January 10, 2009 > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Saturday, January 10, 2009

January 10, 2009
By Andrew Walden @ 9:03 PM :: 12432 Views

OHA thugs pressure State to abandon appeal--Waihe'e weasel words on ceded lands--Hee “We should be prepared for a loss at the Supreme Court.”

Former Deputy Attorney General William Tam says that the US Supreme Court would favor the state. “The Supreme Court is concerned with civil rights history,” he said, adding that misconstrued analogies to segregation sometimes do not paint a flattering picture in regards to Native Hawaiian issues.

“They judge cases like gangsters,” an attendee shouted. (And this displeases the Sovereignty activists???)

But state senator Clayton Hee agreed with Tam.

“Based on my experience in politics, the chances of Bennett prevailing is automatic,” he said. “We should be prepared for a loss at the Supreme Court.”

Hee said the probable ruling would catalyze attacks on other Hawaiian programs like OHA, for which he is a former trustee. “The momentum of the rhetoric of people like Bill Burgess is gaining … we need to look at other ways to short the un-regressing assault on Native Hawaiians.”

According to former governor John Waihe‘e, the state’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is a first. “I know of no other instance of a state appealing its own position,” he said. “You [the state] appeal your own interpretation of the law?”

(Which shows that Waihe'e is ignorant of legal history and/or he is insulting the intelligence of his audience)

And he says the fact that a federal court will decide this issue, with all its personal history, is wrong. “We’re asking an outsider to decide something in the state … it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Waihe‘e said he believes the state still has a moral obligation to the Hawaiian people: “Don’t challenge something that is part of your moral fabric.”

(Of course this case originates from the fact that Waihe'e proposed two affordable housing projects on ceded lands in 1990. Details, details...)

HTH: Federal drug charges against former teacher

A former teacher awaiting trial in Hilo Circuit Court for methamphetamine trafficking also faces unrelated federal drug charges.

According to a federal grand jury indictment filed Dec. 30, Dionise was one of 10 people involved in a methamphetamine distribution ring operating "in the District of Hawaii and elsewhere." The others are Jorge Alberto Leal, also known as "Arturo Salazar," 43; Jay K. Crisolo, 42; Doni Mei Imose, 37; Kristin K. Kekoa, 28; Christie K. Alesna, 32; Mihwa Tully, 28; Laverne Rembert, 34; Christine C. Padilla; and Channel Mapuana Lopes, aka "Mapu," 28. No hometowns were given.
The 19-count indictment alleges that Dionise and the others "did knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate and agree with each other ... to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine." Dionise could be sentenced to life in prison and fined up to $4 million. The mandatory minimum sentence is 10 years in prison.

Sending away sustainable, renewable fuel: Oahu trash to Washington

Hawaiian Waste submitted a bid of $99 per ton to ship trash from O'ahu to a landfill in Roosevelt, Wash. The city wants to hire a company to ship 106,600 tons of trash per year to a Mainland landfill. That's only about 6 percent of the 1.76 million tons of solid waste generated on O'ahu per year, but proponents of the program say it would help extend the life of the island's main landfill and allow time for the expansion of waste-to-energy technology.

WHT: Council shuns Kona CDP in rezoning

All that effort for nothing. And some people will be surprised by this....

Kauai Garden Isle: Landlords should be forced to accept Sec 8 tenants

With hundreds of indigent residents struggling to find a place to live, the Kaua‘i Fair Housing Law Coalition took its first steps toward enacting legislation that would ban income source discrimination at its inaugural meeting, Thursday night at the War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu‘e.
Representatives from county and state agencies were among some 20 attendees who participated in a group discussion of the issue, led by organizer Anne Punohu and former mayor and Kaua‘i County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura.

State Sen. Gary Hooser, a Democrat representing Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, said yesterday that he had plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming legislative session.
“We’re going to be introducing a bill to basically say ‘(when) you advertise, you can’t discriminate from income source,’” he said.

JoAnne Georgi, who identified herself as a local landlord who does accept HUD, agreed. “Education is the key. People are scared by what they don’t understand,” she said.

HTH: Bay Clinic Embezzler restitution

A former Bay Clinic executive director who embezzled more than $100,000 from the nonprofit health care organization has agreed to make full restitution.
Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Wharton, attorney for Stephanie Launiu, told Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura on Friday that her client was willing to repay the entire amount, $111,384. That was the total of seven checks Launiu wrote to herself between Feb. 14, 2003, and Dec. 16, 2005.
Launiu, who is serving a one-year jail sentence in Hawaii Community Correctional Center, appeared in court in a brown HCCC jumpsuit, her hands cuffed and ankles shackled.

SB: Sen Sakamoto proposes tax increase to fund schools

Sen. Norman Sakamoto wants to save the public school system from a $40 million budget cut by raising the 4 percent state excise tax by 1 percentage point.

Could this possibly be connected with the fact that Sakamoto's brother owns S&M Sakamoto--a DoE maintenance contractor?

SB: Enrollment drops at private schools

Private school enrollment dipped in Hawaii for the first time in a decade in the 2008-09 academic year, likely due to the poor economy and fewer school-age children, the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools reported yesterday.

Hawaii has one of the highest rates of private school enrollment in the country, with about 18 percent of students attending private schools, according to 2006 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The national average is 11 percent.

The slide in private school enrollment in Hawaii comes as the public education system has been losing students since reaching a peak of more than 189,000 a decade ago, a sign there are fewer school-age children in the state. Today, Hawaii public schools have 177,871 students.

SB: Accused spy in pretrial hearings

...among Gowadia's admissions was that he helped the Chinese government design a cruise missile that can evade infrared detection. He said Gowadia repeated his admissions in a written statement.

"On reflection, what I did was wrong to help (People's Republic of China) make a cruise missile. What I did was espionage and treason," Gowadia said in the written statement.

Gowadia, 65, is facing 21 charges accusing him of selling secrets about the B-2 bomber to China, trying to sell military secrets to other countries, money laundering and making false statements. His trial is scheduled for April.

The government is also trying to seize Gowadia's Maui home.

Hana home dialysis sets a Feb. 20 start

(Overcoming years of resistance from Hana health: a victory against the socialist medical monopoly...)

After years of appeals and conflicts within the community, Hui Laulima O Hana on Friday set Feb. 20 as the date it hopes to open a family-based home dialysis site in Hana.

The community group has been leading the effort to provide the blood treatment for Hana kidney patients who have been trekking into Wailuku three times a week for their lifesaving dialysis service.

The dialysis campaign leaped a final hurdle Friday when the state Board of Land and Natural Resources cleared the way for home dialysis in a house in Wakiu previously designated for use by a physician.

Related: Advertiser coverage

Ilind-- House rule proposal: no need disclose conflict of interest

There’s a set of proposed changes to the House rules floating around the State Capitol. Not too many changes past the new committee lineup, but one caught my eye. It deletes the provision requiring a member to disclose a potential conflict of interest and get a ruling from the Speaker before being allowed to vote on a matter in which the member has a personal interest. Click here to review the full set of proposed rules. (Conflict of interest rule change is on pg 19)