After Ulehawa Beach Murder, Waianae Reps Demand Immediate Homeless Sweep
Green Signs Emergency Proclamation on Housing
Cover-up: Plea deal eyed for top Public Safety trainer accused of lying on resume to get promoted
HNN: … Martinez is still getting paid by taxpayers while on leave….
A plea deal is in the works for the state Public Safety Department’s top trainer, who is facing felony perjury charges and other counts.
(CLUE: This is state not federal court.)
Her trial was set to begin Monday, but court records show the defense asked the court to push back trial because of plea negotiations — which are close to resolving the case.
Martinez is facing two felony counts for perjury along with 12 misdemeanor counts of tampering with a government record and lying on a government record. If the plea deal drops the felony counts, it’s possible that Martinez could keep her job as the head of training for DPS.
(IQ Test: How hard are you laughing?)
Martinez is in charge of training for all the sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers….
The felony perjury charges stem from a state Labor and Relations Board hearing from December 2019. While testifying, Martinez was asked under oath about her college degree and other qualifications which were listed on her resume. Prosecutors say Martinez lied….
In February, the Labor Board concluded DPS, a law enforcement agency, covered up for Martinez….
(Translation: A plea deal protects DPS and UPW secrets from public disclosure in open court.)
DETAILS:
What's Being Covered-up:
- 2002: AFSCME Suspends UPW Leader Gary Rodrigues
- 2015: Ige's DPS Deputy Nominee Placed Kulani Warden on Unpaid Leave, Then Quit Job
- 2017: DPS Report: UPW Has Been Shielding Child Molesting Prison Guards since 2003
- 2017: After Hospital Debacle, DPS Decides it Might Finally be Able to Prohibit Some, but not all, UPW Members From Bringing Contraband into Prisons
- 2020: Audit: UPW Bosses Dip Beaks into Union Funds -- AFSCME “Greatly Concerned”
- 2020: AFSCME Takes Control of UPW--Boots Nakanelua, Endo
- 2020: Forcing United Public Workers to Enter New Era
- 2020: Judge orders Kauai Councilman Arthur Brun to remain in custody—UPW-USO Prison Smuggling an Issue in Case
- 2020: UPW Prison Guard Busted Allegedly Smuggling Meth into OCCC
- 2020: Ige Appoints Max Otani Director of Department of Public Safety
- 2020: UPW on the Job: Hilo Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty for Assaulting an Inmate and Conspiring with Other Officers to Cover it Up
- 2021: Prison Drug Smuggling: UPW, HGEA Retaliate on Top Hawaii Prison Official After Guard Refuses Contraband Search
- 2022: UPW News: HCCC Supervisor gets 12 years for 'multi-year conspiracy to cover up abuse'
- 2021: Secret Arbitration Revealed: How DPS Official Kept Crooked Cop On The Job After FBI Raid
- 2022: Hawaii Attorney General Joins Suit to Mandate Minimum Wage for Prisoners
- 2022: Audit: 50 Years of UPW Overtime Games at DPS
- 2022: Ige Signs HB2171 Establishing State Department of Law Enforcement
- 2022: Three Former Hawaii Correctional Officers Convicted of Assaulting Inmate and Attempting Cover Up
- 2022: Jail Assault: Guards, Inmates Sentenced to Spend More Time Together
- 2023: Feds: Jail Guards Smuggling Illegal Fireworks thru OCCC Mailroom
- 2023: Four Hawaii Correctional Officers Sentenced for Abusing Inmate and Conspiring to Cover Up Abuse
- 2023: Court documents disclose Miske’s alleged “purchase” of stevedore jobs, and ties to a prison guard at OCCC
- 2023: Feds: Female Guard Gave Miske associate access to cell phone, drugs while detained at OCCC
- 2023: Big Island Prison Guard In Federal Prison--Got Fired, But HLRB Orders him Reinstated with Back Pay
- 2023: Ethics: Clerk at AGs Office Fed Info to Lawyer Suing Crooked Sheriff for Sex Assault
ead … Plea deal eyed for top Public Safety trainer accused of lying on resume to get promoted
Obstruction: Federal Investigation Target Admits Covering for Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
SA: … Christopher Mailani Dawson, 60, HNC board chairman and DAWSON chief executive officer, elected to take administrative leave “because he felt that was best for the company,” HNC Executive Director Steve Li told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Dawson has retained legal counsel and declined Star- Advertiser requests for an interview.
“It was (Dawson’s) decision to relinquish all operating, management, and decision-making responsibilities relating to the HNC and the DAWSON operating companies to avoid being a potential distraction to the DAWSON operating companies during the investigation,” Li said. “We appreciate that he is looking after the interests of our (Department of Defense) clients and others in our community such as the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Iolani Palace, Protect Kahoolawe Ohana, Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, and other organizations, whose missions align with ours to perpetuate our Hawaiian culture and elevate the Lahui.”…
(TRANSLATION: We admit we are trying to shield these organizations from the Feds.)
DAWSON executives declined to discuss details about who has been questioned by federal investigators and what kind of evidence was seized during a June 27 search of the DAWSON office at 900 Fort Street Mall.
In addition to founding HNC and the DAWSON companies, Christopher Dawson, “a Native Hawaiian social entrepreneur dedicated to creating wide-scale economic and cultural impact,” is founder of Hawaii Polo Life and the Hawaii International Polo Association, according to his website.
(CLUE: ‘Royal Torch’)
The investigation, being run by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Internal Revenue Service, comes while the large government contractor continues its decades-long business relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense.
HNC has been in business for 29 years and employs 1,200 people across 18 offices in 47 states and 20 countries….
The DAWSON companies are subsidiaries of Hawaiian Native Corp., “a Native Hawaiian Organization federally certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration since 2004,” according to the website. Core services include professional and technical services, construction, operations and maintenance, and environmental services.
It is part of the SBA’s 8(a) business development program, which was created to provide support to small, disadvantaged businesses, “particularly with gaining access to the federal marketplace,” according to the Native Hawaiian Organizations Association.
Small businesses owned by Native entities such as NHOs, tribes and Alaska Native corporations are authorized to participate in the SBA 8(a) program under special rules….
read … Global defense firm founder on leave due to probe
Time of Use Rates: Do You Really Want HECO to Act Like a Ticket Scalper?
IM: … Why are we forcing busy, stressed people to learn about the Duck Curve and its variants just to turn on their a/c on a hot night after a long day of work? …
You may have heard the argument that TOU rates will support the goals of equity because the current rates do not reflect the fact that it costs more for Hawaiian Electric (or KIUC) to provide electrons after the sun goes down. Basically, proponents say this type of rate structure would be fairer to the customer.
The first effort at a TOU pilot rate in Hawai’i has an “overnight” punitive rate that extends until 9am the next morning. Regardless of intent, the effect of the TOU pilot rate is to benefit retired workers at the expense of the ALICE community. Picking winners and losers between two economically vulnerable groups is not equitable.
The reality is that electricity rates in Hawai’i contain a number of cross subsidies that cannot be unraveled magically with a TOU rate. Just as one example, as long as NEM and NEM Plus systems can be handed down to the next buyer with their grandfathered status they create a valuable property interest that benefits the early adopters and no one else.
The path we are on with TOU rates will create another set of winners and losers, and if you know the history of “smart home” and “smart thermostat” demonstration projects in the US it seems likely that many people will choose to suffer and keep their a/c units off rather than deal with complex rules that carry penalties.
The late Mike Champley (former PUC Commissioner in Hawai’i) used to say that a regulated utility is not guaranteed a return, it is guaranteed the “opportunity to earn” the allowed return. The more we accept that fluctuations in the company’s cost are to be passed on to the ratepayers, the more we treat utility earnings as a guarantee. We are on the wrong path. ….
read … Do You Really Want Your Electric Company to Act Like a Ticket Scalper: Reconsidering the Premise of TOU Rates for Hawai’i
By Shutting Down Rail, HART Could Save $680M and Use it to Build More Rail
SA: … Now that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation has shown it can build and run a rail system, it’s time to review the cost of running an 11-mile system for two more years before getting to Kalihi, and six more years after that to get to Kakaako.
The added cost of running an inefficient system that lacks ridership does not advance the goal of building a functional rail for Honolulu.
The city should focus on the goal of building a working rail system that adds a transportation alternative to driving the East Honolulu-to-West side transportation corridor. It should not use tax dollars to operate the current 11-mile track at an annual cost of $85 million.
It’s time to eliminate costs associated with running an 11-mile system that lacks ridership. Commuters will not use the system until it gets them where they want to go — not to a condemned stadium.
read … Rail Logic: Shut it down so we can afford to build more
Hirono Tops Fund Race
CB: … U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono raised more campaign cash in the second quarter of 2023 than any of her Hawaii colleagues.
Hirono, 75, is on the ballot in 2024 along with fellow Democrats U.S. representatives Ed Case and Jill Tokuda.
According to Hirono’s latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, her campaign raised more than $405,000 between April 1 and June 30, which is nearly three times more than what Tokuda pulled in during the same time frame.
Tokuda, who is in the midst of her first term, ranked second among Hawaii’s four member delegation with nearly $141,000 in contributions.
At this point, Hirono has yet to draw a significant challenger in 2024 and the likelihood that she does is slim.
Former state Rep. Bob McDermott, a Republican, said he is considering running for Hirono’s seat, but has yet to make an official announcement. McDermott ran against U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in 2022 on a single issue platform centered on shutting down the Navy’s bulk fuel storage facility at Red Hill.
His campaign never gained much traction and he lost by 44 percentage points ….
read … Campaign Cash Slows To A Trickle For Hawaii Delegation In The Absence Of Competition
Honolulu property taxes are wealth taxes by another name
SA: … In 2021, Congress considered imposing a national wealth tax, a constitutionally dubious concept wherein persons are taxed yearly on the current market value of their assets, such as homes, savings, investments and artwork.
Honolulu property taxes are essentially wealth taxes levied on theoretical home values, including any unrealized capital gains. Homes are assessed at sometimes inflated market prices, which are then multiplied by a mill rate to determine the amount due. Raising taxes in this manner is more politically opaque than increasing the rate outright. The practice often leads to revenue windfalls for local governments, which are shielded from accountability in setting rates premised on budgetary needs….
read … Column: Honolulu property taxes are wealth taxes by another name
Celebrutard Nicole Scherzinger Suddenly Becomes Anti-Telescope Protester in Scam to get Beach House Approved
H: … One of the top responses to Scherzinger’s post is from a social media user who accused the singer of being a hypocrite.
“Aren’t you trying to build a huge house on Hawaiian land that locals are protesting,” they wrote. “You blocked access and the view with a giant gate.”
Last year, Scherzinger’s Dream Home Trust purchased a plot of land and requested a permit to build on home on the property, per Hawaiian News Now.
But board members int the area “unanimously rejected” the permit, the outlet reported on July 13. Residents are concerned about what will happen to their taxes, what kind of building she will construct and “cultural concerns,” Keone Machado, Neighborhood Board second vice chair, told the outlet.
Scherzinger’s team issued a statement to Hawaiian News Now, saying she wants to work with the city to find a resolution.
“It’s incredibly important to me to approach this process with integrity and in a way that honors our heritage, supporting the traditions and regulations designed to protect our one hānau (birth sands) of Hawai’i nei,” her statement said, per the outlet. “My team is working diligently to ensure that all concerns raised are acknowledged and addressed appropriately.”…
(TRANSLATION: “If I say enough of this sh*t, I can get my beach house built.”)
Scherzinger appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2010….
read … Nicole Scherzinger Advocates For ‘Sacred’ Land in Hawaii
British Tabloid Pumps up Walter Ritte’s latest Effort to Steal Molokai Ranch
UKDM: … as always, Walter Ritte’s popularity is proportional to the distance from Molokai ….
read … Inside the battle to save the 'last Hawaiian island'
Group tries ‘Sovereignty’ Kitsch as Sales Pitch--Still forced to pull plug on Hilo bottling plant
HTH: … A second attempt to build a bottling plant in Hilo has been abandoned after community opposition.
The 1893 Beverage and Kanaka Cafe was a proposed facility that would extract and bottle water from an aquifer beneath Hilo, the second such project in five years planned for the same site.
partners for the project announced Monday it has been dissolved after public backlash and a failure to receive support from key Hawaii County Council members.
“The 1893 Beverage Company manufacturing project has been dissolved due to the lack of support from the County Council,” according to a statement by Jeni Waipa, wife of DuWayne Waipa, president of Hawaiian Kingdom Brands, the business entity behind the proposed facility.
Jeni Waipa told the Tribune-Herald on Monday that Hawaiian Kingdom Brands retains control of the property — which according to real property tax records was purchased in 2021 by Arizona-based company Talon 1 Properties LLC, (LOL!) a partner of the Waipas, for $1 million — and is “going back to the drawing board” to determine what to do with the site ….
(CLUE: OHA required to receive 20% of revenue from subsurface resources like artesian water.)
REALITY:
read … Group pulls plug on Hilo bottling plant
A ‘Complete Rebuild’ Is Underway For Kauai’s Hobbled Water Utility
CB: …The county water department has fallen woefully behind while shuffling through six managers in eight years….
There are many challenges holding up affordable housing development. One of them is the inability to deliver drinking water to certain parts of the island due to a lack of infrastructure. Although the agency has connected water service to four new affordable housing developments in the last two years, there are plenty of other planned developments that await a plan for water delivery….
read … A ‘Complete Rebuild’ Is Underway For Kauai’s Hobbled Water Utility
Four HPD recruits hospitalized after suffering exhaustion from self-defense exercises
HNN: … Four Honolulu Police recruits were taken to a hospital today after suffering from exhaustion during self-defense exercises at the police training academy on Waipahu Depot Street.
This incident comes five days after another HPD recruit was hospitalized in serious condition after accidentally shooting himself.
HPD tells us the recruits were in the dojo, which is *not airconditioned.
EMS treated and transported the recruits to medical centers in serious condition….
read … Four HPD recruits hospitalized after suffering exhaustion from self-defense exercises
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