Ethics

... DOFAW obtained funding from the Land Conservation Fund for its own projects outside of the Legacy Land Conservation Program ....

... decided to extend the matter regarding Representative Kaiali’i Kahele, which was transmitted to the Committee by the Office of Congressional Ethics on August 30, 2022 ....

... Hawaii doesn’t have any more or less corruption than any other part of the country, but it does lack whistleblowers and introspection, which makes combating corruption so difficult ....

... Ige’s March 4, 2020, COVID Emergency legalized over half of CNHA’s corruption ....

“...If it would make Ms. Har more at ease, I’m willing to meet her in the tavern, or bar of her choice to conduct the debate....”

... The most recent and visible example is our iconic Aloha Stadium .... 

... only incumbents get to pass out goodies ....

...When Honolulu County Council member Andy Mirikitani faced trial in 2001 for fraud, theft, extortion, and bribery, key testimony came from Cynthia McMillan, the wife of now-State Senator Karl Rhoads (D-Downtown Honolulu)....  

“I am very pleased with the progress that the two organizations have made in coming together so that we can move forward in the best interest of the State,” said DBEDT Director Mike McCartney....

... draft legislation would incorporate a “deliberative process privilege” into the state Uniform Information Practices Act ....

... her husband had “sold [her] a few times for [] money in order to buy himself alcohol and pay gambling debts . . . [while] he kept a knife by the throat of [her] 6 month son.” ....

... City boards, commissions and committees which currently have vacant positions, including openings on the Honolulu Ethics Commission and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation ....

... CEO Sylvia Hussey described the purpose for paying off the debt was to bring OHA into compliance with better practice as to how it finances operations ....

... HTA had disregarded its own procurement policies and procedures, awarding sole source contracts based on questionable justifications, paying contractors without executed contracts ....

... You are bringing the Feds in to get us.  Other corrupt officials may go down ....

"...very difficult and demanding challenge,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi....

... A Bank of Hawaii officer oversaw major UH investment management contracts after dropping a $1000 contribution into Governor David Ige’s 2018 reelection campaign ....

... analysis of county procurement records shows that since 2012, Choy’s firm received more than 40 non-bid Maui County contracts valued at around $20 million ....

... many government watchdog entities appear to have been willfully ignoring, or even tacitly approving, some of Hawaii’s most egregious corruption scandals, according to Randy Roth ....

... there is a line item for renting four 480-square-foot units from the Four Seasons for nearly $300,000 a year ....

... Here are some examples of “Red Flag” disbursements by OHA and the concerns raised by CLA ....

... in excess of $579,000 once fringe benefits are factored in ....

... ZAED lost the majority of its supervisory personnel in 2021, and only one has been filled as of January 2022 ....

... According the a July 18, 2022 letter from the US Department of Education, EGCC was illegally looting Pell Grant money to provide ‘free’ tuition ....

... defendants misappropriated a significant portion of the funds to pay for psychics and recreational drugs ....

... information about a candidate’s sources of income; business ownership interests; officer or director positions in businesses; debts; real property interests; clients represented before state agencies; and creditor interests in an insolvent business ....

... The University of Hawaii Manoa invited at least two CI staff to remain on campus ....

... Where did this money come from? ....

... the indictment alleges Rudo solicited and accepted multiple bribes and kickbacks from Sulla, Zamber and Budhabhatti ....

... Taxpayer losses are in the billions.  Now they are grabbing for public employees’ retirement fund.  How much will retirees lose? ....

... District 21 incumbent state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro, District 44 incumbent state Rep. Cedric Gates and District 44 challenger Darius Kila ....

... A number of talented staff have left the museum in recent months, many citing a toxic work environment ....

... Hawai‘i Small Business Capital Program (HI-CAP) Collateral Support Program, designed to assist borrowers in obtaining financing that might otherwise be unavailable due to a collateral shortfall ....

... Over the course of two minutes, the defendants punched and kicked the inmate in the head and body while he was lying face-down in a pool of his own blood. The inmate suffered a broken nose, jaw and eye socket ....

... tip of the iceberg ....

... Bodycam video of Matt Lopresti getting arested for DUI (again) ....

... HB 1147 originally started out as a capital improvements project bill in 2021, but this year lawmakers removed the projects and replaced them with operating appropriations for HTA ....

... the Commission hereby recommends to the Board Member’s Appointing Authority that the Board Member should be removed from the Board ....

“...Rajesh Budhabhatti is a subject of a public corruption/wire fraud case....”

... Kaneshiro was on paid leave for two years ....

... is the protection of ‘FOP’ (friends and family of the police) so ingrained in the force that they need not hear directly from Joe Logan to know that they should let his meth addict son off the hook again and again? ....

... Securities fraud, insider trading, $26.7 M in hidden executive stock awards?  Yes.  Hawaii’s high-tech tax credit schemers are at it again ....

... Council Dist 2: Makua Rothman vs convicted cocaine dealer Chad Tsuneyoshi ....

... How much money will Hawaii private school boards be willing to pay lawyers for the ‘privilege’ of pushing this latest pseudo-intellectual academic fad on their students? ....

... “Symbolic of Widespread Corruption in Hawaii” ....

... overtime cards, which document overtime requests and approval for payroll purposes, are managed manually, increasing the risk for human error, abuse, and fraud ....

... Governor David Ige re-appointed Wesley Fong to a new four-year term on the Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission, and appointed Dr. Robert Hong to fill a seat soon to be vacated by outgoing Commissioner Melinda Wood ....

... According to an on-line biography, “Neguse and his wife Andrea live in Lafayette, CO, where they are raising their young daughter, Natalie.” ....

... 8 of the 14 bills identified by Commission were adopted by 2022 Legislature ....

... Common Cause Hawaii 2022 Legislative Wrap-Up ....