Sigh of Relief After Mostly Peaceful Protests
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted June 14, 2025
Affordable Housing Scam was Easy to Pull Off
CB: … Former Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth calls it “this ball of mixed up twine,” a tangled mess uncovered by an FBI investigation of a corrupt employee who worked for a dozen years in the Hawaiʻi County housing office.
That employee was Alan Rudo, and by the time he resigned from his job as a county housing specialist in 2018, he and his partners had raked in millions of dollars by exploiting weaknesses in a system designed to encourage developers to build badly needed affordable housing.
Rudo, 58, was the lynchpin of those schemes, drafting agreements for his superiors to sign authorizing land transfers or awarding valuable affordable housing credits for units that were never built. He admitted to seeking or accepting $1.8 million in bribes and kickbacks. Rudo and three others await sentencing on federal felony charges after a trial held earlier this month.
The county, meanwhile, has been working to clean up the mess and implement badly needed reforms to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
The fraud case triggered reforms that include new safeguards imposed by the county Office of Housing and Community Development, such as dividing up responsibilities within OHCD so they’re not concentrated in a single employee like Rudo.
The office also banned the practice of issuing affordable housing credits before the units they were meant to fund are actually built, said Susan Kunz, who was administrator of the office until last year….
Background:
Read … An Embarrassing Housing Scam Triggers Big Island Reforms - Honolulu Civil Beat
City seeks developer for Iwilei transit-oriented housing
SA: … “This sub-corridor includes major landholdings by the city, state, and key institutional landowners such as Kamehameha Schools, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Castle &Cooke,” Auger asserted.
Other area sites include the city’s Iwilei Center and neighboring parcels at nearly 5 acres; the state’s Liliha Civic Center at 3.8 acres; and Hawaii Public Housing Authority’s Mayor Wright Homes site at 14.8 acres, which is fully entitled to redevelop into a 2,445-unit, mixed-income community over the next 15 years, according to Auger.
“Within this larger district, the city has prioritized the 17-acre Kuwili Station TOD Redevelopment Area — a core portion of the corridor anchored by the Kuwili Skyline Station and inclusive of recent city acquisitions like the Iwilei Center,” he said. “This area will receive focused attention in terms of conceptual site planning and infrastructure coordination.”…
Read … City seeks developer for Iwilei transit-oriented housing | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Report: Honolulu Inflation Among Worst In Nation
CB: … Honolulu had the 6th worst inflation problem of the 23 metropolitan areas tracked by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to a new report from Wallet Hub, an online personal finance company — although a Hawaiʻi economist questioned the findings.
The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% in Honolulu in May — figures are not released for the state as a whole — versus 2.4% across the U.S., according to data released last week by the Bureau….
Read … Report: Honolulu Inflation Among Worst In Nation - Honolulu Civil Beat
Investigators: High Winds, Rotor Flap Caused Fatal Kauaʻi Helicopter Crash
CB: … The Robinson R44 Raven II operated by Aloha Helicopter Tours plummeted into the ocean off Kauaʻiʻs Nāpali Coast just after 1 p.m. July 11, 2024, after it broke in half during a one-hour sightseeing tour.
Hikers on the Kalalau trail who had stopped to take photos of the coast told NTSB investigators that before the crash they felt a “huge, huge gust of wind” strong enough to blow “a 50-pound backpack off a rock.” They then heard a “loud bang” and looked toward the noise to see the helicopter falling straight down, the tail section detached. …
Read … Investigators: High Winds, Rotor Flap Caused Fatal Kauaʻi Helicopter Crash - Honolulu Civil Beat
Kidnapper Issac Pascua arrested in Texas after escape from Hawaii jail
EL: … Issac was reported missing from an Oʻahu Community Correctional Center for failing to return on May 23. Issac left OCCC on a work furlough pass but never returned. State Sheriffs and the Honolulu Police Department were made aware of Issac’s failure to return. The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said he is serving time for kidnapping.
Court documents said Jenny Pascua, 42, was arrested and accused of hindering the apprehension of a known felon. Court records said Jenny flew with Issac from Hawaii to California, and eventually to Lubbock. The investigation led police to a hotel, where Jenny was found near the front desk. Court records said she refused to say where Issac was. Officers eventually discovered the two had been staying at the hotel together….
DCR: ADVISORY - Hawaii DCR Alert -**UPDATE** Missing Work Furlough Inmate Captured in Texas
Read … Issac Pascua arrested in Texas after escape from Hawaii jail
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