Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Karen Ahn has told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and other local media outlets that they can fight to keep certain records open to the public in a case involving the shooting death of Kailua resident Kollin Elderts at a Waikiki McDonalds. Elderts, 23, was killed by Christopher Deedy, a 28-year-old U.S. State Department special agent, on Nov. 5, 2011 while he was in Honolulu on a security assignment for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. Deedy’s attorney has claimed his client was acting in self-defense, and had even filed a motion on May 14 to dismiss the case saying the State Department agent was acting in his official capacity. That filing also included an exhibit with screen shots from a McDonald’s surveillance video. ... Continue reading →
Chad Blair/Civil Beat Candidates running as Democrats in Hawaii this year must pay $500 a minute to address party delegates at the annual convention this week. So far, only one contender — U.S. Senate candidate Mazie Hirono — has accepted the fee. She'll speak for eight minutes Saturday at the Sheraton Waikiki, setting her back $4,000. It won't hurt her campaign much; she had $1.6 million in cash on hand for her 2012 race, according to her most recent campaign finance reports. But her primary opponent, Ed Case, who had only about $211,000 on hand, said he has better uses for his limited resources. Case expressed bewilderment at a press conference Tuesday that his party would not allow top candidates for office to address the ... Continue reading →
A Maui police officer shot and killed a man in Kihei Tuesday after the man allegedly pulled a handgun on the officer, according to a Maui County official. Read More » Continue reading →
Nanea Kalani/Civil Beat Hawaii's elections can move ahead as planned under political boundaries that exclude nonresident military personnel, a panel of federal judges ruled Tuesday. The court denied a preliminary injunction seeking to toss out the redistricting plan approved in March by the state Reapportionment Commission. The judges said invalidating the plan would be "spawning chaos rather than confidence in the election process." The plaintiffs — eight Hawaii voters, including state Rep. Mark Takai — had argued the plan is unconstitutional and discriminatory because it removed more than 100,000 military personnel, their dependents and out-of-state university students from political district population totals. Four of the plaintiffs are military personnel or veterans. Their lawsuit claims the plan violates the federal Equal Protection Clause. "Although we recognize ... Continue reading →
@NaneaKalani Spotted at a deli in Harvard Square http://t.co/3P72sVxK Continue reading →
A final decision by the state Land Use Commission in the Hoopili case is set for Tuesday. However, D.R. Horton, the project developer, has requested a two-week extension to file additional documents laying out its argument for why the commissioners are permitted to reclassify important ag land for urban development. Opponents in the case have argued that it goes against the state constitution. Commissioners will make a decision on Horton’s motion during Tuesday proceedings. Members of the community can provide oral testimony in the case on Tuesday, as has been the case throughout the hearing process. Address: 235 S Beretania St., Honolulu The LUC has yet to set a time for when testimony will be heard You can also email your testimony to: luc@dbedt.hawaii.gov The ... Continue reading →
Hawaii State Archives Hawaii's historic preservation agency was given more than $600,000 by the Legislature in the past year to beef up staff in order to avoid losing its federal certification. But the State Historic Preservation Division didn't spend any of that money on new hires. Instead it bought iPads and new cars and extended the contract of a private company. SHPD's director said she thought that a couple of staff had been hired this year — the department's total budget is about $2 million — but this is far short of the number of positions that the National Park Service says need to be filled in just the next few months in order to prevent federal action. The agency is in charge of protecting ... Continue reading →
