Crooks and Cronies on the Move in Primary Races
Judge pares down charges against accused Hawaii crime boss
Green: Civil Beat Publisher will Steer Hawaii's Applications for Federal Funds
Crime Pays: Total Hits $24M--Honolulu to pay another $7M for ‘injuries’ in 2021 Makaha police chase
SA: … The settlement was accepted Thursday by attorney Eric Seitz in Oahu Circuit Court. Seitz represents the family of Dayton Gouveia, who was 14 years old at the time of the crash. The settlement offer came after at least two mediation sessions and one settlement conference were unsuccessful….
Gouveia was a passenger and was …uh… ‘paralyzed for months from the neck down’. (TRANSLATION: He got better.) Doctors estimated in his civil suit that the health care services he will need throughout his life will cost about $7 million. (Uh-huh.)
Gouveia is working through depression and has permanent nerve damage and injuries to his neck and back that have led to mobility and balance issues and problems with internal functions. (Uh-huh.)
Seitz told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview that his team plans to pursue “additional contributions” of money from the driver of the car, (lifelong criminal) Jonaven Perkins-Sinapati, who got $12.5 million (for similar injury claims, but then got busted shooting off his ghost gun in Ewa); and the owner of the car, Perkins-Sinapati’s then-girlfriend.
Four other passengers who sustained injuries in the early morning crash recently settled with the city for $4.5 million. Those passengers were 17, 18, 20 and 21 years old at the time of the crash.
“I’m very unhappy with the way the matter was handled by city lawyers,” said Seitz…
In all, the Sept. 12, 2021, police chase of a car leaving an early morning beach park party has cost taxpayers at least $24 million. The incident is one of the costliest civil matters in Honolulu history. …
On Sept. 11, Seitz filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Honolulu Police Department’s motor vehicle pursuit policy is defective….
CB: Honolulu Tentatively Agrees To $7 Million Settlement With Remaining Makaha Crash Victim
Cops will get their jobs back: Secret Arbitration Revealed: How DPS Official Kept Crooked Cop On The Job After FBI Raid
read … Honolulu attorneys agree to pay $7M to boy injured in 2021 Makaha police chase
Rep. Micah Aiu Wrongly Claims Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Property Tax Exemptions
CB: … House Rep. Micah Aiu has owned a Kinau Street apartment near downtown since 2018 but has been (allegedly) ‘living’ (with mommy) in Moanalua, which he represents, since 2021….
State Rep. Micah Aiu appears to be violating city law allowing homeowners to claim a tax exemption for their primary residence.
Aiu, an attorney in his first term in the House, has owned a Kinau Street apartment near downtown since 2018 but has been living with his mom, state Sen. Donna Kim, in Moanalua since 2021 — nearly seven miles away.
But he has benefitted from a $120,000 home exemption this year for an apartment that he owns in House District 25, which represents Ala Moana, Kakaako and Downtown.
Aiu also qualified for property tax exemptions totaling $300,000 from 2020 through 2023….
That would appear to violate a City and County of Honolulu ordinance that allows homeowners property tax exemptions based on the total assessed value of the place where they reside. On his financial disclosure with the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, Aiu makes clear that the Kinau Street apartment is not his personal residence, as claimed in city tax records.
The city law requires that an owner notify the assessor within 30 days if the property no longer qualifies for an exemption….
RELATED: Crooks and Cronies on the Move in Primary Races
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read … State Lawmaker Wrongly Claims Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Property Tax Exemptions
A Return To Lahaina? Camping Out On His Vacant Lot Sounds Perfect To This Fire Victim
CB: … “Technically, there’s still gates that you have to clear to get into the neighborhood, you have to show a pass and you have to be out of there by 4 p.m.,” said U‘i Kahue-Cabanting, Mario’s business partner and former housemate. “But we’ve heard rumors about people camping already on top of their gravel and saying, basically, ‘Screw it. There’s no housing for me so I’m going to camp on top of the gravel on my land.’ And that’s what we’re thinking about doing, too.”
(CLUE: Too bad Josh Green rejected FEMA trailers for burn victims. Homeowners could be using them right now to live on their lots while rebuilding, thus reducing pressure on the rental market.)
read … A Return To Lahaina? Camping Out On His Vacant Lot Sounds Perfect To This Fire Victim
FEMA extends hotel shelters through end of June—600 still in hotels
KHON: … State emergency officials negotiated an extension with FEMA for hotel room stays for Lahaina wildfire survivors. June 10 was supposed to be the end of the hotel sheltering program, but state officials said residents need more time to transition into more permanent housing.
Nearly 600 people or 230 households remain living in hotel rooms 10 months into the wildfire disaster response….
The state’s Emergency Management Agency’s Director James Barros said FEMA will continue to shelter residents through at least the end of the month.
“The state requested an extension with FEMA and we got the extension to the end of the month,” said Barros. “Right now the non-congregate shelter program on Maui got extended to June 30.”
Barros said this is likely not the last time the state requests an extension with FEMA.
“We anticipate some families still in hotels up until maybe October,” said Barros. “We are in conversations with FEMA and they are posturing themselves to be able to handle that 50 households.”…
HNN: With 100s of fire survivors still in hotels, concerns about disaster’s impact on rental market grows
read … FEMA extends hotel shelters through end of June
Land Use Commission Members and Developer Blame CWRM For Stalled Housing Project Near Lahaina
EH: … On May 8, the Land Use Commission met on Maui to receive an update on a project that first received LUC approval more than three decades ago. Initially, more than 1,700 homes were proposed for what was called Puʻukoliʻi Village, although that was pared back to 940 for the more makai portion, with still more units planned for the more makai so-called Puʻukoliʻi Triangle area. The original LUC Decision & Order (D&O) called for some 340 units in the Triangle area, but now that number is uncertain, given the landowner’s changed plans….
read … Land Use Commission Members and Developer Blame CWRM For Stalled Housing Project Near Lahaina
'It's everywhere' labor shortage plaguing every industry
KHON: … “As labor chair, I’ve been trying to figure out where all the workers have gone,” Matayoshi said. “Anecdotally, I’ve heard that a lot of Hawaii families have moved to the mainland.”
That may have something to do with it according to the US Census Bureau. From July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, Hawaii’s population dropped from over 1,439,399 to just over 1,435,138….
Hilton said it’s difficult when every industry and other states are competing for workers, especially since it’s cheaper on the mainland.
“Living in Hawaii continues to be a challenge,” Raethel explained. “The cost of housing is a challenge, the cost of gasoline, the cost of utilities, the cost of food. So that’s a challenge, not only for health care workers but for all of the workers in our community.” …
read … 'It's everywhere' labor shortage plaguing every industry (khon2.com)
Why does power keep going out in Waipio?
SA: … From the beginning of April through the end of May, residents of Waipio Gentry experienced six electrical power outages. The last two were on May 27 from 7:42 to 9:20 p.m. and on May 29 from 9:30 to 11 p.m. We reported the outages to Hawaiian Electric and informed our state representative and also the state Public Utilities Commission. As of May 31 we had not been given a plausible answer. I was hoping I would receive answers before June 4, but instead we had another outage the following day that lasted from 4:21 to 11 p.m. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
… Here is the full emailed response from Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Darren Pai: “We apologize for the inconvenience and we know we need to do better. The outages in Waipahu and Waipio were caused by faults in the underground electrical cables in the area, which are connected to circuits that include overhead power lines subject to new wildfire safety settings. These safety features are set at a higher sensitivity, shutting off power quickly if any disruption is detected….
read … Kokua Line: Why does power keep going out in Waipio?
BWS: COVID related water stagnation behind legionella bacteria detected at federal building
HNN: … The federal government is testing water systems, such as in the courthouse, because large sections of the facilities were empty for years during the pandemic.
A half dozen other federal buildings outside Hawaii have had detectable levels of legionella.
read … BWS seeks to reassure public after legionella bacteria detected at federal building
DHHL Plan: Use 1,300 acres to create 73 lots
HTH: … Under the plan, about 400 acres of the land — largely around the Kapoho Coast Road — would be set aside for kuleana lots, with another 332 acres dedicated toward community agricultural use. Much of the coastal acreage and other scattered parcels would be free for community use, and the last 240 acres would be kept as conservation land.
Settlement of the area would take place in a phased process, with the first phase involving up to 38 lots between 3.5 and 15 acres in size along either side of the Kapoho Coast Road. Phase 2 would include up to 35 lots between 1 and 3 acres in size mauka of Kapoho Coast Road.
Phases 3 and 4 would establish the conservation, agricultural and community lands.
The plan estimates that leases for first phase lots — which also could be used for agricultural purposes — could be awarded as soon as January 2026. However, new homes on those lots would be built over time, “potentially as soon as early 2027,” the plan states.
Because of the nature of kuleana homesteads, lease awardees at King’s Landing might have a rough few years. The kuleana model was developed in 1998 as an effort to speed up the notoriously glacial DHHL awardal process. According to a DHHL summary of the kuleana model’s goals, the model “places Native Hawaiian beneficiaries on undeveloped land when they are young enough to physically be able to actively utilize the land they have settled on.”
Because kuleana leases require residence on the land, beneficiaries would be living largely off-grid and building their own homes….
read … DHHL plan would develop more than 1,300 acres at King’s Landing - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Porn Producer Blackmails Hawaii Viewers
CB: … An adult film company known variously as a “copyright troll” and “the Steven Spielberg of porn” is campaigning in Honolulu to stop alleged piracy of its “high-end, artistic and performer-inspiring motion pictures” distributed on sites with names like “Tushy,” “MILFY” and “Vixen.”
Strike 3 Holdings LLC of Delaware has filed 132 lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Honolulu since 2022, court records show. While the suits say they’re meant to protect cinema that’s “had positive global impact,” others including lawyers and judges have a different view of Strike 3.
They say the producer coerces people to settle lawsuits quickly for fear of being outed publicly for watching Strike 3’s prurient fare, which people allegedly download and share through a peer-to-peer file-sharing program called BitTorrent….
…At least one federal judge has backed a defendant standing up against Strike 3’s request to subpoena the alleged pirate’s ISP records. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth of the District of Columbia said Strike 3’s need for discovery didn’t outweigh the potentially non-infringing defendant’s right to anonymity, which is the legal test in the federal Second Circuit.
Lamberth also had some choice words for Strike 3 and other “copyright trolls,” describing them as bullies who would pick on the weak and flee at the first sign of a fight.
“If a Billy Goat Gruff moves to confront a copyright troll in court, the troll cuts and runs back under its bridge,” Lamberth wrote. “Perhaps the trolls fear a court disrupting their rinse-wash-and-repeat approach: file a deluge of complaints; ask the court to compel disclosure of the account holders; settle as many claims as possible; abandon the rest.” …
AL: Can You Afford to Ignore a Strike 3 Holdings Notice in Hawaii? - Antonelli Law (antonelli-law.com)
read … Porn Producer Is Waging War In Honolulu Against Alleged Copyright Pirates - Honolulu Civil Beat
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