Mizuno Quits House to Become Homeless Czar--who will the Carpenters Union Appoint Next?
Lahaina Tourism Industry Factions Fight: ILWU, UNITE HERE Demand Their Competitors be Shut Down
SA: … The unions said in a statement, “While the proposed solutions before the Maui County Council related to short-term vacation rentals would provide immediate relief to some in need, they would ultimately lead to long-term problems for the Maui community. We call for solutions that address both the short-term and long-term needs for housing in Maui including rent control, eviction protection, and the permanent conversion of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods to long-term rentals.”
(TRANSLATION: We are exploiting the Lahaina fire to reshape the tourism industry in our favor….unless TVR owners find some way to become represented by ILWU….)
SA: Off the news: Hotel unions push Maui for housing | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
read … Hotel workers, community rally for housing solutions on Maui
DoE Non-Spender to Work for Senate WAM this Session
CB: … State Sen. Sharon Moriwaki won’t confirm or deny that she’s the next vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. But lots of folks in the Big Square Building on Beretania say it’s already a done deal.
The puka has been empty since Gil Keith-Agaran bailed on Halloween to concentrate on his legal work following the Lahaina wildfires. As WAM vice, Moriwaki (she represents the Waikiki-Ala Moana-Kakaako area) will be in charge of capital improvement projects for the Senate (with the blessing of her boss, Donovan Dela Cruz, of course).
It’s a powerful post. Keith-Agaran and his House of Representatives counterpart were responsible for doling out $1.7 billion in CIP for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The projects include a whole lot of public schools.
And Randy Tanaka, who recently and mysteriously parted ways with the Department of Education as an assistant superintendent in charge of schools facilities, will be a session hire for none other than Moriwaki next year. Tanaka’s departure followed announcement of the DOE’s controversial plan to lapse $465 million in — drum roll, please — CIP….
(CLUE: Tanaka did not spend in response to a request from Green.)
read … The Sunshine Blog: Power, Ethics And Safety At The Hawaii Legislature - Honolulu Civil Beat
Senators Grill DOE Officials For Failure To Spend Project Money Before Deadline
CB: … Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Donovan Dela Cruz and Sen. Sharon Moriwaki questioned how the Department of Education has handled its CIP funds….
read … Senators Grill DOE Officials For Failure To Spend Project Money Before Deadline
No House Investigation into Alcos
CB: … The Hawaii House won’t be taking up an ethics complaint lodged against GOP Rep. David Alcos in spite of the wishes of Alfred Maglangit, owner of Design Works, an Ewa Beach general contractor. Maglangit recently wrote to Speaker Scott Saiki asking to look into Alcos’ “conduct and decorum,” as he put it.
Maglangit’s gripes center on allegations stemming from work on a Kapolei home, including the charge that Alcos “took the job illegally using my company name and license and convinced the homeowner to pay him cash due to the fact he has been accused of tax evasion with the IRS.”
Maglangit also circulated his complaint to other House reps. That’s when Alcos (he represents District 41 covering a portion of Ewa Beach, Ocean Pointe and Barbers Point) sent his own message to his colleagues disputing Maglangit and stating he is working with his attorney to “evaluate my legal options.”
Saiki said he doesn’t plan to launch an ethics investigation into the matter….
read … The Sunshine Blog: Power, Ethics And Safety At The Hawaii Legislature - Honolulu Civil Beat
Fear: Applying The Smell Test To CWS
CB: … the state’s Child Welfare Services, which looks out for child welfare by ignoring and stonewalling information about a child’s death and abuse.
Tell us why no one was prosecuted for killing the child. Tell us why you refuse to admit that a child is dead.
Trademark go-to CWS smell: The acrid, bitter, metallic, unsettling and ominous smell of fear — CWS’s fear that it might be found out and held responsible….
read … Neal Milner: Applying The Smell Test To Agencies That Insist There's Nothing To Sniff
As Lahaina burned, resort safety officer’s satellite phone proved a critical connection to outside world
HNN: … Boettger also used a satellite phone to brief Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke — the acting governor that day — as well as personnel with Maui County’s Emergency Management Agency about what he was seeing.
He’s believed to have been the only private citizen in West Maui able to consistently communicate with the outside world the day Lahaina burned, as flames destroys cell tower infrastructure….
“Cars couldn’t leave. Cars couldn’t come back. We were completely cut off. No power, no TV, no radio. Cell phones all but failed at about 3:30 p.m. And we just didn’t know what anyone else knew….
Despite having a satellite phone and a phone number for Maui County’s Emergency Management Agency, Boettger said it quickly became clear they were on their own.
“What I could hear on the phone from them (MEMA), I think they were inundated,” Boettger said….
He said he called emergency authorities because he wanted to get a better understanding of where the fire breaks might be and how close the fire really was. And about 10:30 that night he said, “standing here on the roof I could tell Lahaina was burning and I mean all of it.”
When HNN Investigates asked Boettger if he thought MEMA knew how bad the situation really was he responded, “I don’t know. I think that’s one of the frustrating things.”
We asked if he conveyed the severity of what was happening to MEMA.
His reply: “I tried to share as much as I could. I think there were two or three calls back and forth. Maybe two or three minutes long.”…
HNN Investigates asked if after those conversations, he knew it was up to him to take care of the people there. “Yes,” he said.
Boettger couldn’t remember exactly what time those phone calls were made but said it was probably close to midnight.
He says around that same time he also got a call from Luke, the acting governor.
“Someone gave the lieutenant governor that sat phone because she wanted to talk to someone on the West side,” Boettger said, adding she seemed eager for information.. “When we got on the phone she told me I was the only west side property communicating with the outside world.” …
read … As Lahaina burned, resort safety officer’s satellite phone proved a critical connection to outside world
Mauna Kea lands on Hawaii Register of Historic Places
KITV: … Mauna Kea is now listed as a traditional cultural property on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places.
At 13,000 feet, Mauna Kea is not alone in its designation. The decision was made by the Historic Preservation Review Board this last month.
State public lands from 6,500 feet and up are now listed as traditional cultural properties. Efforts by activists have been received by the state for quite some time now, according to the non profits at the forefront of the preservation work.
"The state has been trying to mobilize to put this Mauna Kea on the historic register since at least 2009 and when the University of Hawaii had control over the summit," Bianca Isaki of KAHEA said, "One of the things that they they did as a concession was to as a cultural resources management action was to say if somebody nominates Mauna Kea as a traditional cultural property, they will support it. And then the Board of Land and Natural Resources, they also said they would support it by adopting that plan."…
(TRANSLATION: This designation will help OHA score megabux in the master lease renegotiation.)
read … Mauna Kea lands on Hawaii Register of Historic Places
UH Regents on Track to Pick Next Dobelle
SA: … The UH Board of Regents have made big mistakes in the past. In 2001, the regents conducted unannounced, closed-door meetings, and agreed to a lucrative contract with former UH President Evan Dobelle. In his first year, he was paid $442,000 — more than double the salary of outgoing UH President Kenneth Mortimer and four times the salary of then-Gov. Ben Cayetano….
UH Board of Regents Chair Alapaki Nahale-a confirmed there are many who want to have their say in the selection process and are sharing their perspectives or preferences with members of the board.
That’s fine as long as faculty also have their say in the selection process and everything remains transparent and above board. In the last two Board of Regents’ meetings, certain regents unabashedly made their desires known and suggested removing Lassner prematurely and installing a new president — revealing a haphazard process that would give any legitimate candidate pause about even throwing their name in the hat….
read … Column: Search for new UH president demands transparency
$0.329/kwh not enough? Solar Industry Appeals
HTH: … The PUC’s order sets compensation rates Hawaiian Electric is to pay solar customers who export excess stored solar energy to the grid. Those rates vary, dependent upon the island and the time of day.
On Oahu, those compensation rates are: 18.9 cents per kilowatt hour between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.; 13.5 cents between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and 32.9 cents during evening peak hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Compensation rates for the Big Island are lower: 14.8 cents between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.; 10.6 cents between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and 23.1 cents during the evening peak hours.
The lowest rate of compensation is slated for Maui, at 13.1 center between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.; 6.6 cents between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and 18.2 cents during the evening peak.
Marco Mangelsdorf, former owner of ProVision Solar in Hilo and longtime solar energy advocate, called the compensation rates “kind of surprising for me, and I’m not sure what the rationale is for Maui to be so low.”…
The motion, filed last week by Hawaii Solar Energy Association and Hawaii PV Coalition, is aimed at the PUC’s Dec. 4 decision which set the terms for the next generation of solar programs, called Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, in which customers can be compensated for using their solar-and-battery systems to support the utility grid.
But the groups’ motion says low compensation rates and other unfavorable provisions can end up costing utility ratepayers extra money to participate.
BYOD would replace the Battery Bonus program, which recently hit its program capacity limit. The solar groups are calling Battery Bonus a distributed-energy success story, in which over 46 megawatts of rooftop solar and battery systems were rapidly enrolled to help support the grid on Oahu and Maui and reduce costs when delays in Hawaiian Electric’s plans to add large-scale renewable projects led to a grid reliability crisis and bill spikes from oil prices….
PDF: For-Immediate-Release-PUC-Decision-Slams-Door-on-Rooftop-Solar-HSEA-Press-Release
IM: Distributed Energy Suffers Losses in Hawaii and California | Ililani Media
SA: Editorial: Stay course for cleaner energy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
read … PUC asked to reconsider solar decision - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
HPD investigating bizarre break-in at Oahu judge's home
KHON: … Sources tell Island News this happened on Wednesday just before noon at Judge Robert Mark Browning's home in Kailua.
Sources say a woman removed a window screen from an open window, reached inside the home, and dropped a civil complaint summons.
One of the judge’s family members was home at the time of the break-in. The woman then took off in an SUV. A description has not been released and HPD says she has not been arrested yet. Authorities have opened an unauthorized entry into a dwelling case….
read … HPD investigating bizarre break-in at Oahu judge's home
Should Oahu Have Armed Police Officers Inside Its Schools?
CB: … Honolulu is the only county in Hawaii that doesn't use school resource officers. Some leaders feel that should change….
SA: Off the news: Kapolei High fight sparks stern warning | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
read … Should Oahu Have Armed Police Officers Inside Its Schools? - Honolulu Civil Beat
Large shipment of illegal fireworks seized in Honolulu
HTH: … Approximately 16 tons of illegal fireworks were seized in a shipping container late last week in Honolulu, the state Department of Law Enforcement announced today.
Nearly all the seized fireworks were illegal aerial fireworks consisting of multishot “cakes” or launchers capable of firing multiple fireworks into the air in long, consecutive strings of fire…..
SA: Hawaii task force seizes 16 tons of illegal fireworks | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
read … Large shipment of illegal fireworks seized in Honolulu - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Mililani Shooting Another Joseph Family Hit
SA: … HPD officers arrested Clinton B. Kaaialii Tuesday at 10:09 p.m. at 72 Lakeview Circle in Wahiawa on suspicion of murder in the second degree. Michael K. Caspino, 27, at 84-0730 Manuku Street on suspicion of murder in the second degree and promotional of a detrimental drug in the third degree at about 5:35 p.m.
(FUTURE: Two 20 yr terms pled down to 5 yrs each concurrent. Half off for good behavior and accounting for time served the killers will be out before they are even in.)
Barabbas Dietrich, 37, was identified by the Department of the Medical Examiner today. The cause and manner of his death are not yet available….
read … 2 men arrested in connection with Mililani fatal shooting
Convicted Child Predator Gets Manini Sentence After Long Delay In Standing Trial
CB: … Casey Nishimura was found guilty Aug. 24 of three counts of third-degree sexual assault and two counts of attempted third-degree sexual assault in independent cases involving two girls who were 11 and 13 at the time.
The incidents took place in 2014 and 2016….
“Because of his demeanor and his personality, it is likely that he would be allowed access to other children in our community in the future, and thereby reoffend,” Vindinha said
Somerville instead sentenced him to concurrent sentences — effectively a five-year prison term — and credited him for time served. Nishimura was also ordered to pay $4,963 in restitution, as well as another $1,000 in fees to victim funds.
(TRANSLATION: 2.5 yrs - time served = out real soon)
During sentencing Somerville repeatedly noted that Nishimura had failed to show remorse for his crimes or empathy for the victims. She noted the crimes involved “multiple victims, multiple offenses.”…
Nishimura’s trial was initially scheduled for March 12, 2018, but it was rescheduled 17 times over the next six years.
He was free on a $50,000 bail during that period and he received permission from presiding judges to travel to the mainland six times, once staying on Disneyland Drive in Anaheim.
In October 2022 his lawyer moved to dismiss the indictment as “defective” by arguing the prosecutors had not given his client sufficient notice of the charges because they “did not specify the nature and context of the alleged ‘sexual assault.'” The court later denied the motion.
In a separate court motion against him and Manoa Valley Church in May, Nishimura is alleged to have sexually assaulted a pair of sisters while at summer church sleepovers in 2001 and 2007. The sisters were between the ages of 5 and 7 at the time of the alleged assaults….
Before his 2017 indictment, Nishimura volunteered for three seasons as the assistant coach for the University of Hawaii women’s cross country and track and field teams.
read … Convicted Child Predator Sentenced After Long Delay In Standing Trial - Honolulu Civil Beat
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