THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
Crowd comes out to support Ruggles
COUNCIL TESTIMONY BECOMES STATEMENT ON HAWAIIAN KINGDOM RIGHTS AND WAR CRIMES
HONOLULU — Two government
watchdog groups on
Wednesday sued Hawaii for
enacting legislation without
giving the public the proper
chance to weigh in.
The complaint from the
League of Women Voters of
Honolulu and Common Cause
challenges the legislative practice
known as “gut and replace.”
It refers to lawmakers stripping
a bill of its original content and
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substituting it with something
entirely different.
The lawsuit is the first of
its kind in Hawaii, Common
Cause Hawaii Executive
Director Corie Tanida said.
She’s unaware of similar challenges
in other states.
Gut and replace “cuts the
public out of the process. We
need a fair and transparent
process. This is a democracy,”
Tanida said. “People should be
able to participate, and their
voice should be heard and
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counted.”
The lawsuit mentions one
law enacted this year that
started out relating to recidivism
and inmate rehabilitation
but ended up being about
building schools to withstand
hurricanes.
The watchdog groups want
the court to void that law and
declare the process used to
adopt it unconstitutional.
The state attorney general’s
office and Senate President
HILO — “As a Hawaiian subject,
I am a protected person. …
This body illegally enacts United
States laws in violation of the
Hague and Geneva conventions,
and as a victim of war crimes
that stem from this unlawful
legislation, I demand that this
body immediately cease and
desist.”
Not once, not twice, not three
times, but at least 20 times,
those words were uttered,
along with a dozen sentences
in between, as residents of
every stripe, from all corners of
the island, came to the County
Council meeting Wednesday to
support Puna Councilwoman
Jen Ruggles in her stance questioning
U.S. law in Hawaii.
Because public testimony is
allowed only on items on the
agenda, the crowd ostensibly
was testifying in support of
Bill 160, a change to the ethics
code spelling out that county
employees and officers must
provide “accurate and factual”
information to the public. Most
testifiers didn’t address the merits
of the bill, which later passed
first reading on a 5-3 vote.
Only a very few in the crowded
council chambers stood
when the council and other
members of the audience recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to
the United States flag. Although
remaining unfailingly polite,
all sat stolidly, staring straight
ahead.
Ruggles was not at the meeting,
having declared her intention
to not vote or introduce
bills until she gets a letter from
corporation counsel saying she
will not be committing war
crimes in doing so. Corporation
Counsel Joe Kamelamela last
month sent Ruggles a letter
assuring her she won’t violate
international law by fulfilling
her duties as a councilwoman,
but Ruggles wants a more
detailed letter.
“The testimony precisely
demonstrates why it is diligent
I be assured that I am
not violating the rights of my
constituents who may qualify
as protected persons by legislating,”
Ruggles said when
contacted outside the meeting.
“The testimony demonstrates
why this is such an important
question to be taken seriously,
not just by Corporation Counsel
Kamelamela, but every legislator
in Hawaii.”
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THE WAIT
IS OVER
NFL season
kicks off today
with Falcons
vs. Eagles
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HI 88 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 7A
VOL. 50, NO. 249 22 PAGES
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE RUGGLES PAGE 5A
Detective
takes
stand in
murder
case
TESTIMONY ABOUT
MCDONALD’S
RECEIPT REVEALS
MORE DETAILS
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
KEALAKEKUA —
A McDonald’s receipt
ignited an interesting
line of questioning
by the defense as the
murder trial for the
Miranda-Garcia brothers
continues in 3rd
Circuit Court.
During Wednesday’s
court proceedings,
more detailed testimony
was given about
pieces of evidence
recovered on Aug. 9,
2015, from a Captain
Cook coffee field off
SEE TRIAL PAGE 5A
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HELP MAKE GIRL’S
DREAMS REALITY
BY MAX DIBLE
WEST HAWAII TODAY
mdible@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA — Audrey
Yedinak had never flown on a
plane before. Her doctors weren’t
sure she should, or even if she
could.
But when the 9-year-old from
Tehachapi, California, found out
in April about an opportunity to
fulfill her dreams of swimming
with dolphins and visiting a volcano
on Hawaii Island, her reaction
was as uncomplicated as it
was matter-of-fact.
“I should go there,” Audrey said
of her thoughts when her mother
told her the news.
Audrey is, in many ways, what
you’d expect a little girl to be.
She’s a dancer. A “prima ballerina,”
as she described it. She loves
animals, most of all Sandy the
pug, who’s waiting for her back
home. Her favorite color is pink.
But Audrey also bears a heavy
burden. It’s one she’s carried
with her almost all her life, not Above: Audrey Yedinak takes her first canoe ride for her 9th birthday Wednesday with her mom
Elsa, brother Jacob and guide Josiah Kalima-Padillio at the Fairmont Orchid. Inset: Audrey gets
ready to have her nails done at the Fairmont Orchid Spa. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
Groups sue to stop ‘gut and replace’ at state Legislature
MANEUVER ALLOWS FOR LEGISLATION TO BE ENACTED WITHOUT GIVING PUBLIC PROPER CHANCE TO WEIGH IN
BY AUDREY MCAVOY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEE AUDREY PAGE 4A
Members of the public look down into the House chamber at
the state Legislature in Honolulu in January. AP PHOTO/AUDREY
MCAVOY, FILE SEE GUT PAGE 4A
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