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Friday, May 12, 2023
May 12, 2023 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:37 PM :: 3673 Views

Counties should prioritize lowering property taxes

Oahu Homeless PIT Count--59% Unsheltered

Open Letter to ‘Honolulu Resilience Office’

Iroquois Point Elementary School Water Drive

EEOC Sues Honolulu Restaurant and HR Company for Sexual Harassment of Male Employees

Federal COVID Emergency Ends

Overtime Violation: Feds Bust Kauai Cleaning Company Again

Craig Angelos recommended for UH Mānoa athletics director

Gabbard vs Hirono for US Senate?

HNN: … The survey in the link asked: “If the general election for Senate were held today would you vote for Democrat Mazie Hirono or independent Tulsi Gabbard?”

Another question asked: “If the general election were held today, would you vote for Democrat Mazie Hirono, independent Tulsi Gabbard, or a Republican candidate?”

“It kind of surprised me because Tulsi Gabbard has been kind of quiet for a while,” said White…

Gabbard’s spokesperson also dismissed the survey.  “Gabbard doesn’t know anything about the poll. She has no plans to run for the U.S. Senate,” said Gabbard’s spokesperson Erika Tsuji….

(Translation: Gabbard paid for this survey.)

read … Circulating survey that seeks input on imaginary Gabbard-Hirono contest raises eyebrows

Coke Dealer Started Electrification of Ground Transportation in Hawaii

IM: … Hawaii Business Magazine noted that 0.84% of all motor vehicle registrations in Hawai‘i in 2021 were for EVs.

The first car appeared in Hawaii in 1899. Theo. Hoffman, manager of the Hawaiian Electric Company, test drove the car. …

(Skip 100 years of gasoline)

G.E.M. Hawaii established an electric vehicle dealership in Waikiki from 1999-2001 as reported by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. (Cocaine dealer) Chad Tsuneyoshi and Lance Keoho introduced their EVX2 and EVX4 electrical vehicles at the first annual Home Entertainment and Technology Expo held in 2006. The 1,750 pound (money laundering) vehicles had a range of 55 miles before needing a 7 hour recharge….

(Tsuneyoshi was sentenced to five years in federal prison in 2000.  He was back in the Star-Bulletin promoting his e-car business in 2006--about the time he was released from home detention.)

2011: Convicted Cocaine Dealer replaces Advertiser columnist as Ernie Martin’s Campaign Treasurer

read … Electrification of Ground Transportation in Hawaii Approaches 1% after 24 Years

Preliminary hearing next week for Miske co-defendant after arrest for threatening witness

ILind: … Preston Kimoto, a former manager at both Kamaaina Termite and Pest Control, and later for Oahu Termite (after the company was taken over by Miske), was one of the original co-defendants in the Miske case, and one of the first to be released on bond pending trial.

But he was arrested again in early April for allegedly threatening a witness who apparently can tie him to the 2017 kidnaping of an accountant who was threatened, assaulted, and robbed.

The arrest resulted in his probation in the Miske racketeering case to be revoked, so he is back in detention at Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center.

He is scheduled to make a preliminary appearance in court next Friday, May 19, at 9:30. That’s the deadline for the government to file charges in the witness tampering/obstruction of justice case, either by obtaining a grand jury indictment or charging him via an “information”, typically a signal that a plea deal is in the works.

If charged and convicted of obstruction of justice, Kimoto will be facing a possible 20 year sentence. And since his actions allegedly included threatening a witness and her family while he was released on bond, I imagine sentencing could be on the high end of the range….

read … Preliminary hearing next week for Miske co-defendant after arrest for threatening witness

HPD arrests Convicted Pimp for allegedly kidnapping 3-month-old baby in Waipahu

HNN: … Honolulu police have arrested a 34-year-old ‘man’ (convicted pimp) for allegedly kidnapping a three-month-old baby in Waipahu on Thursday.

Officers were called to Waipahu Towers development on Pupumomi Street at about 4 p.m.

According to authorities, the suspect broke into a 34-year-old woman’s home and forcefully took the infant.

Through investigation, the suspect was located at his Kaimuki residence and arrested. He faces multiple charges, including kidnapping and burglary.

The child was found unharmed and returned to his mother.

HPD said officers had served the suspect a TRO on behalf of the victim and the infant child earlier that morning….

read … HPD arrests man for allegedly kidnapping 3-month-old baby in Waipahu

Again with this? Capitol reflecting pools receive another $33.5M for ongoing repairs

HNN: … “If you go into the basement, you see leaks throughout the basement and you go on the first floor, it’s leaking everywhere,” said Rep. Darius Kila, (D) Honokai Hale, Nanakuli, Maili.

The Capitol pools have had intensive leaks so the plan is to replace the flooring. The state said repairs on the Diamond Head side of the Capitol will begin on Monday, May 15 and end in late December.

Better Ideas: Xeriscape or Japanese Stone Garden

Crews will be demolishing the top layer of concrete and re-lining the pool. Rep. Kila said, it a product of deferred maintenance and it’s not the only project racking up costs.

“10 years ago it would’ve been $30 million for roof repair at the Convention Center, now it’s $60 million. I’m sure if we did this 10 years ago it would not be $30 million, but if we wait another 10 years I’m sure it’ll exceed $50 million,” said Rep. Kila.

Meanwhile, the state said repairs to the Capitol pool on the Ewa side will begin next year. The state is still discussing what will fill the pools in the future…

CLUE: Tilapia

How Many Times can Legislators Recycle this Scam?

read … Capitol reflecting pools receive $33.5M for ongoing repairs

HCR108: ‘Cultural Appropriation’ to become Money Spinner for OHA?

SA: … A resolution adopted by the state House last month is urging the formation of a working group that will discuss policies with respect to Native Hawaiian intellectual property.

House Concurrent Resolution 108 Opens in a new tab was adopted in light of the increasing disputes over topics such as cultural misappropriation, ownership and control between Indigenous people and third-party users of Indigenous knowledge resource….

SA Off The News: Copyright for Native Hawaiian culture?

read … Resolution calls for Native Hawaiian intellectual property working group

Gov. Green considers permanent protections for journalists

SA: … Gov. Josh Green is considering whether to sign a bill that would bring back and make permanent protections that would keep reporters from being forced to disclose confidential information or sources in state court.

Hawaii and Wyoming are the only two states that do not have any law on the books to protect the work journalists do and the role they play in a functioning democracy. The 2008 shield law that was allowed to sunset in 2013 would be reinstated if the governor signs HB 1502.

The measure protects traditional, nontraditional and online journalists by limiting “compelled disclosure of sources or unpublished information for journalists, newscasters, and persons participating in the collection or dissemination of news or information or substantial public interest” while establishing exceptions, according to the Shield Law Steering Committee, which has been working since 2008 to get legislation permanently on the books.

The House Committee on the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs added clarification that the law applies to “digital news sites,” and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary added a provision that makes it clear that the privilege attaches to journalists and not their sources….

Green has until July 11 to sign the bill or deliver the veto. If Green decides to kill the bill, he must inform state lawmakers by June 26….

SA Editorial: A shield for journalists

read … Gov. Green considers permanent protections for journalists

Board Of Education To Consider Computer Science As A Graduation Requirement

CB: … Only 16% of all statewide enrolled students, K-12, were registered in computer science courses last year, according to an annual report from the Department of Education.

Concerned lawmakers, in response, recently passed House Bill 503, which requires the Board of Education to analyze and figure out ways to incorporate computer science as a graduation requirement no later than the 2030-2031 school year….

read … Board Of Education To Consider Computer Science As A Graduation Requirement

‘Dropping like flies before our very eyes’: Kaua‘i County Council supports mosquito biocontrol to protect honeycreepers

TGI: … The Kaua‘i County Council approved a resolution supporting biological control efforts to protect endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers from mosquito-borne disease.

The resolution passed 6-1 on Wednesday, with Council Member Billy DeCosta in lone opposition….

… “They are literally dropping like flies before our very eyes,” said Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project head Lisa Crampton during the council meeting. “We go out one day and the pair that’s laid a nest are gone, and the eggs in the nest are cold. It’s happening so fast. We walk down the trails, and we find ‘apapane are now littering our trails with their corpses. It is an emergency, and it’s all caused by these introduced mosquitoes.”

Two of Kaua‘i’s honeycreepers (‘akeke‘e and ‘akikiki), as well as Maui’s kiwikiu and ‘akohekoe, are in danger of extinction in as little as one to two years, according to the Department of the Interior. Additionally, eight other forest bird species risk extinction if no action is taken.

To protect these birds, which hold great ecological and cultural significance, the department announced in December 2022 a multiagency, multimillion-dollar strategy involving captive care, relocation to neighbor islands and, most critically, biological control using a bacterium called Wolbachia.

While Wolbachia has no impact on humans, mosquitoes carrying distinct Wolbachia strains are unable to create viable eggs, limiting new births and suppressing the mosquito population over time. To take advantage of this, the DOI plans to release lab-infected male mosquitoes — which don’t bite — into the forest birds’ habitat to cut down on the possibility of malaria infection.

While this would mark the first time Wolbachia is used for conservation purposes, the bacterium has been utilized across the globe for decades to protect the public against Dengue, Zika and other viruses.

“It’s currently being used in at least 10 countries, as well as now in the continental U.S.,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Invasive Species Biologist Joshua Fisher. “There is a substantial body of data that demonstrates that the method is safe, targeted, and will not result in any adverse effects to humans or the environment.”

Fisher added while Wolbachia efforts on Maui are now shifting from planning to implementation, Kaua‘i’s status is further behind….

read … ‘Dropping like flies before our very eyes’: Kaua‘i County Council supports mosquito biocontrol to protect honeycreepers

As fentanyl-tainted drugs proliferate, Hawaii sees record number of overdose deaths and a disturbing trend

HNN: … Narcotics claimed 320 lives last year in Hawaii, making 2022 the most deadly year on record, according to newly-released figures from the Medical Examiner’s Office.

And officials aren’t just concerned about the spike in overdoses.

Autopsy reports also revealed a disturbing new trend — more and more toxicology reports showing that people died with a mixture of different drugs in their system.

That means it’s not clear whether they knew exactly what they were taking.

One recent case underscores the danger. On April 4, Honolulu EMS responded to an overdose call on Kapiolani Boulevard. A man and a woman were found unresponsive. Law enforcement sources say the couple thought they were taking cocaine, but the drugs were laced with fentanyl, a much more potent opioid….

read … As fentanyl-tainted drugs proliferate, Hawaii sees record number of overdose deaths and a disturbing trend

For another year, these neighbor island fairs were canceled. This time, staffing is the problem

HNN: … Scott Fernandez, president of EK Fernandez Shows, said the company does not have the staff or enough time to get all the equipment to the neighbor islands, operate it there and then bring it all back.

He said he lost most of his trained staff once the state went on lockdown.

“It’s unique work so not everybody wants to stay up all night and tear down rides and get into the pier for some odd reason so finding those individuals training them to be able to do that job, you know, takes a while,” said Fernandez. “And so, if you can’t put up the asset, you can’t generate the income.”

“You can’t pay for the freight, shipping freight, which exploded over the last three years.”

President of the Hawaii County Fair Foundation Kelton Chang said the Hilo Fair slated for September has been cancelled due to funding….

read … For another year, these neighbor island fairs were canceled. This time, staffing is the problem

Legislative Agenda:

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