Tag Archives: Honolulu

Counties want to be the Police, Prosecutor, Judge, Jury and Executioner!

Best-kept secret is HB29 HD1 that is being quietly pushed through at the Hawaii State Legislature.

#HB29 is getting weirder by the minute. An attorney from Ashford & Wriston representing the Hawaii Bankers Association (HBA( testified that Hawaii already has a non-judicial foreclosure for delinquent mortgages, which is true. She cited the Hawaii Revised Statutes HRS 667 on foreclosure.

So, Chair #DavidTarnas said he would incorporate the bankers’ testimony into their HB29. amendment.

But, why? It doesn’t make sense. There is NO Mortgage involved. No private property owner applied or got a mortgage from the County.

We’re talking heavy smokes and mirrors, apples and oranges here. Expectedly, Bankers can force a NON-JUDICIAL foreclosure if a private property borrower does not pay. A property owner knowingly entered into a mortgage contract with promise to pay the bank.

But with this new POWER OF SALE HB29, it’s a forced “taking”. The County wants to sell a private property — based on a County civil fine — WITHOUT going to court. EVERY private property owner becomes a sitting duck.

This is really spooky. It exposes all private property owners to the whims of the government. HB29 HD1 is a fast lane to Tyranny.

Give voice. I testified that allowing the Counties Non-Judicial POWER OF SALE – – to sell private properties based on DPP’s civil fines WITHOUT going to court – – is unconstitutional and violates the 14th US Amendment. I asked if the public can trust DPP to be the POLICE, PROSECUTOR, JUDGE, JURY, & EXECUTIONER!

You can also see the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting’s reasons for wanting more easy Powers here. Dawn Takeuchi Apana‘s excuses for this quick Power of Sale are that their existing eminent domain power is too slow and costly and the city is short-staffed.

Do we really want to trust DPP who does not respect basic Constitutional Private Property Rights?

Sort by Date Status Tex

2/5/2025 H The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) #Tarnas, #Poepoe, #Belatti, #Hashem, #Kahaloa, #Perruso, #Takayama, #Todd;
Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) #Shimizu;
1 Noes: Representative(s) #Garcia; and
1 Excused: Representative(s) #Cochran.

1/31/2025 H Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 02-05-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

1/30/2025 H Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with Representative(s) #Alcos, #Matsumoto, #Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) #Garcia, #Muraoka, #Pierick voting no (3) and Representative(s) #Cochran, #Ward excused (2).

1/30/2025 H Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 20) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

1/28/2025 H The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) #Hashem,
#Lamosao, #Ichiyama, #Iwamoto, #Morikawa, #Poepoe, #Shimizu, #Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) #Belatti; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) #Woodson.

1/24/2025 H Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Tuesday, 01-28-25 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

As Mayor, I will invite INDEPENDENT experts to re-examine the Honolulu Rail Skyline

I’m  originally from Singapore and I appreciate efficient multi-modal transportation. 

My trusted friend Natalie Iwasa, CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner, and I have been participating and observing City Hall for the last two decades. We know the good, the bad and the ugly.

​We must stop the social media games and be honest with the Public.

Status Quo will not cut it.

The Rail Skyline is out of control.

If we do not control and reset these project costs, our children will pay for today’s mistakes.

As Mayor, I will do the following:

Every one is coming from a good place. I will gather all stakeholders, including City Council and HART back to the round table to analyze this project. INDEPENDENT experts in contracts, legal, costs-analysis, engineering, budget, environment, cultural, and others will be invited.

The public will have its say in this much needed reassessment. 

Should HART be dissolved? 

Should Rail Skyline be under the Transportation Department?

​There will be no sacred cows; no tail wagging the dogs. There will be no hiding behind or blaming the FTA. FTA is not the monster or the Wizard of Oz behind the curtains. FTA is here to help and respect State Rights. 

There should be no managing Rail Skyline through Public Relations handlers and insulting the Public Intelligence from the Mayor’s Office.

​I have zero donations from lobbyists or PACs. I can be 100% independent to question the project with independent industry experts.

​Together with all stakeholders and Oahu residents, we can decide the most pragmatic solutions for Oahu.

As Mayor, I will re-assess the Honolulu Rail Skyline with Independent Experts

This project started in 2006 at the price tag of $2.7 BILLION. It’s filled with gross mishaps and mismanagement. The price tag is now around $12 BILLION and incomplete.

We must stop social media games and be honest with the Public. Status Quo will not cut it. The Rail Skyline is out of control. The Maintenance & Operations costs are unclear. If we do not control and reset these project costs, our children will pay for today’s mistakes.

My trusted friend Natalie Iwasa, CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner, and I have been participating and observing City Hall for the last two decades. We know the good, the bad and the ugly.

The 2012 Porter Report warned the city that it could not support both the Rail and its core services. The city ignores these warnings but continue to engage a “sunk-costs” Status Quo. 

Mayor Blangiardi does not tell you that over $712 million was approved for Rail for 2025 city budget. Every year, big chunks of money are eaten up by rail but the Mayor has not told you about it, has he?

Portions of the Rail from Middle Street to Ala Moana Center is in the Honolulu Sea Level Rise Inundation Zone.

Why are we ignoring the City’s own data? 

Why is the city throwing hundreds of millions ( and billions) of dollars into this without further consideration?

HonoluluMayor2024 – Corporate Media Blackout & Censorship Overdrive?

I’m experimenting in democracy by running for Mayor for Honolulu. I don’t collect donations from Lobbyists or PACs.

The incumbent Mayor Rick Blangiardi has a war-chest of about $1.7 Million. Not only does he have the vast resources of his Office to campaign from, he has the money to buy TV ads and mass mail out to throughout the island of Oahu.

I don’t have that resources because I’m campaigning on the premise that money must not control our political campaigns. I tell people they don’t need to donate but to consider voting for me and to tell their friends.

FACEBOOK is my FREE social media to share with my friends. Here is a post (recollected) I shared this morning.

#honolulumayor2024: How is Status Quo benefitting us? The Oligarchy makes it a big deal that you have to be Macho Man to be a Mayor. That’s so patronizing.

The Truth is it’s the 10,000 hardworking employees at City Hall who do the work daily. The Mayor can go on a long vacation and he will not be missed except for a few needed signatures :=))

The Mayor sets the tone and culture at City Hall. I want to be the Mayor who puts Residents First! I do not collect donations from Lobbyists or PACs.

I understand that there is pressure. Some of you have pending contracts or grants. Those will not change. You don’t have to reveal who you vote for. #ResidentsFirst.

But several hours later, I received this message from FACEBOOK META.

Message #1

Message #2 I requested a review.

Message #3 Of course, we’re talking to the Meta Universe out there.

Message #4

In the meanwhile, the post is gone. Whether this same post will be restored is a guess.

And you can see why people can suspicious of censorship and dirty tricks. Generally Facebook posts can be reported. If enough people report, Facebook Meta will automatically shut you down. Facebook warnings or “Jail Time” can last for a while. Sometimes, it’s 24 hours or 6 days or a month. I’ve known of others who last long

I ate a rubber-chicken once

I had a meeting in Honolulu and was hungry. I found myself in one of those Chinatown little shops.

I ordered a “chicken-rice” plate.

Out came a plate with white rice and half of a chicken that literally looked like a rubber chicken. The skin was an old yellow color that those who are familiar with chicken will understand what I’m talking about.

I took a bite and could not take a second. Those who know me know that I’m not a fussy eater at all. I pretty much eat anything. I love cafeteria food during my college years because I was happy I didn’t have to cook or wash dishes. So, this dish was really bad.

So, I quickly ordered another dish. This time, it was a noodle bowl.

I took the chicken dish home and threw it away.

Sometimes I think there is no need to make a fuss about everything. Everyone is trying to make a living. Food is not so important that it has to become a tit for tat.

When a waitress brings me a wrong dish. I’m ok with it too. Why create a fuss? There are more important things in life.

A Facebook Share

 Facebook posts don’t have to be about just about food and events. I thought this was a very helpful share from a friend.

Hawaii has morphed into a very expensive place to live with the average price of a single family at $1M. There are more Hawaiians living out of Hawaii than here. There are a lot of frustrations and angst, and rightly so.

Perhaps the saddest thing I’ve heard from my years of community advocacy is this phrase from a Hawaiian: ” You can go home to your homeland but we have no place to return to. This is our homeland.”

” While looking for something else, I came across this law from 1850, prohibiting natives from leaving Hawai’i due to a concern of population loss. It puts into perspective the recent discussions on the exact same issue.” Jonathan Scheuer

Landfill site in Oahu still a mystery

The Honolulu City County is supposed to provide a site for a new landfill.

The process for finding a new landfill has been ongoing. Right now, the deliberating process is unknown to the public.

This was a PBS Insights aired on June 15, 2023.

Here are some reading materials:

Read the 2012 Commission Report of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Landfill Site Selection (MACLS). Particularly, read the Minority Report by John B Goody on Page 47. “The revised site rankings were astounding, and seem to defy common sense.”

Kailua, Waianae, Kapolei, Waianae have all staked their grounds that they don’t want landfills in their areas.

The process has with its twists and turns.

The consultant compiling statistics for Mayor Peter Carlisle’s Advisory Committee on Landfill Site Selection said Wednesday it had made a big mistake. On Friday, just five days ago, the committee announced Kailua as the top ranked location for a new landfill. Its announcement was based on data compiled by SMS Research, a Honolulu firm hired by the city.

But in fact SMS President Jim Dannemiller said Wednesday he had made an “inadvertent data error” while compiling numbers provided by the advisory committee. The mistake changes the positions of almost all eleven potential landfill sites on the site selection list.

A site described as “Upland Kahuku 2” was seventh on the list released Friday. Now it is the new #1. “Upland Kahuku 1,” which is adjacent to “Upland Kahuku 2” is second on the revised list.

The Ameron Quarry moved from first on Friday’s list to fifth on the revised list.

Here is the new updated list released Wednesday afternoon.

1. Upland Kahuku 2 – (previously ranked #7)

2. Upland Kahuku 1- (previously ranked #3)

3. Upland Pupukea 2 – (previously ranked #6)

4. Upland Pupukea 1 – (previously ranked #4)

5. Ameron Quarry – (previously ranked #1

This is the list:

REQUESTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO EVALUATE FOR COMPLIANCE
WITH ACT 73, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2020, THE ELEVEN SITES PREVIOUSLY
IDENTIFIED BY CITY STUDIES AS POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS FOR THE
WAIMANALO GULCH SANITARY LANDFILL AND ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL
WAIMANALO GULCH SANITARY LANDFILL REPLACEMENT SITES, INCLUDING
LANDS HELD BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS IN
KALAELOA.

• Ameron Quarry,

• Kaneohe by H-3,

• Kapaa Quarry Road,

• Keaau,

• Upland Hawaii Kai,

• Upland Kahuku 1,

• Upland Kahuku 2,

• Upland Laie,

• Upland Nanakuli 1,

• Upland Pupukea 1, and •

Upland Pupukea 2; and

A New Mayor, A New Commission:

Here is more reading material for this issue.

The City and County of Honolulu (“City”) Department of Environmental Services (“ENV”) has begun identifying potential sites for its next municipal solid waste landfill. To help discern potential sites, ENV formed a Landfill Advisory Committee (“LAC”) to evaluate the sites identified to meet current State regulations. The LAC process is documented in the Final Report.

Witty!

Social media can’t be all that bad. this is funny. Potholes are every where here in Hawaii.

It’s a mystery why we spend millions of dollars each year and we continue to have such problems. Mind you, we don’t even have to deal with snow or de-icing.

It I have my rathers, I would insist that there are warranties to these jobs. Companies must be confident enough of their work to provide a 5-year warranty. If there are potholes, the company has to fix their work within a week at its own expense.

City Employee expresses his personal views against windowless units as a private citizen in Bill 21

Bill 21, authored by City Councilman Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, asks for changes to the City County Housing Code to be consistent with the International Building Code (IBC) that allows windowless (no natural light and ventilation) housing units.

Santos-Tam, a construction industry lobbyist, said that the county needs to build 25,000 housing units and thus “optionality” is necessary in housing development. The statement begs many questions as to who these units are for and do we want Oahu to follow other countries’ values and standards. Is this about helping developers or is this about meeting the needs of our local residents?

Below is an excellent example of a local government worker with lots of expertise and experience standing up for the public good, rather than developers. Michael O Silva, speaking as a private citizen, should be commended for speaking up. His testimony is free from self-interests but filled with common sense and aloha for the ordinary local residents. Read the testimonies here.

Listen to Bill 21 here. It starts around the 1:46 mark.

Hawaii Legislature: HB 538 dismisses the US Constitution

Did a group of politicians woke up one morning and decided to attack the US Constitution or something?

Read HB 538 in the context that the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) is struggling. It has been mired with corruption and mismanagement for years.

At Honolulu Mayor Rick’s Blangiardi’s City Address on March 15, 2023, he stated that the average time for a permit approval was 300 days. Three hundred (300) days is actually on the fast track.

HB 538 states ” then the applicable county planning or permitting agency shall commence foreclosure proceedings, judicial or nonjudicial, on the real property without delay.” Guess which type of foreclosure the county is going to choose?

HB 538 first started with wanting entry into homes without consent. (Interestingly, another bill SB 1468 asks for surveyors entry into any property too.)

Page 2 of HB 538 proposes:

46-A Authority to enter private property; zoning
violation. (a) Notwithstanding chapter 322, a county planning
or permitting agency may enter privately owned residential real property, without the consent or cooperation of the owner or
occupant of the real property, for the purpose of investigating
any condition on the premises that the officer reasonably
believes may constitute a violation of any county zoning
ordinance, rule, or regulation that:

On Page 4, it continues:

§46-B Penalties for unaddressed zoning violations. The
penalties for a violation of any county zoning ordinance, rule,
or regulation shall be as follows, regardless of whether a
county planning or permitting agency’s investigation was
conducted without the owner’s or occupant’s consent or
cooperation pursuant to section 46-A(a) or by other means:

(1) An owner of real property who fails to remediate all
conditions that gave rise to issuance of the notice of
violation, to the agency’s satisfaction and within the
agency’s specified time frame, shall be assessed by
the agency a fine of not less than $1,000 for each day
the violation persists;

(2) If fines assessed to the owner of real property exceed
$5,000, then the notice of violation shall constitute
a lien upon the real property within thirty days; and

(3) If within thirty days of receiving notice of the lien,
the owner of real property fails to:
(A) Satisfy the lien specified in paragraph (2); and (B) Commence and diligently conduct remediation of
all conditions that gave rise to issuance of the
notice of violation, to the agency’s
satisfaction, then the applicable county planning or permitting
agency shall commence foreclosure proceedings,
judicial or nonjudicial, on the real property without
delay.”