Healthy habits for a healthy economy
DoT Approves Alaska-Hawaiian merger--with conditions
Nurses Lockout: Green says both sides must request his help
UH Mānoa exceeds 20K students for the first time in over a decade
Lahaina Padded 8a Contracts: $5,700 to junk a burned car
CB: … The Corps is working with private contractors, many specializing in disaster and debris recovery, to remove vehicles. It’s taken more than 6,000 hours to remove the vehicles so far; each one takes about two hours.
(CLUE: CNHA 8a contractors.)
The vehicles are taken from roads and private properties to a temporary staging site at Pioneer Mill in Lahaina. Twice a week, Maui County employees or contractors notify owners and their insurance companies that the vehicles were accounted for and collected as waste. Once adjudicated, the vehicles are recycled as scrap metal, Moore said.
The processing of the vehicles includes removing all hazards and fluids at the pickup location, Moore said. Then they are transported to the staging site to be baled and taken to recycling.
Taking away the vehicles is part of the Corps’ debris removal contract. It also removed and disposed of 141 boats in the burn zone.
The Corps estimates the total cost of removing all vehicles at $15 million to $20 million. This would mean each vehicle cost from $4,300 to $5,700….
(CLUE: Padded CNHA 8a contracts. $2,150 to $2,850 per hour of work.)
More than 350 burned vehicles are still spread throughout Lahaina more than a year after the Aug. 8, 2023 fire, but that’s a small fraction of the vehicles that were destroyed.
So far, 3,152 vehicles have been removed from the burn zone, according to Lt. Col. Collin Jones of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps will collect the remaining cars over the next several months, Jones said at a recent community meeting….
Removal of all types of debris from roads and other rights of way is 25% complete, the Corps said.
“We estimate that all the debris cleanup should be done by February 2025,” Moore said.
BACKGROUND:
read … 3,152 Burned Vehicles Have Been Removed From Lahaina, But More Than 350 Remain
CNHA Convention reaching for 8a Contracts Statewide
CB: … Lively discussions on land use and finding ways to insert Hawaiians and cultural practices in (order) to (scrounge money from) public policy decisions punctuated the first day of the 2024 Native Hawaiian Convention….
Improving engagement with government entities was another major theme of the opening sessions on Tuesday. The impact of a Hawaii Supreme Court decision protecting Hawaiian cultural practices drew a standing-room only audience. Another on the future of the military’s land leases with the state was also well attended….
The conference comes as Native Hawaiians prepare to take a larger role in tourism management and negotiating the use of culturally significant areas like Mauna Kea and other parts of the islands used by the military for training….
In his opening remarks, CNHA CEO Kuhio Lewis reflected on how the organization grew from a small nonprofit to a major player in the state involved in disaster recovery on Maui and other assistance programs.
CNHA experienced tremendous growth since Lewis took office, with annual revenues now totaling more than $70 million, up from $1 million in 2018, according to the organization’s tax filings.
CNHA is also involved in tourism management. After a controversial procurement process, the CNHA won a portion of the coveted destination management contract for the U.S. West Coast. It was the first time a Native Hawaiian-led organization won the contract to manage the state’s most populous tourism market.
“We’re going to take back Waikiki,” Lewis said to applause from the crowd….
Panelists in a session on the military’s land leases echoed that sentiment and advocated for a return of more than 40,000 acres leased to defense agencies. Activists hope that the return of those lands is paired with cleaning and remediation programs by federal authorities.
Those lands include the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, the U.S. military’s largest live-fire training area in the Pacific. They also include Makua valley on Oahu, the former site of live-fire training exercises.
Many expect federal authorities to put up a fight over Pohakuloa, which the U.S. Army considers critical for preparation against potential foes with long-range artillery. UH professor Kyle Kajihiro anticipates agencies will use other lands as bargaining chips to hold on to areas they want, such as Pohakuloa.
While much of that process is being handled by state and federal agencies, Camille Kalama, a staff attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said it was important for Hawaiians to get involved….
read … Future Of Hawaii's Lands Is On The Agenda For Native Hawaiian Convention
City will not pretend to consider Military Land for next garbage dump
SA: … The Honolulu Planning Commission is expected today to receive the city’s latest update regarding its ongoing search to find an alternate site for Oahu’s next municipal landfill before the end of this year.
The city’s status report for the replacement to the 35-year-old Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei is part of a state-imposed mandate issued in August by the state Land Use Commission as well as a prior Planning Commission decision in early summer.
However, city officials say the pursuit for a new property will no longer include federal lands — namely, military-owned parcels on Oahu — that in past months the city has had trouble securing outright.
(CLUE: This takes garbage dump out of the Master Lease renegotiation discussions.)
Instead, the city says it could (pretend to consider) locate(ing) its next dump on privately owned lands, which means employing government condemnation to legally obtain a future site ….
HPR: After years of debate, official says city is 'very close' to naming new landfill site | Hawai'i Public Radio (hawaiipublicradio.org)
read … City nixes federal lands for next site to replace Waimanalo landfill
Eco-Lawyers Aim to Destroy Hawaii’s Last Commercial Dairy
CB: … Hawaii’s last remaining dairy is facing potential legal action from a national environmental advocacy organization that is accusing the the 350-cow Cloverleaf Dairy of violating federal law.
In a 12-page letter of intent to sue delivered last month, the California-based Center for Food Safety lists numerous allegations against the Big Island dairy, saying that the operation has been polluting nearshore waters with animal waste and could be causing a public health threat. Federal law requires a 60-day notice of intent to sue and the center says in the letter it will file the case in Hawaii federal court in October.
“There are serious violations of federal law which are going on that put the ocean at risk and it’s our intent to make sure that they stop,” Charles Tebbutt, a Seattle attorney with the center, said.
But dairy owner Bahman Sadeghi says the center’s list of complaints is riddled with inaccuracies, speculation and some “absolutely false” accusations. Sadeghi plans to put up a fight.
The letter names Sadeghi, Cloverleaf Dairy and Meadow Gold, which he also owns, as defendants. …
read … Hawaii's Last Dairy Is Under Fire For Allegedly Violating Environmental Law - Honolulu Civil Beat
Meth Head Gets Parole Again And Again: Now Convicted of Attempted Murder Again
SA: … A state jury found Souza guilty of attempted murder in April 1990 after Souza stabbed a friend in the neck without warning after smoking crystal methamphetamine.
A state judge sentenced Souza in June 1990 to life in prison with possible release on parole. The Hawaii Paroling Authority granted Souza parole in November 1998, December 2002 and September 2013.
Souza violated the terms of his parole each time it was granted, and was arrested and incarcerated for failing to comply with recommended programming.
He was released on parole in October 2016, a little less than three years before he shot the police officer in Waianae….
After his 1998 release Souza pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in jail for misdemeanor domestic abuse, according to state court records. Following his 2002 release he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor resisting arrest and received a suspended six-month jail term.
In total, Souza has seven state charges on his record, including car theft and resisting arrest….
read … Man found guilty in 2019 shooting of HPD officer | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
17 Time Loser Finally Gets a Real Sentence--15 years in federal prison for drug, gun crimes
SA: … On Oct. 20, 2023, the United States Probation and Pretrial Services Office or the District of Hawaii “conducted a lawful search” of Henry Kapononuiahopili Lii’s residence on Anianiku Street in Honolulu, according to a Feb. 21 plea agreement.
Inside a dresser in Lii’s residence, the USPPSO recovered 1,397 grams of methamphetamine, 110 grams of cocaine, 65 grams of cannabis, a 9 mm firearm with no serial number, 34 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, three 9 mm magazines, and drug distribution paraphernalia including a digital scale and baggies, according to federal court records.
Lii “possessed the 9 mm firearm with no serial number to protect his methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, and his methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana proceeds,” according to the agreement.
In February 2024, Lii pled guilty to both offenses, admitting that he intended to distribute the drugs and knowingly possessed the firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking.
Judge Gillmor also sentenced Lii to an additional 36 months for committing the crimes while on supervised release for his 2007 federal conviction, to run consecutively to his 181-month sentence.
Lii has 17 state charges on his record, including domestic violence, and firearm and drug crimes….
read … Man, 58, gets 15 years in federal prison for drug, gun crimes
HPD Corporal charged with false reporting after crash that seriously injured motorcyclist
HNN: … A Honolulu police corporal has been charged with False Reporting to Law Enforcement Authorities after crashing his subsidized vehicle into the back of a motorcyclist near Aloha Stadium last September, seriously injuring the rider.
Law enforcement sources tell HNN Investigates Vasai Isala Jr. attended a party before the collision. Almost a year later, the Honolulu Police Department still won’t say if the off-duty corporal was suspected of driving under the influence.
Meanwhile, records show the 62-year-old motorcyclist suffered a concussion and serious spinal injury from being dragged down Kamehameha Highway.
Investigators eventually determined Isala caused the crash. But that’s not what the 18-year veteran told responding officers….
A new court filing posted in eCourt Kokua says Isala knowingly gave police false information about what happened that night. Some of those statements were recorded by his fellow officers’ body cameras.
On one of the recordings an officer could be heard trying to explain what Isala had told her, “He said there was a fled. He said that a bus hit his vehicle. I got to get more info.”
According to police records, that was one of three different stories Isala provided his colleagues.
“Basically. (He’s) being charged for lying,” said Lt. William Hankins….
read … HPD Corporal charged with false reporting after crash that seriously injured motorcyclist
Election News:
Lahaina Fire News:
QUICK HITS: