This is a long introduction to some do-it-yourself reporting data presented at the bottom of this post.

Let me set the stage. When I’m digging into a long-term story, such as the saga of Michael Miske and his alleged criminal enterprise, there are different kinds of days/weeks. Sometimes you get to a point where a story almost writes itself. You can see it emerging as you collect different kinds of information and slowly start putting pieces together so that, at some point, you recognize the picture they are forming. Then it gets intense, trying to gather more pieces, digging deeper and setting up interviews, until you have enough of the picture to tell the story to readers in a convincing way. Those periods are a lot of fun.

But earlier in the process, you’re just sifting through all kinds information you come up with, stuff people have told you, things they’ve heard rumors of, public records related even remotely to the story, and the backgrounds of people whose names come up along the way, searching out their families, jobs, property, court records, appearances in current news or news archives, relatives, business interest (current and former), and so on. And you hope that another story worth filling in and then telling will show itself.

Sometimes it’s slow and boring, when I’m just browsing without knowing exactly what I’m looking for, digesting information that isn’t obviously connected but might be relevant. I guess its like fishing. You put your lines out and then wait. Sometimes you wait for nothing. Sometimes you troll instead of just sitting around.Sometimes you get the perfect catch. And sometimes you can be overwhelmed because suddenly you realize you’re catching too much and can’t keep up.

My biggest problem is that I still haven’t found the perfect system for filing away (and then retrieving) the many bits and pieces of information, along with documents and photos, that I find along the way that might ultimately prove to be relevant to a story or, more properly, a series of stories grounded in the same background. I use good outline software, OmniOutliner, but it’s not perfect. I use Evernote and Dropbox to hold documents and notes, excerpts from the internet, and so on. I have Filemaker Pro Advanced to download and process large data sets like campaign contributions and expenses going back years. And I subscribe to data services that help track down relevant public records. Hawaii Information Service is something I use a lot because it maintains a good searchable database of public records, including real property, business registration, and professional and vocational licensing, the stuff reporters thrive on. It isn’t cheap, but it saves enough time in the course of the year to be well worth the cost. And then I subscribe to the state judiciary’s eCourt Kokua system, which provides access to state court records of all kinds for a fixed fee. I’m a pay-as-you-go user of the federal courts’ PACER system of electronic case files, ten cents per page. And Newspapers.com sometimes provides key clues that haven’t turned up elsewhere. Along the way, I’ve even used Ancestry.com to track the extended families of people who become part of the story.

The most frustrating moments come when I stumble across something that ties in to something I can vaguely remember finding previously, but I’m unable to find the original information. That’s where my chaotic filing system sometimes lets me down. I usually eventually find what I’m looking for, but precious time and mental energy are wasted in the process.

And all this while I’m mostly retired, and mostly unpaid.

I tell myself that these real life puzzles are more interesting and challenging than Sudoku. And that’s why I keep reporting, to the extent that I can.

Today was one of those slow days. I decided to take a look at the city’s database of building permits issue from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2019, recently downloaded from Honolulu’s web portal. That’s 15 years of building permits issued by the City & County of Honolulu, all 334,046 of them. It’s a goldmine of data. But what to do with it? What relevant questions can these rich data answer?

So today I started with a simple question. Does anything interesting emerge when you look at the businesses that were controlled by Mike Miske, the Honolulu businessman alleged to have been the kingpin of a complex criminal enterprise? He had companies involved in electrical and plumbing work, which often require building permits, as well as Kamaaina Termite and Pest Control, which normally don’t.

First step. Search the permit database for jobs where the applicant, the general contractor, or the electrical contractor was a Miske-controlled company. Kamaaina Solar Solutions was formed in 2013, and later changed its name to Kamaaina Energy. They did solar power installations, and probably other electrical work as well. The business was terminated on November 4, 2019.

I found 195 permits where Kamaaina Energy or its predecessor were listed as a contractor. The first permit was issued in June 2013, the last in August 2019. The total “accepted value” of these jobs $10,777,809, but it’s hard to assess what that really means. The value city inspectors agree to accept for a job often bears little relationship to the job’s actual out-of-pocket cost. Some of the jobs appear to be large commercial projects, quite a bit more costly than a residential solar installation.

What I’ll do now is browse and see if anything jumps out at me. I’ll check the large value jobs. Look up who lives at some of the residences. If I don’t find anything now that looks like it will lead to a story, I’ll hopefully remember enough so that I can jump back into these data if/when I stumble across another piece of the puzzle.

Remember that federal prosecutors allege Miske’s “legitimate” businesses were used as covers for criminal activity, perhaps for money laundering.

Here’s the list of permits associated with Kamaaina Energy LLC. If you see anything that makes you curious, let me know, please.

Next stop–Kamaaina Plumbing.