Existing short-term Hawaii rentals may remain in operation, judge rules
Help Maui fire victims, but not by abusing STR owners
Could fixing our housing crisis really be so simple?
Air Tours to be Restricted over Volcanoes National Park
Ways to make it easier for private homebuilders to build more homes
Long-term rental tax relief should include mixed-use properties
Judge denies ex-city prosecutor’s last ditch effort to have public corruption case thrown out after lawyer indicted as co-conspirator
HNN: … The defendants — Dennis Mitsunaga, Terri Ann Otani, Aaron Fujii and Chad McDonald — are all executives at the engineering firm Mitsunaga and Associates….
The attorney who represented them, Sheri Jean Tanaka, was named as a co-conspirator in a superseding indictment.
The firm is accused of cashing in on political favors for campaign donations to Kaneshiro, who allegedly prosecuted a former Mitsunaga and Associates employee who sued the firm.
Seabright’s ruling, filed earlier this month, offers a rare peek into the usually secret proceedings of the grand jury.
It shows the employees — while grand jury witnesses — refused to answer the special prosecutor’s questions, citing self-incrimination….
“You cannot just simply take the stand and say, I’m invoking my Fifth Amendment to all questions asked, that’s not permitted,” said Alexander Silvert, a retired federal public defender.
“If they asked you your name, you can’t invoke your Fifth,” Silvert said.
Rather, the defense could be used for questions that include what someone saw or did.
The ruling shows several of them had to be compelled by another judge to answer some of the questions, including defendant Terri Otani, the executive director of Mitsunaga and Associates….
Steven Wong, another employee and Joann Fujii, wife of an executive, and others all tried to invoke the Fifth Amendment to every question and ended up being forced to testify.
Arnold Koya, a vice president at the firm, even ended up spending the night at the Federal Detention Center for ignoring a judge’s order to do so….
The trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 27 with jury selection. Hundreds of prospective jurors have filled out questionnaires….
read … Judge denies ex-city prosecutor’s last ditch effort to have public corruption case thrown out
Lawyers have a lot of work before the Miske trial starts
ILind: … Witness lists shall be filed on or before January 5, 2024 ….
read … Lawyers have a lot of work before the Miske trial starts
Hannemann: “We have an opportunity to use this crisis”
SA: … The Hawaii Tourism Authority has less than a month to shore up uncertainties surrounding its budget, leadership for the agency and for some key contractors before the state Legislature convenes its 2024 session.
HTA has faced increased scrutiny over the past several legislative sessions; however, this year the stakes are higher as lawmakers concluded last session with unfinished business. HTA was left without a dedicated budget when House Bill 1375, which contained HTA’s only appropriation, was deferred because Senate conferees, who sought to establish an Office of Destination Management under the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, were at an impasse with House conferees.
Hannemann added, “It’s a lot on our plate, but I think we have an opportunity to use this (Maui) crisis to demonstrate that there is a need for an HTA. We are going to be (talking) with the key stakeholders. This economic recovery plan that we came out with for Maui (on Thursday) is a great example of how we went out there and we listened. Even the group of protesters, we addressed one of their major concerns, which was a post-arrival educational program.”
Still, there are some headwinds on the horizon. HTA asked for a $69 million operating budget for this year, but it was cut to $60 million by Gov. Josh Green and the state Budget and Finance Department. The HTA board went into executive session Thursday to discuss the revised budget but did not take any action. Hannemann said the board will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. Jan. 2 to determine whether it will make cuts or instead seek full funding from the state Legislature….
SA: Head of Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau to step down | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
read … Leadership roles in limbo as Hawaii Tourism Authority preps for Legislature
Maui Starts Building Temporary Landfill For Wildfire Ash And Debris
CB: … More than 200 people turned out for a community meeting in Lahaina this week focused on the county’s plans for burying huge amounts of toxic waste from the August wildfire that killed at least 100 people.
County and federal officials repeatedly said at the meeting that they have reached no final decision about where to permanently store some 400,000 cubic yards of ash and debris contaminated with arsenic, lead, cobalt, copper and an array of other substances harmful to human health.
But for the time being, plans are moving forward so that a temporary facility under construction in Olowalu can start receiving material in mid January. The community should expect to see “a lot of trucks,” officials said, as that works gets underway at the site roughly 7 miles south of Lahaina ….
MN: Before-and-after photos of Lahaina burn zone show impact of debris removal
read … Maui Starts Building Temporary Landfill For Wildfire Ash And Debris Despite Public Concerns
With $2B in unspent construction money, schools superintendent pretends to pledge to overhaul process
HNN: … Molokai and East Maui Sen. Lynne DeCoite said lawmakers can’t assume that projects they’ve approved and funded are making progress.
“It’s frustrating because now I gotta go back to my constituents (to say) why we no more school for Paia now -- that we use the closets for classroom,” Decoite said. “We put our trust in you guys.” …
the Director of Hui for Excellence in Education Director Cheri Nakamura said lawmakers could also be responsible for the situation because they keep adding new school projects in their districts.
“Maybe a new track or a football field or performing arts center, which is great. I think everybody wants to have new, shiny facilities,” Nakamura said.
Nakamura says more focus is needed on basic needs.
“Our schools need maintaining our facilities need renovating they’re old buildings, and I think the importance really should be for fixing things as fast as possible,” she said.
Nakamura says that’s one thing DOE has been doing better in recent years — with a purchasing and construction process that may be a lesson for the rest of the department….
read … With $2B in unspent construction money, schools superintendent pledges to overhaul process
Fuel found in some homes on Navy water system, new EPA report finds
SA: … now, more than two years after the November 2021 incident, a report from the Environmental Protection Agency released this week confirmed that there are still detectable levels of fuel in some homes on the Navy water system….
EPA investigators tested four homes of residents complaining of symptoms. Three of them had traces of petroleum in the water — including the Dietz family’s. In each case, previous Navy testing had shown no traces….
PDF: EPA Drinking Water Complain…
KITV: Environmental report finds that fuel is still lingering in drinking water at Red Hill
read … Fuel found in some homes on Navy water system, new EPA report finds
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