Monthly Archives: April 2022

HB1434 must be rejected by the Hawaii State Legislature

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This is part of Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s legislative package for 2022 – the power to use NON-JUDICIAL Foreclosures of private properties based on civil fines. This affects all Counties in Hawaii, if approved.

Conference Committee scheduled to be heard on April 29, 2022 at 4:00 pm

2022 has been a whirlwind of legislation. The entire State of Hawaii is just beginning to get adjusted to the last two years of COVID19 upheaval and adjustment in all different levels of society.

HB 1434 is premature and too dangerous to pass this legislative year. There are many unanswered questions. Fundamentally, it egregiously lacks public engagement, and in providing an open and transparent government. It’s one of the best-kept secrets this session. The supporting testimonials come from the DPP Director and five Honolulu City Council members.

To adopt such a groundbreaking and severe legislative decision WITHOUT each legislator warning or educating or engaging with his/her affected residents is malfeasance and sorely lacking in representation.

Hb1434 is not just some customary budget or public work or social support issue, this is about the quick taking of private property by the government who already has immense powers.

The two case-in-point used in written testimonies to the State Legislature are not entirely accurate. Even if they are accurate, such public policy cannot be taken lightly or without significant research on the facts and findings from various and different sources, especially the most affected parties.  

Regarding the cited Hauula case of which we’re very familiar with. We’re not saying that the family does not have violations to correct. They have submitted building applications to DPP which takes time, even before COVID 19. The long process compounded their daily fines. Some violations were incorrect because there is a difference between Agriculture-zone and residential-zone properties.

City Council District 2 Heidi Tsuneyoshi pushed through Resolution 22-11 to enforce “Eminent Domain” and then “Judicial Foreclosure” in 25 working days! This family was used as a scapegoat.

Overly ambitious Council member Heidi Tsuneyoshi accused the family of violations for the past 5 years when the family had only acquired their farm 2.5 years ago in November 2019. The family was also issued inaccurate violations but the fines tripled and compounded. DPP was also told not to give permits. How is a resident supposed to correct violations without obtaining a permit?

She did not even reach out to her constituent who is an immigrant family from the Kingdom of Tonga. There are many extenuating circumstances. The young wife was suffering from cancer relapses during the past few years and under hospice care recently. She died on April 2, 2022.

When a constituent is in trouble, we expect our city council members to reach out and lend a helping hand, not rush to quickly slam them and seize their private property.

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On the State level, adopting HB 1434 would be akin to simply throwing the baby out with the bath water with no thought of the unintended consequences or property rights. Why give immense blanket powers to address a few “problematic” properties?

The Hawaii State Legislature cannot eliminate Due Process, Private Property Rights, and Equity and Fairness from our residents with this HB1434.

The handwriting is on the wall that HB 1434 will inevitably punish the unsophisticated residents and those without powers and connections to fight or fend for themself. Legal fees are expensive.

Those who are affluent and connected will always find a way out.

There must be robust discussions on all fundamental facts, accuracy of information, and especially the unintended consequences that will inevitably occur should this bill is adopted.

It’s a known fact that most of our property owners work and sacrifice much to own a private property. Not many are born with a silver spoon in their mouths.

The OAHU Honolulu County (although NOTHING is heard from the other affected Hawaii counties of Maui, Kauai, Hawaii Island, Lanai, Moloka’i) apparently wants to bypass and circumvent constitutional due process of “eminent domain”.

It even wants to skip “Judicial Foreclosure” and hurry on to fast track the takings of private property through “NON-Judicial Foreclosure.

This is alarming! This agenda cannot be taken lightly. How many States are adopting this kind of powers?

The only fair and democratic and pono way is for all legislators to warn, educate, and engage with their constituents first prior to adoption of this HB 1343/SB 2110.

The public at large remains in the dark and are unaware of this severe and transformational legislation. This will come back and haunt the decision-makers in the near future.

There are also many unanswered questions as to the unconstitutional infringement on DUE PROCESS, PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS and FAIRNESS.

It also violates the Honolulu City Charter Purpose, principles, and intent to serve the people in the best way possible and in fair and equitable ways.

The State Legislature must REJECT HB 1434/SB2110 this session. Engage, educate, and warn the people in ALL COUNTIES first. That’s the only democratic route to take on this one. Restore Trust in Government.

Public Officials Cannot Block Your Comments on Their Facebook Page

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Just you know, your comments cannot be deleted or blocked on a public official’s page. It’s probably Facebook that is used most frequently by politicians and bureaucrats.

If you feel that you’re likely to be censored by a public official or page, contribute your comments and take a screenshot. This way, if your comments disappear, there is proof.

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I’m sharing the entire report from the ACLU for easy reading.

By Vera Eidelman, Staff Attorney, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology ProjectJANUARY 9, 2019 | 12:00 PM

” One of the core purposes of the First Amendment is to allow people, regardless of their views, to hold the government accountable through expression. So, if your elected representative has an official Facebook page where she invites comments, can she block you from commenting because you criticize her work?

According to a federal appeals court, the answer is a resounding no.

On Monday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the interactive portion of a public official’s Facebook page is a “public forum,” so an official cannot block people from it because of the opinions they hold.

The case arose after the chair of a local board of supervisors in Virginia, Phyllis Randall, briefly blocked a critic from her official Facebook page and deleted a comment he made about her colleagues’ management of public funds.

The critic, Brian Davison, represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute, filed a lawsuit arguing that Randall had violated his First Amendment rights by removing him from a public forum — space the government makes available for people’s expressive activity — because she disagreed with his views. Randall countered that she has the authority to control the page’s content — including the comments. (President Trump has used some of the same arguments in a lawsuit against him for blocking people on Twitter.)  

We filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Davison, arguing that officials cannot prevent people from joining in a public conversation because of their viewpoints,  and the three-judge appeals court panel agreed.

It is important to remember that people who hold public office can wear two hats: Sometimes, they act as private individuals, and other times they are government actors. While they maintain their First Amendment rights when acting as private individuals, they are subject to the limits the First Amendment places on the government whenever they’re doing government work.

As the court rightly held, that includes any time that they’re controlling a Facebook page they maintain in their official roles. Specifically, the court recognized that when a public official uses a Facebook page as a tool of governance — that is, when she uses it to inform the public about her government work, solicits input on policy issues through the page, and swathes it “in the trappings of her office” — she is controlling the page as a government actor.

And if she opens that page to public comment, the interactive space of the Facebook page constitutes a public forum. The fact that the page exists on a website owned by a private company doesn’t change that.

That means that, when a public official blocks critics from the page because of their viewpoints, she violates the Constitution. Indeed, the right to criticize the government is at the heart of the First Amendment. The court specifically recognized blocking as infringing on that right, noting that blocking someone in order to silence criticism of government work is itself evidence of government action.

The Fourth Circuit is the first appellate court to opine on this issue, and its order controls public officials and agencies in Virginia and nearby states. Elsewhere around the country, public officials have also stopped censoring critics on their social media pages thanks to the work of the ACLU.

These cases help to ensure that our First Amendment rights remain protected as our democracy increasingly moves online. The fact that a public official disagrees with you on an issue doesn’t mean she can silence you. Indeed, it means the opposite — and that holds true whether you’re speaking out in a public park, at a town hall meeting, or on a Facebook page. “

Needless to say, you have the responsibility not to use threats or violence on their page. That’s not covered under Free Speech.

LOCAL CONTACT for ACLU

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We’re sorry, but we can’t give legal advice over the phone.

Our office:

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Fax: (808) 522-5909

Words of Advice From Famed Actor Sir Anthony Hopkins About Toxic Relationships

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Sir Anthony Hopkins

There appears to be too many “love triangle” murders in Hawaii recently. The people involved appear to be contributing citizens with good training and good jobs. But anger management or jealousy control seems to lacking in these cases.

Life has its own challenges, twists and turns. Learning how to cope is part of growing up. These words from the famed actor Sir Anthony Hopkins are worth reading, contemplating, and sharing with family and friends.

′′Let go the people who are not prepared to love you. This is the hardest thing you will have to do in your life and it will also be the most important thing.

Stop having hard conversations with people who don’t want change.

Stop showing up for people who have no interest in your presence.

I know your instinct is to do everything to earn the appreciation of those around you, but it’s a boost that steals your time, energy, mental and physical health.

When you begin to fight for a life with joy, interest and commitment, not everyone will be ready to follow you in this place. This doesn’t mean you need to change what you are, it means you should let go of the people who aren’t ready to accompany you.

If you are excluded, insulted, forgotten or ignored by the people you give your time to, you don’t do yourself a favor by continuing to offer your energy and your life.

The truth is that you are not for everyone and not everyone is for you.

That’s what makes it so special when you meet people who reciprocate love. You will know how precious you are.

The more time you spend trying to make yourself loved by someone who is unable to, the more time you waste depriving yourself of the possibility of this connection to someone else.

There are billions of people on this planet and many of them will meet with you at your level of interest and commitment.

The more you stay involved with people who use you as a pillow, a background option or a therapist for emotional healing, the longer you stay away from the community you want.

Maybe if you stop showing up, you won’t be wanted.

Maybe if you stop trying, the relationship will end.

Maybe if you stop texting, your phone will stay dark for weeks.

That doesn’t mean you ruined the relationship, it means the only thing holding it back was the energy that only you gave to keep it. This is not love, it’s attachment. It’s wanting to give a chance to those who don’t deserve it. You deserve so much, there are people who should not be in your life.

The most valuable thing you have in your life is your time and energy, and both are limited.

When you give your time and energy, it will define your existence.

When you realize this, you begin to understand why you are so anxious when you spend time with people, in activities, places or situations that don’t suit you and shouldn’t be around you, your energy is stolen.

You will begin to realize that the most important thing you can do for yourself and for everyone around you is to protect your energy more fiercely than anything else.

Make your life a safe haven, in which only ′′compatible′′ people are allowed.

You are not responsible for saving anyone.

You are not responsible for convincing them to improve.

It’s not your work to exist for people and give your life to them! If you feel bad, if you feel compelled, you will be the root of all your problems, fearing that they will not return the favours you have granted.

It’s your only obligation to realize that you are the love of your destiny and accept the love you deserve.

Decide that you deserve true friendship, commitment, true and complete love with healthy and prosperous people. Then wait and see how much everything begins to change.

Don’t waste time with people who are not worth it.

Change will give you the love, the esteem, happiness and the protection you deserve.”

Waiting For The Real Estate Market To Collapse Is Unrealistic

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I’ve been helping with residential real estate in Hawaii for 30 years. People continue to say that the real estate market will bottom out. I have not seen it happened and I don’t think it will. It not like we can split the stocks into half. But I have seen highs and lows in a cyclical fashion. It has not “bottom-out” in my experience but bounced back.

During the Great Depression, many bought real estate knowing that the market would rebound.

Here’s an example of real estate values in my country of birth. We are familiar with these roads and locations. As secondary school students, we were always admiring the big homes. Lee Kuan Yew‘s home is also in this area. Here is a new listing in Singapore. It’s asking for S$300 million.

” SINGAPORE – A sprawling mansion at 5 Oxley Rise, where Jewish businessman Manasseh Meyer and real estate tycoon Cheong Eak Chong once resided, has been put up for sale.

The hilltop two-storey bungalow, which sits on a 151,205 sq ft freehold site in prime District 9, is expected to attract offers in excess of $300 million, marketing agent CBRE said on Monday (April 18).

The property is owned by seven members of the same family, all sons of the late Mr Cheong, founder of listed developer Hong Fok Corporation and Tian Teck group, according to The Business Times.”

Here is another angle to this property and the people who used to live in it. It’s so fantastic that there are so many people who are willing to share their interests and knowledge in history.

“Sir Manasseh Meyer, a Baghdadi Jew who was said to have “owned three-quarters of Singapore” as well as being the “richest Jew in the Far East” being richer than the Sassoons (who were described as the “Rothschilds of the East”).

The opium trade, enriched many in the Baghdadi Jewish community including the Sassoons. Like the Sassoons, who operated in Shanghai and Hong Kong, those in the community who found themselves in Singapore, came through Bombay (Mumbai).

Many saw the trade, as community historian Eze Nathan would describe it “The History of Jews in Singapore, 1830-1945”, as a “legitimate short cut to wealth” and the members of the community in Singapore, such as Meyer, made a fortune from it.Having acquired wealth initially from the trade, Meyer branched out into other businesses and into property. He would come to live in Belle Vue, which was originally built by Thomas Oxley as Killiney House and among the properties associated with Meyer were the Adelphi Hotel, Sea View Hotel, Meyer Mansions, Meyer Chambers and the Crescent Flats.

Belle Vue was demolished in the 1980s to make way for a condo development of the same name. A reminder of Meyer’s estate off Oxley Rise does however exist in the form of the Chesed-El synagogue, one of two synagogues in Singapore that Meyer erected. “

Honolulu City Council Votes to Shut Down Short-Term Vacation Rentals With Bill 41

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The Honolulu City Council voted today at its monthly Hearing with 8 “YES” and 1 “NO” vote to adopt Bill 41. This April 13, 2022 action presented a much stricter approach to this decades-old controversy for the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Predictably, the Opposition against Bill 41 came from the Board of Realtors and short-term vacation rentals operators. Support came from die-hard community activists and community groups who had been protesting for decades. Labor Union Unite Local 5 and housing advocate groups also supported Bill 41 on the argument that affordable housing is being usurped by the more affluent.

However, there were accusations of corruption, conflict of interest, and it being a “rush job”. There were questions as to who made the decision to draw the boundaries or decide which building was included and which building was out. There were also accusations of “insider trading”; did people in the know invest in these properties before hand?

The Director of Planning and Permitting Dean Uchida chose to recuse himself and was not seen today at the Council Hearing. However, several testifiers mentioned that the DPP Director should have recused himself at the onset. His wife is an Executive Officer with the Aqua-Ashton Hospitality which has interests include short term condo-tel in Waikiki.

I hope the Department of Planning and Permitting comes out with a Q & A information so it it will be easier to understand.

For now, those who have their Non-Conforming Units Certificates ( (NUC) will be grandfathered in. They will have to pay yearly registration fees and probably higher property taxes. This list here shows the exceptions that were provided by DPP in 1987. Other than this list, operators in residential areas are ruled out as illegal.

Notably, the 30-day contract (instead of the 29-days short term rental category) that many vacation rental operators use will no longer be allowed. It’s now changed to 90 days.

Operators can be fined up to an initial fine not to exceed $5,000 and a fine not to exceed $10,000 for each day thereafter that the advertisement is on public display. (This raises questions here too. Not every operator needs to use the standard platforms. What about private alumni or business groups?)

Here are the areas that will be permitted to have new operations:

In the North Shore of Oahu, both the Kuilima West and Kulima East Estates are allowed. Note that this area is zoned “Apartment “, not “Resort” :

Below is the west side of Oahu in Ko’olina. However, certain Makaha areas do not appear permitted even though it was designated as “resort” in the recent Oahu General Plan. However, note the Apartment-zoned areas are now allowed in Bill 41.

Below is the Waikiki area. Note again that these are Apartment-zoned, not “Resort”.

If you wish to read the fine print, here is the council approved Bill 41 document. Note the underlined language.

“Enforcement“ is the buzzword for both sides of this issue.

At the Hearing, City Councilwoman Andria Tupola who casted the lone “NO” vote and expressed her frustrations about getting correct data and clarifications. She noted that the Deputy Director was new and trying to educate herself on this issue. This was a valid point. With our years of observing and participating at Honolulu Hale, one can see the uncertainty, lack of experience, and institutional knowledge. The former Acting DPP Director Kathy Sokogawa knew the DPP workings inside and out through her decades of employment.

The DPP Deputy Director told the City Council that they would be hiring seven new inspectors. The big question is how DPP is going enforce its long list of requisites, besides registrations and so forth. And how DPP is going to handle the thousands of illegal vacation operators?

I believe that the city can expect challenges because there appears to be irregularities, inconsistencies, and discrepancies. But as the City Council likes to say of any bill, ” This is not a perfect bill, we can improve in the future.” Any lawsuit expenses against the city will be paid for by the taxpayers of Honolulu.

Prior to Bill 41, there was Bill 89 that adopted and signed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell on June 25, 2019. Bill 89 would have allowed an approximate 1,700 new vacation rentals through lottery. However, there was no traction from the Caldwell Administration despite holding rule-making discussions.

Upon being elected, Mayor Rick Blangiardi nominated Dean Uchida as the Director of Planning and Permitting. Former Acting DPP Director Kathy Sokogawa resigned and a lot of institution knowledge left with her. Bill 41 was then proposed with this first version that included the Gold Coast. It has since been taken out from the final version. There had been amendments along the process.

What is my take on this?

Before Bill 89 was finally approved and adopted, I initially testified that DPP should start by addressing the most egregious cases first. DPP did not appear to have the organization to enforce so much so quickly. It should take the bite of the elephant incrementally.

Also, I objected to making mom-and-pop bed and breakfast rentals pay more fees and taxes. How would it help our local residents if they had to keep paying more?

Will Bill 41 work? Again, the devil is in the enforcement. How is DPP going to clam down? Through the use of fines and then non-judicial foreclosures? We’ll have to wait and see how this is rolled out.

On the other side of the coin, real estate agents are already farming neighborhoods to list properties to sell. It’s a fact that luxury homes are not going to be affordable even if it’s a long-term rental. There are quite a bit of those in Oahu where properties are owned by LLCs and out-of-state investors.

Will vacation rental owners sell or will they hold? Chances are high that many will hang on because Hawaii is still a politically stable place to invest in. We should see more rentals open up to create a little more rental inventory. Even then, the value of real estate does not need to come down.

Choon James has been a real estate broker for over 30 years. She’s been involved in environmental and social justice activism since her high school years. She was a Honolulu mayoral candidate in 2020. She can be reached at ChoonJamesHawaii@gmail.com 808 293 8888

TESLA CEO Elon Musk’s April Fool’s Tweet

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Apparently Elon Musk made good on his outrage against the lack of Free Speech with Twitter. The US Securities and Exchange Commission reported Musk’s purchase of 73,486,938 shares of Twitter valued at $2.89 billion based on April 1, 2022 Friday’s closing price.

The following tweet was posted after Elon Musk became Twitter’s largest shareholder.

On March 24, 2022, Musk tweeted his question below. It’s a great question that many have been asking. But it takes a larger-than-life person like Elon Musk with 80 million followers to bring it to the collective consciousness.

The marginalization of Free Speech and Free Press has been collectively going downhill. It used to be that journalism and reporting was primarily about bringing the news in print and through radio/TV to the public. We now have too many talking heads and posers.

Now, there are so many options and venues. The internet obviously has opened up new worlds of communications. In the 1970s, when 24/7 cable news was start, there was a group of forward-thinking and public good minded citizens who fought for Free Press and Free Speech. The ideals and intent of the Public, Education, and Governmental (PEG) Access Channels and support services have since been incrementally undermined, neglected, and pushed out by many new communications platforms.

Additionally, many relatively big or small newspapers and communication outfits have been out-paced and out-spent and forced to close. Others have to resort to “pay wall” where unfortunately only those can can afford to pay can read.

There are benefactors who impose and insist on their own idealogy relating to their so-called Free Press and Free Speech forums and businesses. There is censorship by editors on which public comments and accepted and which are not. Many comments have no “threats” or “bullying” or other anti-social behavior. The censored comments are simply under the whims of the editor or publisher’s ideology.

Enter the social media platforms like Facebook, Tweeter, Instagram and Tick-Tock and there goes the opportunity for the general public to read and digest and analyze in details of a good printed report.

Tweeter has now increased its Tweet text content of a Tweet up to 280 characters or Unicode glyphs. It used to be 140 words. That at least increased the attention span a little.

In a way, it forces the tweet to be concise and succinct. In other ways, there are inherent limits to further delving into careful reading or sufficient information.

Still, it’s nice to see Elon Musk take a stand for Free Speech and be able to do something about it. Twitter had taken to censorship of information. A public forum must be open to ALL forms of idealogy. Diversity of thoughts and information enhance better results in the end.

Let the people use their brains, analyze, and decide for themselves.

Democracy can only function and thrive when there’s Free Speech and Free Press. It’s that fundamental and basic.

While we’re at this, remember we can all be like Elon Musk in our own ways and own spaces. Speak up for Free Speech and Free Press where you live. Write a blog. Host a public community radio or television or Pod.

If you see something that is not right in the Public Square, speak up. Object. Raise your concerns. Hold your own water. Stand your ground.

That’s the only way the Free Speech and Free Press can survive and thrive.