Category Archives: Blogs

The New Year is just three days old, and I’m already days behind schedule

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So much for those New Year resolutions!

I was fully intending to finish a post yesterday on a recent court case again pushing the legal theory that the State of Hawaii does not actually have legal right to the public land it controls. No court has yet given credence to these legal theories, but that doesn’t seem to stop some activists, and a few attorneys, from trying again. And again.

When my plan to get it posted yesterday proved too ambitious, I thought that I would certainly be finished by this morning.

But, unfortunately, it’s not ready for prime time. You’ll just have to remain in suspense for at least another day.

I’m looking at a recent Hawaii court decision that is one of a long train of court cases brought by or on behalf of Windyceslau D. Lorenzo. I doubt most of you will recognize his name, and are likely equally unfamiliar with his claim to the title of Kamehameha VI, King of all the Hawaiian Islands. He is, of course, just one of several claimants to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Or the Kingdom of Hawaii, if that semantic difference is important to you.

I haven’t yet located the earliest case in which Lorenzo raised similar issues. But in 1989, Lorenzo and others took over a state-owned parcel of land in Waimanalo. They were eventually evicted, but Lorenzo filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that his due process rights had been violated because he was actually the owner of the Waimanalo land.

Lorenzo lost the case, and then appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the ruling.

Here’s an excerpt from the 9th Circuit opinion:

Due Process Violation

Lorenzo claimed that defendants violated his right to due process by evicting him from the land because he had title to the land. The procedural due process requirements of the fourteenth amendment apply only when a constitutionally protected liberty or property interest is at stake.

Here, Lorenzo’s only evidence of a property right in the land is a purported “deed” from Rose P. Lorenzo, dated 1988, which grants 6970 acres of land, including the parcel at issue, to Lorenzo. Lorenzo did not provide any evidence of how Rose P. Lorenzo acquired title to the property. Defendants provided a title report tracing the state of Hawaii’s title to the land back to the beginning of the Hawaiian Monarchy. Given this evidence, the district court correctly granted summary judgment for defendants on Lorenzo’s due process claims because Lorenzo had no protected interest in the property.

AFFIRMED.

Anyway, more on the latest court decision soon.

Another museum bites the dust

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News of the closure of another small museum, this time a small operation in Kakaako, triggered Stan Fichtman to ponder the situation of Hawaii museums, many of which have to struggle to stay healthy. Stan’s comment, which is posted on his PoliticsHawaii.com blog, is titled, “The Brutality of the Museum Market.

You may remember that Fichtman wrote earlier about the situation of the aviation museum at Barbers Point.

“What keeps some of these museums open and thriving and some of them to die on the capitalistic vine?,” Fichtman wonders.

Then he answered his own question.

The key I have learned is the tour industry (Roberts, Polynesian Hospitality, Grey Line, etc.) and whether they direct traffic to these entities. Looking into this, I found out that if you’re not on the tour bus routes, where passengers are dropped off on pre-paid tours, your entity is already behind the eight-ball when it comes to people traffic to your location.

Fichtman wonders about the deals that bring tour buses and their passengers that make so much difference to the finances of certain spots, including museums and restaurants. Are these simple negotiated deals? Are some deals darker than others?

It’s a question that likely needs more digging. Thanks to Stan for raising the questions.

Welcome to my blog, iLind.net

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Okay. Most of you don’t need a “Welcome” post. I’ve been blogging here for 20 years. Well, actually, not quite. For the first few months back at the end of 1999, I posted things almost every day, but blogs and blogging were not yet a thing. So I simply posted to a personal website. Then, several months later, I registered the domain “ilind.net” and began posting here. It’s been a long run.

Those of you who are regular readers know that I don’t often blather on and on with my own personal opinions about things and events.

I do like to put you in touch with “facts,” and primary documents, public records, etc. And all I ask in return is that you try to engage those facts, whether or not you agree with the conclusions I have drawn from them, and not waste our time with the kinds of opinionated blather that I personally shy away from.

Now, bouncing to the present. I’ve tried to connect to the substance of what’s emerged as the backbone of the impeachment process, such as sworn testimony of various figures, including those Trump administration appointees who were willing to testify under oath.

As I’ve said, all I really can ask is that you try to engage with those facts.

But the other side of it is that if you don’t, and if you choose to just offer up comments filled with conspiracy theories and varied tangents that don’t address those facts, I’m no longer willing to provide an open soapbox to broadcast your comments on this site.

Several of you have whined and accused me of “censorship” when I failed to “approve” one or more of your comments. I see it as “editing” which allows me to continue to challenge readers to engage in and focus on the primary facts before us.

I would prefer that readers accept my challenge to address the “facts.” But if you don’t, and you’re among the few who are unhappy that I have not approved one or more of your recent comments when they came up for moderation. Well, I’m okay with your being unhappy. Really.

You’re welcome to stay around and try other kinds of comments. Or you’re equally free to look elsewhere for your online entertainment.

Enough said.

A few words from behind the scenes….

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Excuse me for saying this directly.

This is not a paid service. It’s presented to you for free, without any obligation on your part. You can come and go as you please, read or not read what you want. And I guarantee that you get everything that you pay for, and often much more. I am not paid a salary. I don’t have sponsors to pay the bills. Some days I have more time to devote, others not so much. Sometimes I’ll dig deeper. Other times I’ll just raise questions and concerns that occur to me about issues of the day. If you want every post to reflect rigorous sourcing and reporting, you’ve looking for something above my current pay grade. I don’t have the time, and you don’t have the money, to support such an enterprise. So you should not arrive with that expectation.

About iLind.net, it is what it is. And as I’ve said before, I’m not exactly sure what that is, but I try to keep moving forward nonetheless.

I’m glad that there are folks who find this site useful on occasion, enjoy the cats and sunrises, and come along for my occasional episodes of reporting. I hope that you find things to enjoy, and will debate about the things you don’t agree with. But don’t get upset that my staff and I aren’t able to respond to you at all times.

Comments are often a point of tension.

Here’s a hint. I do moderate comments. Not continually, but if I spot something that strikes me as vulgar, offensive, or simply spreading conspiracy theories or other online trash, it’s likely that I’ll disapprove it. If you’re unhappy about a decision I’ve made in moderating comments, it’s not going to do you any good to attack me personally. Period. My response will be silence.

In any case, have a great day. Feline Friday should be coming soon.