The anti-Sunshine Law reso is Aug. 17th, 9 am in Kona (Comm 867)
Finance Committee

The Concurrency Bill 215 (Hoffmann) is Aug. 17th, 1:30 pm in Kona
(Comm 729) Planning Committee

We expect out FTR reso 321-10 to hit council on the 18th. Agenda
not released yet.

Rob (Tucker)

Editor’s post script:  Also on the Planning Committee Agenda Tuesday in Kona: Bill 283: An ordinance amending Ordinance No. 03-111, which amended Ordinance No. 00-128, which amended Ordinance No. 91-116, which reclassified lands from agricultural 1-acre (A-1a) t0 Neighborhood Commercial – 20,000 square feet (CN-20) at Keonepoko, Puna, Hawai’i, covered by tax map key 1-5-007:20, requesting a five-year time extension to complete construction of the proposed Woodland Center commercial development located at the junction of Pahoa Village Road and the Kea’au-Pahoa Road.  Applicant is HNMP, LLC; Paul Osagawara, Manager.

This morning after seeing the headline front page above the fold in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, I couldn’t get North Kona Councilman Kelly Greenwell out of my mind.
The guy is trying out for the new lead role headlining the “We’re Walking On Sunshine” band comprised of other members of the Hawaii County Council that give a rat’s ass about the public’s right to know.
According to the Tribune-Herald report,Greenwell has introduced a resolution calling for the Council to spend money hiring legal counsel to explore a proposal to the State Legislature to exempt the Council from the state’s Sunshine Law.
That law, also known as the open meetings law, ensures the public is properly noticed about public meetings and that our lawmakers at the County level are doing the public’s business in public.
Shamefully, our State Legislature exempted itself from the Sunshine Law. Our County Council wants to follow state legislators’ lead.
This is wrong and would be to our detriment. As is, we barely know what is going on with our elected officials. They hardly communicate with the public, except to litter our mailbox with pamplets claiming term accomplishments during election season. If we lose the Sunshine Law, the dark drapes will be completely drawn and we will have no way to peer in and find out what those we elected to serve us are up to.
I don’t know what is wrong with Greenwell.
Ever since that notorious illegal Council reorganization that cost us taxpayers nearly $50,000 in legal fees (due to a challenge by West Hawaii Today), Greenwell has dogged the Sunshine Law.
Does Greenwell not recall that he once was an outsider to County government? The Sunshine Law requires accountability from our lawmakers, and apparently some of our elected officials think they shouldn’t be accountable to those who made them who they are today.
Greenwell blames the Sunshine Law on the fact that none of our nine council members have accomplished anything meaningful this term. I laughed outloud when I read that lame justification.
Please, voters, can we get serious with our candidates for public office? To have this guy waste taxpayers’ dollars trying to make a pitch for Council members to be exempt from the Sunshine Law, what a joke. What a waste of time and public resources. More meaninglessness.

(Editor’s Note: Following is a letter Puna resident James Weatherford drafted in response to the Office of Information Practices opinion regarding the Sunshine Law violation by Hawaii County Council Members.)

“Thank you for responding to my request for investigation into whether members of the Hawaii County Council had violated the Sunshine Law.

I also thank you for your Memorandum Opinion dated December 18, 2009. At this time, I request clarification regarding the OIP findings and opinion as stated in that Memorandum.

In particular, the OIP findings are “…that no individual Council member directly spoke with more than three other Council members about the issue” and “that seven members of the Council were involved through serial communications.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Hawaii County Council will host its committees and regular meeting this week in Hilo in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Ben Franklin Building at 333 Kilauea Ave.  On the agenda of the 9 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 regular meeting are the highly publicized and increasingly controversial Bill 132, Bill 160 calling for $31 million in general obligation bonds to pay for Department of Water Supply projects, and the planned executive session to discuss the recently settled West Hawaii Today civil lawsuit and the still-pending civil suit brought forth by Councilwoman Brenda Ford.

Following are other noteworthy items listed on the 10-page agenda:

— A resolution calling on the Hawaii County Council to discuss the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) with the Hawaii Congressional delegation, state Legislature, and the governor to “secure an increase in ARRA relief” submitted by Kelly Greenwell

— A resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a five-year “inter-governmental agreement” with the City and County of Honolulu for real property tax support services submitted by Dennis “Fresh” Onishi

— A resolution for the County Council to seek federal funding for the removal of the old Kona dump “to prevent an environmental disaster” submitted by Kelly Greenwell

— Bill 132 calling for County Council oversight on land transactions over ten acres and/or appraised at $500,ooo or more submitted by Dominic Yagong Read the rest of this entry »

Don Dixon image courtesy of cosmographica.com

By Charles Flaherty

Everyone is now familiar with Kona District 8 representative Kelly Greenwell’s famous eccentricities and sometimes wild proposals, such as housing the Guantanamo Bay detainees.

However, at today’s county council meeting, Mr. Greenwell took his brash statements to a new and disturbing level when he openly ridiculed two state laws that protect public rights and resources.

Greenwell stated that it should now be clear to everyone that he does not believe in or support the Sunshine Law. Read the rest of this entry »

To be fair to Councilman Guy Enriques, who I roasted for posting an ad for his talk story using the same photo he used in his campaign ads, I need to give Mayor Billy Kenoi some hell for his county-paid advertisement in the newspaper announcing talk-story sessions this week through mid-November.  I know there are people who choose not to like our mayor for one reason or another.  I have friends who are such diehard Angel Pilago supporters that they draw a line in the sand between themselves and Billy Kenoi supporters.   Read the rest of this entry »

Image Courtesy of Green Irene's Green Office Makeover

Thanks to Amy Miwa, legislative assistant to Hilo Councilman Donald Ikeda, for calling me earlier this week to provide details about the Council’s newly formed Green Team.  Recall the brouhaha after Miwa and Kareen Forissier, aide to Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann, got the boot from the mayor’s Green Team.  The administration encouraged the Council to form its own Green Team that would “complement” the mayor’s team. The County Clerk’s Office issued a press release — a rarity, I cannot recall the last time there was a release — that a legislative team would in fact be formed. Council Chairman J Yoshimoto stated in the release it was “quite refreshing to see the postive outpouring of ideas and enegery in support of a Legislative Green Team.” Since that press release in August, I’ve been trying to find out who comprises the Legislative Green Team and what is their goal exactly.   Read the rest of this entry »

By Charles Flaherty

Third Circuit Court judge Ronald Ibarra agreed to allow West hawaii Today (WHT) to amend its complaint to include an allegation of a Sunshine Law violation in April associated with the County Council’s Fair Election vote.

However, because the complaint was made after 90 days, no legislation will be impacted.  The complaint will be to determine whether or not there was a violation of the Sunshine Law.

Ibarra extended the hearing for the case until 9 a.m., Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 to give the parties additional time to address the amended complaint.

In addition, Ibarra informed the lawyers on both sides that the court will not be determining whether or not there was a willful violation, only whether or not there was a violation.  If the court finds that there was a violation, it will be up to either the county prosecutor’s office or the state attorney general to prosecute a criminal case to determine whether the violation was willful or not. Read the rest of this entry »

Kelly Greenwell

Sorry for the little notice, but I just received word that Kona Councilman Kelly Greenwell will speak at a Kona Town Meeting slated for 6 p.m., tonight, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009 at the Old Kona Airport (Make’o Pavilion).  This ought to be an interesting meeting, given all that is going on with council members this term.  Greenwell has proven to be quite a character, with his letter to President Barack Obama calling for Gitmo detainees to be shipped to Hawaii and his publicly made suggestion that a bulldozer be taken to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) gate barring shoreline access.  The meeting is worth attending, just for what he might say about the Hawaii County Council in general.  Afterall, Greenwell is a freshman councilor during a Council term that appears to be the worst ever, with a Sunshine Law violation that has led to a civil suit waged by West Hawaii Today newspaper and temporary restraining order issued by Third Circuit Court judge Ronald Ibarra.  If you are in Kona and don’t have plans tonight and you have any interest in local politics, this meeting shouldn’t be missed.

Tom Lackey cartoon

Puna Cartoonist Tom Lackey continues to use as fodder the Hawaii County Council’s highly publicized June 16 reorganization and the West Hawaii Today newspaper’s lawsuit alleging a Sunshine Law violation.

The Hawaii County Council has announced a special meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009 to discuss Res. 217-09, which rescinds a June 16, 2009 reorganization. 

The 9 a.m. special meeting will be held in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Ben Franklin Building. Click here to see the agenda.

Introduced by Council Chair J Yoshimoto, Res. 217-09, “Reverts the Council Vice Chair, Committee Chairs, and Committee Vice Chairs Back to Their Assignments Before the Adoption of Resolution No. 200-09 and 201-09.”

Following the adoption of those resolutions on June 16, 2009, the West Hawaii Today filed a lawsuit against the Hawaii County Council alleging a Sunshine Law violation and calling for the reorganization to be considered null and void.   Read the rest of this entry »

Lincoln Ashida

  You have to read Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida’s latest post on the Corporation Counsel’s website.  Lincoln Ashida shares the answers he gave to a number of questions that a West Hawaii Today (WHT) reporter asked for a story referring to his quandary being servant to many masters — representing the administration, the Hawaii County Council, and “individual council members and county employees.” Unfortunately, the reporter hardly referred to any of Lincoln Ashida’s answers, but instead pitched him against two of three council members who lost leadership positions in the recent reorganization and pitched council members against each other. 

Keep in mind that WHT is suing the Hawaii County Council for an apparent Sunshine Law violation that occurred with the recent reorganization.  

“A recent newspaper article written by a WHT reporter (the same WHT that has sued the County) questioned whether our office had a legal conflict of interest in the representation of the many parties involved in this lawsuit,” Lincoln Ashida wrote on his office website. ”The real question and issue should be focused on the Council members involved, and whether they have a political conflict that prevents them from fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility to the County they serve.”

It would be a beneficial exercise to juxtapose Lincoln Ashida’s answers to the questions posed by Nancy Cook Lauer with the resulting story. Read the rest of this entry »

Judge Ronald Ibarra handed down an order today granting West Hawaii Today’s motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary junction against the Hawaii County Council.

“This is an historic ruling,” said Kona attorney Robert Kim, who is representing the newspaper in the lawsuit against council members for their apparent violation of the Sunshine Law in a June 16 reorganization.  ”It clearly shows that open government is an important function of our democracy; Judge Ibarra validated that.”

Check out  the order granting the TRO and pay particular attention to Judge Ibarra’s “Conclusions Of Law.” Read the rest of this entry »

By James Weatherford

Elizabeth and I went to the event (Sunshine Law workshop hosted by League of Women Voters) at Tex’s today.
It was quite good. 

Courtesy of Punatoons

The presentation was informative.
Lots of discussion on ‘permitted interactions’ — including “permitted investigation group” (PIG), e.g., ad hoc committee.
Some good issues/questions raised.
Q: What is “willful”? 
A: “intentional … knowing”
Other points: 
The (Office of Information Practices) OIP does not use the term “cure”; they do look for “mitigation.” Read the rest of this entry »

I am very curious to know how Third Circuit Court Judge Ronald Ibarra will rule on the West Hawaii Today’s temporary restraining order request.  As you know, WHT is suing the Hawaii County Council for its apparent Sunshine Law violation in the June 16 reorganization.  Judge Ronald Ibarra is super cool, very thoughtful and deliberate.  According to WHT’s coverage of yesterday’s TRO hearing, Judge Ibarra asked questions equally between WHT lawyer Robert Kim and Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida. 

“He noted that there’s a big
difference if the actions are
found to be willful, rather
than inadvertent.
‘There is a provision that
makes it a criminal offense
if the conduct is found to be
willful,’” WHT reported Judge Ibarra said.

A lot hinges on the Office of Information Practices opinion.  OIP has to decide if this was a willful or inadvertent Sunshine Law violation.

As for the judge’s ruling today, well that I believe will give us a better indication as to how this is going to play out.