUICK HITS: