I just got off the telephone with a police officer telling me that Tom Lackey has initiated a criminal harassment complaint against me for my blog entry about his March 20 bench trial for drunk driving. This is the same man who, since November, has regularly published on his website libelous, salacious, and emotionally disturbing cartoons depicting me being raped, sodomized and committing adultery.

Suffice it to say — with two young children who I will not allow to be victimized as a course of my writing life — I truly have to wonder if this website is worth all the trouble.  I don’t make much money doing this; it has been a labor of love of writing and publishing that I embarked on this venture — and there are generally way more headaches than feelings like I’m doing any public good with this.

In recent days, there have been people justifying Lackey’s emotionally disturbing cartoons, suggesting I am a “public figure” because I regularly publish news and commentary.  Say what you will, but I don’t think the fact that I am a public personality justifies the cyber rape and ensuing distress I have had to endure the past three months.

So, now I’m off to visit with a lawyer and pay a retainer fee, which is pretty much going to wipe out all the money I have saved in my Tiffany Edwards Communications bank account. If you have any interest in this website, you might want to donate to my CU Hawaii bank account or push the “donate” button to the right. To truly resolve the Tom Lackey matter, I’m going to have to pay a good amount in legal fees.

As I have stated elsewhere, if you have seen Lackey’s cartoon depictions of me and you find them as emotionally disturbing as me, I kindly ask you to write a letter addressed to the following:

Tiffany Edwards Hunt

P.O. Box 557

Kurtistown, HI  96760

Mahalo.

Photo by Tiffany Edwards Hunt. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.

Linda Rowell Stevens is the painter of the Lady of the Twilight, who is depicted on the necklace you see here.  According to Hawaiian legend, La’ieikawai endured a lot of heartache in her life and ultimately transformed into Kawahineliula, Lady of the Twilight.  This jewelry set and the artwork of Linda Rowell Stevens were found Volcano Art Center (VAC) last month, at the opening for the Observation Inspiration exhibit.  Learn Kawahineliula’s story by studying her eyes, as captured by Stevens, who consciously seeks to perpetuate Hawaiian heritage and culture.

“I want my work to say, ‘don’t let it slip away.’ May they forever be proud people who believe in who they really are.  If in any way I can help to show how they shine through my work, I am content.”

You can find Linda Rowell Stevens’ work on her website, at VAC, or at Puna Style in Pahoa.

Photo by Tiffany Edwards Hunt. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.

Fred Blas

(Editor’s note: Kenneth Long, whose letter is publiahed below, alleges council members violated the Sunshine Law when taking up Bill 270. He has filed a complaint with the State Office of Information Practices.)

Dear editor,
In Friday’s local paper the article covering the approval of the new Building Code, Fred Blas commented that he felt targeted when R.J. Hampton, aide to former Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole, singled him out in a diatribe from the testifiers’ table saying he was a cancer with an agenda to benefit his own property holdings and letting his constituency down by not advocating on their behalf.
Yes R. J. Hampton did point a finger at Fred, but for good reasons.  Fred is her councilman so rightfully she can address him as a constituent.  Fred is the Chairman of the Public Works Committee which has the responsibility to hear and vet out the Bill.  This bill never went through Committee since it always was waived through the Committee.  As Chairman of the Committee, if he was doing his job, he would have made sure that this complex and important bill would have had its proper Committee reviews, vetting, and public hearings.
When asked, his staff did not know Fred’s position on the Bill only a few days prior to its passage and, after 7 drafts, he should have been totally familiar with the Bill.  He didn’t even have a copy of the International Building Code, 2006 edition, the code to be amended and adopted, in his office that would have been essential if he were to have performed with due diligent in vetting out this complex Bill.  Fred appears to have been totally out of touch with this bill and all the benefits his district would have gained with many of the audience proposed amendments.  Instead he voted for the passage of the new Building Code that is very arbitrary, punitive, and not user friendly.  It has a very large negative impact on a large portion of his district and he has basically sold his constituents down the river.
Rumors have it that he has already talked with Home Owners Associations’ about cleaning up all the non- permitted and “Substandard” houses in his different subdivisions.  As passed, there is an archaic section brought forward into the new code that lists conditions of “Substandard” that includes many things that are cosmetic or superficial that if sited for, could cause the owners to have to rebuild or sell.  Fred’s agenda appears to be to punish the poor, old timers that are living in some very unique housing.
One of the big issues that the audience and R.J. Hampton was trying to accomplish was the removal of the section covering substandard conditions so that the Building Department could not go into a house and condemn it for arbitrary calls based on the individuals living habits.
Fred Blas seems to have missed all the points as to why he was singled out and described as a “cancer”.  Cancer is a killer and Fred is killing the lifestyle of his district.

Kenneth Long

"What can I do when both parties insist on kicking?" — Benjamin Harrison, 1889

Puna Councilman Fred Blas was among the seven Hawaii County Council Members who voted in favor of passing Bill 270 on Feb. 1.  This was in spite of a reportedly unruly crowd chanting “kill this bill” and allegedly threatening testimony to Blas, in particular, which brought a half-dozen police officers to the County Building.

Blas explained his vote was chiefly for “health and safety for the community,” and put both “health” and “safety” in all capital letters in an email offering his perspective on Bill 270. He noted that the bill has gone through seven drafts.

“This bill has been amended 7 times at the peoples’ request,” Blas wrote. “We had one meeting on the Hilo side & NO ONE from the community showed up.”

According to news reports, on Feb. 1, Blas was specifically targeted by RJ Hampton, former aide to Emily Naeole, who Blas defeated in the last election. As Hampton offered public testimony against Bill 270, she singled out Blas to describe him as “a ‘cancer’ with an agenda to benefit his own property holdings and letting his constituency down by not advocating on their behalf,” Cook Lauer reported. Big Island Chronicle has yet to hear from Hampton for her firsthand account of the incident.

Public outbursts such as Hampton’s were the reason for two Council meeting recesses, and one of them reportedly lasted for two hours.

When council members reconvened, Kona Councilman Angel Pilago was said to have called for the question, meaning he wanted council members to vote on Bill 270 without any more discussion.  Council Chairman Dominic Yagong and Brenda Ford were the only two council members to vote against the measure.

“We need more discussion,” said Yagong of his vote.

“I will bring back amendments that will be beneficial to the public,” he promised.  ”Although Bill 270 passed, it’s a living document.”

Council members needed to pass Bill 270 before April 15, or the state Building Code would go into effect here, Yagong noted.

Both Yagong and Blas dismissed a rumor that Yagong encouraged Blas to vote in favor of Bill 270 during one of the Feb. 1 meeting recesses.

“Yagong mentioned, not urged, that we should vote on Bill 270. He did not tell me how to vote.”

“I don’t encourage anyone to vote a certain way,” Yagong said.

“The whole idea was to postpone for another week,” he said. “If it failed, we didn’t have discussion; we need continued discussion on the bill,” Yagong said, adding that this is “real political football.”

Yagong pointed to State Rep. Bob Herkes, D-Puna, Ka’u and Kona, who he said is “on the right track” with House Bill 2358, which will give counties more flexibility in creating their own building codes.  Yagong noted he has met with Herkes twice and will by lobbying in support of HB 2358.

“The administration has been saying you can’t amend the Code to make it more restrictive,” Yagong maintained.  ”I went to the State Building Council and learned the only caveat is, if the State or the County of Hawaii has a project, they will apply the State Building Code.  When I got that (information), it turned this whole thing on its ear.”

Yagong was reassuring to those feeling frustrated by Bill 270′s passage.  ”There will be relief amendments,” he said, promising amendments he said are coming from those in the construction industry.

Name that caption and qualify for the Big Island Chronicle Readers' Choice Award for the Grand Poobah of Captions. Photo courtesy of Malice in Blunderland.

It is an opportunity to share some highlights about the public campaign funding program. This is a pilot, being conducted in the Hawaii County Council elections of 2010, 2012, and 2014. Legislation authorizing this pilot was passed by the State Legislature in 2008 under the banner of ‘Clean Elections.’

The official name is Hawaii County Council Comprehensive Public Funding Program.

Participation is voluntary.

There are strict campaign finance reporting requirements.

Candidates choosing to participate in this program may not accept any private monetary or non-monetary campaign contributions.

The 200 signatures and $5 contributions must be from registered voters in the district where the candidate is seeking office.

The purpose here is to establish that the candidate has support in the district.

After the collection of signatures and contributions is complete, the candidate certified and receives campaign funding. Prior to receiving that funding, campaign expenditures are prohibited.

As you indicated, in accordance with the legislation, the available funding varies by district. The allocation is based on previous campaign expenditures by successful candidates.

Importantly, the campaign funds used by public funded candidates may only be used for this purpose, are not a budget line item, and are not being taken away from other government programs. The funds come from the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund, for which the primary source of revenue is a state income tax voluntary check-off system. Additional revenues to the fund are from fines, penalties, and other sources that are collected by the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission.

More information about comprehensive public funding can be found at:

http://hawaii.gov/campaign/comprehensive/comprehensive-public-funding

January 3 was the first day that candidates could begin collecting the signatures and $5 “qualifying contributions”. To date, I have collected more than 100 signatures and contributions, with commitments for several more.

As many candidates in 2010 and this year have noted, this is a very tedious and laborious process. Nevertheless, it is also a valuable one in that it requires considerable one-on-one contact with constituents at an early stage in the campaign.

Anyone able to help me qualify for public funding can contact me through my website jamesweatherford.com .

James Weatherford

Candidate for Hawaii County Council – District 4
(Pohoiki, Leilani Estates, Nanawale Estates, Kapoho, Waa Waa, Hawaiian Beaches, Hawaiian Shores, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Makuu Homesteads makai of highway 130, Pahoa makai of Pahoa Village Road)

Dru Kanuha

(Media release) — Lifetime Hawaii Island resident Dru Mamo Kanuha has announced he will run for the newly-created County Council District 7, representing downtown Kailua Village and the Kona area from roughly Kainaliu north to Kona’s Old Airport.

Kanuha was born in Kealakekua and raised near the shore, in the ahupua’a of Holualoa. His father, Jerome Kanuha, was also born and raised in Kailua-Kona. His mother, Debbie Kanuha, was born in Pennsylvania, raised in Redondo Beach, California and has been in Kona for more than 40 years.  The Kanuha family has lived for generations in the Keopu ahupua’a that extends from Kailua Bay through the area now known as Emma’s Square and mauka, and is known for their stewardship of Kona lands.

Kanuha attended Mokuaikaua Church pre-school, Kahakai Elementary School, and Kealakehe Intermediate and High School.  Kanuha graduated from the University of San Diego in 2002 with a B.A. in Political Science, and a minor in Business Administration.

Kanuha says he’s been interested in serving the people of Hawaii Island in a leadership role since he was a boy, and attended many public meetings about roads, infrastructure, and development with his father while he was still in high school.   Kanuha feels the time is right for him to represent the people of Kona and West Hawaii on the County Council.  He says recent divisiveness on the County Council has concerned many citizens.  He says he feels he can help the County Council regain a sense of looking out for the entire island as a whole, even though his primary focus will be the new Kona District 7.

Kanuha has been involved in public service for more than a decade. He has taught free tennis lessons to children every summer at the Old Kona Airport, worked with the Kealakehe High School Waveriders Against Drugs, and cleaned rubbish off beaches.  Kanuha also served on the Hawaii Island Burial Council from 2010 to 2011 as the Kona Representative. Over the past year he served on the Hawaii Island Redistricting Commission, representing (the current) Kona District 7. Kanuha also serves on the Board of Director for Kai ‘O Pua Canoe Club, one of the oldest Canoe Clubs in the state with a membership of over 300, and in which his great-grandfather had a founding role.

Kanuha is employed by Kamehameha Schools-Land Assets Division, Hawaii Island, focusing on water and agricultural resources. In this capacity, he supports community outreach, promoting agricultural related events that support Kamehameha Schools’ Strategic Agricultural Plan.  Previously Kanuha worked for Judiciary and Labor Chairman Clayton Hee as a Legislative Aide at the Hawaii State Capitol.

Kanuha is a founding member of The Betty Kanuha Foundation, Inc., which was formed in 2001 as a tribute to his grandmother.   The Betty Kanuha Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports literacy and cultural programs for the youth of Hawaii Island. In the past 11 years, the Foundation has given over $250,000 to the West Hawaii Community, in the form of start-up reading programs, computers for classrooms, athletic programs for schools, scholarships for pre and post high school students, repairing the aging Simmons field at the Old Kona Airport, and holding eight consecutive years of the free “Kalae Iki” Youth Baseball Clinic for island boys and girls.  The Foundation has also supported the continued restoration of Keolonahihi Heiau, beach cleanups, and numerous other programs aimed at cultural and educational opportunities for Kona Youth.

(Submitted by Dru Kanuha.)