Carroll talks with Marsha Joyner about the NAACP dinner and awards ceremony originally scheduled at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, but moved to the Mariott after complaints from the public, NAACP and union members due to the ongoing worker's strike at the Hyatt. Per Marsha Joyner, NAACP should be supporting the workers. "If you don't stand up for rights, what is the purpose?" She also announced a number of activities next weekend, including the ringing of the peace bell on January 15 and the Martin Luther King Jr. parade on January 16.
The second hour Carroll talks more about the Ethics Commission and how it "works". He gives more examples, comparing violations by Patty Teruya to those of Rod Tam, who was punished with jail time and over 300 hours of community serivce.
He also talks about the killing of monk seals, asking the public to step forward with information. DLNR needs major revisions to help solve the problems. To illustrate, Carroll tells a story about what happened when he called the hotline about an entangled whale.
Carroll talks about the resignation of Patty Teruya from her job as Special Events Coordinator for the City of Honolulu due to ethics violations. The handling of the situation only highlights the political manipulation of the Ethics Commission and the lack of clear news reporting in Hawaii. We need to get the truth out. Carroll explains it all here, today.
A number of people, including Carroll, filed complaints about Teruya's questionable activities and behavior. Witnesses were on notice to testify in her trial, originally set for September, 2011. Instead, it was delayed and, in early December, effective December 31, Teruya was allowed to "settle out" and resign with no admittance of wrongdoing. She "walked away" while other violators, such as Rod Tam and Rene Mansho, were forced out in disgrace and given jail time. Yesterday, on a slow news day, the Star Advertiser published a long, but incomplete story that did not give the whole picture. They highlighted her personal use of city computers and email, but glossed over the use of her position to benefit her friends and herself. Her political activities, and her questionable involvement with various campaigns, including her own were barely mentioned. In particular, she was a force behind the election of politicians such as Mayors Hannemann and Carlisle, Councilman Tom Berg, and even her lawyer, Don Pacarro, who ran for office last year.
\\Carroll continues his discussion about Hawaii's charter schools. He attended the audit review meeting on 12/19, and plays a tape of Marian Higa's presentation here. It is very enlightening. She does a great job discussing "Autonomy without Accountability" - auditing both academics and operations. The schools must conduct an Annual Self Evaluation (ASE), but the data is not reliable according to the review panels. A big problem - charter schools are exempt from procurement rules, and Ms. Higa gives several examples of what happens when taxpapyer money is given to schools with no oversight. She also talks about problems at HTA, K12, Inc. and Jeff Piontek
Carroll continues his discussion about Hawaii's charter schools, how the news media is whitewashing the situation, and how the DOE and local school boards are covering up. The DOE says they did not know anything about two principals fired by Hawaii Technology Academy (HTA) . The audit says the charter school boards are not doing their job while nepotism, political favortism and waste of government funding abounds.
Carroll talks about problems with EMS ambulance services.
He also talks about Haseko's change in plans for their new marina community known as "Ewa Marina". The permit for the marina was approved, and included boat slips, a commercial area and a public boat ramp - something that is needed in the area. The new plan is for just an enclosed brackish-water lagoon.
Carroll's guest is Elliot Ackerman, COO of Americans Elect 2012. Their website gives individual citizens the ability to participate, come to a consensus and nominate candidates to run as a non-partisan party on the ballots of all 50 states.
It is a valuable tool for researching and comparing candidates, and determining where your choice actually stands on the issues based on information gathered from aggregated voting records as well as specific responses received from the candidates. The site also has an option for you to answer the questions which will then be matched to the politician's record to determine who is closest to you in values.
Carroll's guest is Rod Tam. They discuss what is going on "behind the scenes" of our government. Rod served on the city council for many years, and he knows what he's talking about. In spite of his recent problems and bad publicity, Rod has done many good things for the community.
Today's show focuses on how our government is not being held accountable, and Rod suggests ways it can change. Topics include rail, taxes, trips, expenses, citizen' s rights, and some of his own controversial statements.
Carroll wants to know - who get persecuted and prosecuted and who who gets the pass and the praise?
Carroll's guest is Kevin Annett, calling in from Canada. They discuss the state of Indian affairs in Canada and, in particular, rape, abuse and genocide in the church-run Indian boarding schools. It is estimated that, since the 1870's, up to 250,000 children were forced into the schools, and half of them may have died. The school's intent and purpose is the destruction of native culture and languages. Real education is discouraged by a policy to keep Indians from taking jobs from other Canadians. In addition, the churches are forcing Indians off their land, then selling it to logging companies.
The practice of forcing children into boarding schools was stopped in the 1980's. but the schools are still active. Since then groups and individuals have been trying to investigate the abuse, mass graves, and other issues.
The second hour Carroll discusses the state of government in the State of Hawaii and City of Honolulu. More furloughs are being considered for state workers. Carroll has not received documents he requested regarding education, nepotism, and EMS emergency services - just excuses. Apparently, refuse pickup has been canceled on Mondays after the Christmas and New Year holidays, so no pickup for three weeks in some areas. This will be a big problem but the city is not responding to complaints. Also, refuse trucks are still broken and some routes are late or not completely picked up. The city chose Ansaldo to handle the trains, but it is failing and the people in charge do not want to consider alternatives.
The first hour Carroll continues his discussion about nepotism and ethics in government, and the unequal treatment of complaints and punishment based on who is involved.
Recently Carroll received a detailed complaint regarding EMS Services. He is investigating the allegations, but starts the discussion here. One of those involved is Dr. James Ireland, head of Emergency Medical Services. Apparently he is running his own practice at the same time he heads the EMS - while on city time. The complaint also notes he farmed out work to American Medical Response, his former employe
The second hour Carroll's guest is Terri Morgan, author of Playing the Genetic Lottery, a fictional memoir of growing up with two parents with schizophrenia. She provides an insight into what schizophrenia really is. She also talks about how you can e-publish your own book to download and read on Kindle, Nook, etc.
Carroll's first guest is Barbara Woodland, author of The Blond Vegetarian. They discuss Operation Christmas Child - Samaritan's Purse, and how to fill up a shoe box with fun and useful items appropriate for a child in need.
The second hour Carroll talks with Dr. William Bolman and Jessica Wong, Director of the Autism Society of Hawaii, about the history of, and increase in cases of autism in children.