THE CARROLL COX SHOW - Ethics Commission

PODCAST

SUNDAY, July 31, 2016

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July 31, 2016, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Carroll and Natalie Iwasa continue their discussion about the Ethics Commission. The commission has been understaffed for years, and as of today there are not any investigators. Furthermore, there have not been any investigators for a while, and no leadership since Chuck Totto left. The new "acting" executive director will start 8/1/16, but how much will that help? The cost of not having a working Ethics Commission is unmeasureable and may have an undesirable impact on the future of Hawaii.

We are particularly concerned with what is happening to complaints regarding the upcoming election. It looks like the complaints will not be investigated prior to the elections. Investigation of the ongoing rail project is also needed. Is Hawaii now in the wild, wild west?

A bill was proposed by the City Council Executive Management Committee to audit the Ethics Commission but it was canceled because, per Trevor Izawa, there was not a quorum for the July 5 committee meeting to discuss the bill and there was also a change in committee membership. Furthermore, of some concern Virginia Marks indicated she could not attend the meeting. Ron Menor is the new committee member, but even he did not respond to Carroll's request for information on whether the meeting was going to be rescheduled.

Also note, the Ethics Commission is moving to Kapalama Hale (the old Sprint building across from Costco Iwalei). That is a concern because there is limited parking, and the DMV is also there, so access to the office will be difficult. Just another example of the disarray in the department.

Natalie notes the mayor makes appointments to the Ethics Commission, and they are approved by the City Council. This leads to more questions of ethics and conflicts of interest. A caller notes three of the six commission members made large donations to Mayor Caldwell. There was a proposal to change the way appointments are made, but it, too, did not go forward.

The second hour Carroll talks about the impact an approximately 160-acre solar farm being built next to a school, Kamaile Academy, and a community of homes in Waianae. Link here to our video and pictures of all the dust in the school . School starts Monday, August 1. Look at what they must contend with. Caroll was shocked, and is greatly concerned about what he saw.

The school is surrounded on two sides by the solar facility, with only a short, black cloth fence separating it from the dust. Carroll asks why isn't there a buffer area around the solar farm. When he viewed the property, he only saw one water truck abating the dust. There are also three homeless shelters and other facilities nearby. This is definitely an example of environmental racism.

Not only the loss of agricultural land, the bigger problem may be what is in t he dust. The area has been a dumping ground in the past, and who knows what is in the soil. Although the proposed development was put before the neighborhood board, nothing much was learned about it other than how much it will help the economy. The solar farm is being build by a Japanese company in partnership with HECO. It will generate approximately 26 MW of electricity. That is not much considering its huge size. This is one of the world's largest solar farms. Why are these large solar farms being allowed on Oahu when rooftop systems are now severely restricted?

Kamaile is a charter school. The school, out of its own budget, will be paying for soil samples, and coverings for the windows. The school principal is Anna Winslow. Their website is www.kamaile-academy.org



Carroll and mayoral candidate Tim Garry discuss the fact that only the "top three" mayoral candidates are ever mentioned. What exactly does "top three" mean, particularly considering their track records? There are others that need to be looked at. After they paid fees, followed all the rules to get on the ballot, and campaigned hard, they do not have a chance because of the media and party system. There will be a debate on August 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at New Hope Oahu on Sand Island Access Road, but only the top three will debate. The public is invited. Tim says he will be asking about the Ethics Commission.




BIG RESULTS: On Carroll's show of 2/1 and 2/8/15 Carroll discussed a fuel leaking from a fuel tank on Sand Island, and filed a letter of complaint to the federal government. Link here to see documentation of results of the complaint.

MONKEY BUSINESS