Telling Evening News Anchors What to Say: Carpenters Union Wages War Against Affordable Modular Housing on Kauai
Water May Run Out due to Fire-Related Power Outages
VIDEO: “60 Minutes” Chronicles Lahaina Fire
Honolulu 'Equality' Score Jumps with Transgender 'Health' Benefits
NRA Challenges Hawaii’s “Sensitive Places” Gun Law
Hawaii job count increases by 6,600
Hawaii Worst State for Early Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
Former Kauai PD Employee gets Jail for Embezzlement
Westside Homicides up 80% since 2022 as Gangs Hunt Informers
KHON: … There was a staggering 80% increase in homicides in west Oahu since 2022, according to a report by Honolulu police during a commission meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
West Oahu is not the only district that is experiencing an increase in murders.
Honolulu Police Department deputy chief Keith Horikawa told the police commission that overall homicides on Oahu are down 14% but the west side has a different story.
“District 8, which is your, your west Oahu from Ewa Beach to Kaena Point, homicides are up 80% which is pretty much nine this year compared to five last year — and weapons offenses are up 42%,” Horikawa said.
Community leaders said the stats are gut-wrenching.
“80% is a painful increase. It’s hard to hear and it should be completely unacceptable in any area,” Nanakuli/Maili Neighborhood Board chair Samantha Decorte said. “I continue to advocate for police presence. I know we have a shortage, but with an 80% increase, we’re going to have to start pulling from other districts. We have to have more police presence at a minimum.”…
Officials said they are making efforts. Surge enforcement in west Oahu resulted in over dozens of arrests and 800 citations over the weekend of Saturday, Nov. 11.
“Over 70 arrests over the Saturday Sunday, this past weekend to include felony drug arrests, OVUII’s or DUI’s, warrants and liquor offenses,” Horikawa said .…
RELATED: Waianae: Feds Arrest Six for Cockfighting, Gamerooms, Meth
SA: Crime on Oahu down overall, but hot spots persist
read … Homicides spike in both west, east Oahu
Claim: Aloha Stadium redevelopment draws competitors
SA: … At least three viable teams will compete to develop, build, operate and maintain a new Aloha Stadium and construct real estate in the adjoining New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District, state officials said Thursday.
The state will be a step closer to awarding the winning contract in December.
(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)
A new stadium is expected to be up and running in time for the 2028 football season….
(IQ Test: Are you laughing harder?)
“We are on schedule to release the RFQ (request for qualifications) in mid-December,” Stadium Authority board chair Brennan Morioka said at Thursday’s monthly meeting. “We are very much looking forward to that significant milestone.”
(CLUE: RFQ is several big steps short of ‘awarding the contract’.)
The teams are composed of local construction firms partnered with entities from outside of Hawaii that have experience operating and maintaining stadiums, state Sen. Glenn Wakai said.
(REALLY OBVIOUS QUESTION: How can he know this if the RFQ has not yet been issued?)
…In May, … Morioka, Wakai and others involved said they received clear direction from Gov. Josh Green.
Green’s adjusted NASED plan has one private entity charged with developing, building, operating and maintaining the stadium while receiving rights to mixed-use development in the surrounding area.
A previous plan called for two private-sector teams — one for the stadium itself and another for the district.
The version now in play, with just one private partner, is designed to prevent state taxpayers from possibly having to finance more than the $400 million allocated to build the stadium by the state Legislature in 2022….
read … Aloha Stadium redevelopment draws competitors
Water to be cleared for use in more areas of Lahaina
MN: … By next week, areas such as the Lahaina Business Park and nearby properties along Komo Mai Street are expected to get the green light to fully use their water, a county official said Wednesday evening.
Once these sections — which are under Areas 3A and 3B in the county’s water service updates map — are cleared, the county will start working to lift the unsafe water advisory for Area 4, which includes the Lahaina Cannery Mall and Kahoma Village, Deputy Water Director James “Kimo” Landgraf said. Those areas are expected to be given the all clear in two to three weeks.
Landgraf told an audience at a disaster recovery community update meeting Wednesday evening at the Lahaina Civic Center that determining that water is safe involves a lot of testing, sampling, replacing of hydrants, repairing water mains and cutting and replacing service laterals.
“It’s a long process to get the water back so it is safe for people to drink,” he said.
Once Area 4 is cleared for use, Landgraf said they will work on getting water cleared for uses in the north and south areas of Lahaina.
So far Area 1, which includes parcels north of Kaniau Road, and Area 2, which covers some neighborhoods just below the Lahaina Bypass and north of Lahainaluna Road, have been cleared for all uses….
MN: 4 residential zones near Front Street to reopen next week
read … Water to be cleared for use in more areas of Lahaina
Investigation continues into unattended police rifle that led to shooting in Pearl City
KHON: … HPD said some of the internal reports should be done by the end of the month. While other reports may not be completed for another month or so. But it’s waiting for important internal reports from its criminal investigation division and forensic reports. HPD is also waiting for an external agency report ….
read … Investigation continues into unattended police rifle that led to shooting in Pearl City
Kamehameha Schools Hawaii campus reports large internal theft to police
HTH: … Kamehameha Schools Hawaii filed a police report today alleging a former employee stole more than $360,000 from the Keaau campus.
In an email sent to the school community, Po‘o Kula M. Kahealani Nae‘ole Wong, the school’s headmaster, said a “comprehensive internal investigation” led by school attorneys prompted campus officials to go to the police ….
The suspect was not identified in the email ….
SA: Kamehameha Schools Hawaii says ex-employee stole $360,000
HNN: Police confirmed the suspect is a man who had had several positions at the school over the years. Most recently, the employee was a teacher. He resigned earlier this year.
read … Kamehameha Schools Hawaii campus reports large internal theft to police
Hawaii Elections Commission Selects New Chair
CB: … Michael Curtis, a current member of the State of Hawaii Elections Commission, was hired by the commission on Wednesday.
But he will serve only until June 30, 2026, when his current commission term is up. Members can only serve a total of eight years.
Curtis replaces Scotty Anderson, whose eight years as chair ends Dec. 6. After the selection of Curtis, Anderson thanked his colleagues for the last eight years.
“They haven’t all been smoothed and paved, but they have been interesting and I won’t forget any of them,” he said over a public Zoom conference, adding that the commission has a “very competent person” in incoming chair Curtis.
Applicants for the non-paid position included Karl Dicks, (LOL!) who was not interviewed by the commission because he did not show up for the meeting Wednesday, and Ralph Cushnie.
Dicks is a former Honolulu mayoral candidate and Republican state Senate candidate who sued unsuccessfully in 2002 on claims that other politicians improperly campaigned before they were registered for their elections.
Cushnie, who is from Kauai, has repeatedly raised concerns with the elections commission regarding certification of the 2022 primary results. A recent complaint from Cushnie was dismissed by the Hawaii Supreme Court last year….
read … Hawaii Elections Commission Selects New Chair
Artificial is not Intelligent: Judge Notices Local Shysters Use Stupid AI to Write Briefs
CB: … The four federal judges here, led by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson, earlier this week issued a general order titled “In Re: Use Of Unverified Sources.” It seems the judges are stumbling across weird things being submitted by attorneys these days.
The two-page order says AI platforms like ChatGPT or Bard appear to be producing briefs that include fictitious case citations. And that is raising concerns that factual or legal citations or references have not been properly vetted by the real human lawyer who is supposed to be looking all this stuff up.
But … rather than telling them to get back to work and earn that several-hundred-dollar-an-hour fee the court is instead only requiring the attorney to submit a declaration acknowledging that they used unverified sources….
read … Not Intelligent
HART board approves eminent domain filing for Kalihi property
SA: … Skyline’s Kalihi area station, Mokauea is slated for construction across the street from the sought property, on the corner of Dillingham Boulevard and Mokauea Street.
That future station is part of the nearly $10 billion rail project’s last leg — the City Center segment — which is scheduled for completion by 2031.
Owned by the Takara family, the 7,855-square-foot parcel in question is also home to Service Printers Hawaii Inc., a commercial printer in business since 1964. The full property’s total assessed value is approximately $2.9 million, according to the city’s Real Property Assessment Division….
read … HART board approves eminent domain filing for Kalihi property
The Fate Of The North Shore’s Airfield Is Once Again Up In The Air
CB: …. In a letter last week, the state’s top transportation official told tenants of the airfield, one of the area’s key economic hubs, that his department will have to close the facility next summer if it can’t reach a deal by Dec. 31. with the U.S. Army, which owns the land there.
Specifically, the Hawaii Department of Transportation says it needs to secure a 50-year lease with the Army in order to keep the airfield running for the approximately 25 tenants there. Those tenants include about a dozen businesses and 130 or so local employees.
HDOT also says it needs assurances from the Army that it will not have to run the water system at the airfield in Mokuleia, and that it also needs guaranteed access to that same water. Further, HDOT needs “sufficient rights and powers” to operate the airfield, also known as Kawaihapai Airfield….
read … The Fate Of The North Shore’s Airfield Is Once Again Up In The Air
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