Emily Naeole

Wow, what a heavy week.  Yesterday was Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole’s birthday and the county Board of Ethics ruled 4-1 she violated the Ethics Code.  Her violation is for giving the thumbs-down gesture to a testifier during the June 16 County Council meeting in which the highly publicized reorganization occurred.  Also,  yesterday Curtis Narimatsu, a friend whose historical writings are regularly published here as Dispatches From Curt  guest columns, has been suspended from his law practice.

Curtis Narimatsu

According to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) to suspend Narimatsu.  ODC petitioned the court that Narimatsu received 26 complaints in the last two years, with 14 complaints made this year. Narimatsu agreed to represent clients, accepted a reported $15,535, failed to deposit funds into a client trust account, and failed to communicate with the clients or complete the legal services for which he was hired, ODC reportedly told the court.  If Narimatsu wishes to comment on his suspension, he is welcome to submit a guest column here.  The same invitation is extended to Auntie Emily — if she would like to comment on the Board of Ethics ruling yesterday, or on any issue that she or the rest of the County Council is facing. Read the rest of this entry »