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TexasTowelie's JournalPossible detonation of ordnance off Molokini is raising concerns
Environmentalists, community members and lawmakers have expressed concern over the handling of unexploded WWII ordnance off Molokini and are opposed to detonating the devices in place for fear of possible irreversible damage to coral reefs, ocean life and the island itself.
The state Departments of Land and Natural Resources and Health, the U.S. Navy and other agencies are mulling possible ways to quickly and safely remove two WWII-era bombs in the Molokini Marine Life Conservation District.
State officials say that no final decisions have been made yet, but the two potentially explosive devices are more than 70 years old and pose a serious risk to the public.
“The agencies are considering public safety impacts, impacts on recreational and commercial boating and impacts to the aquatic environment,” the DLNR said in a statement last week. “At this time, there are no firm dates or final plans for any operations to remove” the ordnance.
“The public will be informed in advance of any such operations,” the statement said.
Read more: https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2020/06/possible-detonation-of-ordnance-off-molokini-is-raising-concerns/
5 officers investigated over use of force at Austin protests
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Five Austin police officers are on paid administrative duty amid an investigation into the use of what authorities call “less lethal” force during May protests against police brutality and racial injustice, according to the police department.
The investigation follows public outcry after two people participating in protests in Austin sparked by the death of George Floyd were seriously injured by officers’ bean bag rounds — ammunition that law enforcement deems “less lethal” than bullets.
Officers Nicholas Gebhart, Kyu An, John Siegel, Derrick Lehman and Kyle Felton were placed under investigation as of Friday, and their duties have been limited.
A spokeswoman for Austin police said in an email Tuesday that the department could not confirm whether the officers were involved in the cases of 20-year-old Justin Howell or 16-year-old Brad Levi Ayala, who were both hospitalized after being unintentionally shot in the head with bean bag rounds during protests the last weekend of May.
Read more: https://www.khon2.com/news/national/5-officers-investigated-over-use-of-force-at-austin-protests/
Gold in London bank sparks battle between Venezuelan rivals
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The political battle over control of Venezuela has turned to a $1 .8 billion stack of gold bars sitting in the Bank of England’s vault in London, where a judge is expected to decide soon on who has the rightful claim to the bullion.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says he needs the gold to help his cash-starved nation fight the coronavirus pandemic. But the central bank for the United Kingdom, whose government recognizes Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as his country’s legitimate leader, has refused to hand it over to Maduro’s socialist administration.
A ruling by Justice Nigel Teare, which is expected possibly within days, could help clarify the question of who is Venezuela’s legitimate leader — at least in the eyes of one world power, experts say.
“If Maduro is able to get his hands on this money, it weakens a significant tool that the British government has toward implementing its recognition of Guaidó,” said Michael Camilleri, a Venezuela expert at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue think tank. “It undermines the strength of that policy.”
Read more: https://www.khon2.com/news/international/gold-in-london-bank-sparks-battle-between-venezuelan-rivals/
New strain of swine flu virus spreads to humans in China
HONG KONG >> A new strain of the H1N1 swine flu virus is spreading silently in workers on pig farms in China and should be “urgently” controlled to avoid another pandemic, a team of scientists says in a new study.
H1N1 is highly transmissible and spread around the world in 2009, killing about 285,000 people and morphing into seasonal flu.
The newer strain, known as G4 EA H1N1, has been common on China’s pig farms since 2016 and replicates efficiently in human airways, according to the study published Monday. So far, it has infected some people without causing disease, but health experts fear that could change without warning.
“G4 viruses have all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus,” the study said, adding that controlling the spread in pigs and closely monitoring human populations “should be urgently implemented.”
Read more: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/06/30/breaking-news/new-strain-of-swine-flu-virus-spreads-to-humans-in-china/
Hawaii Supreme Court rules in favor of Native Hawaiians in land trust case
The Hawaii Supreme Court today took the state to task for its mismanagement of the land trust for Native Hawaiians and allowed a class-action lawsuit to proceed to a phase for calculating damages in a major victory for some 2,700 plaintiffs in the case.
In a 5-0 decision, the justices largely ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, permitting the case to go to an administrative process for determining what damages are owed to individual plaintiffs for years-long waits for homesteads.
The justices cited the state’s wrongful conduct in administering the trust and noted it has “done little to address the ever-lengthening waitlist for lease awards of Hawaiian home lands.”
The class-action lawsuit was filed in 1999 in a case known as Kalima v state. Leona Kalima is the lead plaintiff. Even though a lower court judge ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor in 2009, finding the state in breach of trust and liable for damages, the case has dragged on for years through the court process, and no damages have been paid.
Read more: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/06/30/breaking-news/hawaii-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-native-hawaiians-in-land-trust-case/
Hawaii's largest daily newspaper agrees to deal with union on staff cuts
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii’s largest daily newspaper, will lay off 12 newsroom employees and institute furloughs as part of a deal with the media workers union that would also preserve 17 jobs.
The Pacific Media Workers Guild proposed the deal last week. However, in return, the employees will be taking a six weeks off without pay between now and Feb. 28.
A total of 12 journalists have agreed to be laid off with severance pay.
They’re also deferring a 1% raise and giving up half their vacation days for the year.
The agreement keeps most of the workers who initially received layoff notices on June 11.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/06/30/hawaiis-largest-daily-newspaper-agrees-deal-keep-employees/
State forges ahead with plan to reopen tourism with testing, despite potential loophole
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The plan to relax quarantine restrictions and reopen Hawaii’s tourism industry starts in about a month, but many say a big loophole still exists.
Come Aug. 1, travelers who come to Hawaii with proof of a negative COVID-19 test ― taken no more than 72 hours before arrival ― won’t be subject to quarantine.
But there’s no clear plan to make sure those who don’t get tested actually isolate themselves.
State Attorney General Clare Connors did say a new database for law enforcement should be ready once the new regulations take effect.
Read more: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/06/30/despite-potential-loophole-state-forges-ahead-with-plan-reopen-tourism-with-testing/
State Teachers Union, DOE Agree To Reopening Terms
The Hawaii State Teachers Association reached an agreement with the Hawaii Department of Education over the weekend over how to reopen schools for the 2020-21 school year.
The memorandum of understanding applies to all 13,500 members of the teacher’s union, including public charter school teachers, and covers areas like health and safety, social and physical distancing, personal protective equipment and privacy safeguards.
“They (DOE) have to follow this by law. It’s a contract they have to follow. There can be grievances filed if they don’t follow this,” HSTA President Corey Rosenlee said on Monday.
The 11-page MOU provides a preview of what the DOE’s school reopening plan will look like when it’s unveiled by department officials on Thursday, ahead of the official Aug. 4 start to the 2020-21 school year.
Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/06/state-teachers-union-doe-agree-to-reopening-terms/
A New Direction For The Hawaii Supreme Court?
Gov. David Ige is expected to appoint Hawaii’s next Supreme Court justice this year, his first and perhaps only pick for the high court.
The opportunity comes with the retirement Tuesday of Associate Justice Richard Pollack, who turns 70 on Thursday — the mandatory retirement age for Hawaii judges and justices.
Pollack’s retirement could fundamentally change the legal bent of the five-member court. Pollack has often ruled in the majority with justices Sabrina McKenna and Michael Wilson, who are described as being more liberal compared with Paula Nakayama and Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald.
“I think it can have a profound effect when you see a lot of 3-2 decisions,” said Jeff Portnoy, an attorney with Cades Schutte and a former member of the state’s Judicial Selection Commission. “Whoever that third judge is on the bench — and we don’t know who that could be — it could easily flip the entire Supreme Court.”
Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/06/a-new-direction-for-the-hawaii-supreme-court/
A Socially Distanced Senate Runoff Debate Finally Got MJ Hegar and Royce West to Throw Down
It’s too bad the Democratic Senate runoff in Texas between MJ Hegar and Royce West has gotten buried by, you know, everything, because it tells an interesting story about where Texas Dems find themselves in 2020. The race is between two very different candidates, with very different claims to the support of the party’s base. If Monday’s debate is any indication, they won’t be getting a beer together when this is all over.
Hegar, 44, has an impressive personal story to tell, one that helped her become a national figure of sorts even as she lost her first race, for the U.S. House in 2018 against Representative John Carter, by a thin margin. She’s a former Air Force helicopter pilot who was wounded in action in Afghanistan and is a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. But she’s also never held elective office, and wasn’t active in the party until recently, which is something that means a lot to Texas Dem activists who’ve been slogging it out in the trenches for what feels like forever.
The blue wave that brought Democrats the U.S. House in 2018 relied in part on the support of college-educated white women who may have been Republican voters in the past but had come to despise Donald Trump. That’s Hegar, who voted in the Republican primary in 2016. (She says it was a protest vote against Trump, and that she voted for businesswoman Carly Fiorina.) The hope of appealing to those red-to-blue voters again is perhaps why Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer made clear early on that Hegar is his preferred candidate. Health-care issues have been a core part of her campaign, and she spoke at the debate about the possibility of working with Republicans on pharmaceutical pricing reforms.
Royce West, meanwhile, is a veteran African American lawmaker from Dallas, a city critically important to Democrats. At age 67, he has been in the trenches. Too long, critics say, Hegar among them: as a lawyer in the state Senate, he’s traded on his influence in the way nearly all lawyers in the Lege do, profiting from government contracts and representing local governmental entities in the DFW area. But he also has real accomplishments under his belt, including passing important police reforms. He was a pivotal player in the long Democratic effort to flip Dallas County.
Read more: https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/west-hegar-runoff-debate/
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