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HAWAII DECLINES REQUESTS FOR RECORDS ON FALSE ALERT
BY CALEB JONES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
KIM SAYS NO PLANS TO RAID MONEY GOING TO OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION
Woman in critical condition after reported domestic attack
OCEAN VIEW MAN FACING ASSAULT, ABUSE CHARGES
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
Office blocking missile info
HONOLULU —
Hawaii officials have
repeatedly pointed to a
low-level state employee
and a breakdown in his
agency’s leadership as the
main cause for a January
missile alert that left hundreds
of thousands of
islanders thinking they
might die in a nuclear
blast.
But efforts to find out
more about what other
top officials did that day
have been stymied at the
highest levels of state
government.
Hawaii law says opening
the government to
public scrutiny “is the
only viable and reasonable
method of protecting the
public’s interest.”
But for nearly two
months, Gov. David Ige’s
office has refused to provide
information requested
by The Associated
Press that could show
how he and other officials
handled the crisis.
Citing open records law
exemptions, Ige’s office
has declined to release
phone logs, text messages,
instant messages
and calendars related to
the missile alert, even as
the state moves forward
Hawaii Gov. David Ige answers questions during
a hearing with state lawmakers about a mistaken
missile alert Jan. 19. JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER/AP PHOTO SEE MISSILE PAGE 5A
Helmet
bill
dead
HILO — Three bills
introduced earlier this
year to improve road safety
have quietly died without
discussion after failing
to pass committee.
House Bill 1749 was
introduced Jan. 16 and
would require any operator
or passenger of a
motorcycle or bicycle to
wear a helmet. However,
after being referred to
the House committees
on Transportation and
Judiciary on Jan. 22, the
bill has made no additional
progress.
Two other bills, Senate
Bills 2229 and 2621, met
a similar fate. If passed,
they would have prohibited
passengers from riding
in the bed of a pickup
truck, save for certain
extenuating circumstances,
and authorized counties
to impose stricter limitations
on passengers in
pickup truck beds.
Both Senate bills were
introduced Jan. 19 and
have since been in limbo
upon referral to Senate
SEE BILLS PAGE 6A
KAILUA-KONA — An Ocean
View man is facing assault and
abuse charges stemming from
a domestic-related incident in
Ka‘u last week.
Hawaii Police Department
Ka‘u patrol officers first
responded to the scene at 11:37
a.m. on the report of an unconscious
female that had been hiking
from Pohue Bay with her
boyfriend.
According to Hawaii Fire
Department officials, medics
received a report of an
unresponsive person at about
10:15 a.m on Friday. Medics
arrived at 10:41 a.m. and made
contact with patient at 10:53
a.m.
“There was a delay in EMS
response as the patient was
located one mile down a fourwheel
drive access-only road,”
according to fire
officials.
When emergency
crews
arrived on scene
to the Hawaiian
Ranchos subdivision
area, fire
officials say, a
bystander at the top of the road
gave EMS a ride to the patient
in four-wheel drive truck.
The 40-year-old woman of
Alaska was transported to Kona
Community Hospital in critical
condition. She was later flown
to Queen’s Medical Center
on Oahu. As of Monday she
remained in critical condition.
“She is reported to have
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
Nelson
SEE ASSAULT PAGE 5A
Fat land fund
worries some
Maile Melrose checks on an abutilon flower in January
at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden,
top, in Captain Cook. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY, FILE
HILO — The county budget
might be tight in other areas, but
there’s still plenty of money to buy
and maintain land for open space
preservation.
A March 1 report of finances
for the county Public Access,
Open Space and Natural Resources
Preservation Commission showed
$16.2 million in the acquisition
fund as of March 1.
That’s its highest balance since
the fund was opened in January
2006, following a charter amendment
seeking a percentage of property
tax revenues be taken off the
top for preservation.
Another $2.3 million is in the
PONC maintenance fund, used to
pay consultants and nonprofits to
survey, upgrade and maintain the
land, and other miscellaneous purchases,
such as signs.
Some PONC commissioners and
members of the public are worried
the money could somehow be
diverted to other uses. But, short of
an amendment on the ballot voted
on by the public to change the charter,
that can’t happen.
“My concern is the fund grows
faster than it can be spent, it’s just
a tempting target to be raided,”
Commissioner Rick Warshauer
said Monday, urging the county
administration to buy land faster.
The county has so far purchased
14 parcels from a priority list prepared
each year by the commission.
Another 16 have been proposed by
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE FUND PAGE 6A
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