New report challenges common claim that 'Jones Act jobs' have been increasing
Missing Maui Woman Secretly Married in Green Card Scam?
LAM: … Sources tell Los Angeles that Kobayashi was apparently scammed out of the proceeds of the purported immigration scheme possibly concocted by her former partner, who left Maui with Kobayashi on Nov. 8 and landed at LAX with plans to catch a connecting flight to New York City. Also on the plane, sources say, was Kobayashi’s secret new husband, Alan Cacace, an Argentinean man whose own girlfriend, Marianna, was reportedly on the flight with Kobayashi’s ex.
The possible visa scam was uncovered, sources told Los Angeles, by Kobayashi’s mother, who discovered immigration documents in her daughter's home in Hawaii that listed an immigration attorney. "That attorney was not cooperative with the mom," one source close to the investigation said. Her family then "turned over the alleged information to law enforcement immediately upon receipt," they said in a statement released by their Los Angeles attorney Sara Azari….
read … Photos, Scams, and a Border Mystery: The Unfolding Kobayashi Case - LAmag
Senate passes legislation for Maui fire survivors tax relief
KITV: … The Senate unanimously passed the legislation that will provide tax relief to Maui fire survivors on Wednesday night.
The bipartisan Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which is cosponsored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, will exempt survivors of last year’s fires on Maui from paying federal income tax. The decision was made on Dec. 4, 2024. This applies to their settlement money or attorney fee taxes included in the settlement. The relief retroactively applies to qualified victims.
“Any settlement money survivors receive belongs to them, not the federal government,” said Senator Schatz. …
read … Senate passes legislation for Maui fire survivors tax relief | News | kitv.com
UH Contract Specifically Hides President Search Details From The Public
CB: … The contract and the way it was carried out obscures much of the work conducted by the executive search firm, WittKieffer, as it advised the UH Board of Regents on hiring one of Hawaii’s most important public employees.
A special condition in an addendum to the contract makes “any candidate information” the “exclusive property” of WittKieffer.
(Slick move!)
In addition, to fulfill several contract requirements, WittKieffer presented reports and updates to the regents orally, leaving no documentation of its work….
(Despite years in academia) She had been accused of discrimination at least (only) four times, including in two lawsuits — material that WittKieffer should have turned up and shared with the regents. But the regents and WittKieffer have declined to discuss the hiring process with Civil Beat. (One unnamed observer observed, ‘An academic of Hensel’s seniority should have been accused of discrimination at least 20 or 30 times by now. What is she going to do at UH to boost these numbers?’)
read … UH Contract Specifically Hides President Search Details From The Public
Everybody is Screwed: Honolulu DPP Yanks ‘Renovation Aloha’ Permit After Civil Beat Exposes Illegal Work
CB: … Honolulu is revoking a building permit issued to the home-flipping hosts of the HGTV show “Renovation Aloha” after a Civil Beat investigation identified work done without a county review.
The show captured Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama transforming a disjointed, derelict property in Kalihi into a high-end home suitable for multigenerational living. They combined two structures, lifted part of the home onto stilts, added a new roof and renovated multiple kitchens and bathrooms – a $425,000 job, according to the show.
The permit, however, mentions only new windows and a carport and says the work cost $80,000.
“They essentially submitted plans with incorrect information, similar to some of the monster homes developers,” Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, Honolulu’s director of planning and permitting, said in an email. “As a result, we are in the process of revoking the permit.” …
Others blame the permitting department for moving at such a glacial pace that flipping homes on the up-and-up would be impossible.
“At some point a proper response to massive overregulation and bureaucracy is to just show them the Middle finger,” a Civil Beat commenter wrote….
The Les previously told Civil Beat that they’re exploring their legal options after they found structural problems with the home. The couple noticed mold in their son’s room, they said, which led to the discovery of cracks in the home’s siding. They said they didn’t know their home had unpermitted work.
Six of the eight properties featured on the first season of “Renovation Aloha” were issued violation notices for starting construction before permit approval. The other two were also put on the market before the county gave the OK, public records show….
If a county inspector finds the unpermitted work is not up to code, the county can call for it to be removed at the owner’s expense….
“I definitely would hope they’re able to get a remedy,” he said. “HGTV has deep pockets. They should know better. Hopefully they step in and fix it.”…
Scott Startsman, a realtor on Oahu, said he has a checklist for his clients when it comes to flipped homes.
“Was it permitted? OK, who did the work? If they say ‘It’s all licensed contractors,’ great. Give me the name. Give me the company. Tell me the info. I’m going to look ’em up,” Startsman said. “If they won’t do that, then it’s a red flag.”…
read … Honolulu Yanks ‘Renovation Aloha’ Permit After Civil Beat Exposes Illegal Work
State Worker Charged In Monk Seal Pup Death Repeatedly Let Dogs Off Leash
CB: … Macpherson, whose job includes enforcing the rules at Kaʻena State Park, repeatedly let her four dogs loose around the Mokuleʻia beach grounds there, according to the NOAA report. Dogs aren’t allowed in the park, under state rules.
Longtime volunteer monk seal advocates, including Clark, say Macpherson openly allowed her dogs to roam around Kaʻena Point park grounds for several years and that she would rebuff volunteers’ requests to keep the dogs secured at her home, located on a parcel inside the park area.
Complicating matters is Macpherson’s own yearslong, dedicated history as a monk seal volunteer prior to joining the parks division.
According to her testimony to an investigator, Macpherson in 2008 co-founded a watch group, Hawaiian Monk Seal Response Team Oahu, that eventually became Hawaii Marine Animal Response. The state has promoted her experience with the endangered animals.
NOAA emails discussing both the 2020 harassment and the pup killing in May allude to the tricky nature of those incidents given Macpherson’s background with the seals.
“As you all know this is a sensitive situation considering the severity and who is involved,” a local NOAA wildlife management coordinator told the agencyʻs law enforcement branch hours after the death. He added that he supported those officers “in what you think is the best action to take.” ...
read … State Worker Charged In Monk Seal Pup Death Repeatedly Let Dogs Off Leash
Controversy looms over potential sites for Oahu landfill
KHON: … The island’s existing Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill on the Leeward Coast has already been expanded twice and cannot be expanded a third time. Oahu generates over 1.2 million tons of waste annually. While much of it is diverted through recycling, about 225,000 tons still require disposal in a landfill.
“We also need a landfill for things that we can’t burn. There are some things that we’re not permitted to burn,” said Babcock.
The 11 potential sites span locations across the island. Four of them are in Councilmember Matt Weyer’s district, which covers parts of the North Shore and Windward Oahu. But they are in an area the Board of Water Supply opposes because they’re too close to the island’s aquifer.
“My hope is the mayor would support, you know, the water supply. The amazing work that they’ve been doing,” said Weyer. “So given that the sites in District Two are within that no-pass zone, I think most people would agree that that’s just not a possibility.”
The other potential sites are near the Kapaa Quarry, near the Ameron Quarry, an area occupied by the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, an area near Castle Junction and Pali Highway, an area near Waimanalo Country Farms and the area near the UH West Oahu Campus in Ewa.
Babcock said once they announce the selected sites, they’ll do public outreach and look into incentives such as community benefit programs for residents in the area….
read … Controversy looms over potential sites for Oahu landfill
McCoy Pavilion Renovation—5 years and counting
CB: … One of Honolulu’s most beloved and historic gathering places, McCoy Pavilion in Ala Moana Park, has been shuttered for more than five years….
McCoy Pavilion was first shut down in 2019 when the air-conditioning went bad, according to city officials, who said at the time they expected the work to take about a year to complete….
The biggest issue, they found, was that tree roots from the banyan trees had spread laterally across the property and were causing significant structural damage, he wrote….
In addition to repairing the root damage, the city is renovating the pavilion’s gates, walkways and administrative buildings. Crews are making repairs to the historic portico entrance on the west side of the pavilion and restoring art there. They are making improvements to the auditorium’s 40-year-old lighting and audiovisual system, installing a new lighting system, repairing the electrical and mechanical infrastructure, adding a new fire alarm system and installing new roofing in two areas, Serota wrote.
Another problem, however, still remains, he noted. The ponds in the Banyan Courtyard are leaking.
Serota said the city hopes to have the last of the current projects completed early next year and will put off the pond work until later….
read … Kirstin Downey: This Ala Moana Cultural Gem Has Been Shut Down Way Too Long
QUICK HITS: