Hawaii Home Prices up 342% -- over and above the rate of inflation
Honolulu Is the City with the Highest Inflation
Case Pushes Back Against 'Misinformation on Federal Disaster Relief'
I’m Living in My Own ADU
Fake Lahaina Settlement: Facts not on Green’s Side
ILind: … There’s an old bit of advice for lawyers that has been repeated many times over the years. It goes something like this: “If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts; if you have the law on your side, pound the law; if you have neither the facts nor the law, pound the table.”
The old adage came to mind as I was thinking about Gov. Josh Green’s recent rather intemperate public statements blasting the insurance companies who are, he says, delaying a “global settlement” of the Lahaina fire lawsuits based simply on their sheer greed for profits….
the governor’s broadsides against “greedy insurers” fail to recognize any of the legal complexities.
Indeed, maybe I’m confused here. The governor says getting money into the hands of fire victims is vital. And yet that’s what the insurance companies have been doing. In court filings, they say they have paid out $2.3 billion in claims, with another billion already in the pipeline. On the other hand, Green’s global settlement, if it is finally approved, provides for payments that will not even begin until 2025, and will be spread out over several years.
Knowing that Green can’t be accused of being an anti-corporate crusader, it seems to me that he’s simply pounding the table. And that makes me wonder whether the unusual table-pounding is because neither the law nor the facts are on his side.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Hawaii Supreme Court sorts through the issues…
IM: Insurers Seek Recovery of Funds Given to Maui Wildfires Victims | Ililani Media
read … Pounding the table
City council postpones decision over proposed $1.5M settlement in deadly police shooting
HNN: … The Honolulu City Council postponed Wednesday a vote to approve a proposed $1.5 million settlement in the 2021 officer-involved shooting of a former rugby player from South Africa married to an Oahu woman.
The delay comes after hours of testimony at Kapolei Hale, where more than 40 uniformed officers, led by Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan, gathered in protest….
After a two-month investigation, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm cleared the officers.
He told council members Wednesday the shooting was justified.
“My office is not a rubber stamp for HPD. We have charged officers with things before. We even tried to charge a police officer with murder and attempted murder, and we take each case very seriously,” Alm said….
Police chief Logan said, “It is my opinion that we didn’t do anything wrong.”
There were “15 seconds from the time the officers got there to they were under attack. That’s not enough time for CIT (Crisis Intervention Team), you know, de-escalation,” Logan added. “CIT in this matter wouldn’t have helped, and because of that, I firmly believe, stand behind our officers, their actions, and what they did.”
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he believes the matter should go to trial….
“I stand firmly and unequivocally behind the police department on this,” he told the council by phone. “I’ve been briefed extensively in a number of meetings on the evidence of the case, and I come down on that side, and I want to make sure my voice is in this with respect to my position and office. That’s what I’m recommending.”…
read … City council postpones decision over proposed $1.5M settlement in deadly police shooting
Life Sentence for Meth-addict Jail Guard who Murdered Mother after visiting game room
SA: … In Wednesday’s sentencing of 52-year-old Anthony F. Pereira II for fatally shooting his 66-year-old mother, Barbara, in the face and holding another woman hostage at his Maili home in June 2016, the judge summed up what appeared to be at the root of his actions:
“He let his marital issues consume him, leading him to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol,” Circuit Judge Rowena Somerville said. She handed down the guilty verdict June 25 after hearing testimony during a jury-waived trial, which Pereira opted for at the last minute.
Somerville called his actions “callous and heinous” and sentenced the former Oahu Community Correctional Center training sergeant to life in prison with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder, 20 years for use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, and five years each for first-degree terroristic threatening and third-degree dangerous drug promotion, to run concurrently….
KITV: Former corrections officer to get sentencing for 2016 Maili murder
read … Former OCCC sergeant gets life in shooting death of his mother r-
Plans begin for Kamehameha III Elementary to move to Kamehameha Schools’ Kuʻia lands
KITV: … Governor Green shared about the project, “We’re pleased to announce that collaborative planning is underway with Maui County, our State Department of Education and Kamehameha Schools to explore rebuilding Kamehameha III Elementary School at Kuʻia, approximately two miles from its original location, and outside of the impacted area. This joint effort reflects our shared commitment to restoring Lahaina in the way the community most desires.”….
SA: Kamehameha Schools offers land for new Lahaina site
read … Plans begin for Kamehameha III Elementary to move to Kamehameha Schools’ Kuʻia lands
After 20 Years, DHHL Says it will soon Demolish Bowl-o-Drome
HNN: … After numerous delays, a 23-floor, $155 million “high-rise hale” to house Native Hawaiians is set to break ground by the end of 2024.
The Old Bowl-O-Drome in Moiliili has been closed for more than two decades. By the end of the year, it will be demolished….
Carr says the biggest holdup has been the federal government’s red tape in obtaining the loan needed for the project, which is scheduled to close on Oct. 24.
“There was a question of the federal Fair Housing Act because it was race-based, DHHL beneficiaries with 50% Hawaiian blood quantum. We did overcome it all,” explained Carr…
DHHL said it already plans to start signing up possible tenants.
The developer said they will break ground by the end of the year, with move-ins expected in 2027….
read … Homeless hotspot transforming into $155M high-rise for Native Hawaiians
Kauai Council ‘Solution’ for affordable housing—A Tax Hike
CB: … Former council member Arryl Kaneshiro, running after sitting out a term, said the council must support housing programs for working class people as a way to alleviate the high cost of living for local families.
“We have a lot of low-income housing, but the housing that we need to be supporting in the future is housing where families don’t qualify for low income-housing, but cannot afford houses in excess of a million dollars,” Kaneshiro said.
The current council has taken a few steps to try to address this.
A resolution approved May 29 established a tax hike for hotels and vacation rentals. Proposed by Council member Billy DeCosta and introduced by Rapozo, the measure will add nearly $8 million to the county’s Housing Development Fund for the next fiscal year. The fund already contains more than $20.3 million for the current fiscal year.
“The county right now has a checkbook where they can go out and buy land, build infrastructure and work with the development of middle-class housing,” DeCosta said.
Another bill in its early stages would allow construction of one guest house per existing dwelling in residential, agricultural, commercial, open and university zones. This guest unit could never be used for short-term rental. Bill 2933 is on the council’s agenda for a public hearing Wednesday, and will be taken up by the council’s Planning Committee after that. …
read … Kauai Council Candidates Agree County Can't Ignore Housing Crisis - Honolulu Civil Beat
Honolulu council approves bill to relax fireworks regulations
KHON: … The measure allows residents to purchase novelty fireworks, excluding firecrackers, without needing a permit.
Ground-based fireworks such as sparklers and fountains have been banned since 2014.
Proponents argue that easing these restrictions could reduce the surge in aerial fireworks that many communities have experienced.
Tad Trout of TNT Fireworks stated, “Legalizing these safer, state-approved ground-based consumer fireworks as an alternative, combined with robust enforcement and a strong safety education program, will substantially reduce black market activities.” ….
SA: Honolulu Council backs measure to legalize some ground fireworks
read … Honolulu council approves bill to relax fireworks regulations
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