Greetings Tiffany,

I’m pretty busy these days, spending long hours.  I can’t really keep up with my correspondence.  And please, I don’t want to talk about my trial, guilt or innocence, because the court is already in the process of devoting quite a bit of time to doing just that.  But I do have something to say that needs saying:

In the 36 years since I was first a mother, although improvements can be seen in lots of areas–from birthing alternatives to charter schools to improved opportunities for women, the situation with child care is pretty much the same as it was. Parents have to choose between big child care facilities or private sitters and worry…too rigid?…not enough structure? …too impersonal?…and what about sick days?  Often it’s a day by day struggle as Mom tries to do her job and yet raise her children.

Children are the greatest resource of our community.  Period.  Yes, their well-being is the primary job (and more) of their parents, but society as a whole also has an interest and a responsibility in their healthful–and righteous–upbringing.  We depend on them to carry on…well, everything society cares about.  So why don’t we provide childcare rooms at the county council and the courthouse?  A place where a mother (or father) can take a cranky child to feed or for a nap or to spend supervised time while the parent participates in government?  We spent plenty on the new courthouse; for example, every courtroom has a wheelchair lift from the judge’s chambers to the courtroom proper, in case we ever have a judge who uses a wheelchair.  Couldn’t some part of that money have been invested in our future citizens?  Lots of folks have struggled for equal access to government.  That’s why we have the wheelchair lifts, headsets for hard-of hearing, Braille on elevator buttons, interpreters for those who don’t speak English but must interact with the courts.  Why is childcare always piled solely on the child’s parent?  Don’t we as a society value our children?  Don’t we want to care properly for our greatest resource?  Don’t we want their parents to be a real part of “we the people”?  I don’t think that’s why.  I think we care deeply about our children, all of them and not just our “own” children.  Maybe it’s because working mothers (and fathers) don’t make enough noise about the problem. The disability access came as a result of years of struggle, after all. So why aren’t these parents organizing to earn the right to childcare?  The fact that those intense infant and toddler years are brief is part of the reason, but the biggest part is this:  Working parents are usually just too BUSY to take on one more thing.

One Louve,
Rev. Nancy (Harris)

Karl Mench sketch via Hawaii Home and Remodeling

(Media release) — County staff from the Building Department will explain and clarify proposed changes to the Hawai`i County Building Code at two workshops next month.

Bill 270, Draft 3, would change the Building Code by adopting the 2006 International Building Code (2006 IBC), along with a number of state and county amendments.

The county is required by state law to adopt a building code using model codes and standards, such as the 2006 IBC, no later than two years after the adoption of the state building code.  The state building code was adopted in 2010, and adoption of Bill 270 will bring the county into compliance with the state law.

The workshops will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Community Meeting Hale  in Kailua-Kona from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and on Wednesday Sept. 7 at the Aupuni Center Conference Room in Hilo from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Links:

To view a copy of Bill 270, Draft 3, go to http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/weblink/0/doc/756796/Page1.aspx

To view a copy of the current Hawaii County Code, Chapter 5, relating to building, go to http://co.hawaii.hi.us/countycode/chapter05.pdf

To view a free copy of the International Code go to http://www.iccsafe.org/Store/Pages/OverviewFreeCodes.aspx  and http://www.iccsafe.org/Store/Pages/FreeCodes.aspx

By Matt Rifkin

Rev Nancy trial day 4 (See Rifkin’s day three coverage here.)

It was a slow, methodical day. Prosecutor Damerville is showing the presence of marijuana that was found on the property. Two evidence custodians. Boxes, documents, holes from rodents. Confirming items that were in yesterday’s photographs. Civilian criminalist, tests confiscated plants, confirming they are marijuana. Technical discussion about testing methods. The day closes with the start of testimony from Officer Prudencio, the evidence recovery officer.

Damerville implied that after Prudencio, he would likely call only one more witness. So, the State seems ready to rest its case on Monday (by lunch, perhaps?).

Judge Hara instructed the jury to arrive at 9am on Monday, as he wants to get a prompt start to the week.

Following are my notes from today, for those who want the blow by blow. Read the rest of this entry »

Handmade silk scarf, feather lei kamoe, koa box, and Hawaiian quilt wall hanging are among the items available in the Treasure Hawai`i online auction, a fundraiser for Friends of the Future.

(Media release) — Online auctions are great way to help raise money for local nonprofit organizations. You get a little in return while you give to a good cause. Participating in online auctions is easy. There’s no admission fee. As long as you visit the auction website before the electronic gavel falls, you can join the auction action whenever you want, wearing what ever you want. You can bid from anywhere with a computer with access to the Internet.

Friends of the Future, a Hawai`i Island nonprofit with more than 20 years of service to the community, is offering over 90 opportunities to bidders in the Treasure Hawai`i online auction. The auction is currently underway and accessible through their website, www.FOFHawaii.org. The Treasure Hawaii auction will close on Sunday, August 28, 2011, at 4 p.m. Hawai`i Standard Time.

Place your bids before the auction closes and help a Hawai`i Island nonprofit continue their work to perpetuate the essence of Hawai`i for the world’s benefit.

(Submitted by Michelle Medeiros.)

(Media release) —  Connections Public Charter School and one of its employees filed two two separate complaints in the Hilo Circuit Court to protect the school’s independence and right to hire their own attorneys.

The first complaint accused the governing body for Charter Schools and its chairman, Carl Takamura, of intentionally violating the Sunshine Law and threatening to take away Connections’ Charter, if the School did not fire a Hilo lawyer the School and its employee hired to assist them.  The School and employee hired Ted Hong, a Hilo attorney, only after the State Attorney General’s Office advised them to do so.  According to the complaint, the Panel and its Chairman have decided to unlawfully force Connections to fire its attorney or face possible revocation of its Charter.

The second complaint was filed against the Hawaii State Ethics Commission and its executive director, Les Kondo.  That complaint asks the Court to stop an ongoing ethics investigation against Connections and its employee.  According to the complaint, Charter School employees fall outside the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission.  Additionally, the School passed an independent audit and documented that no Ethics violation occurred.

In both complaints, the School and employees maintain the Ethics Commission and chairman of the Review Panel have conspired behind closed doors and developed a plan to force the school and employee to fire their attorney.

“This investigation and the Review Panel’s actions are a prime  example of bureaucrats that still refuse to recognize and treat Charter Schools as independent and  how hard Charter Schools have to fight just to protect their basic rights,” Hong said.

Today the Hawaii County Fire Commission unanimously approved the hiring of Assistant Fire Chief Darren Rosario to replace Fire Chief Darryl Oliveira.  Rosario, who lives is Hilo and is in charge of the island’s battalion chiefs, was “chiefly in his interview,” one of the fire commissioners told Big Island Chronicle tonight.

In the last couple of days of interviews in Hilo and Kona, Rosario has stood out among what has been described as “good, solid candidates.” Vying to replace Oliveira has been Aaron Arbles, Glen Honda, and Gerald Kosaki, along with Rosario. A fifth candidate, Paul “Scotty” Paiva, reportedly asked that his name be withdrawn from the short list.

The eight fire commissioners — Kimo Lee, Toby Taniguchi, Byron Moku, Greg Henkel, Luahiwa Namahoe, Laurie Bass, Keloa Robinson and Scott Stabo — cast their votes via paper ballot after conducting the last of their interviews today. Every single one of the eight votes were for Rosario.

“I think they were all good candidates,” said the fire commissioner source.  ”Every one of those guys is a reflection of Darryl Oliveira.” Oliveira has been with the Fire Department for over 30 years and was the first fire chief to be appointed by a fire commission in February 2002. He is currently serving as the interim fire chief.

“We’re excited to be instituting this cup. Kea‘au already has a strong sense of community and W.H. Shipman is proud to be a longstanding part of it. The Kipimana Cup lets us celebrate Kea‘au—a truly great place to live and work.  What better way to come together than a friendly game of football?”  — Bill Walter, W.H. Shipman president

(Media release) — W.H. Shipman, Ltd., (WHS) in concert with Kea‘au and Kamehameha-Hawai‘i High Schools will inaugurate the Kipimana Cup Saturday, August 27, to support Kea‘au area high school athletics.

The cup will be presented to the winner of a goodwill football game between Kamehameha and Kea‘au High Schools at Kea‘au’s home field. The JV game starts at 3 p.m. with varsity kicking off around 5 p.m.

“We’re excited to be instituting this cup,” said Bill Walter, president of WHS.  “Kea‘au already has a strong sense of community and W.H. Shipman is proud to be a longstanding part of it. The Kipimana Cup lets us celebrate Kea‘au—a truly great place to live and work.  What better way to come together than a friendly game of football?”

The Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i campus opened on former W.H. Shipman land in 2001 and serves approximately 1,120 keiki, grades K-12, and their familes from Waimea to Waiohinu.  Read the rest of this entry »

I just want to take a moment to publicly apologize to John Burnett, of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.  The other day, in offering a commentary about the first day of religious use of marijuana trial, I made the following comment:

“Burnett left, but those who stuck around got to see that jury selection is anything but mundane and there is news to be had at every turn.”
Today I saw Burnett at the courthouse and he accused me of dogging him.  I denied that that was what I did.  In that confrontational moment, I recalled writing that he was not present for the news that I saw go down, which I thought was newsworthy from a blogging perspective.  But I didn’t realize until I re-read what I wrote that I sounded pretty bitchy and resentful about the fact that he wasn’t around. For that I am sorry.  And I could have conveyed that to Burnett this morning.  I didn’t.  Burnett told me off and suggested I should have read Tuesday’s newspaper to know that he in fact returned to the courtroom Monday afternoon and learned the news of the day.  He accused me of getting my facts wrong, suggesting I had mistaken who passed out Roger Christie flyers outside the courtroom.  That to me was the worst part about our confrontation, since it’s not like I don’t know who gave me a flyer and what I witnessed sitting outside the courtroom in what felt like sequestration. I mean, my God, I may be bitchy, but I’m not a liar.  It was in fact Sherryanne St. Cyr., Roger Christie’s girlfriend who gave me the flyer and who I saw passing out flyers.  Isn’t the Hilo Judicary fully equipped with video surveillance to be able to prove?  If anybody is going to take a shot at my integrity, I’d really love to see and share the courthouse footage.

Burnett threatened he’s going to stop reading my blog. That was the second shot.  We both sat with that for a minute.

I felt too defeated to get angry and lash back. I just sighed and, as an effort to wave my white flag, replied,

“We all have our share of problems, John.”  Read the rest of this entry »

(Editor’s note:  Matt Rifkin, who leads the Big Island chapter of Amercians for Safe Access and Friends for Justice, has sat in on the religious use of marijuana trial against the Rev. Nancy Harris each day since the jury selection process commenced on Monday. Following are the notes he took today, day three, which he has shared with Big Island Chronicle and others.)

By Matt Rifkin

The jury is called in at 10am (I didn’t know we do an “all rise” for the jury too.). Judge Hara arrives soon thereafter (“all rise”). He goes over an outline of trial, and other instructions. Preliminary instructions are done and all potential witnesses leave the courtroom.

Prosecutor Damerville makes opening argument. I have not seen him do this before, but he seems very low key. He says, the state will prove Rev. Nancy is guilty of the charges of possessing plants, dried marijuana and paraphernalia. At the end of a long driveway the police found marijuana plants, arrested Rev Nancy, got a warrant and found more plants. On her property she had signs saying her church, Sacred Truth Mission, saying they could grow and consume “copious” amount of marijuana. The jury must return a verdict “that is true.” And, before you knew it, his opening argument was done. Didn’t seem overly strong or impassioned. But, I don’t know, it could be his Southern, gentlemanly style.

The defense decides to make their opening argument after the Prosecutor rests their case.

Damerville calls first witness…Officer Peter Fernandez, rank 3, Hilo vice squad. 12 year veteran of the force, in Vice since April 2006. Worked in a grocery store before becoming police. Read the rest of this entry »

The Rev. Nancy Harris, a Rastafarian, (center) with supporters outside the Third Circuit courtroom Monday. Photo by Tiffany Edwards Hunt. All rights reserved. Below, a flyer passed around outside the courtroom.

The trial for the Rev. Nancy Harris, of the Church of the Holy Smoke, accused of commercial promotion of marijuana, began today with jury selection.  If you know anything about trials, you might think that this was a rather uneventful day. That’s what John Burnett, of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald thought when he asked Deputy Prosecutor Ricky Damerville on Damerville’s way to the drinking fountain if jury selection was expected to last all day. Burnett left, but those who stuck around got to see that jury selection is anything but mundane and there is news to be had at every turn.  Let me start from the get-go. Anybody who reads my writing knows that I am a breastfeeding mother first and reporter second.  That means I take my six-month-old child wherever I go. So, first thing this morning, we headed into town, thinking we needed to be at the Hilo Judiciary Complex by 8:30 a.m.  Once in the courthouse, a group of Harris’ supporters informed me that the trial wasn’t expected to start until 9:30 a.m. I opted to take that one hour to fill out an application for extended media coverage.  But first I found the bathroom.  And with a baby that takes a little bit longer than alone.  By the time I found the spot I needed to be to fill out my application, which, for those not in the know means an application to be able to photograph and record inside the courtroom, Roxanne “RJ” Hampton and Sativa Sulton were already in line ahead of me doing the very same thing.  I could tell they were trying to beat me to the punch when they hushed “Papa Jim” as he was trying to be helpful to me by sharing Harris’ last name, as I filled out the application.  It really didn’t matter to me if they were first to fill out the application and turn it in, the point was to see that someone got an opportunity to record the trial beyond traditional notetaking.

Fast forward a couple of hours later, I’m inside the courtroom waiting for our applications for extended media coverage to be taken up by Third Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara.  It’s shortly before 10:30 a.m., right around the time when my baby is ready for his second nap of the morning.  The judge hasn’t entered the courtroom yet.  My baby is being very vocal, letting me know his teeth are hurting and he is getting near nap time.  He’s not crying, he’s just making noises.  A court reporter says very loudly that if my baby makes any noises while court is in session, we will be asked to leave.  I thank her for the heads up.  I decide to leave the courtroom before that happens.  I hang out on the couch outside the courtroom, breastfeeding until my baby falls asleep.  Once he is asleep, I slip back into the courtroom.  It’s very quiet… and then the judge speaks loudly into the microphone.  My baby is startled awake, cries briefly and I quickly put him back on my breast. It wasn’t fast enough.  The judge announces that there is a crying baby in the courtroom, despite the fact that he is not crying, and I’m asked to leave.  Before I exit, I explain that I’m waiting for my application for extended media coverage to be heard.  He looks at the clock and says he will take up that matter during a break, about 45 minutes from then.  I head back to the couch outside the courtroom and wait there. Then, to bide time and ensure I don’t get ticketed, head to my car to feed the meter with enough quarters to bide about two more hours of time there.  Prospective jurors leave the courtroom and I take it that is the time for our applications for extended media coverage to be heard.  The application for extended media coverage for Roxanne Hampton and Sativa Sulton is heard first.  The judge mistakenly refers to Ms. Hampton as “Mr. Hampton” and is assured that she will be sharing her footage with others.  Neither the defense nor the prosecution has a problem with her or Sulton’s application, they say.  But Deputy Prosecutor Ricky Damerville says he has a problem with mine.  My heart stops momentarily.  Then Damerville explains that he has no problem with my journalistic integrity, he just knows that Harris has granted me “extensive interviews” and it could come down to her denying some of the things she has stated on the record and I could become a witness. For a minute I was worried that I was going to be sequestered from the trial! But then both attorneys waived the exlusionary rule, I believe — please forgive me if I didn’t get this right because it was the first time in my journalism career that this has happened.  I was permitted to cover the trial.  But the judge did urge me to take care of my “child care problem.” And I left the courtroom intent to do just that.  I called my mother in law and arranged for her to babysit my child outside the courtroom tomorrow, so I could hear opening arguments. But I also spent much of the afternoon reflecting on that, and how messed up it is that it’s perceived as a “problem” that my child accompanies me wherever I go.  I was all set to write a commentary tonight on the fact that this is one of the problems in our society, that our children are sequestered from our lives.  But then the news of the day trumped my personal commentary.  After I left and jury selection continued, it was brought to light that Roger Christie’s girlfriend Sherryanne L. St. Cyr had passed around flyers outside the courtroom throughout the morning.  Apparently, there were a couple of jurors who felt that one of those flyers was all they needed to be convinced they could not be an impartial juror. And so they were dismissed.  Let me stress that I was not in the courtroom — I was sent on my way to sort out my child care ‘problem.’ I am told that Deputy Prosecutor Ricky Damerville is concerned the jury pool has been tainted by the passage of this pamphlet.  Jury selection resumes tomorrow morning.  We shall see what happens, but it could be very interesting.  It’s purely speculation on my part, having heard what I heard, but the judge could decide that the damage has been done with this pamphlet, or flyer, whatever you want to call it, and they could call for a whole new round of jurors.  We shall see, tomorrow.

CONFORHAWAII.COM

Next Forum:
Next Sunday, 28 August, 2p.m.
Naniloa Hotel’s  Polynesian Room, Hilo
on
Why All the Fuss about International Building Codes?

Because what you don’t know WILL affect you, too

Panel discussion with Bob Ernst from the Stakeholder’s Group, and others.

Government at every level has been behaving badly, more and more.
There is no shortage of battles to be fought to stop this constant abuse of power, loss of our freedoms and control of our own lives.

Now, as the environmentalists’ mantra goes, we should think global, act local.

This fuss about the County of Hawaii rubber-stamping the adoption of International Building and Energy codes is the latest battlefront where the rubber meets the road in our own communities.
Our County Council has behaved badly in blindly voting to adopt these codes without reading them, with most council members and the Administration not aware of the implications, and even worse, not even interested in the implications.

Recently, through the intense efforts of many concerned citizens including many members of this Forum, some council members have had second thoughts on that process, and postponed their adoption for  one month. 
This allows time for better consideration of logical changes for our own unique local situation, different from the costly and complicated one-size-fits-all International approach.

The codes will affect the cost of living for all housing on our island, and so either directly or indirectly will affect every citizen.
It will affect you, too.

Come to the Forum next Sunday, and hear all about it:
how this came to be,
the irresponsibility of people in power,
how this was temporarily slowed down,
and what logical changes should be made so that all the community can benefit.

Maybe good government will triumph over bad, at least this one time !

Please come to the Forum and help expand the network of concerned citizens.
2:00pm SHARP this time.
Don’t be late !

aloha
966-5420

Congratulations to our Hilo senior Little Leaguers who defeated a Texas team yesterday. There are still a couple of hours left before the plane carrying the 14-year-old to 16-year-old champions, along with their coaches and parents arrives at the Hilo International Airport. There is expected to be quite a crowd, including Mayor Billy Kenoi, to welcome home the teenagers. Good for them! What a feeling. We have such an array of talent here on the island, and certainly some talented Little League players. Recall that Hilo teams have won the world series in Little League before. I have to wonder if these are some of the same kids.
In any case, cyber high fives to the players, their coaches and supportive parents.

By Toni Robert
How much public testimony is enough? How many taxpayer dollars is enough? When is redundancy costly, ineffectual and detrimental to the tax paying folk of Hawaii County? 

It was just a year ago so many of us in the Building Industry were working through the same processes. In spring of 2010 the DPW held two public meetings, one in Hilo and one in Kona, to discuss the concerns of those who would be directly impacted by the implementation of the ‘then approved’ 2006 IECC. Points were all well articulated from the public attendees and except for the newly appointed Building Division head, things were well understood by the various County aficionados present. There was an organized questions and answers with everyone having their opportunity to speak their point of view. What we were told as it all concluded was ‘We have heard you. We have your ideas. We will go back and discuss this.’ When asked if they would consider a ‘coalition’ formed from some in the audience the idea was welcomed by the County reps. What happened to all of this?

Taxpayer dollars were spent initially in several County Council meetings, consequential public testimony, heads of many departments within the County’s ‘building’ and ‘planning’ offices were paid to stand by for testimony and to attend the Council and Public meetings. Some during ‘off’ hours. One could understand the expenditures in 2010 because it was ostensibly to bring rational thinking to the implementation of a building code that reflects the different environments this island presents in residential design. Imagine the shock to the public when Building Codes, UNCHANGED, were presented to the County Council for approval 2011 and the Council voted to approve!!!! Granted, there are a couple of new council members but the majority of the Council remains the same from 2010 to 2011 and they KNOW what they requested and they KNOW what was done. Why did they not ask questions as to why the CHANGES that they clearly understood needed to be done were not manifest in the Code they voted to approve in 2011? 

As of Wednesday, August 17, the Council has voted to RESCIND its vote to approve. Instead, they want PUBLIC MEETINGS, again!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING? The Council members and Director for DPW, Warren Lee, need to sit down and have a face to face about this ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars and time. All of the same industry professionals have taken off time, lost dollars themselves in a really recessive economy which has hit the residential construction industry hard, to testify in 2010 and AGAIN to persuade the Council to reconsider the same old bill for all the same reasons in 2011! Such a waste of valuable resources. This work has already been done. The code need only be updated to reflect the reality. This year the whole public has been shown disrespect by tax paid civil servants! It would seem a recalcitrant attitude somewhere along the line is making itself manifest at the cost of the taxpayers. I would suggest at this point the Mayor be besieged with letters of complaint. He is ultimately responsible for the way tax dollars are spent and responsible for the individuals who wield the power to comply with the Council whose clear direction last year was to ‘fix’ the code to bring it in line with local building needs. The SAFE ROOM was chief among the complaints and was clearly argued as fully unnecessary for East County residential. 

Please write your council representative and make sure they understand the ramifications of a vote to accept the codes as they are currently written.
(Toni Robert lives in Puna and blogs at write-matters.com. Her writing above has been republished here with permission.)