Temporary Injunction Allows Unlicensed Midwives to Practice
Desperate to Avoid Bankruptcy, HECO Joins With Wildfire Plaintiffs Asking Maui Judge to Screw Insurance Companies out of $1.4B
CB: … Parties (other than insurers) are so close to a global settlement of Lahaina wildfire lawsuits that lawyers on opposing sides are asking a Maui judge to help remove a last apparent obstacle to a resolution.
(TRANSLATION: They want a ‘settlement’ which screws the insurers. The insurers will never agree, so this 'settlement' is a sham. Lucky you are reading Hawai'i Free Press. Nobody else will tell you these truths.)
Lawyers for Hawaiian Electric Industries on one side and the liaison counsel for thousands of individual plaintiffs on the other have both asked Maui Circuit Court Judge Peter Cahill to hold a status conference on Friday to resolve the issue: Whether insurers that have paid claims can get reimbursed before victims get compensated completely for the damages they suffered.
(TRANSLATION: HEI recognizes that it will go BK unless this plan is forced on the insurers.)
Insurers had paid out an astounding $2.09 billion in claims to policyholders for property, business interruption and other losses through the end of March, and the sum is growing. Insured losses are projected to top $3 billion. The sums are so staggering that they would eat up most of the pool of money defendants would put up as part of the global settlement, which is said to be more than $4 billion, according to parties familiar with the talks.
(TRANSLATION: If defendant HEI has to put up more money, it will go bankrupt. As a result, Hawaii political insiders will lose control of HEI as a power center. In BK proceedings, control will pass from Hawaii insiders to HEI creditors—all of whom are outside Hawaii. IDEA: To maintain local control, local banks buy up HEI debt cheap. LOL!)
‘The concern’ is that victims who were underinsured or uninsured will never be made whole if insurance companies get a priority when it comes to settlement payouts….
(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)
read … HECO Joins With Wildfire Plaintiffs In Asking Maui Judge To Help Break Settlement Logjam
Time to end affordable housing credits? Report finds they don’t work as intended
HTH: … Hawaii County’s incentives for building affordable housing don’t work, according to a study of the County Code.
On Tuesday, David Doezema, senior principal for real estate advisory firm Keyser Marston Associates, presented to a County Council committee a report outlining the effectiveness of Chapter 11 of the code, which requires that rezoned housing projects include a certain amount of affordable units, and offers some ways to fulfill that requirement.
The verdict, Doezema said, is that many of the provisions of Chapter 11 actually act contrary to their intended use, and that it is not feasible for affordable housing to be built in many of the island’s districts.
In particular, Doezema focused on the county’s affordable housing credit system, which was introduced in 2005. Under the credit system, developers who build more than the minimum number of affordable housing units in a development can earn affordable housing credits that can be sold to other developers, who can use those purchased credits to satisfy their own affordable housing requirements.
The credit system has created challenges for the county, most notably a 2022 corruption case wherein former County Housing employee Alan Scott Rudo fraudulently distributed credits to business entities owned by himself and co-conspirators, and sold those credits for a profit. Rudo himself received about $1.8 million in the scheme, and pleaded guilty in August 2022 of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
Among Doezema’s recommendations for improving the county’s affordable housing policy was a simple one: end the credit system entirely….
For example, Doezema illustrated that a 1,700-square-foot single-family home in Hilo would cost more to build under several different Chapter 11 incentives than the home’s market value. Single-family homes in Puna and Hamakua are similarly infeasible.
(TRANSLATION: The system is working exactly as intended.)
read … Time to end affordable housing credits? Report finds they don’t work as intended
Honolulu crime boss Michael Miske must forfeit $28M in assets
SA: … The jury that found Michael Miske Jr. guilty of racketeering conspiracy, murder, and 11 other felony charges today determined that he must forfeit a range of assets, including property, a Boston Whaler, Ferrari, and more than $3.6 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson estimated the value of all the assets at around $20 million to $28 million, which he said is the biggest individual forfeiture case in Hawaii….
read … Honolulu crime boss Michael Miske must forfeit millions in assets
Realtor claims he was harassed out of plan to house Maui fire survivors, residents respond
KITV: … Mooers said the plan went awry after he showed the prospective buyer the lot virtually via video call and decided to show his client the nearby beach, where he claimed two men accosted him.
"(One of the men) starts yelling at me and accusing me of being a slimeball realtor and using expletives," Mooers recalled.
The alleged incident occurred near what is commonly known as Kahana boat ramp.
"If there was violence, or anything involved in that, I do not condone that, but there may be some sort of feelings towards these people and may be that's why things got out of hand because we've been taken advantage of for so long," Lahaina Strong organizer Pa'ele Kiakona (son of multi-kilo meth dealer Moses Kiakona) ….
Mooers added the buyer pulled out after witnessing the reported confrontation (realizing what Hawaii is really like) ….
read … Realtor claims he was harassed out of plan to house Maui fire survivors, residents respond
‘Smart Fuses’ -- HECO Grid Modernization Strategy Would Have Contributed to Wildfire Risk
IM: … HECO saw opportunities to take advantage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2023. HECO applied an application for the federal government grant of $100 million towards the total cost of $215 million….
(CLUE: The purpose was to adapt to erratic ‘intermittent’ energy supplies from wind and solar.)
The Commission reopened the docket. Then the Maui Wildfires occurred. Like many dockets spanning the pre-fire and post-fire period, the substance of the proceeding was altered.
HECO filed an Updated and Supplemented Application on May 31, 2024.
“The ADMS and field devices will enable the Companies to perform group operations (e.g., multiple circuits on a single command based on preplanned scenarios), allowing for the ability to change protection schemes of installed field devices from the ADMS, including being able to block and unblock reclosing, as well as enable and disable fast-trip settings on select circuits in wildfire risk areas.”
“While the Companies have removed smart fuses from the updated Plan, this was due to the Companies’ focus on field devices that enable `grid flexibility` and not because of the Consumer Advocate’s assertion that smart fuses would potentially increase the risk of wildfires.”
(TRANSLATION: Adapting the grid to solar and wind increases wildfire risk.)
“The smart fuses the Companies would have deployed do not contain a link that will burn and emit sparks like traditional expulsion fuses. The break of the fault is done in an enclosed space which limits arcing and eliminates the fire hazard. “…
(IQ Test: Do you believe them?)
read … HECO Grid Modernization Strategy Impacted by Maui Wildfires
Navy crews conduct ‘spill drill’ to prepare to wash Red Hill fuel tanks
HNN: … Navy crews conducted a spill drill on Monday as they prepared to pressure wash fuel tanks at Red Hill.
Teams tested the emergency response to see if water and cleaning solutions were to be released unexpectedly.
Pressure washing on two tanks is scheduled to begin in mid-August and take about four months.
(CLUE: Navy is renovating the tanks with the intention of reopening Red Hill.)
The Navy says they are still on track to close Red Hill in 2028.
(CLUE: Stretch to 2029 and that gives them two chances for a new Administration to reverse Biden’s DoD.)
read … Navy crews conduct ‘spill drill’ to prepare to wash Red Hill fuel tanks
Bill 39 would nix Honolulu building permit affidavits
SA: … Among the many requirements to obtain a city-issued building permit, applicants must submit a sworn statement declaring they have no outstanding fines or liens payable to the City and County of Honolulu.
But Bill 39, introduced by City Council Chair Tommy Waters earlier this month, calls for the removal of notarized affidavits presented to the city Department of Planning and Permitting.
If passed, the bill might reduce the long wait times to get a city building permit, according to DPP Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna….
Takeuchi Apuna said updates to technology will replace DPP’s need for affidavits.
During a news conference in March, Takeuchi Apuna unveiled DPP’s technological initiatives — including those using artificial intelligence — to provide what the city contends will be automation, transparency and guidance to stream- line the building permit process.
Specifically, DPP will move away from its late 1990s-era POSSE permitting software system and launch new software that meets “current industry standards” and “will put us on the leading edge,” she said.
The new system, CLARITI — led by Speridian Technologies — is an “all-in-one permitting platform,” she said.
The system, up and running since February, is a $5.6 million project that’s expected to be completed by fall 2025, the city says.
DPP also admits that its permit backlog remains.
In April, DPP staffers told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that building permit applications that have a status of “plans review in progress” included over 4,730 applications for residential permits, and about 3,850 for commercial permits. But DPP asserts those numbers could vary….
KHON: Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting reduces permitting backlog - YouTube
GRIH: Honolulu Council acts to repeal outdated city transit ordinances
read … New bill would nix Honolulu building permit affidavits
HD23: Only One Candidate has a Correct Understanding of Homelessness
CBP: … Ikaika Olds, 39, says he learned to have empathy for homeless people serving in the Army in Iraq.
After seeing extreme poverty in southern Iraq, including famished children sleeping on the streets, Olds says he began to understand that their life circumstances were not their fault.
(CLUE: In Southern Iraq the homelessness was the result of decades of wars and oppression by Saddam’s regime. Here it is the result of methamphetamines and the closure of the insane asylums.)
“I began to see through the argument that homeless people are lazy, and that they should just get up and get a job,” Olds said. “It doesn’t work that way.”
Still, Olds advocates a tougher approach, using criminal statutes to remove homeless people from the streets.
In 2018, he was hired by the Department of Education as a community homeless liaison. He works to ensure homeless students are enrolled in school and able to connect with social services if their circumstances at home are impacting their success in the classroom.
He says many of his clients have been arrested, but they always wind up receiving light sentences or probation.
“They never seem to learn their lesson,” he said.
Olds wants the judicial system to dole out harsher sentences on repeat low-level offenders and enforce bans against homeless people sleeping in public parks. He said the state should create mandatory minimum sentences for the sorts of minor crimes homeless people often commit.
“I don’t mind being called the bad guy when it comes to homelessness,” Olds said. “Someone’s got to start getting them off the streets.”
He enthusiastically supports the Legislature’s push to build a new Oahu Correctional Community Center, estimated to cost nearly $1 billion. And for the jail’s mentally ill homeless population, he wants to build a special wing for people to receive treatment.
Major Hawaii unions have backed him. These include the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the state’s largest union with about 37,000 members, and United Public Workers, which represents about 11,000 public workers across the state. He’s also backed by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 and the political action committee VoteVets….
Read Ikaika Old’s Civil Beat Candidate Q&A survey here.
read … House Candidates In McCully And Moiliili Offer Sharply Contrasting Ideas On Homelessness
Election News:
QUICK HITS: