Confirmed: Union Lawyer Appointed to Supreme Court
BWS files $1.2 billion claim over Red Hill damages
DOBOR: We Knew Surf School Bidding Was Rigged
Hawaii Most Expensive Turkey in USA
Green Socks are Expensive: $40M 'Stormwater Capture System' for Lahaina
The hidden story of the third Thanksgiving: 1623--giving thanks for freedom
Alleged Miske links to North Shore gangs
ILind: …This has been a continuing theme of Miske’s defense team. They have repeatedly argued the alleged racketeering “enterprise” is a government-created fiction, and the crimes attributed to Miske and his “organization” were actually committed by members of Nakipi, La Familia, and most recently mentioned, a gang called the North Shore Boys, for their own reasons.
The government has not yet responded to this motion. However, prosecutors have previously argued that Miske was an “equal opportunity employer” who paid people to do specific jobs though they might have had other affiliations. But when working for Miske, these other affiliations were secondary to their at least temporary allegiance to him, prosecutors have said….
Miske’s attorneys, citing other documents produced during discovery but not yet made public, say the assault on Char was carried out by members of two other gangs, Lance Bermudez (described as a member of the La Familia gang), along with two members of the North Shore Boys, Keoni Adric and Kelli Young. It appears the latter name is a misspelling of Kelii Young, a North Shore resident whose name has surfaced in other documents in the Miske case and has been associated with Adric….
On May 14, 2016, at or near 1:00 a.m., government witness Kaulana Freitas and gang members Lance Bermudez (LaFamilia-Shooter Gang), Keoni Adric (North Shore Boys-Shooter Gang), and Kelli Young (North Shore Boys) assaulted and robbed Mr. Char at Maunala Bay. Earlier the night before, Mr. Char purportedly had been seen flashing $100 bills in a large wad of cash and was a reputed drug dealer. This was the reason he was targeted…
Kelii Young pleaded guilty last month to a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute quantities of methamphetamine. He had been charged along with four others from the North Shore. Young entered a guilty plea to the one conspiracy count, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years. In exchange, prosecutors dropped seven additional charges.
Young also allegedly took part in an October 2015 burglary of the BVNK store on North King Street in which three armed men made off with a safe and a bag, according to another similar motion filed by Miske’s attorneys. Bermudez had earlier admitted to taking part in this heist and serving as the getaway driver, while Jacob “Jake” Smith and John Stancil are also alleged to have taken part, case records show.
The break-in followed a tip from Wayne Miller, another Miske confidant who has pleaded guilty, that a large amount of cash from illegal sports gambling was in the safe.
Adric, who was just 18 at the time of Char’s assault and robbery, survived a shootout in the parking lot of Haleiwa Joe’s restaurant two years later in which two others were killed. He was later identified in court files as a confidential FBI source (“A North Shore Shooting That Left Two Men Dead Has An Intriguing Link To The Miske Case“).
Adric’s involvement with Bermudez in the Char robbery could account for the FBI’s use of him as a source during the Miske investigation….
read … Alleged Miske links to North Shore gang
Hawaii lobbyist wants her DEA statements suppressed
SA: … A veteran lobbyist who pleaded not guilty to federal charges that she used a Wisconsin veterinarian’s identity to import large quantities of opioids for a mobile clinic run by her nonprofit organization wants the statements she made to two U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents suppressed.
Alicia Chan Maluafiti of Ewa Beach was indicted by a federal grand jury Feb. 16 on 27 counts of using a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration issued to the mainland veterinarian to obtain and distribute the controlled substances starting Nov. 14, 2018, and continuing until Feb. 12, 2020, according to the indictment. She is free on a $25,000 unsecured bond and successfully petitioned the court to allow for an evidentiary hearing in her case on Tuesday in U.S. District Court….
In June 2005, Maluafiti founded Loihi Communications, a community and government relations firm.
In 2018 she ran for a seat in the state Senate, finishing second in the Democratic primary.
According to Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission records, Maluafiti donated about $60,000 through 240 contributions to the campaigns of County Council members, state legislators, three mayors and two governors between 2007 and 2020.
Maluafiti was member of the state Board of Veterinary Examiners, representing the public, until June 2022.
Over nearly 20 years as a lobbyist, Maluafiti represented many private businesses, nonprofits and government entities, including Syngenta, the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the Ala Moana Building Tenants Association, the National Elevator Industry, the Boys and Girls Club Hawaii, the Hawaii Medical Service Association and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, according to a resume posted online with her nomination to the state veterinary board.
Maluafiti is also founder and former president of the Oahu Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and a former director of community relations at the Hawaiian Humane Society….
read … Hawaii lobbyist wants her DEA statements suppressed
Critics incensed as Navy continues to pump 5M gallons of water into Halawa Stream daily
HNN: … the Navy continues to dump nearly five million gallons of water a day from the Red Hill aquifer into Halawa stream to prevent contamination from seeping to other sources….
The Navy’s water use permit was not on the agenda Tuesday, but leaders say they one day hope the Red Hill well will be a major sources of drinking water again.
They plan to build a treatment plant there capable of processing up to 12 million gallons of water every day for the base’s use….
read … Critics incensed as Navy continues to pump 5M gallons of water into Halawa Stream daily (hawaiinewsnow.com)
CNHA Behind Scheme to Seize Condotels, Boost ILWU Controlled Hotels
CB: … “We have one chance to get it right,” said Lahaina resident and waterman Archie Kalepa. (How many times have you heard that phrase?) “We want to make sure we hear from people, so our community can change this place for the better.”
(TRANSLATION: “We have one chance to get it right” means “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.”)
(TRANSLATION: “Change this place for the better” means “Change Lahaina into Wailea v2 surrounding the ‘Venice of the Pacific’ water feature”)
Many families on Maui are facing end of November temporary housing deadlines. (You already know they’ll be extended.) Bissen has a serious decision to make and the owners and operators of short-term rentals on Maui are feeling the pressure.
(Bissen wants to move survivors out of ILWU-controlled hotels into condotels.)
“What the county is seeking is voluntary compliance from the industry to donate the rooms and the homes that we need,” said Bissen. “Now if they say no, then we have the option that has been talked about (taking over short-term rentals.) It’s not that we don’t understand the option or we’re not aware of the option. The question is when do you make that call? When do you do it?”
Matt Jachowski estimates that converting around 15% of Maui's short-term rentals and second homes into longer-term housing would help keep Maui families on the island. Jachowski now works for CNHA.
(Translation: CNHA-ILWU alliance.)
Just before the mayors spoke, Matt Jachowski, a software programmer and Maui native, talked through the math based on property tax records.
“We have approximately 12,000 short-term rentals (mostly Minatoya list condotels) and 12,000 second homes for a total of 24,000 housing units not being used for long-term housing,” Jachowski wrote in an email later. He figures there are about 3,500 families that need long-term housing solutions. …
(TRANSLATION: We want to seize the condotels on the Minatoya list because that will boost business in the ILWU-controlled full service hotels.)
SA: Off The News: Mixed messages from tourism data | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
CB: Housing Shortage for Maui Fire Survivors Puts Focus On Short-Term Rentals - Honolulu Civil Beat
read … Debate over tourism marketing
More Money for CNHA: Lawmakers Discuss Draft Report On Maui Business And Jobs Recovery
CB: … the Hawaii House of Representatives Jobs and Business Working Group presented a draft report outlining findings and recommendations on how the Legislature should respond to the wildfires during the upcoming legislative session….
the need for construction and clean-up workers presents a major challenge and opportunity for Maui and the state. And the Legislature has recommended providing additional money for job training. That includes money for community colleges as well as organizations such as the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, whose Hawaiian Trades Academy is offering certification classes in hazardous waste removal and related fields for Maui residents.
In its testimony, the chamber called for the Legislature to support broad training initiatives, including those for things like commercial driver’s licenses.
“Construction jobs will be critical but will not fit the needs and skill sets of all. It would be helpful to also add training programs for CDL licenses, healthcare positions, bookkeepers/bankers, digital media creators, cybersecurity roles and other in-demand roles,” the Menor-McNamara said in her written testimony. …
read … Lawmakers Discuss Draft Report On Maui Business And Jobs Recovery - Honolulu Civil Beat
Maui Wildfire Lawyers Try To ‘Manage The Unmanageable’
CB: … For lawyers and judges in the state, the wildfire litigation is uncharted territory, a mass disaster that some predict will result in thousands of legal claims seeking billions of dollars in damages from private corporations such as Hawaiian Electric Industries, as well as the State of Hawaii and Maui County.
“I don’t think at least in this state we’ve had to wrestle with the numbers of this size before,” said Mark Davis, a Honolulu trial lawyer who has been practicing in Hawaii since 1974. The plaintiffs’ lawyers are now, Davis said, “trying to help the court manage the unmanageable.”
The procedural framework being hammered out will guide the litigation for months, possibly years. Some defense lawyers, including those for Hawaiian Electric Co. and Kamehameha Schools, are already questioning what opposing lawyers have proposed.
Maui Circuit Court Judge Peter Cahill is scheduled to meet Wednesday with both sides for a closed-door status conference in advance of a Dec. 13 court hearing….
read … Maui Wildfire Lawyers Try To ‘Manage The Unmanageable’
Crews fixing numerous leaks at Hawaii State Capitol
KHON: … Crews are continuing to fix a leak at the Hawaii State Capitol. Video of the leaks went viral online, showing water seeping through the ceiling and flooding the floor. The flooding happened overnight Sunday. Staff are doing their best to keep their documents from getting wet. A spokesperson for the House of Representatives says the water damage is a result of the leaking pools and overnight showers….
read … Crews fixing numerous leaks at Hawaii State Capitol
Hawaii State Hospital records show murder suspect Tommy Carvalho posed serious threat before his discharge
KITV: … According to hospital records, Carvalho was placed on special precautions for six months up until the day he was discharged into transitional housing. ….One-on-one supervision is the highest level at the psychiatric facility, which treats mostly court-appointed patients with mental illness who've committed crimes. Carvalho was found guilty of assault in 2022….
Besides hospital evaluators, the court hires independent examiners who determined Carvalho was fit to return to society.
Police say Carvalho stabbed 29-year-old Justin Bautista to death after gaining privileges to leave the campus….
read … Hawaii State Hospital records show murder suspect Tommy Carvalho posed serious threat before his discharge
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