Hawaii

HONOLULU — The landlord of a Kalihi building that collapsed on Sunday claimed the homeless who live there caused the building to crumble.

KITV spoke with co-owner Daniel Cunningham and asked him about accusations of him conducting medical experiments on the residents.

The Gulick Avenue apartment home in Kalihi that collapsed Sunday is now cordoned off.

Cunningham said he was going to take the illegal scaffolding down.

“I unfortunately did not get it down before someone did that to me,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham claimed the residents caused it to fall. However, one tenant said he saw Cunningham on the roof of the makeshift structure before the collapse.

The story has gotten even stranger. (Read the full post about ‘Kalihi Landlord Says Residents Caused Collapse’…)

HONOLULU — Well-wishers from around the world have been sending hundreds of letters and postcards to Hawaii in support of Sen. Barack Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham.

So far, more than 1,000 messages for Dunham have arrived at Obama’s Hawaii headquarters with more arriving each day.

The liberal Web site Daily Kos urged Obama supporters to write to Dunham and the Hawaii headquarters agreed to handle the messages.

“It’s just been overwhelming. (Read the full post about ‘Obama’s Grandmother Flooded By Get-Well Cards’…)

HONOLULU — Students at Central Union Church Preschool can return to class Monday after their classrooms burned down in Makiki last week.

School officials plan to use the library and part of the parish hall.

The fire broke out early on Oct. 22. About 50 students were displaced.

Parents said they are grateful for all the community support.

“The zoo’s been wonderful. They’ve let us come down to the zoo and the Bishop Museum, and us moms have all been getting together. We’ve got a great hui going, too. So, we’re keeping the kids busy,” student’s mother Patti Yasuhara said.

Honolulu police are investigating the fire as a first-degree arson case.

The school is waiting on portables classrooms to arrive. (Read the full post about ‘Central Union Preschool Plans To Restart Classes’…)

HONOLULU — A Circuit Court judge Wednesday sentenced a Waianae man to the maximum term in prison for killing a family’s pet pig.

It was the second trial for Joseph Calarruda V for killing a pet boar that lived with its owners at a Mililani orchard.

The family identified Calarruda as the man who killed their pet “Porky.”

Calarruda cried as his 14-year-old daughter asked the judge for mercy.

After hearing pleas of leniency from Calarruda’s family, Judge Richard Pollack sentenced the defendant to five years in prison.

“The offense in this case was vicious and callous and resulted in the killing of a pet pig,” Pollack said. (Read the full post about ‘Man Gets 5 Years In Prison For Killing Pet Pig’…)

HONOLULU — A federal magistrate ruled on Tuesday that children who are suing for admission to Kamehameha Schools must have their names revealed to the public.

The latest lawsuit challenging the private school’s Hawaiian preference for admission involves four non-Hawaiian children.

The children’s’ attorneys said they feared retaliation if the names were made public.

However, Magistrate Barry Kurren ruled that a general fear of retaliation was not enough to overcome the need for openness in court proceedings or the right of Kamehameha Schools to investigate the applicants and defend its case.

Attorneys for the four families said their clients may drop their suit if they are forced to make their names public.

They have 10 days to either drop the suit or appeal to the district judge handling the case.

Previous Stories:

• August 11, 2008: Kamehameha School Faces Another Lawsuit
• August 6, 2008: Kamehameha Sues Over Breach Of Confidentiality
• May 22, 2007: Attorney Solicits Plaintiffs For Kamehameha Schools Lawsuit
• May 22, 2007: E-Mail Soliciting Plaintiffs Against Kamehameha Schools
• May 15, 2007: Kamehameha Schools Settles Lawsuit Over Admissions Policy
• April 27, 2007: High Court Meets To Discuss Kamehameha Schools Case
• March 16, 2007: Kamehameha Schools Files Against Supreme Court Review
• March 2, 2007: Supreme Court Asked To Review Kamehameha Schools’ Admissions Policy
• December 6, 2006: Critics Disappointed By Court’s Ruling
• December 6, 2006: Court Upholds Kamehameha’s Admissions Policy

At least not when it comes to our state’s fiscal condition.The State Council on Revenues did a rare thing by revising state tax revenue projections for the current fiscal year outside its normal reporting period.They did so because the House Speaker and Senate President requested the revision given the dramatic and global economic downturn of the past few months. In addition, the state administration is in the process of putting together their state budget plan which they will present to the legislature in December. Better for everyone to be working with the most current projection possible. The Honolulu Advertiser story is here. (Read the full post about ‘Don’t be an ostrich for Halloween’…)

This ghost story was submitted by Stephanie - a former legislative staffer:My first year at the capitol, I worked for the Consumer Protection committee in the Senate, for Senator Kanno. Our committee room was room 414 (I think that was the room #…it’s a Senate conference room now.) The room was configured really weird - there were all these bookshelves and high cubicles.In the back of the room, there was this one little cubicle in the corner with a computer in it. The staff usually worked in the front cubes, or in the back where there was a little conference room where we used to collate. There weren’t many staffers, so a lot of the time people would be in there by themselves. (Read the full post about ‘Capitol Ghost Stories 2008 - Ghost in Room 414′…)

Come January 1st, an estimated 1500 - 1800 Hawaii children may be without healthcare due to the State administration’s surprise move to discontinue funding for the Keiki Care program. Keiki Care is basically universal health care for children who do not qualify for any other government assistance program. The State and the Hawaii Medical Service Association share the cost of the premiums; the program was established by the legislature and is considered groundbreaking. Had HMSA not stepped up to the plate to fund the entire program until the end of the year, the end of Keiki Care could have been this Friday. As time is of the essence, Health Chair, Rep.

(Read the full post about ‘Keiki Care supporters seek new partner’…)

“There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.” Linus Van PeltApparently, North Carolina does exit polls a little differently. They throw pumpkins. It’s called “The Great Heads of Statesville Exit Poll” and you can read all about it on their blog. NCSL’s The Thicket did a post about it this morning as well.The pumpkins are painted with the faces of political candidates from the presidential race on down. They are tossed by a contraption called a “trebuchet”, and the pumpkin candidates who land the farthest are declared the winners. I’m not sure how long they have predicted election outcomes using this method, but the organizers say their results are 80% accurate. (Read the full post about ‘Political Wisdom from the Great Pumpkin’…)

We have three new capitol ghost stories this year, so I thought I’d space them out and do one Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Here’s the first from an anonymous reader (with my edits.) It refers to the legend that the spirit of former governor John A. Burns remains at the State Capitol, and that you know he is around by the smell of his cigar.”I worked as an Administrative Assistant in the reception area of the Lt. Governor’s office from 2003 to 2007.Several times during my time there I noticed the smell of cigar smoke in the Lt. Governor’s front office. It wasn’t strong or bothersome but you could definitely smell it. We would also feel something playing with our hair when we smelled the smoke. (Read the full post about ‘Capitol Ghost Stories 2008 - Governor Burns’…)