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Thursday, October 31, 2024
October 31, 2024 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:55 PM :: 683 Views

Trustee Keli‘i Akina Opposes OHA’s Effort to Exempt Itself from the Sunshine Law 

How Oily Profiteer Manipulated Maui Sunscreen Legislation for Personal Gain

KSBE, HECO Try to Whiff Fake Lahaina Fire Settlement Past Otake

CB: … (some) Parties to a proposed Maui wildfire settlement have ‘agreed’ to dismiss a federal class action lawsuit, inching the process toward relief for victims of the August 2023 fires. 

(Socialist money grabs like this are why your condo insurance rates are going to the moon.)

It remains to be seen whether U.S. District Court Judge Jill Otake will allow the suit to end.

(UPDATE: She did.)

The fire victims want the federal case dismissed. So do Hawaiian Electric Industries, Kamehameha Schools and others who are being sued in the Maui fires case. A document filed Tuesday makes their position clear.

(Buuuttt…)

On Wednesday, Otake issued an order saying that not all of the parties in the litigation had signed the dismissal document as required by rules governing civil cases. She gave the parties a day to fix the technical error and refile.

In the meantime, the global insurance industry wants to keep the federal case open, and Otake hasn’t ruled out the insurers’ request.

The outcome could have a significant impact on a final settlement and payment for victims….

If Otake dismisses the federal case and the Supreme Court rules for the settling victims and defendants, that will allow the proposed settlement to become final, and the process of allocating settlement proceeds can start.

Federal rules of civil procedure recognize that state courts sometimes provide a home court advantage for local parties.  (No kidding.)  For that reason, the rules grant federal courts jurisdiction over a variety of cases that normally are the purview of state courts, including class actions….

read … Maui Fire Settlement Cases Inch Toward Victim Payout

In wake of Lahaina fire, no criminal charges

HNN: …  In the wake of the Maui wildfires, lawmakers are considering adding a new law to the books that could charge companies or officials with a crime for negligently causing a fire.

At a briefing Tuesday with the Attorney General, state House members learned why no one was prosecuted after the Lahaina disaster, and also why the governor has no plan yet for a prevention program….

“Constituents keep calling me,” said Rep. David Tarnas, Chair of the Judiciary Committee. “What about the criminal? You know, we, I want someone to go to jail because they did this or they did that, but that’s not happening?”

Lopez responded, “Correct. That’s not crimes that could be charged.”

Lopez said Hawaii doesn’t have a statute that provides criminal charges for negligently causing a fire that leads to death or injury, although she said, “There was no conduct that I concluded was criminal or should have required criminal investigation.”

Tarnas said he will (pretend to) look into a proposing a new law providing that kind of criminal prosecution, which has been used in California in its wildfire investigations….

SA: Fatal Lahaina fire was not a crime, state AG says | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … In wake of Lahaina, lawmakers eye criminal charges to hold corporations accountable

Inouye: Governor’s Water Pick ‘Not Qualified’

HNN: … In an exclusive interview with Hawaii News Now, he called on his critics to compromise.

“These kind of stories that get rolled out and start from a place of confrontation, what do they get us? Nothing. They get us no housing, no progress, no water changes, no nothing,” he said.

After a nearly 11-month process, which water rights advocates said was intentional stalling, the governor nominated Rodrigues to a position reserved by law for a person with “substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage.”

That’s to ensure that traditional kalo farmers have access to adequate stream water, which has created conflicts with large landowners and developers, especially on perpetually water short Maui.

Rodrigues was a cultural expert and manager with the state historic preservation agency.

“Let them see this person’s resume. It’s fantastic,” Green said. “This is someone who’s committed years and years of service in the field, and, by the way, grows his own taro, for gosh sakes.”

But Sen. Lorraine Inouye, who chairs the Water and Land Committee, said that doesn’t meet the qualifications in the law.

“One needs to have some water resource management background. And certainly, from my standpoint, it doesn’t seem like this gentleman is qualified,” she said.

Inouye, whose committee will review Rodrigues' confirmation, said there were more qualified candidates the governor passed over and would have been acceptable to the water rights and environmental communities.

“I can’t understand why the governor is already upsetting the community and not fulfilling the requirements of that particular seat,” she said.

The governor responded to Inouye’s comments:

“All due respect, the senators should talk to the individual, find out where they’re coming from long before lobbing a little hand grenade behind their back,” he said.

In his interview, the governor described his decision-making process, involving two rounds of interviews and two sets of nominees from the screening committees:

“First person felt not to be Hawaiian enough, though it was Hawaiian and a leader, but not the guy people wanted. So, I didn’t do it. Second person got scared out of their, you know, their dress clothes. They didn’t want to deal with a conflict. And the third and fourth person, great people, but they brought an ideological perspective that was going to cause chaos as I try to work through some of these problems,” Green said, using the fingers of one hand to count off the nominees.

Green said advocates of stream restoration are blocking needed housing, although they dispute that, and says people are too quick to attack nominees who are willing to compromise.

“In our beautiful state, if people don’t line up perfectly, then we demonize them,” he said….

VIDEO: Full interview with Gov. Josh Green

read … Governor defends controversial water commission appointment in exclusive interview

DEI -- Honolulu updates its nondiscrimination law

SA: … Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi hosted city officials and community groups focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on Wednesday to sign Bill 32 into law, updating Honolulu’s nondiscrimination policy that prohibits discrimination in hiring and employment within Oahu as well as in the delivery of city services.

Bill 32, which adds new protections to the existing nondiscrimination policy, passed its third reading at the Honolulu City Council on Oct. 7. The measure aligns city policy with existing state and federal anti- discrimination laws.

“We recognize the incredible importance of a workplace in which all employees feel valued and respected, and the City’s new non- discrimination policy fosters inclusivity in a way our workplace, and our island, deserve,” Blangiardi said in a news release. “We are grateful to the members of the Honolulu City Council for passing Bill 32 and supporting our efforts to create a more diverse workplace, which has a tangible and significant effort on hiring, retention and overall morale.”

While the city’s existing nondiscrimination policy protected against discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion and marital status, Bill 32 has expanded these protections to include additional categories.

The updated policy now also covers citizenship, ethnicity, disability, credit history or credit report and domestic or sexual violence victim status. It further protects gender identity or expression, transgender status, genetic information or refusal to undergo genetic testing and income assignment for child support.

Military or veteran status, National Guard or military reserve participation, national origin, political beliefs, pregnancy status, limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, reproductive health decisions and the right to breastfeed or express breast milk at work are also included under the new protections.

Alongside community groups like the Hawai‘i LGBT Legacy Foundation and the Hawai‘i Health and Harm Reduction Center, members of the City’s Rainbow Employee Resource Group attended Wednesday’s bill- signing ceremony.

Formed earlier this year, the Rainbow Employee Resource Group provides an officially recognized space for LGBTQ+ employees within Honolulu County, supporting efforts to foster a more inclusive workplace culture….

read … Honolulu updates its nondiscrimination law

2025 DoE Budget Pitch to Legislature Features Fake Cuts in Most Popular Programs

CB: … The $2.3 billion budget, which will be presented to the Board of Education on Thursday, would eliminate funding for school learning centers statewide….

(CLUE: Because they are popular.)

UPDATE: Faced with public pressure, BOE decides not to cut afterschool program funding

EXPLAINED: Washington Monument Gambit, The Seven Rules of Bureaucracy

read … Kids May Lose After-School Options Under Hawaii's DOE Budget Cuts

DOE schools still without working fire alarms

HNN: … Concerns were heightened back in April when the DOE reported 22 of its schools did not have working fire alarm systems.

This latest report shows the department addressed the most serious issues. However, roughly a quarter of the schools’ need to be updated.

It shows Kahuku High School and Sunset Elementary are the last two schools without working alarm systems….

read … DOE addresses years of safety concerns about working fire alarms at public schools

2,500+ ballots may not be counted due to signature issues

KHON: … If you’re voting by mail, there’s a really important step after you seal your envelope–you have to sign it. And that signature has to match either your driver’s license or state I.D. or your voter registration form.

“We will match it up with other submissions that have we have on file, that could be a voter registration form or an absentee ballot application that we might have on file, or even if you register to vote via the driver licensing process, a driver license, image capture that you did there,” said Takahashi.

One-third of the validation problems come from the return envelope not being signed at all. The majority, though, are mismatched signatures. Both of which will prevent a ballot from being validated for counting.

“We will follow up with them all the way through Election Day and after that. The voters have additional time.”

The due date to fix the issue or “cure” is Nov. 13.

The votes will remain sealed and uncounted unless or until the voter takes action on the notice to fix it….

read … 2,500+ ballots may not be counted due to signature issues | KHON2

Department of Hawaiian Homelands works to solve phone and internet service issues left behind by criminal Al Hee

KITV: … The Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) has been scrambling since Sandwich Isles Communication announced back in May that hundreds of customers will soon have no service.

DHHL and private companies are trying to cover phone and internet service, especially for remote areas across the state. State senators representing many of those rural districts wanted to know what is being done moving forward to address this life or death problem.

Three Hawaiian Homeland sites are still without phone and internet, or at best, have spotty service.  This comes after the Sandwich Isle Communications notified its customers they had to end service.

On Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2024, DHHL said it's hoping to receive a $75 million federal grant to help with infrastructure upgrades.

Jaren Tengan, DHHL Broadband Coordinator, shared one of the horror stories caused by the lack of service, "The federal funding that was in these areas was specifically for emergencies. One of the stories that we were told when we went up there to distribute these hot spots was one person was on a pacemaker and their pacemaker uses the landline to connect to the hospital on the east coast. So they couldn't get in contact with the hospital and the hospital was freaking out because they thought this person died.

Tengan said the department expects federal funding to come in later this year….

CB: Rural Hawaiian Homelands Residents Should Be Online By 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

read … Department of Hawaiian Homelands works to solve phone and internet service issue

Saguaro: ACLU Lips Moving Again

CB: … The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and CoreCivic replied denied the allegations but said precautionary measures were being implemented.

“Any claims that the water at SCC is undrinkable or causes medical issues are demonstrably false,” they said in a joint statement.

“Despite the anecdotal one-sided and unsubstantiated allegations made by the ACLU regarding health risks of drinking the water at SCC, there is absolutely no truth to those statements,” the statement said. “In fact, not a single inmate health-related matter has been linked to the drinking water at SCC.”

However, “out of an abundance of caution, several months ago CoreCivic began ordering water filters for all housing units where Hawaii inmates are housed,” according to the statement. It added that the work was completed as of Wednesday.

Wookie Kim, legal director of the ACLU of Hawaii, said a Saguaro inmate told him Tuesday — the day after ACLU went public with its concerns about the water quality — that CoreCivic staff had started installing water filters.

“Do I think that’s a suspicious coincidence? Yes, I do,” Kim said.

The ACLU letter also raised concerns about the price of bottled water in the prison commissary, with some prisoners saying they cannot afford the bottled water. The statement from CoreCivic and the state said the price of a case of water was reduced earlier this year from $16.06 to $11.85.

Still, the department and CoreCivic said they would look into the current pricing of bottled water in the commissary to see if “there are more cost-effective options.”

CoreCivic operates the private water system that serves Saguaro and three other prisons in Eloy, and it submits a consumer confidence report annually to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, according to the statement.

The most recent report reflects water testing done in mid-2023, but CoreCivic also uses a third-party vendor to do additional testing. The statement specifically cited daily testing for chlorine residue, monthly testing for coliform bacteria, and less frequent testing for indicators of other contaminants.

“It’s unfortunate that the ACLU of Hawai‘i would issue such a letter and subsequent press release without first contacting either DCR or CoreCivic for facts,” the statement said….

read … Corrections Officials Deny Prison Water Made Hawaii Inmates Sick - Honolulu Civil Beat

California, national airlines announce jet biofuel scheme

CN: … ticket prices will increase, rainforest will be bulldozed for palm oil plantations, and CO2 output will increase, not decrease ….

read … California, national airlines announce sustainable jet fuel partnership

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