Good news for Mahaulepu ecosystem

SOURCE: Ken Taylor (littlewheel808@gmail.com)
SUBHEAD: Friends of Mahaulepu have gained standing in case against Hawaii Dairy Farm.

By By Bridget Hammerquist on 3 December 2016 in Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2016/12/good-news-for-mahaulepu-ecosystem.html)


Image above:  Dramatic view from Mahaulepu shoreline hike with the Sierra Club. Photo by Juan Wilson.

Friends of Mhaulpe (FOM) was interviewed for coverage tonight by both KGMB-Hawaii News Now and KITV. Apparently we are going to be covered several time this evening and here's why:

Judge Kobayashi finally issued her ruling, an Order on the Summary Judgement Motions that were argued 9/12/2016. As you may recall, each of the Defendants (Ulupono Initiative, Hawaii Dairy Farms and Grove Farm's Mahaulepu Farms LLC) filed a Summary Judgement Motion seeking a Court Order to Dismiss FOM's Clean Water Act Complaint on the ground that FOM had no standing to file such a claim.

Judge Kobayashi denied the Defendants' Motion and found that Friends of Maha'ulepu does have standing and our Clean Water Act Case was validly filed.

FOM filed its Summary Judgement Motion on the ground that the evidence of Clean Water Act Violations is sufficiently clear that the court could make findings of fact in favor of FOM by way of  Summary Judgement, saving the need to prove those facts at trial. In fact, the Judge did just that.

Attached is a copy of FOM's Press Release with a link to Judge Kobayashi's Order/Decision. Watch for us on TV tonight. For those who are unable to view it, we will try to capture a link and forward it in our next hui news letter.

We will be going to trial but the issues to be proven are limited to the likely discharge as a result of their violations and the damages. The Judge found for us on three quarters of our complaint.

Thanks to all of our generous supporters who have funded this effort. Our attorneys did an exceptional job. Any donations you can make between now and the end of the year will make certain we are adequately funded (see GoFundMe/Mahaulepu link) for the upcoming trial, attorney fees and expert witness fees and costs.

Contact:
Bridget Hammerquist
Friends of Mahaulepu
P.O. Box: 1654
Koloa, HI 96756
www.friendsofmahaulepu.org
(808)742-1037

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Mahaulepu Dairy Farms Draft EIS 5/26/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Hawaii Dairy Farm faces lawsuit 6/3/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Fed up with factory farming 3/25/15
Ea O Ka Aina: NZ dairy model isn't Mahaulepu 3/10/15 
Ea O Ka Aina: Ugly show at the Cow Palace 3/1/15  
Ea O Ka Aina: Dairy polluted groundwater 1/17/15
Ea O Ka Aina: No Moo Poo in Mahaulepu 10/27/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Hawaii Dairy Farm Factsheet 10/11/14 
Ea O Ka Aina: Disquiet over CAFU in Mahaulepu 9/16/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai Grassfed Dairy Fraud 4/13/14 
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Amy Goodwin to face "Riot Charge"

SUBHEAD: North Dakota prosecutor to charge her with participating in riot for filming attack on Standing Rock Sioux.

By Staff on 15 October 2016 for Democracy Now -
(http://www.democracynow.org/2016/10/15/breaking_nd_prosecutor_seeks_riot_charges)


Image above: Still  frame from video below by Democracy Now!showing credentialed press videographer facing private security attack dog. From (http://www.talknetwork.com/2016-09-07-dakota-access-pipeline-protesters-attacked-with-dogs-pepper-spray-video.html).

A North Dakota state prosecutor has sought to charge award-winning journalist Amy Goodman with participating in a "riot" for filming an attack on Native American-led anti-pipeline protesters. The new charge comes after the prosecutor dropped criminal trespassing charges.

State’s Attorney Ladd R Erickson filed the new charges on Friday before District Judge John Grinsteiner who will decide on Monday (October 17) whether probable cause exists for the riot charge.

Goodman has travelled to North Dakota to face the charges and will appear at Morton County court on Monday at 1:30 pm local time (CDT) if the charges are approved.

“I came back to North Dakota to fight a trespass charge. They saw that they could never make that charge stick, so now they want to charge me with rioting, " said Goodman. "I wasn’t trespassing, I wasn’t engaging in a riot, I was doing my job as a journalist by covering a violent attack on Native American protesters."

In an e-mail to Goodman’s attorney Tom Dickson on October 12, State’s Attorney Erickson admitted that there were "legal issues with proving the notice of trespassing requirements in the statute." In an earlier email on October 12, Erickson wrote that Goodman "was not acting as a journalist," despite that fact that the state’s criminal complaint recognized that, "Amy Goodman can be seen on the video …interviewing protesters."

In that email Erikson justified his quote in the Bismarck Tribune in which he had said that "She’s [Amy Goodman] a protester, basically. Everything she reported on was from the position of justifying the protest actions." The First Amendment, of course, applies irrespective of the content of a reporter’s story.

The charge in State of North Dakota v. Amy Goodman, stems from Democracy Now!’s coverage of the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. On Saturday, September 3, Democracy Now! filmed security guards working for the pipeline company attacking protesters.

The report showed guards unleashing dogs and using pepper spray and featured people with bite injuries and a dog with blood dripping from its mouth and nose.

Democracy Now!’s report went viral online and was viewed more than 14 million times on Facebook and was rebroadcast on many outlets, including CBS, NBC,NPR, CNN, MSNBC and the Huffington Post.

On September 8th, a criminal complaint and warrant was issued for Goodman’s arrest on the trespassing charge.

"Filming Native Americans being violently attacked as they defend their land is not rioting, it’s called journalism, it is protected by the First Amendment, and indeed, it is an essential function in a democratic society," said Professor Katherine Franke, chair of the board of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The pipeline project has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and members of over 100 other tribes from across the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning public television/radio news program that airs on over 1,400 stations worldwide. Goodman has co-authored six New York Times bestsellers and won many of journalism’s highest awards in more than three-decades working as a reporter.


Image above: Denocracy Now! report on September 3rd 2016 coverage of the Dakota Access pipeline company attacked Native Americans with dogs and pepper spray as they protested against the $3.8 billion pipeline's construction.. From (https://youtu.be/kuZcx2zEo4k).

You can see Democracy Now!’s coverage of the pipeline and the protests here.

Press information:Contact Denis Moynihan+1-646-217-7231
media@democracynow.org
or
Reed Brody
+1 917 388 6745

Press Statement by Amy Goodman in front of Morton County Courthouse:
Expected Time is 1:45pm CDT, Monday October 17th, 2016.
Live camera positions with satellite uplink connection available onsite to interview Amy Goodman or for use by your correspondent.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Shutdown of all tar sand pipelines 10/11/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Why Standing Rock is test for Oabama 10/8/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Why we are Singing for Water 10/8/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Labor's Dakota Access Pipeline Crisis 10/3/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Standing Firm for Standing Rock 10/3/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Contact bankers behind DAPL 9/29/16
Ea O Ka Aina: NoDAPL demo at Enbridge Inc 9/29/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Militarized Police raid NoDAPL 9/28/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Stop funding of Dakota Access Pipeline 9/27/16
Ea O Ka Aina: UN experts to US, "Stop DAPL Now!" 9/27/16
Ea O Ka Aina: No DAPL solidarity grows 9/21/16
Ea O Ka Aina: This is how we should be living 9/16/16
Ea O Ka Aina: 'Natural Capital' replacing 'Nature' 9/14/16
Ea O Ka Aina: The Big Difference at Standing Rock 9/13/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Jill Stein joins Standing Rock Sioux 9/10/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Pipeline temporarily halted 9/6/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Native Americans attacked with dogs 9/5/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Mni Wiconi! Water is Life! 9/3/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Sioux can stop the Pipeline 8/28/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Officials cut water to Sioux 8/23/16   

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Hawaii hemp legislation pending

SUBHEAD: Senate Bill 2787 to further encourage the state Department of Agriculture to license farmers to grow industrial hemp.

By Staff on 1 February 2016 for NORML -
(http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51046/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18208)


Image above: Immature hemp plant and field it's to be planted in. From article on tips to grow hemp. (http://toneag.com/wp/2009/08/24/hemp-production/).

Legislation is pending, Senate Bill 2787, to further encourage the state Department of Agriculture to license farmers to grow industrial hemp for “research and development purposes.”

Additional legislation, Senate Bill 2757, is pending to authorize the department of agriculture to establish a three-year industrial hemp research program to investigate the viability of industrial hemp as a building material for housing in the State.

In 2014, lawmakers previously approved legislation, Senate Bill 2175, establishing a two-year pilot program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa to study the potential use of industrial hemp as a phytomediator (a plant capable of removing toxins from the soil) and as a biofuel.

Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa L. that contains minimal amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Various parts of the plant can be utilized in the making of textiles, paper, paints, clothing, plastics, cosmetics, foodstuffs, insulation, animal feed and other products. The crop is commercially cultivated throughout the world. 

Members of Congress recently approved language (Section 7606) in the omnibus federal Farm Bill explicitly authorizing states to sponsor hemp research absent federal reclassification of the plant. Presently, 24 states have enacted legislation permitting licensed hemp cultivation in a manner that is compliant with this statute.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health and the Senate Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture have scheduled a public hearing for Senate Bill 2787 on February 5th at 2:45PM in conference room 224.  

Please go tp original article and fill out form to contact your lawmakers and urge them to support this pending legislation.

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Tokioka conviction info censored

SUBHEAD: Kauai State Rep Tokioka committed crimes that the Garden Island News has censored.

By Andy Parx on 19 September 2015 for Parx News Network -
(http://parxnewsdaily.blogspot.com/2015/09/tokioka-conviction-info-censored-from.html)


Image above: In State Court, Kauai lawmaker, James Tokioka pleads no contest over campaign spending violation. From (http://www.kitv.com/news/kauai-lawmaker-pleads-no-contest-over-campaign-spending-violation/35020264).

An "Editorial Viewpoint" refuting articles and letters portraying State Representative James K. Tokioka's campaign spending violations conviction as being a result of nothing more than "a simple mistake" has been refused publication on the web site of the local Kauai newspaper.

Despite the on-line publication of three articles and a letter to the editor that were seen by many in the community on social media as slanted to be exculpatory in nature toward Tokioka's actions, the commentary by Kauai resident Laurie Cicotello was published in print on Sunday September 13 but was never posted in the on-line edition of The Garden Island's (TGI) thus preventing statewide distribution.

Tokioka's unsubstantiated and unconfirmed claim that he took and "passed" a lie detector test was given prominent play in all three articles, the first on June 28 and the final two on August 28 and September 1 upon his "no contest" plea. A September 16 letter to the editor defending Tokioka (D- District 15- Wailua Homesteads, Hanamaulu, Lihu`e, Puhi, Old Koloa Town) and condemning Cicotello was the only on-line indication that the commentary had been published in Sunday's print edition.

As of press time TGI Editor Bill Burley did not respond to a Friday morning email requesting comment. A source close to the paper told PNN that they never post so-called "Editorial Viewpoint" articles however it was apparently given that moniker by the paper and many other "one-and-off" commentaries have appeared on-line under Burley.

In the unposted piece Cicotello points out that the "Campaign Spending Commission (CSC) investigates dozens of 'mistakes' regarding the untimely or inaccurate filing of campaign spending reports... then assesses a $50 administrative fine for such an honest mistake.

"But in Tokioka's case," Cicotello explained "the Commission referred the matter to the Attorney General (AG) who investigated and then prosecuted Tokioka for violating campaign spending laws with criminal intent.

"In exchange for pleading no contest and accepting criminal responsibility for his actions, the Attorney General charged him with one count of 'reckless' untimely filing and inaccurate reporting," she reported.

Tokioka was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine and make a public apology on his Friends of Tokioka Facebook page. He received a "deferred acceptance" to his plea that will clear his record if he stays out of trouble for six months.

Cicotello went on to describe the series of events following two Tokioka fundraisers in Honolulu that collected "$27,000 before the primary and then failed to report those contributions" and how, despite repeated attempts by the CSC to give him "the benefit of the doubt," he did not report collecting the money and/or file with the body in previous reports and/or by the final report deadline before the election, as required by law. He finally filed the report six weeks later, well after the primary election where the former Republican Kauai Councilmember faced his first serious challenge since changing parties and being appointed to the state post.

Even after the sentencing hearing where Tokioka told the judge that he took "full responsibility" for the matter, when meeting with reporters outside the courtroom Tokioka showed no remorse and attempted to blame it all on "his campaign volunteers and his CPA campaign treasurer," stated Cicotello, who attended the sentencing.

In the August 2014 Democratic primary election Tokioka defeated his opponent Dylan Hooser.

Cicotello was a volunteer supporter of Hooser's campaign and, with Maui "good government" attorney Lance Collins, pursued the case with the CSC and AG after she and others- including PNN- made repeated attempts to get Tokioka to acknowledge and file reports of the contributions with the CSC.

A press release from Collins following Tokioka's conviction and describing the case was ignored by TGI in its two post-conviction articles.

During the waning days of the campaign Tokioka repeatedly stonewalled attempts at communication regarding the fundraiser and the lacking reports.

Yet in a TGI article dated July 26, 2014 Tokioka admitted to holding the two fundraisers and failing to list the money collected but he apparently falsely, according to what he told the judge, claimed that leaving them off previous reports was a "clerical error" that he would correct.

But in the final report before the election he failed to do so.

The contributions were primarily from developers, corporations and their employees and lobbyists and included contributions from members of the "biotech" and chemical industry. such as DuPont.

Tokioka has been a staunch supporter of positions on state legislation supported by local subsidiaries of the international chemical cartel in their attempts to defeat proposed GMO labeling laws and, more importantly, to block local county governments from regulating Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) use and the growing of genetically modified foods.

Tokioka's ex-wife Beth Tokioka recently became a spokesperson for one of the self-styled "seed growers" in Waimea and Kekaha on Kauai after acting as an operative for and advisor to Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. in his opposition to Bill 2491 - which required disclosure of the location and amount of use of RUPs and imposed modest buffer zones primarily around schools, waterways and highways.

The bill passed over Carvalho's veto.

The issue was in the forefront of the campaign. Tokioka's opponent Dylan Hooser, was a prominent supporter of the bill and critic of the chemical industry. Hooser's father, long time Kauai Councilmember and former State Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, introduced Bill 2491.

The bill became Ordinance 960 but the industry sued the county and it was struck down by a federal magistrate with familial ties to the chemical/biotech industry. The ruling was based on supposed "implied" state preemption despite the fact that no state law explicitly prevents regulation by the counties. Tokioka has since supported failed attempts during the 2015 legislative session to have state law explicitly preempt county regulation of pesticides and "genetically modified" materials.

The decision is on appeal to the federal 9th Circuit court.

Watch for more on Tokioka's campaign finances, legislative votes and industry ties in an upcoming PNN articles.

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The following is the article as submitted by Ms Laurie Cicotello to The Garden Island News:

Representative James Tokioka pleaded no contest to a criminal charge of failing to timely file or provide accurate campaign spending reports during the primary election last year.

While he told the Honolulu court that he accepts full responsibility and has told the media that it was a “mistake,” his own actions say otherwise.

A mistake is “a wrong action or statement proceeding from faulty judgment, inadequate knowledge or inattention.”

The Campaign Spending Commission investigates dozens of “mistakes” regarding the untimely or inaccurate filing of campaign spending reports.

In most cases, the candidate is dispelled of their faulty judgment, inadequate knowledge or inattention, and they correct the error. The Commission then assesses a $50 administrative fine for such an honest mistake.

But in Tokioka's case, the Commission referred the matter to the Attorney General who investigated and then prosecuted Tokioka for violating campaign spending laws with criminal intent.

In exchange for pleading no contest and accepting criminal responsibility for his actions, the Attorney General charged him with one count of “reckless” untimely filing and inaccurate reporting.

Tokioka held two fundraisers in Honolulu and earned more than $27,000 before the primary and then failed to report those contributions.

The Commission gave Tokioka the benefit of the doubt and directed him to correct his mistake immediately to ensure primary voters would be informed.

Instead, Tokioka did not make complete and full disclosure until six weeks later, after the primary.

What does reckless mean? Law Professor C. Stanhope Kenny said, “Intention cannot exist without foresight, but foresight can exist without intention. For a man may foresee the possible or even probable consequences of his conduct and yet not desire them to occur; none the less if he persists on his course he knowingly runs the risk of bringing about the unwished result. To describe this state of mind the word 'reckless' is the most appropriate.”

In other words, Tokioka was prosecuted because he persisted in a course of conduct knowingly running the risk that his actions would violate the law – to prevent the public from knowing his campaign's finances during the election.

That is criminal intent.

Tokioka told the judge that he was taking full responsibility during sentencing.

Then he went outside the courtroom to waiting reporters and blamed his campaign volunteers and his CPA campaign treasurer for his crime.

If they had committed a crime, they would have been prosecuted, but nobody else was prosecuted.

Tokioka's attorney then told reporters that the prosecution was motivated by Tokioka's opponents – insinuating it wasn't based on Tokioka's criminal conduct or the Attorney General's judgment to prosecute him.

Tokioka has shown no acceptance of responsibility for his crime. He has shown no remorse.

There were no mistakes, just reckless disregard for the law.

His statements to the media after his conviction demonstrates that he continues to show arrogant and reckless disregard for the law.

Tokioka should show some shame for the crime he was convicted of and stop trying to excuse it or blame others.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Tokioka tried to block GMO labeling bill 3/24/13 

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New Hawaii Environmental Court

SORCE: Dick Mayer (dickmayer@earthlink.net)
SUBHEAD: The court will have jurisdiction over cases of air pollution, environmental impact statements and more.

By Lorin Eleni Gill on 12 June 2015 for Hawaii Business News-
(http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2015/06/hawaiis-environmental-court-is-second-established.html)


Image above: Stock photo of hands protecting environment. From original article.

The University of Hawaii law school, the Hawaii State Judiciary, and environmental organizations are gearing up for the launch of Hawaii's environmental court on July 1 — the second of its kind in the nation.

Under the new system, the Hawaii Supreme Court chief justice designates one or more environmental judges for each circuit and for a district court within each circuit.

“Hawaii’s environmental court is a historic milestone for our island and the U.S.,” said Denise Antolini, UH William S. Richardson School of Law associate dean of academic affairs. "As the second U.S. state to have such a court, we join a growing global moment where hundreds of “green courts” have been established to provide consistent and expert guidance from the judges involved.”

Those who advocated for the court’s creation say the environmental court will be a more effective way of enforcing existing environmental laws. In the past, cases might have received different outcomes depending on which court received the complaint.

The court will have exclusive jurisdiction over proceedings that involve cases in historic preservation, litter control, recycling, solid waste, safe drinking water, air pollution, environmental impact statements and more.

“Environmental courts have been successful in other communities where a sensitive environment is key to the wealth and health of its residents,” Alexandra Avery, president of the Outdoor Circle, said in a statement.

A free symposium co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Program of the William S. Richardson School of Law, Natural Resources Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association, and the Outdoor Circle, with support from the Hawaii Community Foundation will be held Friday, June 26.

The new Hawaii court joins more than 350 environmental courts in 41 different countries around the globe.

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