Friday, March 15, 2013

Musings: Benign, and Not

Prosecutor Justin Kollar has declined to prosecute Jim Alalem and Ray Catania on obstruction charges stemming from their Feb. 6 arrest at Wailua Beach. The two men were protecting a stone ahu that has since been dismantled by crews building the concrete Path along the beach.

[I] don't like putting people on trial for their beliefs, as long as they're nonviolent,” Justin responded when asked why he wasn't pursuing prosecution of the petty misdemeanor charges.

In other news, the House Judiciary Committee yesterday approved a bill decriminalizing adult possession of small amounts of cannabis. Senate Bill 472 has already passed through the Senate, where the penalty for possession was raised to $1,000. The House Judiciary committee revised it down to a $100 penalty for 20 grams (an ounce is 28 grams). The measure now moves to the Finance Committee.

Though Justin has not submitted testimony in opposition to any of the cannabis bills, Police Chief Darryl Perry submitted “reefer madness” testimony against SB 472, in which he claimed cannabis was linked to schizophrenia, psychosis, depression and anxiety. He ended with this dramatic line:

The negative personal and social costs would be long-lasting, and the family nit as we know it today would be a thing of the past; memories viewed only through home-made videos.

It's so bizarre how law enforcement officials and state legislators are totally freaked out about cannabis, yet ho-hum about GMO crops and their associated poisons.

Speaking of which, the World Wildlife Fund and Mexican government have issued the results of a survey that shows a 59 percent decline in migrating butterflies. The primary cause is an "explosive increase" in the use of glyphosate (Roundup) on crops genetically engineered to withstand direct applications of the herbicide, which kills milkweed, the monarchs' essential food. As the Los Angeles Times reports:

In key U.S. states where the butterfly feeds and breeds — Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, parts of Ohio and the eastern Dakotas — farmers have planted more than 120 million acres of corn and soybeans genetically modified to resist the herbicide, [Chip Taylor, director of the research group Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas] said.

Taylor said the decrease in the monarch population is more than a philosophical or aesthetic conundrum. The loss of pollinating creatures like butterflies and bees — whose populations are also collapsing because of habitat loss — can result in a loss of plant diversity across the continent, he said.
"The fruits, nuts, seeds and foliage that everything else feeds on," he said. "If we pull the monarchs out of the system, we're really pulling the rug out from under a whole lot of other species."

Hello! Wake up, people! These crops and their associated pesticides are not benign.

On a brighter note, HB 154 yesterday passed one of its two Senate committees. The measure, which Rep. Derek Kawakami co-sponsored, authorizes a two-year pilot program to test hemp's efficacy in soil remediation, as in removing the chemicals deposited by more than a century of industrial agriculture in the islands. It will also test its viability as a biofuel feed stock.

And finally, remember to vote for the KIUC board of directors. Voting ends March 25. I cast one of my three votes for Jonathan Jay, an intelligent, creative guy who promises to be a breath of fresh air on the board. One thing I really like about Jonathan, besides his wicked sense of humor, is his emphasis on reducing demand rather than figuring out new ways to constantly increase the supply.

Because non of the so-called renewable energy sources are truly green — they all have impacts. That's also true of biomass projects, especially when the feedstock is trees that are trucked for miles and chipped, a process that requires a helluva lot of fossil fuel. 


Anonymous said...

Kudos to Justin, hope he can prosecute the mayor, cause it sure feels criminal for him to have desecrated sacred wailua. It's shameful.

Anonymous said...

Why is Kollar dragging his feet against the illegal TVR's? All those people should go to jail for the massive FRAUD, Tax Evasion, falsifying official documents, putting people in danger by allowing sleeping quarters in flood zones, and for them STEALING Our Beaches.

Anonymous said...

Justin is a whimp.
The only belief these guys had was to create more cost to the county.
Their structure was an insult to the Hawaiian sense of space and architecture, not to mention religion!

Anonymous said...

justin had the guts to run against iseri at a time when she had everyone else on this island quaking in their tabi socks. justin's a long way from perfect but he's not a wimp.

Anonymous said...

I don't think he's dragging his feet, I think he's doing a behind the scenes investigation that will bring all the thugs down.

We all know you can't count on the police dept. To Solve any crimes. The majority of them are barely capable of completing a simple report form, let alone thinking above the level of the common criminal. They surely would be of little use against college level skimmer crooks with high-level political protection.

They should put Darla in charge of the police dept. At least they would be able to actually run to catch a crook. They might also learn to listen to the community instead of viewing them as traffic points. They might even view the people as assets not to be intimidated.

You go Justin, let's get rid of all these useless government thugs.

Anonymous said...

Well Iʻm impressed with Justin now. I hope this wonʻt be one-time stand. This one was easy. Itʻs the more controversial and felony charged ones we will watch to get a handle on his moral fortitude.
I am very satisfied and grateful that the Japanese Watanabe wonʻt be able to ʻnicelyʻ FIND against defendants.

And, if only Perry would use those strong words for the real killer: alcohol.

Anonymous said...

Justin has to after the TVR white collar criminals, If he doesn't then Kauai has another Shayme prosecutor.

As for Chief Perry, I think he might have been confused with marijuana and Meth. The whole world knows that Meth is killing everyone like a plague.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the information regarding our Chief of Police's stand against marijuana.

Where does he stand when it comes to cigarettes, alcohol, prescription drugs, GMO corn, herbicides, to name a new? Will he come out and speak out against them with as much passion and force? All of the above have caused numerous diseases, deaths, injuries,you name it,just check out written evidence on our own island! Can he come up with one death directly associated with marijuana? Compare that with
the many DUI deaths & injuries, geez, his view is certainly skewed!

Anonymous said...

Jonathan Jay would be a good choice for a progressive KIUC to move towards green energy and reduce our addiction on oil.

A combination of Solar, Hydro, and in the future ocean energy which produces thermal and mechanical energy would cure our oil addiction and reduce our energy costs.

Good Luck Jonathan Jay!

Anonymous said...

March 16 @ 11:01 AM: judge Watanabe is married to a Japanese man. She's Hawaiian. You're a bigot.

jonathan jay said...

thanks for your kind words, Joan! You are pretty "wicked" funny, yourself! jj

Anonymous said...

Fair call on Kollar's part in decision to toss this case. If there had been headstones on this burial land, would it be bulldozed?

Prosecutor moved Hilario case through. Jurors's verdict just. However, I was not impressed with Kollar's "at-a-boy" prideful comment to the press about how fabulous his attorneys are.

This was a trail to a particularly heinous murder of a witness. It is the Prosecutor's duty to be a voice for the deceased witness, and the deceased's family. Full stop. That is the end of it. This case is not about those involved in seeing justice. It is about a murdered witness. Kollar's comment to the press needed to reflect this rather than a parade of praise to the attorneys. Hand out trophies when no one is looking.

I think Kollar's comment to the press was done in incredibly poor taste, and a motivation in part was to take a political jab at Iseri-Carvalho.

Jurors verdict to the Hilario murder trial just, First Degree Murder with the possibility of no parole. Cold-blooded, calculated killing of an innocent witness by a preditory stalker.

Word is Aureo Moore foretold his murder in a plea to Mel Rapozo when Mel served a subpoena on Aureo.

Word is Iseri-Carvalho was informed Aureo feared Vinney would kill him if he testifed. Areo already had his life threatened by gun play in robbery.

Why didn't the Proscutor take measures to protect this witness's life? Restrain Hilario, protective order for Aureo, and a knock on Hilario's door from KPD, and a day in court in which Judge Senda demands to Hilario this felon explain the life threats he put to Moore in an effort to shut-up this witness.

Hilario is a narcasistic coward. The OPA taking these expected steps would have kept Hilario and his thug associates in check.

If steps had been taken by the OPA, Aureo very likely would be alive today. Why didn't Rapozo testify that Aureo begged to Mel not to make him testify against Akau and Hilario because if he did Hilario would kill him?

The foreshadowing came to pass. Hilario killed Aureo. Where were Mel's words to this in testimony, or the Prosecutor's voice for Aureo and Aureo's family? Where were the voices the deceased needed? Locked behind tight lips... Very disturbing to say the least. An an ivestigation is in order.

As to the comment that Chief Perry needs to do something about the abuse of alcohol, meth, and prescription meds--KPD doing their part and then some. It's like trying to get a truck to move that is stuck in mud--all the wheels do is spin.

See Mayor Carvalho, and ask why there still is no inpatient rehab center for Kauai youth on Kauai. Won't get an acceptable reason if you get an answer at all. Go tap on some of the corrupt doors of the courthouse and ask around.

Don't really think we need one more legalized drug. Weed not so innocent. Have seen first hand some psychiatric impact on people who burn weed--mimics schizophrenia, psychosis, etc.

And, the claim that weed is so innocent and no one will ever see violence from weed burning? Woman on Kauai killed just a few years ago by her paramour. Her body found on a mountain trail be some hunters.

The guy who killed this innocent woman smoked and grew weed illegally. This guy smoked daily.

There is the age old opinion that prohibition doesn't work. Well, now Kapa'a is the second drunkest town in the US. This is just behind Hilo.

Really, don't think we need one more illicit drug legalized. Hawaii is impaired enough already.

What will be next? Spice?

Anonymous said...

both mendes and ross are holdovers from iseri's term as prosecutor so your comments are misguided

Anonymous said...

Well according to the victim's father in the Garden Island, the former OPA was just horrible.
Justin has gotten off to a good start.

This is what a fresh face can do. Now we are rid of Iseri, Kaipo, and the business as usual crowd, (still need to lose buck the firds Kagawa), this island may start following the rule of law.

One does wonder why we have not seen certain planning dept employees brought up on charges with the investigative journalism on this site.

And finally, the Chief...What? Possession of pot gets reclassified as a different crime and he can't put pot smokers in jail, so our memories can only be seen through a Polaroid camera ......what? Sounds like someone went off his meds.

Anonymous said...

Justin, your words say a lot – thank you for respecting other point of views. Mahalo!

Elaine Albertson said...

Chief Perry's comments, and position, are terribly disappointing. I thought he was much more intelligent than that. It has to be either a lack of comprehension, or a single-minded focus on keeping federal money for the drug war that doesn't work. There should be NO penalty for personal Distribution by registered dealers should be legal as well. And...good job, Justin. Good decision. It's about time someone in our county government plugged in their brain.

Anonymous said...

"The dead cannot cry out for jsutice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them."
-Lois McMasters Bujold

Anonymous said...

Well according to the victim's father in the Garden Island, the former OPA was just horrible...

March 17, 2013 at 10:51 AM

What TGI story was this found, Anonymous, 10:51 AM?

I must have missed this story and would be interested in reading this piece.

Anonymous said...

"Pflueger also accused the state of negligence because no inspectors had come to inspect his dam, even though state law mandates checks by state Department of Land and Natural Resources personnel every 5 years."

Anonymous said...

10:51 why you no run for council yourself? I like see your no name ass on the ballot. Transplant.

Anonymous said...

interesting that 1:21 you use the word 'transplant' as an insult.

Anonymous said...

Next time someone calls you a ****** haole, look in your heart, it sure ain't about your skin!

Anonymous said...

No look at your skin, cause u might get the f:n Halle bomb if you go to the wrong beach.

Anonymous said...

Leave the trees alone and my second vote went to Carol Bain.

Anonymous said...

While giving a statement to The Garden Island newspaper reporter, did Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar extend condolences to the family?

Anonymous said...

Looks like Prosecuting Attorney Mendes is cleaning up Shay's mess.

First Hilario sentenced to life in prison. Now Kyle Akau--who discharged the gun in Safeway robbery on Aureo Moore--has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

This is long over due; called on probation most cases can pretty much forget about felons actually being supervised by probation. Free for all.

Just take a look at the string of charges on Kyle Akau while on probation.

Two felons locked-up, and more to go. Might be a few peole's lives spared because.

Though, much too late for innocent witness, Aureo Moore. There's no excuse--Prosecutor duty bound.

Anonymous said...

Its a good job he dropped the case against Alalem etc, they would have ended up costing the State money to defend them, just as all the other Sovereignty groups do when they go into court, make statements that they do not recognize the courts authority, then ask for a court appointed attorney.
Hypocrites, they should refuse the state help and pay for there own.