Meet the Meth Gang Behind ‘Lahaina Strong’
Ninth Circuit rejects Hawaii rule sealing medical records in court filings
Kennedy will not be on Hawaii Ballot?
Deputy Killed Himself after Threats from Investigators Over Minor Homeless Hassle
SA: …A 32-year-old sheriff’s deputy found dead in his apartment Monday was allegedly being pressured about his role in an incident that led to him and four other deputies having their police powers restricted in June, according to an email sent Tuesday to the entire Department of Law Enforcement written by another of the suspended deputies.
Jordan J. Kagehiro’s body was found during a welfare check of his home. The DLE announced his death in a news release Monday that made no mention of his employment status, or when he was found.
Kagehiro, a U.S. Army Reservist, was both “a witness in this investigation and is part of the investigation,” Jordan Lowe, DLE director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview, saying that Kagehiro was not being pressured despite claims in the email.
Kagehiro and four other sheriff’s deputies were placed on restriction of police authority June 10, with “no mention of what we are being accused of, till this day still nothing,” according to the profanity laced email from one of the suspended deputies, Raul Rodriguez, that was obtained by the Star-Advertiser.
(QUESTION: Where was their HGEA BU14 union rep?)
Kagehiro was allegedly the last deputy on the scene of an incident involving a homeless woman at the state Capitol, according to multiple law enforcement sources. He and another deputy who drove were allegedly ordered to transport the woman away from the Capitol and they dropped her off at Sandy Beach Park.
Prior to Kagehiro’s arrival on the scene, deputies allegedly used force to detain the woman at the Capitol but did not file use of force reports, per department policy….
Kagehiro was allegedly threatened by an investigator with the DLE’s Criminal Investigation Division with “jail, federal charges, and being kicked out of the Army and then they isolated him telling him he could not talk to anyone or there would be repercussions.
“Myself, Deputy Kagehiro, and three other deputies were put on this ROPA status for a frivolous charge which is still being investigated,” wrote Rodriguez.
Kagehiro was “singled out” because he was in the same recruit class as a CID investigator, Rodriguez alleged, noting that Kagehiro retained a private attorney.
DLE investigators were “dragging” the investigation out “hoping people get more scared, now this poor kid ran out of money. Can everyone see the picture I’m painting, threatened, afraid, no money, going to jail, can’t talk to no one, what’s there to live for, right?,” wrote Rodriguez, who blamed DLE’s top leaders and the head CID investigator for Kagehiro’s death. “Now he is gone.…”
Rodriguez wrote that Kagehiro took his own life with a handgun and that the DLE’s administrators do not have the “courage to tell his family why he did this but no worries because I will make sure his family, the media, and anyone who wants to know the facts of this suicide knows the truth.”.…
Kagehiro graduated from the most recent Law Enforcement Recruit Class on Dec. 15 after six months and more than 1,000 hours of training.
The sheriff’s division was absorbed by the DLE Jan. 1 ….
(CLUE: Sheriffs are poorly represented by HGEA. They need to decertify HGEA and join SHOPO.)
read … Suspended sheriff’s deputy allegedly pressured before death
Maui Economic Director’s Business Associate Got Contracts From Her County Office
CB: … The Maui County economic development director under investigation by county officials for possible conflicts of interest played a role in awarding more than $200,000 in grants to a business associate, records reviewed by Civil Beat show.
Luana Mahi, the county economic development director, was formerly the president of the Maui Food Technology Center.
Linn Nishikawa served for four years on the volunteer board of directors of the center, alongside Mahi. When Mahi left the nonprofit to become Maui’s economic development director in 2023, Nishikawa became the vice president of the food center.
During that same time, a different company run by Nishikawa has received more than $200,000 in grants and contracts from Mahi’s office …
In just one year, A Maui County Appointee Oversaw $1.4M Grants To Profitable Nonprofits Tied To Her Family Members
Maui Economic Development: Official Gets Paid Leave After Giving $1.4M to Friends and Family
Maui’s Hidden Ethics – Who is Hiding Behind the Redactions?
read … Maui Economic Director’s Business Associate Got Contracts From Her County Office
Rail and stadium red flags
CB: … Talk about lingering disasters. Aloha Stadium began to self-destruct in the ’80s, and rail has been around for a quarter of a century.
Now both have awarded huge contracts — progress! But they went to bidders who faced no competition — uh-oh!
A second potential stadium bidder pulled out with a “sudden exit for unspecified reasons.” For rail, other potential bidders also pulled out.
Single bids are the upside-down flags of public policy. What Jeff Portnoy, a former member of the UH Board of Regents, said about the stadium bid just as easily applies to HART. The lack of bidders was a “setback” putting the projects in “a very tenuous position that could cause delay.” Or worse….
SA: Stadium Authority expects to award contract soon | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … Neal Milner: Too Many Problems In Hawaii Seem Lost In Space - Honolulu Civil Beat
Phoney Baloney: Green Shocked, Just Shocked that State Farm refusing to settle Maui claims for 12 cents on the dollar
SA: … (after skipping multiple paragraphs of rhetoric against ‘greedy’ insurers and ‘charitable’ lawyers, we get to this nugget) …
… So far, over 160 insurance companies have paid out $2.3 billion in claims to Maui victims, with expectations of another $1 billion in payments.
State Farm has been involved in each step of mediation that led to the tentative “global settlement” on Aug. 2, Green said.
“They made offer after offer after offer, all of which were gigantic demands,” Green said.
The insurance industry initially wanted $65 billion, then $30 billion, $12 billion and then $7 billion in the settlement, Green said….
(DO THE MATH: Green’s fake ‘settlement’ gives insurers $600M not $7B so the offer is just under 12 cents on the dollar.)
MEANWHILE: Green’s fake Settlement -- $1.33B for Lawyers
read … Green blasts State Farm for refusing to settle Maui claims | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Lahaina Land Trust Pressures Fire Victims to Sell
MM: … KITV Island News aired a story titled “Properties in the Lahaina burn zone go up in costs much higher than original worth.” The story endeavored to shame Lahaina fire survivors who make a personal decision to sell vacant lots on the open market by accusing the fire survivors of listing vacant lots for sale for allegedly “hundreds of thousands” more than “pre-fire appraisals”. Island News interviewed Lahaina Community Land Trust Executive Director, Autumn Ness who then broadened the attack on Lahaina fire survivors who wish to sell.
The owners of all three properties mentioned by Island News are local residents and fire survivors who lived at those properties as a primary residence before the August 8, 2023 fires. We should all be highly offended that Island News and the Lahaina Community Land Trust would attack fire survivors who lost everything about the method by which they attempt to recover after the fires. Sale of a property may be the only way some fire survivors are able to start over and it’s not anybody’s role to publicly and gratuitously admonish the personal decisions that a property owner makes during this fragile recovery process.
Participation in something like a land trust should be a voluntary process and not a coercive exercise by which public shame is employed as a tool by one group, who has some power and authority, against another who is merely exercising their rights as an owner of private property. While the Lahaina Community Land Trust may be disappointed and frustrated that it has not gained the post-fire traction it had envisioned, attacking and shaming fire survivors is not the way to gain community trust for the program.
Now, to the substance of the “news” story. The entire thesis of the story is based on a comparison of the 2023 assessed value to the current listing price today. The story is so bad that it is actually misleading because Island News conflates the concept of “assessed value” and “appraised value.” This is not a legitimate comparison because values assessed by Maui County are rarely good indicators of fair market value.
Unlike Island News, Ms. Ness did at least use the right terminology “pre-fire assessed value,” but that does not make the comparison of pre-fire assessed value to current list price appropriate. This author estimates that there would be thousands of examples of properties where there exists a significant disparity between assessed value and fair market value. Thus, Island News and the Lahaina Community Land Trust compared knowingly low assessed value figures to list prices to create the impression of a large increase in value, then exploited the false narrative that these properties are listed at prices “much higher than original worth.”…
June 2024: ‘Land Trust’ Schemes to Grab Control of 100% of Lahaina Properties
read … The Politics of Hypocrisy: Punching Down in the Name of Political Virtue
Ewa Beach residents urge state to join federal price fixing lawsuit
HNN: … Poppler and some residents at Kapilina Beach Homes, a former military housing complex at Iroquois Point, have filed a petition and are urging Hawaii’s attorney general to join the lawsuit with the other states, including Arizona and California, against RealPage.
“I would like the State of Hawaii to investigate the software corporation and any rental agencies that use this software,” said Poppler.
“The Department of the Attorney General is aware of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the RealPage software maker,” said a statement from State of Hawai’i Department of the Attorney General.
Poppler checked her landlord’s website, Greystar Communities, a national leasing company.
“Greystar uses RealPage spend management online procurement and spend management software across much of its managed portfolio,” said the company’s website.
For a 3-bedroom, 2-bath deplex, Poppler’s rent has increased nearly every year since 2017 except during a COVID freeze.
Now she pays $2,941, a $366 dollar or more than 14 percent increase since 2022.
“Despair is my reaction with every lease renewal. How are we going to make this work,” said Poppler.
“They verbally always tell us, it’s due to market value and availability,” she added….
RELATED: Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Honolulu Renters
read … Ewa Beach residents urge state to join federal price fixing lawsuit
Owner fights back after maintenance fees demanded for destroyed condo in Lahaina
HNN: … A former Maui lawmaker says she is getting demand letters to pay maintenance fees for her condominium that was destroyed in the Lahaina disaster.
“I never expected that something that was not caused by any of the owners would be used to really kind of entrap owners,” said retired State Senator Roz Baker.
Baker owned a cozy unit on the first floor at Aina Nalu off Wainee Street in Lahaina.
Last August’s inferno turned it to ash.
“I’m pushing back because looking at the property, there’s no maintenance to be maintained. It all burned to the ground,” Baker said.
The Association of Apartment Owners president said he cannot comment on the situation because of pending litigation.
However, a letter sent to Baker states the association has retained a lawyer and they are charging her for that too.
They are demanding she pay nearly $1,000….
read … Owner fights back after maintenance fees demanded for destroyed condo in Lahaina
Preparing for possible Hawaii strikes over the Labor Day holiday weekend
KITV: … Local 5 workers are not the only ones approving a possible strike.
Hawaii flight attendants for United Airlines nearly unanimously voted to authorize a strike in order to get additional pay and benefits as contract changes have stalled. Some flight attendants demonstrated at Daniel K. Inouye Airport on Wednesday morning to let the airline know about the strike authorization vote….
SA: United Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize strike | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … Preparing for possible Hawaii strikes over the Labor Day holiday weekend
Helicopter Companies Push To Reopen New Plan Restricting Air Tours Over Volcanoes Park
CB: … The lead trade association for U.S. air tour operators is challenging a management plan for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that went into effect in June, arguing it’s unsafe for pilots, blocks access for visitors with mobility issues and is squeezing air tours financially….
read … Helicopter Companies Push To Reopen New Plan Restricting Air Tours Over Volcanoes Park
Gun Buyback: Is registration of surrendered gun also destroyed?
SA: … Question: Regarding unwanted guns, I’m assuming many of the firearms turned in Saturday were legally registered. If so, are the firearms records belonging to those guns destroyed?
Answer: No, records won’t be destroyed, but firearms will be. A firearm’s destruction will be noted on its record, if the gun was registered, Michael S. Vincent, a spokesperson for the state Department of Law Enforcement, said in an email Tuesday. Here are his responses to other readers’ questions about Saturday’s event at Aloha Stadium, which saw hundreds of guns exchanged for Foodland gift cards, no questions asked.
read … Kokua Line: Is registration of surrendered gun also destroyed? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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