40% of Lahaina Burn Zone Survivors Face Difficulty Accessing Medical Care
How DHS Policy Change Drives Homeless Count UP, UP, UP
Honolulu Highest Inflation in USA
Curt Otaguro Named new Boss of Airports Division
Feds Designate 2,000,000 Acres of Hawaii as 'Sentinel Landscapes'
Lahaina Burn Zone Sewer Service Partially Restored
Pay-To-Play: ‘Heads of state agencies and divisions often get their positions because of their political activities and connections’
CB: … The Hawaii State Ethics Commission is trying to figure out how to wrangle two groups of people who are proving particularly challenging: high-level state employees who are politically active and legislators who have outside jobs with companies that have government business. …
Regulating the political activity of state employees also may be difficult.
For years, people tied to companies that have state contracts have been able to socialize with state officials in charge of their contracts in casual settings or at political fundraisers.
Cynthia Thielen, an ethics commissioner and a former legislator, implored Harris and his staff to find ways to make those kinds of engagements unethical
He added that the heads of state agencies and divisions often get their positions because of their political activities and connections.
The commissioners said they plan to continue discussing issues around contracting and lobbying disclosures ahead of the 2025 legislative session, set to begin next January….
PDF: 2024-05-15SunshineLawAgenda.pdf (hawaii.gov)
read … Hawaii Ethics Commission Grapples With Pay-To-Play Issues
Guess Who Just Got Out Of Federal Prison Already?
CB: … Someone called The Sunshine Blog to say they just saw former Sen. J. Kalani English in the Costco on Maui. Nah, The Blog said, he’s still in federal prison. Isn’t he?
How time flies. English was released on March 26, after just 19 months in the federal pokey.
So, as it turns out, blatant abuse of the public trust didn’t really keep English behind bars all that long after all.
Or former state Rep. Ty Cullen for that matter. He’s already out, too. Federal prison records show he came home April 30, just 11 months after he went off to the federal lockup….
English was originally sentenced to 40 months but that was reduced to 32 months by the guideline change. And then he’s out in 19….
Cullen, who stayed out of prison a bit longer while he cooperated with federal investigators, was sentenced to 24 months, reduced to 19 months by the guideline change. Out in 11….
Choy, who as it turns out wore a wire and cooperated with the feds for several years while wining and dining elected officials as well as a couple of Maui County guys who also went to prison, is still locked up in North Carolina. The very helpful inmate lookup feature shows his release date as July 2026….
read … Guess Who Just Got Out Of Federal Prison Already?
Redwood City man's arrest reveals secret Hawaii/California meth ring and alleged motive for social worker's targeted killing
BNG: … Filimone Tavake, 36, is due to appear in federal court Thursday to be arraigned on a murder charge in the March 2021 death of Malakai “Mo” Maumalanga.
The crime shocked the community of Aiea in Honolulu, where Maumalanga was killed, and revelations about the alleged motive only added fuel to the fire. Authorities claim Tavake killed Maumalanga over eight pounds of methamphetamine that were advanced to Maumalanga but never paid for and that Tavake warned him things were escalating to the “no talking part” before the shooting.
Media reports in Hawaii describe Maumalanga as a former gang member who spent 20 years counseling at-risk youth and working for nonprofits.
Tavake was arrested on March 22 in Redwood City, almost three years to the day after he allegedly shot and killed Maumalanga in a carport at Maumalanga’s apartment. Authorities allege the eight pounds of methamphetamine were found in Maumalanga’s apartment after the killing and that Tavake got on a plane to San Francisco the day after the shooting. Two guns were used to kill Maumalanga, police said….
FBI: Office of Public Affairs | Man Charged with Murder in Relation to Methamphetamine Trafficking
SA: Man accused of killing Adult Friends for Youth counselor pleads not guilty
KHON: California man faces Hawaii Court for alleged drug-trafficking murder
read … Redwood City man's arrest reveals secret Hawaii/California meth ring and alleged motive for social worker's targeted killing
Soft on Crime: Standoff suspect granted mental exam, freed on cashless bail by judge
HTH: … A Kona judge has freed a 32-year-old Ocean View man accused of breaking and entering a home and then engaging police in a lengthy armed standoff on Sunday.
Kona District Judge Kimberly Tsuchiya on Tuesday granted supervised release —a form of cashless bail — to Kamren Adams….
After telling the man to go away and calling the police, the woman said she heard glass shattering and the man was inside. When she told him to leave and that she had called the police the man allegedly brandished a black semi-automatic pistol and said something to the effect of, “where’s my wife and kid? I’m gonna kill them.”
The woman reportedly ran, hid and was later able to escape the home, but saw the man with what appeared to be a black AR-15-type rifle with a scope, yelling obscenities and threatening to kill anyone present.
When officers arrived, they saw a shirtless man at the top of the driveway with a black semi-automatic pistol. Police say the man ran inside when he saw them and barricaded himself in the house….
Flashback 2013: Clinton stabbing suspect out of jail on $50,000 bail | South Whidbey Record
read … Standoff suspect granted mental exam, freed by judge - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Unreliable Flights Causing Medical Access ‘Crisis’
MD: … Molokai residents are continuing to struggle with unreliable flights on the island’s only air carrier, and many say they have missed critical medical appointments off island because of delays….
HNN: Molokai residents say island's only scheduled airline service has become major barrier to healthcare
HPR: Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi residents say unreliable flights hinder access to critical health care
read … Unreliable Flights Causing Medical Access ‘Crisis’
Backlash on announcement of 18th Mauna ‘Ala curator prompts meeting with Hawaii organization leaders
KHON: … Four royal societies along with the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs and OHA said they had asked to be part of the selection process, but were ignored by the state….
read … Backlash on announcement of 18th Mauna ‘Ala curator prompts meeting with Hawaii organization leaders
California Junk Fee Transparency Law May Affect Hawaii Tourism
BH: … “A place of short-term lodging, an internet website, application, or other similar centralized platform, or any other person shall not advertise, display, or offer a room rate, as defined in Section 17561, that does not include all fees or charges required to stay at the short-term lodging except taxes and fees imposed by a government on the stay.” -- California Assembly Bill 537….
read … New Law Starts July: Impact on Hawaii Travel Reservations Revealed
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