Mitsunaga Secretary Indicted for False-Name Campaign Contributions
Achieving Homeownership for Hawaiians
Gov Green Joins Pro-EV Coalition
COVERUP: How Hawaii Civil Rights Commission Buries Sex Harassment and Discrimination Reports
CB: … Complainants who had their cases closed in 2024 had been waiting an average of two years, the commission’s latest statistics show — a record for the last decade, if not longer. By state law, civil rights investigations are only supposed to take six months, although extensions are allowed. …
For now, Hawaiʻi’s commission is going to stay the course. The agency is doing all it can with the resources it has, Kawatachi said, and it isn’t planning to ask the Legislature for more. …
Mateo Caballero, a civil rights attorney who works in Hawaiʻi and California, said he almost never recommends a client file a complaint with the Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission.
“There is a saying in the law: Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.
The commission’s 23 staffers were juggling 385 cases as of last month, agency data shows. And a considerable portion of those cases are holdovers from prior years.
Cases two years or older used to account for a minuscule amount of the agency’s time but now make up nearly 40% of its caseload. Two open cases were filed as far back as 2018. Kawatachi, who has been with the commission for more than 20 years, told Civil Beat he can’t remember the agency ever carrying this many old cases. …
Complainants can request what’s called a Right to Sue letter at any point in the process and take their case to court. But those who can’t afford an attorney have little choice but to wait.
Delays themselves can negatively impact a case, Caballero said. Employers or landlords who are the subject of a complaint are supposed to preserve relevant records during the investigation, but that doesn’t always happen.
“Even in the best case scenario, when all documents — emails, texts, voicemails — are kept, memories fade,” Caballero said. “And even if that person is lucky enough to find an attorney, it’s going to be an uphill battle to pursue that case in court because most people won’t remember what happened two, three, four years ago.” …
Caballero said, the state could dispense with the notion that the commission is more than a pitstop on the way to court. Currently, people have only 180 days after a discriminatory event occurs to file a complaint with the commission, with some exceptions. After the commission issues a Right to Sue letter, the complainant has 90 days to file a lawsuit.
State lawmakers could allow people to skip the administrative process and file lawsuits directly in court, Caballero said, and give them more time to do so. “Make it so you don’t have to exhaust administrative remedies,” he said….
BACKGROUND: How Hawaii Civil Rights Commission Covers Up Sex Harassment Reports
read … Facing Discrimination? State Backlog May Delay Your Investigation By Years - Honolulu Civil Beat
Honolulu Police Chief search delayed AGAIN—will not start until November
KITV: … the Honolulu Police Commission is tasked with finding the 13th chief for the Honolulu Police Department and it starts with finding a consultant to help with the nationwide search.
"We had a little hiccup,” said Laurie Foster, police commission member, at a meeting on Wednesday. “We weren't informed of one thing that had to happen to the RFP process. We were then informed. So we've had about a two week delay. It's now in the hands of budget and finance."
"We are doing everything possible,” said Ken Silva, police commission chair. We are following up constantly. Hopefully, you're not bugging them too much, but in the scheme of things compared to the last go round, we're actually months ahead of where we have been."
Silva and the commission believe it can have a consultant on board by November. The next Honolulu Police Commission meeting is set for Sept. 17....
read … Honolulu Police Chief search delayed; police commission remains optimistic | News | kitv.com
DoE AC Meltdown: Hayashi and his bloated bureaucracy fail
SA: … it was galling to see Hayashi’s tepid Aug. 1 response to the auditor’s findings, basically noting that his people were not involved. Even the auditor called out Hayashi’s failure to grasp the gravity of the situation.
“It is noteworthy that the Superintendent’s letter does not address how, going forward, the department will ensure it is accountable for its use of public funds,” the auditor said in part. “We find it concerning that the department’s response ignores the serious problems that we report.”
In a follow-up written statement last week, Hayashi tried stepping up: “Our priority now is to apply the lessons from this report. That includes improving internal accountability, ensuring proper planning for future projects, and delivering on our commitment to safe, comfortable learning environments for all students.”
The public will need to hear more details about those plans and subsequent actions. A HIDOE spokesperson did say last week that schools can now fund new AC window units if they work with HIDOE’s facilities office on electrical assessments and installation. Meanwhile, more high-capacity fans will be used.
Since Hayashi became superintendent in July 2022 — his contract ends July 1 — he’s padded his leadership team, which now totals 10 assistant superintendents; that’s on top of 15 complex area superintendents. The duty to cool down stifling classrooms — so students can actually learn — falls squarely on Hayashi and HIDOE’s brain (pork) trust to meet this heated moment, articulate real solutions and carry them out with urgency….
BACKGROUND: Cool Schools: How Solar Scammers Looted $120M
read … Editorial: State DOE must fix AC meltdown | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Hawaiʻi DOE Starts Year With Unprecedented School Meal Shortages
CB: … The Hawaiʻi Department of Education unveiled an expansive new menu for school meals last month, with items like Korean beef bowls and banana bread meant to support local farmers and get kids excited about lunch. The only problem: schools don’t have the ingredients they need for the dishes.
Roughly 50 items have been in short supply during the first month of school, according to an email DOE dietitian Lindsay Nakamura sent to cafeteria managers in August. Cafeteria workers are being told to swap ingredients like taro and ʻulu chunks with potatoes or cut certain ingredients, like cheese, from their recipes entirely.
The shortages, which include popular prepackaged entrees like blueberry pancakes and orange chicken, are most severe for Oʻahu and Maui schools….
Some products are now back in stock, while others will be in short supply until later this month. But the disruption has been significant enough for the cafeteria managers’ union to raise concerns that schools may have to reduce their cafeteria staff because fewer students are ordering meals….
Y. Hata & Co., Hawaiʻi’s primary vendor for school meals, said the problem largely stems from DOE’s inaccurate estimates of how much food schools would need this year.
When DOE expanded its menu, it significantly underestimated how many items schools would need, said Bob Piccinino, executive director at Y. Hata. As a result, the company was unable to fill the unexpectedly high volume of orders schools placed at the start of the year.
Former cafeteria managers and the union also said DOE took too long to select meal vendors this year, which didn’t give schools and contractors enough time to order ingredients over the summer.
The department declined interview requests for the story but said in an emailed statement that it’s working with Y. Hata to resolve the shortages as quickly as possible. In a press release sent just days after the union sent its letter expressing concern over the shortages, DOE said it was able to expand its menu thanks to extensive planning and new food contracts this year…
read … Hawaiʻi DOE Starts Year With Unprecedented School Meal Shortages - Honolulu Civil Beat
Scammer convicted in federal tax refund fraud was part of earlier Hawaiian sovereignty scam
ILind Sept 3, 2025: … one of the defendants, Rose Dradi, was also part of a fraudulent foreclosure relief scheme involving David Keanu Sai, a prominent proponent of the idea that the Hawaii Kingdom was never extinguished and now exists as an occupied territory, and Dexter Kaiama, a former Hawaiian attorney who tried to use Sai’s argument as a defense in court cases….
I wrote about the scam in a 2019 post after OCP challenged a foreclosure case in which the homeowners used documents prepared by Sai and Kaiama in an attempt to defeat the lender’s foreclosure. According to OCP, Dradi identified and solicited potential “clients,” and then managed their communication with Sai and Kaiama….
Related: Four Convicted in Sovereignty-Related Scam
read … Scammer convicted in federal tax refund fraud was part of earlier Hawaiian sovereignty scam | i L i n d
Six Years for Armed Robber Mentored by Meth Dealer Paid by ‘Adult Friends for Youth’
SA: … One of three masked gunmen who robbed an illegal game room on Kawaihao Street on Aug. 22, 2024, will spend more than six years in federal prison.
B.J. Bakol, 20, was sentenced Wednesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson to 15 months for committing a Hobbs Act robbery, and 5 years for using a gun during a crime of violence, according to federal court records.
The sentences will run consecutively followed by three years of supervised release. Bakol asked to serve his time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Ore.
Bakol grew up poor (criminal) and saw a friend shot during a drive-by in Kalihi. The “soft spoken” Bakol was traumatized by seeing blood pour out of the gunshot wound, his attorney, Catherine P. Gutierrez, told Watson in a sentencing memo….
One of his mentors growing up, Malakai “Mo” Maumalanga, a (gang leader masquerading as a) ‘counselor,’ who worked for Adult Friends for Youth, was shot and killed in a drug deal gone bad .…
FLASHBACK: Youth counselor killed in 2021 over debt involving meth, prosecutors say | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … Man, 20, gets federal prison time for robbery of Kakaako game room | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
City Council passes homeowner tax exemption bills
SA: … The Council separately passed Bills 49 and 50, which will each amend city laws relating to real property tax home exemptions.
The bills package will supposedly lower future annual property tax bills for many, particularly senior citizens on fixed incomes.
Bill 50, as adopted, will raise the base real property tax exemption for all eligible homeowners from $120,000 to $140,000….
Bill 49 will increase the real property tax exemption for homeowners age 65 or older from $160,000 to $180,000, lowering the taxable value of their property and reducing their property tax bill….
read … City Council passes homeowner tax exemption bills | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
City calls on lenders in vacation rental crackdown
HNN: … The city is using a new tactic against the owners of illegal vacation rentals on Oahu: getting mortgage lenders to police their clients.
The city says it is also filing more liens against the properties to collect millions in outstanding fines, but enlisting lenders in enforcement could be a simpler process.
Mortgage contracts usually require the property be used in compliance with all federal, state and local laws.
Now the city is informing lenders that their clients are breaking the law….
read … City calls on lenders in vacation rental crackdown
Pandering to Progressives, Hawai‘i County Council passes resolution urging U.S. Army to end bombing at Pōhakuloa
BIN: … The measure was introduced by Council Member Rebecca Villegas. She said she was “humbled to play a small part in something so much bigger than myself, so much bigger than even all of us sitting here.”
(IQ TEST: Are you laughing?)
The resolution only provides a message of what the county wants, but it does not have any legal authority and cannot mandate what the state or the Army does with the state-owned land….
(TRANSLATION: Meaningless pandering.)
There were only a few who opposed the resolution publicly during Wednesday’s meeting. Vaughn Cook testified on behalf of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawai‘i against the measure’s passage.
“The U.S. military’s presence has provided positive economic development, jobs and infrastructure that allows families to provide for themselves sustenance, and allows them to have a roof over their heads,” Cook said. “It allows us to enjoy the accoutrements of living in this modern society. And we need to be grateful for that.”
Cook also noted that Pōhakuloa Training Area provides needed emergency and first aid services to their fire department and emergency services in the area….
SA: Column: Make military land leases contingent on money, disaster prep | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
HTH: Council unanimously urges state to stop military bombing at PTA - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
read … Hawai‘i County Council passes resolution urging U.S. Army to end bombing at Pōhakuloa : Big Island Now
UH Sea-Level Hysterics Keep Pushing to Seize Your Oceanfront Property
KN: … “Our main suggestion is for policymakers and designers to plan for sea-level rise amounts projected within a building’s lifetime.” ….
read … Researchers call for new standards for building in Hawai’i’s coastal flood zones : Kauai Now
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