Disappeared News

 

These dramatic findings are the results from groundbreaking research undertaken by researchers at the University of Hawaii Manoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR).  The university conducted the study as part of a broader federal mandate and funding focusing on farmers mental health.

“This study validated a lot of what we’ve already observed in the field, but also bore a bumper crop of details and gems that will really help us serve our local ag workers,” said Thao Le, principal investigator of the study and director of the “Seeds of Wellbeing” (SOW) project. “One of the biggest surprise was that who reported using professional help to cope faired worst which is contrary to what we expected.”

CTAHR researchers currently have several programs underway to address farmers’needs, including a program to focus on the relational components of health and wellbeing. The Ag Mental Health Mentors program aims to educate and provide concrete tools to peers, family members, and neighbors to provide care and support, and to feel confident in initiating “talk story” about mental health.

“Even though the younger generation are more willing to talk about mental health issues,  we also did not expect that 44 ag producers would sign up to be ag mentors within a span of less than a month,”she added.

The good news? More people than ever recognize the importance of farming. A survey on public perception with 400 local residents found that 83% see agriculture as important to the state, with 56% saying they were willing to spend more on local produce. Yet, 85-90% of food in Hawaii remains imported, and less than 1% of the state budget is for agriculture.

This is challenging for those in the agricultural industry and even more so for certain demographics and sectors in Hawaii such as being younger, of East Asian or Southeast Asian ancestry, or working in the livestock or seed industry. While general uncertainty and COVID topped the list of stressors, farm production, financial worries, pests/invasive species also ranked highly.

“If we want to make sure we have a next generation of farmers and ranchers in Hawaii, we need to be paying close attention to their mental and emotional health,” Le expressed.

Hawaii is part of the Western Region Agricultural Stress Assistance Program (WRASAP), funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) provided funding that allow the project to eclipsed all other western states with 408 ag producers responding to the survey. (California only had 231 Californian farmers responding.) The results yielded some similar but also unexpected differences compared to the mainland.

The research team currently has several publications under peer review expected to be published in early 2023. The extension team, meanwhile, continues to offer workshops to address the identified stressors from the survey.

SOW has also produced a series of video and audio podcasts, with more than 1400 downloads, mental health prevention guides specific to farmers called Cool Mind Main Thing, and a brief media campaign to increase the public’s respect and appreciation for farmers and ranchers – Malama the Farmer.

The SOW project is funded by USDA and HDOA and in partnership with other organizations such as Hawaii Farmers Union United, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Pacific Gateway Center, GoFarm, and Oahu Resource Conservation &Development Council.

Although this one-year grant-funded initiative ends in March, the SOW team remains steadfast and committed to continue the momentum and work.

Video (farmer interviews): https://bit.ly/sowfarmers

 MAUI VOTERS CONTEST WAILUKU COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTION AT SUPREME COURT

Wailuku, HI -  Maui County Council candidate Noelani Ahia and 30 Maui
County voters have filed an election contest with the Hawai'i Supreme
Court seeking to void the results of the Wailuku-Waihe'e-Waikapu County
Council race and to order the holding of a new election.

On election day, the County Clerk deemed the return envelopes of over
800 mailed in ballots "deficient". Voters are given five business days
after the election to cure deficiencies. However, the County Clerk did
not mail out notices to the affected voters until four days after
election day. The present difference between the candidates is presently
513 votes.

In contrast, before election day and before partial results were
available, the County Clerk would notify voters within one or two days
of the deficiency determination. The County Clerk's immediate supervisor
is Council Chair Alice Lee, the other candidate for the office.

The Election Contest has six counts. The County Clerk violated her duty
to reasonably notify voters that she was not counting their ballots. The
County Clerk did not comply with election laws in deeming certain return
envelopes deficient. The County Clerk violated open records laws by
refusing to make public the names of voters whose ballots were being
held. The County Clerk violated the state law by using different
procedures for notifying voters before and after partial election
results were available. The County Clerk violated the constitutional
right of equal protection by arbitrarily treating voters differently
based upon knowledge of the partial election results. The County Clerk
violated due process by failing to reasonably notify voters that their
ballots were being held.

The Supreme Court is not permitted to further extend deadlines to cure
envelopes so it is not possible to know what the true result of the
election is. As a result, the voters are asking the Supreme Court to
invalidate the election results and to order a new election for the
Wailuku-Waihe'e-Waikapu County Council seat.

"We must do everything possible to protect the right to vote and ensure
that every vote is counted. We need to ensure confidence in our election
system especially for all the first time voters," said lead Plaintiff
Noelani Ahia.

"As Hawai'i moves from in-person voting to mail-in voting, it is vitally
important that all election officials act with earnest diligence in
ensuring that every lawfully cast ballot is counted,' said the voters'
attorney Lance D. Collins. The voters are also represented by Bianca Isaki.

by Larry Geller

Read more on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Download a copy of her book,

Hawaii's story by Hawaii's queen, Liliuokalani, here.

Queen Liliʻuokalani

Liliʻuokalani (Hawaiian pronunciation: [liˌliʔuokəˈlɐni]; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. The composer of "Aloha ʻOe" and numerous other works, she wrote her autobiography Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen during her imprisonment following the overthrow.

 

A press release from Maui attorney Lance Collins:

August 11, 2022

Paia, Maui -- The Hawai'i Supreme Court affirmed that longline fishing
is not permitted in Hawai'i state waters in a memorandum opinion issued
today.
      Native Hawaiian waterman and Pa'ia resident Malama Chun had filed an
appeal against the state BLNR regarding his petition challenging DLNR's
practice of issuing licenses to foreign nonimmigrant fishermen refused
landing privileges and confined to their ships while in port.
    Chun originally filed his petition in April, 2017. The BLNR first
denied the petition on the grounds that Chun lacked standing. Chun
appealed and the Maui Environmental Court reversed that decision in
December, 2017, sending it back to the BLNR to decide the merits of
Chun's petition.
    The BLNR then decided that foreign fishermen who have been denied entry
into the United States and are confined to their ships pending
deportation are “lawfully admitted to the United States” and therefore
permitted to obtain commercial marine licenses.
    State law restricts the issuance of commercial fishing licenses to
persons “lawfully admitted to the United States” Foreign fishermen
working in the longline fishing industry are refused permission to land
in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are also
ordered deported. However, using a loophole, ICE authorizes the
fisherman's boat captain to hold the fisherman's passport and the
deportation order and allow the boat captain to determine when the
deportation is to occur. To enforce the deportation order, the piers at
which the fishing boats dock are heavily militarized and access is
restricted -- a practice criticized by the Human Rights Institute in its
2019 report of forced labor in Hawaii's longline fishing industry.
    The Supreme Court narrowly ruled that the legislature intended to limit
"state waters" under the licensing statute to 12 nautical miles from
shore and not out to the 200 mile exclusive economic zone. In so ruling,
the Court declined to address the BLNR's conclusion that a person
refused admission to the United States is nevertheless also lawfully
admitted to the United States.
    The holding is also limited by the legislature's passing of Act 43 last
year which radically changed commercial marine licenses processes.
Vessels, instead of individuals, are now issued commercial marine
licenses. In response to concerns over human rights abuses on board
longline vessels including Chun's petition, longline fishing vessels
must report the following information to the state annually in obtaining
vessel licenses: the identity, nationality, arrival date and departure
date of crew members of each vessel.
    Chun's attorney, Lance D. Collins, added: “While we are disappointed in
the narrow ruling of the Court, the court's decision and the new
reporting requirements of Act 43 will help to limit the more excessive
abuses of vulnerable foreign crewmembers in the longline industry.”
    Attorney Bianca Isaki also served as co-counsel for Malama Chun.


 

by Larry Geller

Honolulu has experienced a wave of "smash-and-grab" burglaries that is costing businesses expensive repair charges -- and which actually often net very little for the burglars. Basically, the doors or windows of a store or restaurant are smashed in middle of the night with rocks or by crashing a vehicle (usually stolen) into the storefront, then the thieves make off with cash registers or items of value.

A Star-Advertiser story (paywalled) reports that there have been 577 of these so far this year, as compared with 603 last year. That's a great increase over what was already a disturbingly large number of robberies.

(pic: Star-Advertiser Craig Kojima)

Footage from a surveillance video camera at the cafe showed three men entering the restaurant. Based on the footage, the burglary lasted about 1 minute and 15 seconds.

They just smashed the door, grabbed whatever they could get and left, said assistant manager Asia Gosnell. “If anything, I think the glass for the door is going to be more expensive than what they took.”

The glass door at Sophie’s Gourmet Hawaiian Pizzeria located next to the cafe also was shattered. Nothing was taken from the pizzeria.

Bandits also shattered the glass doors at Daiichi Ramen and BB.Q Chicken at Kuono Marketplace, a neighborhood shopping center that opened in Kahala in 2021.

Paul Ke, owner of Daiichi Ramen, said thieves took a cash register from his restaurant at about 2:15 a.m.

Ke said he wants the marketplace property management to hire additional security guards to patrol the grounds, especially after midnight.

The latest string of burglaries occurred following a series of smash-and-grab burglaries at other eateries at shopping centers and strip malls around Oahu in recent weeks and months.

If a burglary can be carried out in as little as a minute and 15 seconds, hiring more security guards may not be the solution -- thieves will learn to create a diversion and then hit the stores.

What may work would be to adopt practices used elsewhere to protect stores when they are closed -- rolling steel drop gates. I remember walking down the street from my home near Tokyo to the train station in the early morning -- every store was protected by a rolling steel drop gate.

The Web is full of examples.

Here's a "before" picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fix:

 

And here's a pic of a protected neighborhood, Park Slope in New York: (pic credit: flickr: Dan Nguyen, CC BY-NC 2.0)

The steel gates also block views of what's inside, perhaps reducing temptation, and may provide some protection against storms or hurricanes.

Just a suggestion, FWIW.

by Larry Geller

A confession: I discontinued my graduate studies in part because of the apparent requirement that I would be expected to produce scholarly papers -- that I felt no one outside of academia would ever read. And few people in academia either, because they were busy writing and publishing their own papers--that no one outside of academia would read.

I wanted to make a difference, and while I knew (and still believe) that research and publication are critically important activities, they were just not for me. I wanted to find a different path.

Ok, condemn me for this view. It was heartfelt at the time, right or wrong.

These days I frequently look up and read technical papers. End of confession.

Chad Blair has focused attention on one forthcoming paper that, thanks to his publicity, may (and should) be widely read.

Chad Blair: Why Micronesian Students Struggle In Hawaii.

The paper is:

“Racism and Discrimination against Micronesian Students in Hawaii,” it was produced by the Hawaii Scholars for Education and Social Justice.

The new report is focused on concerns over the “educational attainment, experiences, and problems” encountered by students from Micronesia in the public school system of Hawaii, especially at the K-12 level.

I hope Chad will post a link to the article when it is finally published (or available otherwise).

Meanwhile, please read his article if you care about equity in education in Hawaii.

 

 

 

by Larry Geller

I was listening to the Shep-A-Day podcast, which posts archived Jean Shepherd radio shows that originally aired on radio station WOR in New York City. It was a late-night show, and as a kid I would hide my transistor radio under my pillow and listen under the covers almost every night, as I fell asleep.

Below is a snip from Shep’s May 14, 1965 program. It’s a transcript of a commercial he read at the very end of the program.

Can you believe, a 10-course Chinese lunch for $2.25? Even if this offer is designed to be a loss-leader to bring in new customers, it boggles the mind that a restaurant could be this cheap.

The restaurant (on 21st St. in Manhattan) no longer exists, according to a Google search. I’d love to have been able to discover what the same meal costs there today.

For those who don’t know Jean Shepherd, he was a prolific entertainer, radio personality, author and even movie producer. Here’s his Wikipedia page.

His radio program was unusual – he talked continuously, played the kazoo and Jews Harp often. Every night he was on, for years and years, continuous talk. No one has matched his ability to do this. I recommend the podcast if you might be an old fan, or for those wanting to experience his unusual entertainment style. Here’s the RSS feed, or get it wherever you get your podcasts:

Shep-A-Day Fatheads Podcast: http://tomwsmf.com/podcasts/shepaday.rss

And here’s the commercial transcript:

"If you're going to make the restaurant scene over the weekend, I would highly like to recommend a visit to Happiness. It's an excellent restaurant. And I'm sorry that I've received all kinds of mail from people who missed our little party there before I went off to Australia, but Happiness is between 93rd and 94th Streets on Broadway.

And it is a fine Chinese restaurant and it really is a different kind. They serve the best dishes from Sichuan, Shanghai, Peking and Canton. It's really gourmet food and the prices are insanely moderate. You can get a fabulous 10 course dinner for just $2 and a quarter.

And it's unique. Not only that, you have this 10 course dinner and then you can eat as much as you want of it. That's two bucks and a quarter. It's a fantastic restaurant. It's served every day from 5:30 to 9:30pm and is an extremely pleasant restaurant. They serve a Hong Kong Tea House luncheon every day from noon to 4:30, hors d'oeuvres and Chinese pastries and so on.

At the lunch you just wouldn't believe how cheap that is. Nevertheless, it's Happiness and they're open Sunday. It's a great place to take the kids too. They've got a bar. It's Happiness between 93rd and 94th on Broadway."

Press release:

 

HONOLULU, Hawai‘i - On October 20, 2021, the Board of Land and Natural
Resources entered orders indicating it will rule on a petition for
declaratory orders from parties from the 2016-17 Thirty-Meter Telescope
permit contested case that challenges the University of Hawai‘i Hilo’s
assertion that TMT construction has already been initiated. Petitioners
Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Kealoha Pisciotta, Kū Ching, Deborah J. Ward, Paul
Neves, and KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance point out that TMT
construction has not begun and the Board should re-examine their 2017
permit approval in light of changed conditions surrounding the TMT project.

The group raised changed conditions including a $1 billion shortfall for
TMT funding, the Canadian Astronomical Association’s recent statement that
it cannot support the TMT without Native Hawaiians’ consent, and DLNR’s own
critical evaluation of University outreach and consultation with Hawaiians.

Currently, the University’s permit to build the TMT requires construction
to begin by September 26, 2021. If the Board grants the group’s petition,
the University would have to request another permit extension at a public
hearing before the Board or its permit would be void within a year. “The
University shouldn’t be able to twist facts in order to avoid public
scrutiny,” said Kealoha Pisciotta, “The TMT is not being constructed.”

The Board’s order set forth a 25 day schedule for briefing, after which it
will issue its ruling without a hearing.
 
Read the Board’s Order here

Read the Petition, filed May 24, 2021 here
 
Bianca Isaki, Ph.D., Esq.
KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance
808.927.5606

Read more on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Download a copy of her book,

Hawaii's story by Hawaii's queen, Liliuokalani, here.

Queen Liliʻuokalani

Liliʻuokalani (Hawaiian pronunciation: [liˌliʔuokəˈlɐni]; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. The composer of "Aloha ʻOe" and numerous other works, she wrote her autobiography Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen during her imprisonment following the overthrow.

“President Cleveland further concluded that a "substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair" and called for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.”

---

by Larry Geller


Cannon on the steps of the occupied Iolani Palace


On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was declared, with Sanford B. Dole as president. The illegal overthrow of the independent nation of Hawaii was complete.
Yes, although your daily paper may want you to forget this, it is history that should not be ignored. There’s even a federal law confirming the truth of the history they refuse to print.
From the Apology Resolution, United States Public Law 103-150:

Whereas, in a message to Congress on December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland reported fully and accurately on the illegal acts of the conspirators, described such acts as an "act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress", and acknowledged that by such acts the government of a peaceful and friendly people was overthrown... President Cleveland further concluded that a "substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair" and called for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.
Whereas, the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum.

A treaty of annexation was never passed by Congress, and President Grover Cleveland withdrew the treaty. Then on this day in history…

On July 4, 1894, the archipelago's new leaders responded to this rebuff by proclaiming a Republic of Hawaii, with Sanford Dole as president. Under its constitution, most legislators would be appointed rather than elected, and only men with savings and property would be eligible for public office. This all but excluded native Hawaiians from the government of their land… [From Overthrow, a book by Stephen Kinzer]

What was the motivation? Need you ask? Why is the US in Iraq?From the Washington Post review of Overthrow:

As Stephen Kinzer tells the story in Overthrow, America's century of regime changing began not in Iraq but Hawaii. Hawaii? Indeed. Kinzer explains that Hawaii's white haole minority -- in cahoots with the U.S. Navy, the White House and Washington's local representative -- conspired to remove Queen Liliuokalani from her throne in 1893 as a step toward annexing the islands. The haole plantation owners believed that by removing the queen (who planned to expand the rights of Hawaii's native majority) and making Hawaii part of the United States, they could get in on a lucrative but protected mainland sugar market. Ever wonder why free trade has such a bad name?

The road leading up to the declaration of the Republic of Hawaii was rocky, and can’t be summed up in a short blog article. Did you know, for example, that a US Senate investigation revealed that a bribe had been offered to Queen Liliuokalani to turn against her people and support the Republic? This snip is from a New York Times article on the Senate investigation, dated 1/29/1894:

The declaration of the Republic was not a single, static event. There was considerable debate in Congress on resolutions condemning the overthrow and proposed annexation. For example, this snip from the 1/25/1894 New York Times will give you an idea of the complexity that we lose in simplifying Hawaii’s history:

Each article is much longer than the snips above. It would be worthwhile to skim the New York Times for a complete account of the Congressional debate. No doubt this has already been done. If not, the articles are available on-line for the harvesting..
If you’re not familiar with Hawaiian history, beware of websites that work hard to re-write it. The true picture of the overthrow is not pretty, nor can the acts of the US government be justified or whitewashed. Google cautiously.
Let your children know that there is more to July 4 than barbeques and fireworks. It is a holiday that tears people apart here in Hawaii. See how you can work this history into your celebrations and festivities, so that it will never disappear.

Today is the day in history that the lawful government of Hawaii was forcibly removed in a coup d'état by a group of businessmen and sugar planters with the direct assistance of the US military. Queen Liliuokalani was forced to abdicate.

---

I Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom. "That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed a Honolulu and declared that he would support the Provisional Government." Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
— Queen Liliuokalani, Jan 17, 1893

---

From Wikipedia:

…The Hawaiian monarchy ended in a day of bloodless revolution. Armed insurrection by a relatively small group of men, most of them American by birth or heritage, succeeded in wresting control of the Islands with the backing of American troops sent ashore from a warship in Honolulu Harbor. To this "superior force of the United States of America," Queen Lili`uokalani yielded her throne, under protest, in order to avoid bloodshed, trusting that the United States government would right the wrong that had been done to her and the Hawaiian people. [hawaiination.org, “Spirit of Aloha,”, 5/1994]

On 14 January 1893, a group composed of Americans and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety seeking to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom, depose the Queen, and seek annexation to the United States. As the coup d'état was unfolding on 17 January the Committee of Safety expressed concern for the safety and property of American citizens. In response, United States Government Minister John L. Stevens summoned a company of U.S. Marines from the USS Boston and two companies of U.S. Navy sailors to take up positions at the U.S. Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall. On the afternoon of 16 January 1893, 162 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore under orders of neutrality. Historian William Russ has noted that the presence of these troops, ostensibly to enforce neutrality and prevent violence, effectively made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself.

The Queen was deposed on 17 January 1893 and temporarily relinquished her throne to "the superior military forces of the United States".She had hoped the United States, like Great Britain earlier in Hawaiian history, would restore Hawaii's sovereignty to the rightful holder.

Queen Liliuokalani issued the following statement yielding her authority to the United States Government rather than to the Provisional Government:

I Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom. "That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed a Honolulu and declared that he would support the Provisional Government." Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
—Queen Liliuokalani, Jan 17, 1893 [Wikipedia, Liliuokalani]

US troops from the USS Boston invade Hawaii (state archive photo). Probably the ship and the landing of troops could be seen by the Queen from the upstairs windows of the Iolani Palace, since the harbor was closer than it is today.

More photos and description at Overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy.

From the news release:

Lahaina, Maui -- Lahaina Hawaiian organization Na Aikane o Maui and Kauaula landowner Ke'eaumoku Kapu filed today to intervene in West Maui Land Co subsidiary's water rate increase proceeding before the Public Utility Commission.

Launiupoko Irrigation Co. is a subsidiary of West Maui Land Co. that operates a water utility from Wainee to Launiupoko in West Maui. LIC filed for a substantial rate increase in June. The rate increase application seeks approval for a massive expansion of the company's operations from its original 2003 approval of selling diverted water from Kauaula and Launiupoko Streams to pumping water from wells.

Although the Commission has not given approval to this major expansion, West Maui Land Co.'s other subsidiaries, Wainee Homes and Hope Builders have been trenching and laying the pipes for the expansion without any permits from the county and without any archaeological review.

The construction work has gone and proposes to go through multiple private parcels with disputed claims of ownership as well as old government roads owned by the County of Maui. The expansion plans to go through three historic Lahaina cemeteries.  Five grandmothers and mothers were arrested two weeks ago for blocking construction equipment on one of those parcels. Last week, construction in another area was halted when human remains were disturbed.

The intervenors seek the Commission to consider how the expansion of the system risks disturbance of human burials, decreases stream flow, and increases greenhouse gas emissions and use of imported fossil fuels, with consequent climate change impacts on wildfires, reefs, and cultural resources.

"The Commission should hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth before approving this massive rate increase," said Kauaula landowner Ke'eaumoku Kapu.

The intervenors are represented by attorneys Lance D. Collins, Bianca Isaki and Ryan Hurley. The Commission will rule on the motion at a future date.

The Motion to Intervene can be downloaded here.

“
Every board and commission is required to deliberate and make decisions
in an open manner after allowing the public an opportunity to testify.
.
” --Attorney Lance D. Collins

---

From today’s news release:

Kahuku, Oahu -- The Board of Education has agreed to settle Kahuku
parent Sunny Unga's lawsuit by re-hearing her petition for rule making.

In January, Ms. Unga filed a petition with the Board of Education asking
them to add a rule that requires schools and libraries to hold community
meetings before providing official comments on proposed developments.

Ms. Unga's concern stemmed from the Department of Education's official
comment of no concern regarding the Kahuku windmills that now tower
directly over Kahuku Elementary School.

The proposed rule would require the Department to hold a community
meeting and solicit family and community feedback before providing
official comment on proposed developments.

In early February, the Board held a secret, closed meeting where they
denied Ms. Unga's petition.

The Board of Education has now agreed to rescind the secret, closed vote
and to hold a new open meeting and allow public testimony before
considering the petition.

"We look forward to having the Board seriously consider requiring
earnest  and meaningful community engagement when developments are
proposed close to schools." said Plaintiff and Kahuku mother Sunny Unga.

The Board has not yet set the date to consider the petition.

by Larry Geller

The Supreme Court will finally hear oral arguments on SCAP-19-0000501 on Friday, September 18, 2020, 8:45 a.m., fully four years after the initial AP reports of Sept 8, 2016.

In these times of COVID, these foreign workers are displacing scarce jobs that would otherwise go to Native Hawaiians and other local fishermen. They also generally have language issues that would suggest they do not understand rules for conserving Hawaii's fish resources. Because they are not allowed to land in Hawaii, when the fishing boats are idle, they are nevertheless confined to the ship or the immediate area of the pier.

From the Supreme Court calendar scheduling the oral arguments:

---

Brief Description:

This case involves the interaction between the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) issuance of commercial marine licenses and HRS §§ 189-2 and 189-5, statutes which limit the taking of marine life.

HRS § 189-2(a) states, “No person shall take marine life for commercial purposes whether the marine life is caught or taken within or outside of the State, without first obtaining a commercial marine license[.]” HRS § 189-5 states, “It is unlawful for any person who has not been lawfully admitted to the United States to engage in taking marine life for commercial purposes in the waters of the State.”

Malama Chun (Chun) challenged the issuance of commercial marine licenses to foreign non-immigrant crewmembers on longline fishing boats that dock in Honolulu to sell their catch. Chun sought a declaratory order that the DLNR lacks the authority to issue commercial marine licenses to persons not lawfully admitted to the United States. The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) denied the petition; Chun appealed the decision to the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, which affirmed the BLNR. The Supreme Court accepted Chun’s application for transfer of this case. Chun contends that the circuit court erred on three grounds when it upheld the BLNR’s decision denying Chun’s Petition for Declaratory Order:

(1) Affirming BLNR’s conclusion that alien longline fishing crewmembers were “lawfully admitted” to the United States;

(2) Affirming BLNR’s conclusion that commercial fishing licenses may be issued to persons not lawfully admitted to the United States; and

(3) Concluding that Chun must present a factual record of violations of HRS § 189-2(a) by foreign non-immigrant crewmembers in order to obtain relief.

---

Google will turn up many articles on this issue, but here are some. Note that Bruce Anderson was head of DLNR and described the issue as a labor issue, outside of his jurisdiction:

Hawaii Agency Rejects Rule to Protect Foreign Fishermen

Hawaiian seafood caught by foreign crews confined on boats

Hawaii bill would ban licenses for some foreign fishermen

State agency opposes rule change for foreign fishermen

Oral arguments are streamed by the Supreme Court from their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/hawaiicourts

“
The court has reaffirmed that the community has a right to participate in shoreline development approval processes. Hopefully, the Maui Planning Commission will begin again to allow interested community members their right to participate in these proceedings. – Attorney Lance D. Collins
”

---

From the news release of September 14, 2020

Lahaina, Maui -- The Intermediate Court of Appeals invalidated the SMA approvals for Kahoma Villages, a mixed housing development in Lahaina.

In 2014, the area residents led by Michele Lincoln sought to intervene in the Maui Planning Commission Special Management Area (SMA) permit approval process. The commission denied the intervention.

Area residents raised several concerns: the elimination of beach access parking on Kenui Street, access to a six acre community park as required by the community plan, elimination of trees for listed endangered species, adverse impacts to drainage and runoff, destruction of Hawaiian cultural resources, failure to properly investigate the presence of Hawaiian burials in the project area, adverse traffic impacts and potential problems related to evacuation with development occurring in the Tsunami Inundation Zone.

The ICA ruled on three points.

First, the Commission erred when it ruled that the issues raised by the neighboring residents were the kinds of concerns the Commission was required to consider anyways in its decision-making so that intervention wasn't warranted. The Court noted that it was precisely that the residents concerns were within the Commission's decision-making that intervention should have been granted.

Second, the Commission's failure to hold a contested case on the residents concerns violated their right to due process under the Hawai'i State Constitution.

Third, while the Maui County Council granted the project a waiver from obtaining a community plan amendment under the Maui County Code, the state SMA law required the Commission independently find that the project is consistent with community plan before it may approve any project in the SMA.

"We are grateful to the Appeals Court and look forward to making our case before the Planning Commission," said the residents' group leader Michele Lincoln.

Craig G. Nakamura and Arsima A. Muller represented Stanford Carr Development, deputies corporation counsel Thomas Kolbe and Caleb Rowe represented the Maui Planning Commission, and Bianca Isaki represented the Waipio Bay Benevolent Association and Malama Kakanilua as amicus curiae.

 

I do have a larger, more solidly-made face shield, but this one is easy to make and carry and is cheap enough to discard when it gets damaged or smudgy. I keep a few in the car, and a few at home to grab before I go out.

The design first appeared on the Spoon and Tamago website (here) in April, but I couldn’t find suitable transparent material immediately.

At first I used a transparent cover from a page protector, which worked well but I had only one. The material has to be really transparent or it obscures your vision.

But then, an aha! moment: overhead transparency slides! They are thinner than Yoshioka recommends, but on the other hand they are cheap and I had a box of them. If you can find thicker material at the stationery store that would be better, but this works well enough for me.

The only other required ingredient is eyeglasses. Or rather, an eyeglass frame. You can knock the lenses out of an old, beat-up pair of sunglasses or reading glasses if you are not an eyeglass wearer yourself.

Yoshioka’s template is here.  I have erased his text to make my own template, which is here.

To use: copy onto as many OHP slides as you wish to make, then cut them out. Make the two slits for inserting the eyeglass frame.

It may seem tricky to put together the first time. Turn the eyeglass frame upside down. Push the earpieces through the slits all the way. Then to wear, turn the eyeglass frame right side up. The earpieces will be on the outside, the lenses on the inside. After the first time it is easy.

Yes, the material is thinner, but the price is right, and you can make them yourself easily. Make some for the family. Keep one or more in the car.

Read more on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Download a copy of her book,

Hawaii's story by Hawaii's queen, Liliuokalani, here.

Queen Liliʻuokalani

Liliʻuokalani (Hawaiian pronunciation: [liˌliʔuokəˈlɐni]; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. The composer of "Aloha ʻOe" and numerous other works, she wrote her autobiography Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen during her imprisonment following the overthrow.

by Larry Geller

It’s déjà vu all over again in Hawaii state government.

In 1993 attorneys filed a lawsuit against Hawaii’s Department of Education and Department of Health for an almost complete failure to provide special education services to special needs students in Hawaii.

The resulting consent decree dragged on for a dozen years and didn’t end before Judge David Ezra found both departments to be in contempt of court.

Once again, both the DOE and DOH are refusing to cooperate in the public interest. This time, both state agencies have refused to provide information requested by the state auditor.

The auditor’s reports are clear, straightforward and easy to understand. Today’s report on the DOE includes this, taken from the summary:

“As we note throughout our report, we received no cooperation from DOE. The department did not provide any of the documents we requested, limiting our review to policies and procedures that are publicly available on DOE’s website and elsewhere online. We had hoped to interview DOE to clarify how these plans have been implemented and followed, among other things. However, notwithstanding repeated requests, DOE declined to schedule meetings with us before the issuance of this report. As many of our questions echo those being asked by the public and public officials, it is unreasonable for DOE to refuse our requests about their safety and health guidelines. This is especially critical since teachers and some students have already returned to campus.”

The report on DOH was posted two days ago and includes this:

“Now, more than ever, DOH must be transparent and accountable. The lack of cooperation we received is, frankly, inexcusable. Public confidence in the department, specifically in its ability to perform timely contact tracing of the growing number of positive cases, has been eroded. The community now has many questions about the process that DOH has, for months, represented as under control. For DOH to effectively protect public health and reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus so we can begin re-starting our economy, it is critical the department rebuild public trust. This health emergency demands DOH ensure that its response is transparent by providing the public with complete, timely, and accurate information.”

Both reports are comprehensive and straightforward, worded in plain language.

Concerned Hawaii citizens and legislators should review these and consider why our state agencies are not cooperating in the public interest in this time of pandemic crisis.

From today’s press release:

MAUI TENANTS WELCOME FEDERAL COURT DECISION PRESERVING
LOW-INCOME HOUSING

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Tenants of the Lahaina Front Street Apartments low-income housing project
welcomed a federal court decision this week that ensures that the project will stay affordable until
2051. The 40-page decision by Hawai‘i federal District Court Judge Jill Otake rejected an attempt by
the project developer, Front Street Affordable Housing Partners, to unilaterally end the restrictions
that prevent the developer from sharply raising rents or selling the project unencumbered by the rent
restrictions.

The Front Street project was built in 2001 to provide affordable rental housing to low income residents of
Maui. Front Street is one of the few affordable housing complexes left on Maui. Currently, the maximum
income for four is about $55,000 to rent an apartment at Front Street. In return for $15 million in state
funded tax credits, the developer promised by covenant to keep the apartments affordable for 51 years.

However, after just 15 years, the developer asked the state's financing agency, the Hawai‘i Housing
Finance & Development Corporation (HHFDC), for permission to end the restrictions. HHFDC rubberstamped the developer’s request without complying with applicable law, according to attorneys
representing the tenants. Without the court challenge, the ending of rent restrictions could have led to
the doubling or tripling of rents and the eviction of low-income tenants who were unable to pay.

The court ruled that the developer was obligated to honor its commitment to keep rents affordable for
the next 31 years, and that an attempted “release” of the low-income restrictions between the developer
and HHFDC was unenforceable. The court explained, “under Hawai‘i law, the Release is invalid because
it was not done pursuant to a term in the Declaration and instead executed by agreement between” the
developer and HHFDC “without any consent of beneficiaries like Plaintiffs.”

Tenant Mike Tuttle, the lead plaintiff in the case, expressed relief at the decision. Tuttle (57), has lived
at Front Street with his teenage daughters since 2015. Until March, when he was furloughed as a result
of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuttle worked as a Retail Sales Manager. “It's almost impossible to find
affordable housing on Maui,” said Tuttle. “It’s great to know that I will able to keep a roof over my head
and for my kids.”

The tenants were represented pro bono by Andrew Lillie, Joseph Lambert, and Cory Wroblewski of
the international law firm of Hogan Lovells US LLP, Victor Geminiani and Tom Helper of the Honolulu
nonprofit Lawyers for Equal Justice, and Maui attorney Lance Collins.

“We are very pleased with the decision,” said attorney Joseph Lambert of Hogan Lovells US LLP, lead
counsel in the case. “The court’s ruling ensures that the Front Street Apartments will remain rentrestricted
and affordable through 2051, which is what the developer originally promised it would do.”

Lawyers for Equal Justice attorney Tom Helper noted that the decision criticized the Hawai‘i Housing
Finance and Development Corporation—which is supposed to protect low-income housing—for
approving the developer’s attempt to end affordability restrictions. “HHFDC should have been on the side
of the tenants in this dispute, not the developer,” Helper said.

Lance Collins explained that “when a developer gets substantial tax credits and zoning concessions on
the promise that they will build a project for affordable housing, we must be keep them to the word.”

“Like many others at Front Street, I am retired and living on a fixed income,” said plaintiff Chi Guyer. “If
the court hadn't protected us from rent increases, I would not be able to afford to live on Maui.”

Front Street Lawyers for Equal Justice

Mayor Kirk Caldwell is term-limited. Since he has persisted in his cruel, middle-of-the-night sweeps of the houseless community, I for one will be glad to see him go. But these sweeps need to stop. right. now.

The ACLU of Hawaii released the following statement today.

COMMUNITY ADVOCATES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND OFFICIALS CALL ON THE CITY AND HPD TO END CONTINUED “SWEEPS” OF HOUSELESS FAMILIES DURING THE PANDEMIC

Honolulu, Hawaii: Over 70 officials, organizations, and individuals — representing a broad range of interests and constituencies — released a statement today calling for a halt to “sweeps” of the houseless community during this ongoing pandemic. Many members of this community are families, but the City and County of Honolulu and the Honolulu Police Department have promised to continue citations and arrests for anyone in parks and beaches, even if they have nowhere else to go.

The statement and list of signatories is as follows:

We call on the leadership of the City and County of Honolulu — and the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) in particular — to stop sweeping our houseless neighbors in the middle of this unprecedented global pandemic. It is cruel, legally questionable (at best), and a threat to public health and safety. Public health experts locally and nationally say this is bad health policy, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) itself has weighed in with the following guidance: “Considerations for encampments — If individual housing options are not available, allow people who are living unsheltered or in encampments to remain where they are. Clearing encampments can cause people to disperse throughout the community and break connections with service providers. This increases the potential for infectious disease spread.”

That is crystal clear. And yet — flying in the face of CDC guidance — last week HPD Chief Susan Ballard said people who are unsheltered will be cited and arrested if they are in the parks or on the beaches. Making this more confusing is the fact that since the pandemic began, more than 10,000 citations have been issued statewide — thousands to people who are unsheltered — and prosecutors on Oahu and Maui have begun dismissing those citations en masse because they never should have been issued in the first place. This is because people who are houseless are exempt under the emergency orders because they have no place else to go. Issuing new citations after dismissing old citations is nothing more than harassment.

We all want people who are unsheltered to get into housing, but our shelters now have less space than ever because of social distancing guidelines. Just this week there has been an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Iwilei homeless shelter. Forcing more people inside will make this worse. And if an unsheltered person is arrested for being in a park or on a beach on O‘ahu, they’ll be sent to the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center, which is now seeing its own growing outbreak of the virus. We never agree with these sweeps. They’re cruel, ineffective, and the 9th Circuit Court of appeals has said sweeps like these are unconstitutional, a decision the U.S. Supreme Court let stand. But aside from those legal, philosophical, and humanitarian differences with the City’s policy, continuing with sweeps now is endangering public safety, not protecting it. Please join us in a call to end this practice, at least until this pandemic is behind us.

Signatories

African-American Lawyers Association
ALEA Bridge
American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i
Church and Society, Harris United Methodist Church
Drug Policy Forum of Hawai‘i
Family Promise of Hawai‘i
Hawai‘i Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development
Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice
Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network
Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights
Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center
Hawai‘i Innocence Project
Hawai‘i J-20+
Hawai‘i Public Health Institute
Hawai‘i Strategy Lab
Hui Aloha
Japanese American Citizens League - Honolulu Chapter
Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai‘i
Mental Health America of Hawai‘i
Muslim Association of Hawai‘i
Honolulu Hawai‘i NAACP
National Association of Social Workers-Hawai‘i
ʻŌiwi TV
Pacific Gateway Center
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawai‘i
The Pōpolo Project
Project Hiehie
Project Vision Hawai‘i
Temple Emanu-El
UNITE HERE! Local 5
Dr. Amy Agbayani
Christopher Akana
Alani Apio, Hui Aloha volunteer
Shanty Sigrah Asher
Sonja Bigalke-Bannan, MSW, LSW
Twinkle Borge, Pu‘uhonua O Wai‘anae
Cathy Kawano-Ching, Hui Aloha volunteer
Samantha Church
Rev. Thomas J. FitzGerald, First Unitarian Church of Honolulu
Cecilia H. Fordham
Lieutenant Governor Josh Green
Clare Hanusz, Attorney-at-Law
Jen Jenkins, Community Co-Chair to the Department of Heath's Sex and Gender Minority Work Group
Darrah Kauhane, Executive Director of Project Vision Hawai‘i and Project Hiehie
John Kawamoto
Rynette Keen
Justin F. Kollar, Prosecuting Attorney - County of Kaua‘i
James Koshiba, Hui Aloha
Professor Linda Hamilton Krieger, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law
Charles R. Lawrence III, Prof. Emeritus, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law 
Professor Ken Lawson
Professor Mark A. Levin
Professor Justin Levinson
Professor Mari Matsuda
Diane Matsuura, Harris United Methodist Church
Patricia McManaman, Retired Attorney
Leʻa Minton, Certified Nurse-Midwife, MI-Home Program
Dee Nakamura
Deja Ostrowski, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai‘i 
Professor Robert Perkinson
Kaimana Pine, Hui Aloha volunteer
Rosanna Prieto, MSW
Cheryl Prince, LCSW
Nathalie Rita, PhD Candidate
Dodie Rivera, MSN, RN
Darlene Rodrigues
Darcie Scharfenstein, Hui Aloha volunteer
Professor Nandita Sharma
Dina Shek, Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai‘i
Professor Avi Soifer
Chloe Stewart
Nicky S. Winter, Executive Director of ALEA Bridge
Summer Lee Yadao
Professor Eric Yamamoto, Fred T. Korematsu Professor of Law and Social Justice

The Hawaiian language, along with English, are the two official languages of the State of Hawaii. From most official communications, you’d never know it. The situation described in the press release below is typical of state and county government administration across the board, and needs to be remedied. Of course, there are other languages spoken in the state that need to be accommodated as well.

From the press release dated August 4, 2020:

The ACLU Foundation of Hawai'i, Common Cause Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Institute for Philippine Studies have called on Attorney General Clare Connors and election officials to provide appropriate language access to limited English proficient and Hawaiian language speaking voters with translated ballots and voting material as required by state law.

State law requires that state agencies and covered entities provide written translations of vital documents for each limited English proficient group that constitutes five per cent or one thousand, whichever is less, of the population of persons eligible to be served or likely to be affected or encountered. The state also has an obligation to provide translations of voting material in the Hawaiian language as part of its obligation to ensure the revival of the Hawaiian language.

On O'ahu, there are roughly 44,700 Tagalog speakers (92.9% are 18 years and older), 38,700 Japanese speakers (88.7% are 18 years and older), 37,500 Ilokano speakers (93.4% are 18 years and older), 28,700 Chinese speakers (88.7% are 18 years and older), 17,700 Spanish speakers (85.1% are 18 years and older), there are also 17,800 Korean speakers and 9,400 Vietnamese speakers mostly situated in O'ahu.

Honolulu is presently providing translated materials upon request to Ilokano and Chinese speaking voters only.

In Maui and Kauai Counties, there are roughly 15,900 Ilokano speakers (91.4% are 18 years and older), 8,500 Tagalog speakers (92.9% are 18 years and older), 4,600 Spanish speakers (85.1% are 18 years and older), and 2,800 Japanese speakers (88.7%% are 18 years and older).

Maui and Kauai are not presently providing translated materials to anyone.

Statewide, of the 58,00 Ilokano speakers, 67.8% are citizens. Of the 58,000 Tagalog speakers, 78.9% are citizens. Of the 45,500 Japanese speakers, 73% are citizens. Of 29,600 Chinese speakers, 84.8% are citizens. Of the 26,200 Spanish speakers, 84.8% are citizens.

Finally, the counties have a moral and legal obligation to provide Hawaiian language translations of all voting materials. Last year, the Hawai'i Supreme Court recognized the state has an affirmative duty to revitalize the Hawaiian language.

"The cost of providing translated ballot materials incurs the most minimal costs to the elections budget. But without providing such materals, it extracts a great toll on society: the disenfranchisement of whole communities of voters," said attorney Lance D. Collins.

The groups are asking the attorney general to answer by August 18.

Intervenors stand up to protect the iwi kupuna of Maui

In 2018, the owners of the Grand Wailea Resort filed for permission from the Maui Planning Commission to remodel and expand the resort within a Special Management Area in Paeahu, Maui.

Three Native Hawaiian community groups - Mālama Kakanilua, Hoʻoponopono o Mākena and Pele Defense Fund - were granted a petition to intervene in the proceedings. The intervenors are taking on mega corporate hotel giant BRE-Iconic, which is part of the Blackstone group and controls many worldwide hotel properties including the Grand Wailea Resort. Between 1986 and 2009, the Department of Land and Natural Resources reported finding 344 burials on the Grand Wailea grounds in South Maui. These iwi kupuna (ancestral remains) were disturbed, crushed and "relocated" from the 40 acre parcel to make way for the mega luxury resort, and important cultural sites were also destroyed. The intervenors are fighting to stop further desecration that would happen if the Grand Wailea is allowed to remodel and expand.

The Maui Planning Commission appointed Maui attorney Linden Joesting as the Hearings Officer for the contested case. On May 7, Joesting issued an order denying that the proceedings were required to be open to the public, reaffirming an earlier decision that the proceedings move forward regardless of the COVID-19 emergency or the stay at home orders on the basis of needing to "get[] the administrative law work of the County done."

On May 19, media groups wrote to the hearings officer and the Chair of the Maui Planning Commission asking that the contested case be reopened to the public. But thereafter, another secret hearing occurred where the hearings officer made further rulings. Media organizations and journalists were left with no choice and lodged a Petition for Writ of Mandamus with the Hawai'i Supreme Court, seeking an order requiring the contested case proceedings be reopened to the public.

In July, the Hawai'i Supreme Court, in the case Disappeared News v. Maui Planning Commission, ordered the Maui Planning Commission to answer and explain why they closed the contested case proceedings to the press and public. Subsequently, the Maui Planning Commission reopened the hearings to the public, beginning this week.

The first session was held Tuesday, July 28th. In this hearing, Hearings Officer Joesting issued several summary judgments, prohibiting evidence on: shoreline certification issues or the location of the shoreline, environmental assessment issues in regard to the shoreline or perhaps entirely, future plans on traffic, water issues that do not pertain to meeting water system standards, and affordable housing.

The hearings now move on to the next phase, in which each side will be allotted 9.5 hours to present their cases. BRE will begin, starting on July 29th at 9 am. It is expected that the intervenors will present their witnesses on July 31st and August 3rd.

All media and the public is invited to watch these hearings on Zoom.

Upcoming Hearing Dates (all HST): *

07/29/2020 at 9:00 am
07/30/2020 at 8:30 am
07/31/2020 at 8:30 am
08/03/2020 at 10:00 am

Use this link to join the Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87465786755
Zoom Webinar ID: 874 6578 6755

* Is the Zoom link not working? Contact Clare Apana at 808-214-4411

These start times are correct as of 07/28.

Please see the article by Henry Curtis here:

Grand Wailea -- Zoom-Based Hawai`i Contested Case Proceeding is Underway

Via attorney Lance Collins:

Maui attorney Lance D. Collins, on behalf of unsheltered houseless registered voters, and the ACLU of Hawai'i are calling on the Maui election officials to address problems related to voter disenfranchisement concerns with the new voting system.

The County is implementing the new 'mail-in' voting system. For individuals who do not have a permanent address and are unable to obtain a post office box, the only service available to them is "general delivery." However, because of the limited resources of the postal service, an individual may only obtain "general delivery" for 30 days in any 12 month period. This forces such registered voters to choose between having a ballot delivered for the primary or for the general election, but not both.

The alternative is to go to the one voting service center in Maui, the Velma McWayne Santos Wailuku Community Center. For individuals of limited means, this puts a monetary cost to getting transported to the site that more affluent voters do not face. Additionally, for individuals in more remote areas such as East Maui, Kahikinui and Honokohau, where there is limited or no home mail delivery service, getting to Wailuku is also a significant burden.

The civil rights attorneys are calling on the County of Maui to open additional voting service centers in Hana and Lahaina as well as to waive the return trip fare on the Maui Bus for those registered voters in Central Maui, Upcountry, South Maui and Haiku/Paia who travel to voting service centers.

"The mail-in voting system has greatly simplified the logistics of our election system. Yet, the benefit of those efficiencies are nullified where rural and economically disadvantaged voters are deprived of their right to vote." said attorney Lance D. Collins.

by Larry Geller

Longline fishing boats are exactly the kind of confined space that promotes transmission of the coronavirus.

The fishing industry is depressed right now, so perhaps some ships are idled with no crew present. Those still out plying the waves seem potentially vulnerable.

Hawaii also has a special problem: the majority of its longline fleet is crewed by foreign fishermen illegally licensed contrary to state law HRS §189-5. State law restricts the issuance of commercial fishing licenses to persons “lawfully admitted to the United States”. Foreign fishermen working in the longline fishing industry are refused permission to land in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

At the pier one can see a few boats docked and clusters of alien fishermen remaining on the boat decks.

Isn’t it time to send them home (with pay!) and let Hawaiians crew these ships as the economy recovers?

by Larry Geller

The Maui News reported today that the:

Grand Wailea hearings open to the public

but the parties in Disappeared News vs. Maui Planning Commission are not satisfied that any member of the public wishing to participate will be able to do so. At the June 9 meeting their chosen videoconferencing system chocked and was unable to accommodate everyone seeking to log into the meeting. Unless the technological problems are overcome, many or most members of the public wishing to remotely attend future meetings may again be denied.

The way the BlueJeans system was administered at that meeting, members of the public could “bomb” the livestream with unwanted interference. Those who use other conference or webinar software such as the popular Zoom system are aware that a meeting can accommodate large numbers of attendees remotely with routine success. At this point in the CO-19 crisis, successfully running livestreamed meetings is not rocket science.

The Maui News reported:

The media groups “are of the position that the [Hawaii Supreme Court] order without more does not satisfy the Constitutional obligations of the commission,” [attorney Lance] Collins said in a July 2 letter to Lawrence Carnicelli, chairman of the Maui Planning Commission, and Michele McLean, director of the Planning Department.

Hearings could be streamed on YouTube with public interaction over WebEx. Akaku Maui Community Media, which broadcasts county board and commission meetings, also could be a resource.

(see earlier articles including:

Media group lawsuit succeeds in opening public access to contested case hearing over the Grand Wailea Resort's proposed expansion permit application )

The Maui Planning Commission agenda for July 14, 2020 lists Collins’ letter to the Commission under the heading “Communications” and indicates that “The Commission may take action with respect to the letter” but does not specify what that action might be or if any such action is planned for the July 14 meeting (in which case it should properly appear on the agenda).

See: this lWink for Maui Planning Commission agendas. According to the Sunshine Law, agendas must be posted six days before the meeting.

“President Cleveland further concluded that a "substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair" and called for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.”

---

by Larry Geller


Cannon on the steps of the occupied Iolani Palace


On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was declared, with Sanford B. Dole as president. The illegal overthrow of the independent nation of Hawaii was complete.
Yes, although your daily paper may want you to forget this, it is history that should not be ignored. There’s even a federal law confirming the truth of the history they refuse to print.
From the Apology Resolution, United States Public Law 103-150:

Whereas, in a message to Congress on December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland reported fully and accurately on the illegal acts of the conspirators, described such acts as an "act of war, committed with the participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without authority of Congress", and acknowledged that by such acts the government of a peaceful and friendly people was overthrown... President Cleveland further concluded that a "substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair" and called for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.
Whereas, the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum.

A treaty of annexation was never passed by Congress, and President Grover Cleveland withdrew the treaty. Then on this day in history…

On July 4, 1894, the archipelago's new leaders responded to this rebuff by proclaiming a Republic of Hawaii, with Sanford Dole as president. Under its constitution, most legislators would be appointed rather than elected, and only men with savings and property would be eligible for public office. This all but excluded native Hawaiians from the government of their land… [From Overthrow, a book by Stephen Kinzer]

What was the motivation? Need you ask? Why is the US in Iraq?From the Washington Post review of Overthrow:

As Stephen Kinzer tells the story in Overthrow, America's century of regime changing began not in Iraq but Hawaii. Hawaii? Indeed. Kinzer explains that Hawaii's white haole minority -- in cahoots with the U.S. Navy, the White House and Washington's local representative -- conspired to remove Queen Liliuokalani from her throne in 1893 as a step toward annexing the islands. The haole plantation owners believed that by removing the queen (who planned to expand the rights of Hawaii's native majority) and making Hawaii part of the United States, they could get in on a lucrative but protected mainland sugar market. Ever wonder why free trade has such a bad name?

The road leading up to the declaration of the Republic of Hawaii was rocky, and can’t be summed up in a short blog article. Did you know, for example, that a US Senate investigation revealed that a bribe had been offered to Queen Liliuokalani to turn against her people and support the Republic? This snip is from a New York Times article on the Senate investigation, dated 1/29/1894:

The declaration of the Republic was not a single, static event. There was considerable debate in Congress on resolutions condemning the overthrow and proposed annexation. For example, this snip from the 1/25/1894 New York Times will give you an idea of the complexity that we lose in simplifying Hawaii’s history:

Each article is much longer than the snips above. It would be worthwhile to skim the New York Times for a complete account of the Congressional debate. No doubt this has already been done. If not, the articles are available on-line for the harvesting..
If you’re not familiar with Hawaiian history, beware of websites that work hard to re-write it. The true picture of the overthrow is not pretty, nor can the acts of the US government be justified or whitewashed. Google cautiously.
Let your children know that there is more to July 4 than barbeques and fireworks. It is a holiday that tears people apart here in Hawaii. See how you can work this history into your celebrations and festivities, so that it will never disappear.

by Larry Geller

The case of Disappeared News v. The Maui Planning Commission has resulted in an apparent victory for those insisting that open government rules be followed.

In an order sending the matter back to the Maui Planning Commission to obtain relief, the Hawai'i Supreme Court noted that: "the Planning Department, BRE, and Intervenors agree that public access should be provided to the contested hearing by the Planning Commission. It appears that the parties generally favor arranging for livestream or alternative means for the public to observe the proceedings."

"Without the intervention of the Hawaii Supreme Court, this case would have continued in the darkness of closed proceedings. We look forward to a formal announcement on how the public may observe the conduct of these proceedings." said attorney Lance D. Collins. He has requested that if the hearings officer does not reopen the proceedings officially that the matter be placed on the Maui Planning Commission's next meeting agenda, which is scheduled to occur before the rescheduled hearing date for the contested case.

If the Commission does not open its hearing, the parties are allowed to return to the Supreme Court for further relief.

In contention are also demands for recusal of the hearings officer. See:

Maui Planning Commission sneaks Hawaiian burial group’s motion onto agenda, hears arguments without allowing public testimony

For those wishing to take a deeper dive into the issues in the hearing, a trove of 36 documents is available for download here:

https://tinyurl.com/MauiPlanningCommission

and a Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest post is here:

https://www.civilbeatlawcenter.org/case/maui-planning-commission/