UH developed, living coastal-protection system prepares for deployment
Activists Pressure Lahaina Fire Victims to Hand Over Their Properties
SA: … Another limiting factor in what the trust can buy is available funding. The organization awaits receipt of $1.5 million in approved funding from Maui County, and has so far raised about $500,000 from donors. For its first purchase the trust is using funding from The Conservation Fund, a national land conservation organization.
The community land trust (run by an anti-pesticide huckster) also is receiving $10 million from Maui County reserved in equal parts to acquire property from landowners wanting to retreat from the shoreline and property that might be better used for open space or cultural protection rather than rebuilding….
The trust is trying to raise more money for acquisitions, including $20 million through grant applications, and encourages more sellers to sell for the benefit of local residents.
“If you owned land in Lahaina as an investment, maybe it’s time to talk about giving that land ‘back’ (to meeeee!!!) or selling that land back to the community,” Ness said….
(CLUE: The activists want homes for themselves.)
So far, the trust has made five purchase offers and signed one contract. But Ness is concerned that at least a couple of properties currently on the market are appealing to all-cash buyers at well above fair market values and could spark a rush of more acquisitions by investors….
(TRANSLATION: She is using the media--and the implicit threat from rampaging hordes of idiots--to pressure them to sell to her cheap.)
Earlier this month the trust led by Ness signed a contract to buy a lot in the Wahikuli neighborhood where a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house stood before the fire.
The sellers, a couple in their 80s who bought their Lahaina home for $885,000 in 2007, left Lahaina to stay with their grown children on the mainland after the fire, and later reached out to trust representatives after hearing about the organization’s formation and purpose.
For the sellers, Rick and Judith Kimball, their decision was driven in part by a prior understanding of how community land trusts work, given that Rick Kimball had started one himself. The couple’s perspective on landownership in Hawaii also played a role.
(TRANSLATION: One activist sold to another. Nobody else is buying into this scam.)
“Even as kamaaina who loved Lahaina, we never had a true sense of belonging in Hawaii knowing how the islands were slowly, even covertly, taken from the Hawaiians and exploited by outside interests,” Rick Kimball said in a statement.
The trust plans to build a new home along with two ohana units on the property, (quick before the activists scurry off to the next trendy ‘cause’) and hold a lottery to sell the units to an extended or multigenerational Lahaina family under an initial 99-year land lease. (Do you really think these fools will be around in 99 years?) The land lease would be renewable, inheritable and transferable with conditions to ensure the homes, if resold, would remain affordable and occupied by Lahaina residents in perpetuity….
(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)
two parcels, both within the Komohana Hale subdivision developed by the county in the 1990s as starter homes, are listed well above fair market value estimates produced by appraisers working with the trust, Ness said.
Asking prices for the two lots, a smaller lot for $540,000 and a larger one for $650,000, appear to be more than what the fair market value would be for the lot with the prior house. That concerns Ness because a typical household wanting to buy the property and build a new home to live in wouldn’t be able to get a loan to buy the lot for well over (what she claims) an appraised value (is).
This (flawed logic) leads Ness to ‘believe’ (and we all know how very important an activist’s ‘beliefs’ are) that such properties are being marketed largely to all-cash buyers instead of working families wanting to live in Lahaina. Sales at such prices could establish higher market values that make more land in Lahaina less affordable for local residents.
(CLUE: Lahaina was 85% renters. ‘Working families’ were driven out of home ownership long ago. Ness isn’t going to fix this.)
REALITY: Meet the Meth Gang Behind ‘Lahaina Strong’
SA Editorial: Support land trust to rebuild Lahaina
MN: Prices of burned-down properties in Lahaina spark conflict between land trust, sellers : Maui Now
FB: Autumn Ness
read … Initiative works to keep Lahaina lands in local hands
Governor: Hawaii Can Pay The Bills For Maui Fire Recovery, Hazard Pay without touching Rainy Day Fund
CB: … Green predicted the state will not need to dip into its emergency and budget reserve fund to balance the budget. That fund — better known as the rainy day fund — holds a record $1.5 billion.
The administration will submit a proposed two-year state budget to the Legislature in December, and Green said he won’t be asking the Legislature for authority to launch any large or dramatic new government programs during the next session....
MN: Mayor Richard Bissen testifies on federal government’s response to 2023 Maui fires
read … Governor: Hawaii Can Pay The Bills For Maui Fire Recovery, Hazard Pay And More
Waianae: Flood of Cops lasted just one weekend
CB: …Starting in mid-August, additional city and state officers hit the streets. The exact numbers of additional officers from that weekend is unclear, but HPD expressed an intent to stay present in the area to help deter crime.
Speaking at a press conference Sunday, Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan would not say how many officers were deployed in District 8, the police district that includes Waianae, but said the district was at 100% staffing this past weekend. He said the district was fully staffed last week.
City Council member Andria Tupola, who represents the Westside, said the expanded police coverage was good but not enough.
“The high presence that weekend basically just gave the community comfort that something was being done,” she said last week.
Security has long been a concern on the Leeward Side, and residents have felt neglected by city officials. Underscoring the frustration on both sides, Mayor Rick Blangiardi said during a May town hall in Waianae that there needs to be more oversight from community members too, referencing the police’s rampant vacancies and difficulty recruiting and retaining officers.
“Why isn’t the community doing more? The police can’t do everything,” he said at the time.
But recent events have changed that posture.
HPD fielded an additional one dozen to four dozen officers that weekend, depending on the day and time, spokesperson Michelle Yu said in a email. She said that over 140 citations were given for vehicle- and traffic-related offenses.
State officers were also deployed from the Department of Law Enforcement and the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ division of conservation and resources enforcement.
DOCARE had anywhere from three to four officers at any time posted at the harbor, DLE deputy director of administration Michael Vincent estimated.
The Department of Law Enforcement, meanwhile, deployed at least four to six vehicles during the mid-August weekend, and has started to include Waianae Small Boat Harbor in regular daily patrols.
The plan ‘was’ to continue this at least through the end of October. The department also sent HPD its longer-term plan for ongoing actions, which specified the division of responsibility between DLE, DLNR and HPD when an incident occurs, Vincent said….
(SOLUTION: More cops. And more prisons to lock up the criminals. And judges willing to sentence repeat offenders to hard time.)
read … A Wave Of Westside Shootings Has People Saying 'Enough Is Enough.' But What More Can Be Done?
Company that partnered with HECO to turn your batteries into ‘virtual power plant’ implodes
HNN: … A company that partnered with the Hawaiian Electric Company to provide a solar rewards program has halted operations, affecting more than 1,200 customers, officials said.
Swell Energy sent notices to customers last week, saying it was experiencing financial difficulties.
HECO said it’s still assessing the situation and seeking alternative solutions for customers.
In the notice, Swell Energy said it would provide an update on next steps the week of Sept. 9….
FLASHBACK: Swell Energy to establish 6,000-battery virtual power plant for Hawaiian Electric
LINK: HBRBigIsland - Swell Energy
REDDIT: Anyone participating in the HECO virtual power plant program? : r/Hawaii (reddit.com)
read … Company that partnered with HECO to provide solar rewards program halts operations (hawaiinewsnow.com)
State’s high court to hear arguments over release of new evidence in Dana Ireland murder case
HNN: … The Hawaii Supreme Court has set Sept. 12 as the date to hear oral arguments in the legal battle over evidence in the high profile 1991 murder of Dana Ireland.
Hawaii County Police wants the new evidence against recently identified suspect Albert Lauro, Jr. to be kept secret, citing the case is still under investigation.
But the Hawaii Innocence Project wants the information released, saying it could further prove that their clients, Albert Ian Schweitzer and Shawn Schweitzer are innocent….
read … State’s high court to hear arguments over release of new evidence in Dana Ireland murder case
Several Lahaina small businesses say it’s been impossible finding affordable rentals
HNN: … “after the fire, I was like, OK, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna keep going? And I was looking for spots before even processing. There’s nothing,”
read … Several Lahaina small businesses say it’s been impossible finding affordable rentals
Outlandish Restaurant Fees Shock Diners In Hawaii and Elsewhere
BH: … “A 5% resort operation fee is added to all checks. We reserve the right to not split checks and reserve the right to charge a 20% service charge for parties of 6 or more. A 18% service charge will be added to all ToGo orders.”….
read … Outlandish Restaurant Fees Shock Diners In Hawaii and Elsewhere
U.S. Transportation Department holds fate of Alaska-Hawaiian merger
SA: … The Justice Department enforces Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits mergers and acquisitions that could substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly. However, the DOT, which once had the primary responsibility for reviewing airline mergers, still retains the power to deny requests to exempt international airline agreements from the antitrust laws, which is the last required step before Alaska and Hawaiian could combine.
A U.S. DOT spokesperson said in a statement Thursday, “Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have filed a transfer application to combine under one certificate and cannot combine their operating authorities without the U.S. Department of Transportation’s approval. The Department is reviewing the application and can only approve a transfer if it is in the public interest.”…
read … U.S. Transportation Department holds fate of Alaska-Hawaiian merger
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