VIDEO: Tsunami Draws Water Down 15 feet in Kahului Harbor
Tsunami of Traffic: How One Gas Station Line Jammed up All of Kapolei
UPDATE: DoT Extends Public Comment Period on Teenagers' Climate Plan
Tsunami Proves Complete Streets are a Complete Failure
CB: … Traffic was gridlocked and sirens blared every hour after a tsunami was generated by a massive earthquake off Russia….
Traffic was already bumper to bumper as early as 3:30 p.m. around Ala Moana Shopping Center as people tried to move out of the evacuation zone, many converging on the mall’s parking garage, despite the fact that it’s in the evacuation zone, too….
Along Oʻahu’s North Shore, roads were full of fleeing residents in their vehicles, making it tough for people to reach an evacuation center set up at the Asian Pacific International School, on a high hillside in the middle of Hauʻula. The story was the same on main arteries on every island. Bus service was stopped at 6 p.m.
“The roads are jam packed,” said Dotty Kelly-Paddock, a member of the Koʻolauloa Neighborhood Board who has campaigned for disaster preparedness for seniors for a decade.
“People are pretty frantic,” she said, speaking from an emergency operations center she set up on her Hauʻula property. “This hasn’t happened in a long time.” …
Meanwhile, officials opened evacuation bypass routes. On the west side of Oʻahu, the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy said they had opened Kolekole Pass from Lualualei Naval Road to Lyman Road. The route is accessible for emergency use and may be used by residents as an alternate evacuation path….
Maui Police warned late in the day that Veterans Highway was congested and recommended that drivers use then Cane Haul Road to get to Kula. Maui halted bus services starting at 6:30 p.m….
The Hilo airport was closed to allow Keaukaha residents to evacuate across the runway, but the Kona airport remained open to flights, Alameda said. …
As on Oʻahu and Maui, the main problem with the evacuation by late afternoon was traffic congestion, he said….
On Kauaʻi, residents were also fleeing in droves on the lone road out of the island’s North Shore. Evacuees faced traffic jams, aggressive driving, long lines at gas stations and grocery stores closing down early. The Kauaʻi Police Department also blocked vehicles from entering Hanalei…
Read … Hawaiʻi Tsunami Warning: Coastal Areas Evacuated Amid Traffic
Hawaii judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit in Myeni shooting
AP: … Honolulu attorneys had recommended paying $1.5 million to settle the lawsuit last year, but it never went to a vote before the full city council and the case went to trial.
Trial started July 14 and testimony included Myeni’s widow, Lindsay Myeni, taking the stand, according to her lawyers. Plaintiffs rested their case Friday.
The city filed a motion for dismissal that same day, arguing that no evidence was presented showing that the officers acted with malice and are immune from liability.
Judge Karin Holma granted the motion Tuesday, according to court records.
Her ruling came after seven days of testimony including video of the incident showing an officer “hiding behind a flashlight and refusing to say he was a police officer,” according to a statement from lawyers representing Myeni's widow.
“While we wish the jury could have decided this, at least the appellate court can now review the record," attorney James Bickerton said in the statement.
A mistrial would have also been possible in the case because three jurors were sick with Covid, said another Myeni attorney, Bridget Morgan-Bickerton.
According to an addendum to Myeni’s autopsy report, which was obtained by The Associated Press in 2023, Myeni was a former professional rugby player who suffered from a degenerative brain disease often found in football players and other athletes subjected to repeated head trauma.
Brain tissue was sent to the Boston University CTE Center, which found Myeni suffered from stage three chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Commonly known as CTE, the disease can only be diagnosed posthumously….
SA: Case dismissed against city in fatal shooting of Lindani Myeni
HNN: Judge says city not liable in deadly shooting of former rugby player
CB: Judge Stops Trial In Police Shooting Lawsuit Before It Goes To Jury - Honolulu Civil Beat
Read … Hawaii judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit in shooting of unarmed Black man - ABC News
With Logan Gone, HPD Starts Sending Police to Waianae Coast
CB: … The Honolulu Police Department will send more than half of its recruits who graduated Friday to the Westside in November to address violent crime in Oʻahu’s most understaffed police district. The unusual move is being welcomed by some residents who have been asking for an increased police presence in their neighborhoods for years. …
Read … HPD Is Sending Its Newest Cops To West Oʻahu. Will The Unusual Move Help? - Honolulu Civil Beat
After Felony Convictions, Affordable Housing Scammers Stripped of Law Licenses
HTH: … According to the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the Hawaii Supreme Court on Tuesday entered orders prohibiting Paul J. Sulla Sr., 78, and Gary Charles Zamber, 55, from practicing law due to their federal felony convictions.
The duo — plus and 65-year-old businessman Rajesh P. Budhabhatti — were found guilty June 4 of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and nine counts of honest services wire fraud.
Sulla was additionally convicted of money laundering.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 7 for Zamber, Oct. 8 for Budhabhatti, and Oct. 21 for Sulla.
According to prosecutors, the trio received Hawaii County affordable housing credits and land conveyances worth at least $10.98 million, with no intention of developing affordable housing.
Alan Scott Rudo — a former housing specialist in the county Office of Housing and Community Development from 2006 to 2018 — pleaded guilty in August 2022…
Read … High court bars Sulla, Zamber from law practice - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Kunia Farm Lots: High Cost of Housing Forces Families into 854 Acres of Illegal off-grid Dwellings
SA: … After 15 years, I visited the unfinished 854-acre Kunia Loa Ridge Farmlands subdivision project, which has been featured on the front page of the Star-Advertiser and was dubbed the “Wild West.”
Today, the uncontrolled proliferation of hundreds of illegal dwellings, which can be seen from miles away, stretch out over two miles on the slope of Honouliuli Forest Reserve. Perhaps hundreds of children and adults live in an unsafe environment without potable water, sewer, electricity and protection in the event of a wildfire similar to the tragedies that struck Lahaina and Los Angeles….
Read … Letter: Trouble still brewing at Kunia agribusiness area | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Care Home Failures Are Common — And Rarely Tracked Over Time
CB: … Officials estimate about 90% of adult residential care homes have issues each year, though most of them are minor. Fines for larger problems are rare….
(CLUE: They are vote harvesting operations and therefore exert great influence over the legislature.)
Read … Care Home Failures Are Common — And Rarely Tracked Over Time - Honolulu Civil Beat
Hawaii AI Robot Lawyers Still Charge $300/hour
CB: … A lawyer with one of the state’s oldest and most prestigious law firms recently made a startling confession: After opposing counsel pointed out “a disturbing number of fabricated and misrepresented” case citations in the lawyer’s brief filed with a Maui Circuit Court, the lawyer admitted he had used an artificial intelligence program to research and draft the document.
Honolulu lawyer Kaʻōnohiokalā Aukai IV asked Judge Kelsey Kawano to disregard all six of the brief’s cited cases. Two of the cases appear to be completely fabricated “AI hallucinations.”
“I sincerely regret the oversight,” wrote Aukai, an associate with Case Lombardi, in a declaration. He told the court he intends to confirm the accuracy of case citations he submits to the courts “going forward.” …
Read … AI In The Courtroom? Complaints About Misuse By Hawaiʻi Lawyers Growing - Honolulu Civil Beat
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