The Carroll Cox Show

The Carroll Cox Show - 01/29/2012

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:32:55 GMT

Carroll covers some of the current issues effecting Hawaii today. The first hour he discusses the possibility of politics coming into play at O'lelo due to direct ties between Governor Abercrombie's administration and public access TV. The second hour he reviews the problems with our school boards and charter schools.

Google Utopia Academics and Libra Forde. Ms. Forde provided some of the information about the charter school situation in Hawaii. What connection does she have to the controversy?

The Carroll Cox Show - 01/22/2012

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:08:38 GMT

Carroll's guest the first hour is Dr. Jim Anthony, discussing the Koolauloa Sustainable Communities Plan for Lai'e and the North Shore. He explains the big issues between what the government and the Mormon Church want, and what the people actually living in the community want.

Craig Chapman, from Friends of Malaekahana, joins the discussion to talk about the people's park in Malaekahana, under assault from DLNR bureaucrats and, in particular, William Aila, head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Since 2006, DLNR has refused to meet with Friends to discuss lease agreements. On January 27, 2012, they will finally meet with the land board to discuss the leases they need to get the loans necessary to take care of the park and keep it open for affordable camping and use by the people of Hawaii. Hopefully the land board will do the right thing

The second hour Carroll talks with Dr. Hector Valenzuela and Dr. Melissa Yee about the health and environmental risks of genetic engineering and the need for labeling GMO foods. Hawaii has become the center of world research with open field testing of GMO fruits and vegetables. The crops are not regulated, and, unfortunately there has not been enough research into possible side-effects of GMO agriculture and products. Doctors Valenzuela and Yee ask, are big biotech companies degrading valuable agriculture land for future generations due to petrochemicals and cross contamination? They are also asking for more human studies on its effect on people

The Carroll Cox Show - 01/15/2012

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:05:15 GMT

Carroll's guests are Pam Davis, of Animal Advocate, Inc, Liz Rizzo, a journalist with The Examiner, Elzbieta Trzeciak and her husband, Patrick Pettingill. They talk about what happened to Elzbieta's beloved, 8-year old dog, Rex.

In August, 2010, while Elzbieta was on a charity mission in Africa, Rex was lost from the home where he was staying. Shortly after the Hawaiian Humane Society (HHS) picked Rex up, they claim they adopted him out to another family who they now say refuses to give him back. We want to know, how did this happen? The designated "alternate contact", as identified by the dog's microchip, came to get Rex the day after HHS picked him up. Although he was notified by the HHS, they refused to release the dog to him. He came back the next day, with the dog's paperwork, but was still turned away.

There are many suspicious circumstances and conflicting details surrounding the Humane Society's handling of the situation, particularly their disparate treatment of Rex, his alternate contact, and his legal owner, Elzbieta. For example, the HHS said they were unable to contact either the owner or the alternate person id'd on the microchip. The HHS said an ex-employee was listed on the microchip, but AVID records do not have him listed.

The HHS made mistakes, then tried to it cover up. An inaccurate news story was published in The Examiner to back up HHS's position and refute an earlier story, but then pulled after the reporter learned the HHS had given her conflicting and inaccurate information.

Unfortunately, this story is not unique. As callers explain, the HHS has taken similar actions in the past. It has happened to others, and is truly devastating to both the families and their pets. We wonder, how humane is the Humane Society? We have seen, and reported stories like this in the past. Each one gets worse. It is time for the HHS to review and revise their policies.

The Carroll Cox Show - 01/08/2012

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:14:38 GMT

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.

The Carroll Cox Show - 01/01/2012

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:52:55 GMT

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.

The Carroll Cox Show - 12/25/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:56:55 GMT

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

The Carroll Cox Show - 12/18/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:19:00 GMT

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.

The Carroll Cox Show - 12/11/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:38:05 GMT

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.

The Carroll Cox Show - 12/04/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:02:07 GMT

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.

The Carroll Cox Show - 11/27/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:43:35 GMT

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?

The Carroll Cox Show - 11/20/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:00:59 GMT

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 Carroll Cox Show - 11/13/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:44:12 GMT

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.

The Carroll Cox Show - 11/06/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:22:46 GMT

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.

The Carroll Cox Show - 10/30/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:52:22 GMT

Carroll talks about ethics and nepotism in city and state government, and Governor Abercrombie's image and status in the State of Hawaii.

Have you seen the paintball facility at the end of the airport viaduct at Dillingham and Nimitz Highway? Not only is it an eyesore, the person who leases the property, former Governor Ben Cayatano's son Brandon Cayatano, has been delinquent in his lease payments for many years. In 2007 he even wrote his excuses to the state on letterhead from Washington Place! Brandon pays late, bounces checks, gives excuses, and begs for forgiveness over and over again. He is still allowed to lease state property even though other leases have been threatened for much less. Is he getting special treatment?

Carroll gives several other examples of how nepotism and friendship works, including:

Lt. Governor Brian Shatz's brother, Stephen, was appointed to head up the Office of Strategic Reform and the "Race to the Top" program. The position was not competively filled, so, how do we know we have the right person? Even though it received one of a few federal grants, so far the program is not working. For example, it has not been redesigned to fit acceptable criteria including teacher evaluations based on student's progress.

State Representative John Mizuno's wife was hired to run his state office. Although the state senate has laws against nepotism in its offices, our state representatives have proposed, but not passed similar ethics laws. So, Mizuno is not doing anything wrong, but it sure appears to be unethical to the public.

Calvin Say, Chairman of our state representives and one of those responsible for the lack of ethic laws, has filed an ammendment to his financial disclosure statement.

Other examples are also provided. Since our legislators can't seem to regulate themselves, Let's talk to them about passing laws they can follow.

The Carroll Cox Show - 10/23/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:05:39 GMT

Carroll and his guests, Marti Townsend, Alice Greenwood and Lucy Gay, discuss the Waianae Sustainable Community Plan. The plan has changed drastically since its inception and no longer reflects the community's vision. Developers have had a lot of say in the final plan, including an industrial park that will add more trucks to the already intolerable traffic situation. They also discuss last minute changes to add a regional park across from the PVT landfill, an unacceptable location for such a park, proposed under strong political influence without any forethought.

Much of the Waianae Coast area is farmland, growing food for Hawaii. Carroll's guests ask that we "keep the country country".

The Carroll Cox Show - 10/16/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:40:20 GMT

Carroll talks with William Hoshijo from the State Civil Rights Commission about unemployment and job discrimination. The commission is responsible for investigating and enforcing fair employment and fair housing laws. As with other agencies, the commission has been cut to only 8 investigators. Is the government motivated to provide enough funding for the commission to be effective, particularly during this time of high unemployment? Doing more for less has its limitations, but, they are working hard to keep up.

The Carroll Cox Show - 10/09/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:43:39 GMT

Carroll talks about the recent resignation of a number of Abercrombie's staff and what may be behind the situation.

The attached work plan, put together by Environet, Inc., relates to the Army Corp of Engineers removal of munitions but makes no reference to an emergency. The document was created under a contract dated 11/30/10 and published 9/2/11.

Environet, Inc. is involved with the munitions removal being done by the Army Corp of Engineers under Governor Abercrombie's emergency proclamation. Documents show Joseph Pickard of Environet, and other Pickards associated with his business SeaHawaii, or sharing the same address, made major contributions to Abercrombie's campaign.

Carroll also discusses the Molokai Big Wind Project and the Occupy Wall Street protests on Oahu with various callers.

The Carroll Cox Show - 10/02/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:12:29 GMT

Carroll and Eric Ryan continue their discussion about the disarray of the Republican Party in Hawaii, first discussed on our shows 7/14 - 8/14/11. After the party chairperson resigned this week, several news stories told us about the many problems within the party and the Republican politicians. However, when we discussed it on our show several months ago the party strongly denied financial and other problems existed.

The Carroll Cox Show - 09/25/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:03:43 GMT

Carroll and his guests, Christin Matsushige of the Hawaii Cat Foundation and Kim Williams, talk about the advantages of TNR - the TRAP, NEUTER AND RETURN program - that humanely reduces populations of feral cats and lost/abandoned pets.

The Carroll Cox Show - 09/18/2011

The Carroll Cox Show — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:41:07 GMT

Carroll and attorney Michael Ostendorp continue their discussion of Governor Abercrombie's proclamation suspending state statutes protecting the environment, historic sites, public access to recreation areas, and environmental policies. Although it was signed 6/14/11, it was only brought to light last week on this show, much to the surprise of the public, while our legislatures and other government agencies claimed they did not know about it. After our big reveal, the Honolulu Star Advertiser also published a number of articles and editorials explaining the situation.

Today Carroll and Michael Ostendorp bring into question DLNR Chairman William Aila's role in the process. Previously a big defender of the environment and Hawaiian rights, he is now in classic politician mode -- going along to get along. Instead of advising the governor he, in his words, is in place to implement the governor's policies. The DLNR is in disarray, with temporary chiefs and open management positions, while Aila plays slight of hand with testimony and politics.