Jones Act reform increasingly popular as law's effects become better known
Maui Council updates county’s ‘circuit breaker’ home tax credit
OHA has a New COO
‘Land Trust’ Schemes to Grab Control of 100% of Lahaina Properties
SA: … A new report released Monday by the Hawai‘i Land Trust indicates that without intervention Lahaina could see an estimated 6.5% of residential properties totaling $122 million change hands over a year, and within three years a 20% turnover of ownership equating to at least $360 million.
(TRANSLATION: We want to make 100% turn over into our hands.)
The figures, which come from a report titled, “‘Aina Retention for Lahaina, Expanding community ownership to build community resilience in Maui Komohana,” are based on an average of a 15% increase in residential sales as documented in other disaster-ravaged communities.
Funded by the KL Felicitas Foundation, the report was prepared for the nonprofit HILT by Kahalawai Consulting principal Jonathan Likelike Scheuer and Maui-born and based associate Marina Starleaf Riker…
(CLUE: Ali’i Trust Agenda at work here.)
…‘Olu Campbell, HILT president and CEO, said that’s why a key takeaway of the report is that the expansion of community ownership of real estate in West Maui is one of the few solutions that could make homeownership more accessible and build the wealth of local families.
(See? Told you.)
He said in a statement, “Land trusts can help stabilize a community after a disaster, preserving the inseparable connection between people and aina, ranging from affordable housing to commercial space to farmland to critical ecosystems.”
(TRANSLATION: We want to make 100% turn over into our hands.)
Campbell told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Hawaii already has at least a dozen existing land trusts, which acquire and hold community interests in real estate and steward properties ranging from affordable housing to commercial space to farmlands and critical ecosystems.
(TRANSLATION: We want to make 100% turn over into our hands.)
He said historically, HILT has not engaged in community-based residential models like Na Hale o Maui, a community land trust that was doing housing work on Maui before the fires, or the Lahaina Community Land Trust, which was formed soon after the Maui wildfires.
Campbell said HILT has discussed engaging in residential community-based models but has not determined whether it will proceed. He said the purpose of the study was to supply research to provide the community with proven models that have helped other disaster-ravaged communities build resilience. Visit hilt.org/resources to read the study. ….
(TRANSLATION: We want to make 100% turn over into our hands. We are deciding whether we can get away with it.)
SA: Editorial: Maui postfire gaps need urgent action
read … Lahaina homes face 20% turnover in 3 years
Lahaina Fire Victims Could Build Temporary Homes In The Burn Zone If This Bill Passes
CB: … Maui fire victims could delay high home reconstruction costs while more swiftly returning to their scarred properties under a bill the Maui County Council is taking up Friday.
The legislation would create a pathway for property owners to build temporary dwellings on their land for up to five years….
The council’s Water and Infrastructure Committee passed the bill unanimously on June 6 with an amendment requiring county building officials to interface with property owners at the 3.5-year mark to remind them that their permit expires after five years….
The bill has also been widened to include geographies outside the burn zone. This change is meant to help facilitate projects like Ohana Hope Village, a modular home housing project for displaced fire survivors in Central Maui.
The legislation can only be activated during an emergency as dictated by a state or local emergency proclamation. The bill is meant to transcend the August 2023 wildfires so that it could be utilized during future disasters….
Bill 87: Text, Status
read … Lahaina Fire Victims Could Build Temporary Homes In The Burn Zone If This Bill Passes
As outages continue Gov. Green wants HECO to stay strong
KHON: … Hawaii Governor Josh Green joined Wake Up 2Day Monday to talk about that and other issues facing the islands.
“As we go through the settlements, which we should do to make sure people are made whole and cared for in Maui, the question will be do we end up seeing HECO hobbled?” Governor Green asked. “Or will they have enough resources to care for the whole state? And so my team is working kind of feverishly to make sure that the settlements are both kind and generous to anyone who struggled or suffered on Maui, and that we can go forward as a state. The rolling blackouts are a concern, HECO is going to have to have money if they’re going to continue to be our essentially primary energy team. So the settlement will tell the tale going forward, I have to be mindful of that because I can’t leave us in a position where HECO is too weak to do all of the renewable energy. Even my own office over at the State Capitol didn’t have power once last week. So we’re kind of right at the tipping point, we’ll solve the problem.”
SA: Power remains out for 3,000 customers in Chinatown, parts of downtown Honolulu
SA: Editorial: Readiness vital for power shutoff plan
read … As outages continue Gov. Green wants HECO to stay strong | KHON2
Green: Aloha Stadium Developer to be Announced Soon
KHON: … “I’ll give you the final decision within the next two weeks,” Governor Green said of a chosen developer of the project. “It looks good. We have a fantastic plan. And it looks like the choice that appears to be getting made in the next few moments is going to be a great one for us. I would love to see having a stadium in the future for all of Hawaii.” ….
read … As outages continue Gov. Green wants HECO to stay strong | KHON2
Recidivism News: Sandwich Isles Communications Broke The Law When It Cut Services To Hawaiian Homelands
CB: … Sandwich Isles Communications violated state laws and its obligations to its customers when it cut telephone and broadband services earlier this month without ample warning and is likely to face penalties for abandoning its services, according to testimony Monday before the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.
Sandwich Isles’ (criminal and ex-con) President Al Hee was in the hot seat for much of Monday’s six-hour hearing to determine if the company broke the law when it gave its customers just a week’s notice that service could be terminated in late May. Its customers were given even less notice when services were actually cut in early June.
State and federal laws as well as Sandwich Isles’ certificate of authority, all of which allow it to operate in the state, require at least 30 days notice.
“There’s no doubt that we did not conform with the certificate of authority,” Hee said in his closing arguments….
The PUC is expected to issue a written order that lays out what penalties, if any, Sandwich Isles will face and what the next steps will be to address the ongoing service disruption, PUC Chairman Leo Asuncion said….
(A criminal committing more crimes, what a surprise!)
VIDEO: Hearing on Order to Show Cause against Sandwich Isles Communications, Inc. – Docket No. 2024-0164 - YouTube
HPR: PUC rules on Sandwich Isles Communications after abrupt Hawaiian Home Lands service cutoff | Hawai'i Public Radio (hawaiipublicradio.org)
BIVN: Albert Hee Questioned During Hawaiʻi PUC Hearing On Sandwich Isles Communications (bigislandvideonews.com)
KITV: Hawaii PUC to rule on Sandwich Isles Communications after Hawaiian Homelands internet cutoff
read … Sandwich Isles Communications Broke The Law When It Cut Services To Hawaiian Homelands
Lee Loy candidacy confirmed
HTH: … Hawaii Chief Election Officer Scott Nago ruled Monday that County Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy is eligible to run for the state House District 2 seat vacated when Rep. Richard Onishi decided not to run for a seventh term.
Lee Loy, who has served on the council since 2016, is term limited, and can’t run again to represent Council District 3….
RELATED: Police Corruption Scandals Revenge for Gambling Prosecutions?
read … Lee Loy candidacy confirmed
FBI, police investigating following extended ‘network outage’ at organization that runs TheBus
HNN: … The city confirms that the organization that runs TheBus is working with the FBI and Honolulu police to investigate a “network outage,” but Hawaii News Now has learned an international cybersecurity company is calling it a ransomware attack.
Monday was the third day of the outage at Oahu Transit Services.
International cybersecurity firm Falcon Feeds said on social media that OTS fell victim to DragonForce, a ransomware ring that operates out of Malaysia.
While TheBus is still running, its website is down ….
In December 2021, a ransomware attack shut down Oahu Transit Services computer systems. Back then, law enforcement sources said hackers had been in its system at least two weeks…
CB: FBI, Police Investigate Possible Ransomware Attack At TheBus, Handi-Van
KITV: Oahu bus passengers left wondering when their ride will arrive | Local | kitv.com
read … FBI, police investigating following extended ‘network outage’ at organization that runs TheBus
Trial to begin for ex-OCCC officer in 2016 murder, kidnapping case
SA: … A former Oahu Community Correctional Center training officer, indicted eight years ago on murder and kidnapping charges in the 2016 fatal shooting of his 66-year-old mother and kidnapping of a 48-year-old woman, made a last-minute request Monday for a jury- waived trial in Oahu Circuit Court.
Anthony F. Pereira II, who was 44 years old at the time of the June 10, 2016, shooting, was scheduled to stand trial this week before a jury on charges of second-degree murder, kidnapping and first-degree terroristic threatening, along with drug and firearm charges.
Instead the now 52-year-old Maili man asked for and was granted a bench trial before Judge Rowena Somerville, which is set to begin today.
Proceedings toward trial were halted after Judge Colette Garibaldi determined on Feb. 8, 2017, that Pereira was unfit to proceed to trial after consideration of reports by three mental health experts. During the suspension of the proceedings, he was committed to the custody of the Department of Health director and placed in the Hawaii State Hospital….
Pereira had been a training sergeant at OCCC at the time of the June 10, 2016, shooting at his Maili home but had not shown up to work since April 10, 2016, and was placed on unpaid leave, the then-Department of Public Safety reported at the time. He had worked for the department since 2002….
SA: Ex-OCCC officer in murder, kidnapping case had baggie of meth in his pocket
read … Trial to begin for ex-OCCC officer in 2016 murder, kidnapping case
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