From: Hawaii Democratic Womens Caucus
To: Maile Shimabukuro
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2018, 8:18:24 PM HST
Subject: Hawaii Democratic Women’s Caucus endorsement
Dear Senator Shimabukuro,
We’re pleased to inform you that the Women’s Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii is endorsing you in the General election. We congratulate you on your successful Primary election and support you in the General election.
The members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus recognizes it is vitally important to elect women at all levels of government to defend our rights and represent our interests in the legislative process. We continue to be concerned that women are underrepresented in the process of policy making and legislation, but are encouraged that so many women have run in the 2018 election.
The Democratic Party will be organizing a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018 at Moanalua High School from 3 – 5 p.m. for all Democratic candidates. The Women’s Caucus will be supporting the rally and want to make sure you know you are invited to speak, bring your supporters and signs, take videos and pictures for use in your campaign.
Please let us know if you have any upcoming events that we can publicize to our membership and how else we can be of assistance.
HONOLULU (KHON2) – Homeowners at “Klausmeyer’s” surf break at the east end of Makaha Surfing Beach are getting some help to save their property from further erosion. Tuesday morning, sand restoration work will begin.
Longtime Makaha resident John Puu has watched the shoreline changes in front of his home.
“This property used to be bigger than this, you know,” said John Puu, Makaha resident. “From that last hurricane Lane that came through, it came at a weird angle, the swell of the waves. It came and it ate up all of the land that we had.”
He says they lost about 20 to 30 feet of land just within the last two weeks.
“And we are still losing even today it’s just dropping, from when the high tide comes that’s when the land starts dropping,” said Puu.
Private company Henry’s Equipment Rental and Sales has volunteered to move sand from the west side of Makaha beach to the east side, where homes are being threatened by erosion.
“As you can see behind me the erosion is severe, and so the homes are at risk because that erosion’s gotten all the way up to many of their fence lines,” said state senator Maile Shimabukuro, who represents Makaha, Nanakuli and Waianae.
Senator Shimabukuro says that the Department of Land and natural Resources or DLNR surveyed the area and will be issuing an emergency permit so that the work can be done.
“Most of the time it kind of happens off and on. It depends on the resources said Shimabukuro. “There have been lean years where it’s been difficult for them to get out here.”
Puu says he would like to see more sand added to the entirety of the beach instead of just moving it.
“Usually they push the sand towards that way, and then they take it from this side, and they take it to that side. That is why we have been losing a lot of sand on this side,” said Puu.
Senator Shimabukuro says she hopes preventative measures will happen annually before large winter swells come and sweep away more sand.
“That is something I’m sure we will talk to DLNR about and see if they think that could solve the problem,” said Shimabukuro.
Copyright 2018 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
A new law in Hawaiʻi now gives survivors of child sexual abuse more time to file claims against their abuser. Reforms to the state’s statute of limitations have been key in exposing the extent of child sexual abuse at various institutions, most notably the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
One of those priests is Father Donald Graff. He’s accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy while assigned to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu in the 1960s. It took that boy 50 years to come forward.
“Who wants to come out and say, ‘I was abused’? What 12-, 13-year-old boy, altar boy going to a Catholic school wants to tell somebody I was abused?” says a 67-year-old survivor who would like to remain anonymous, “I would never tell my mother that. She was a devout Catholic. Even if I did, she probably wouldn’t believe me.”
The 67-year-old survivor spoke to Hawai’i Public Radio on the condition of anonymity. He filed suit against Father Graff in 2016 and the case was settled a year later.
“Nowadays, this is almost common place. You hear it – colleges, professors, senators,” says the survivor, ”So maybe it’s coming out of the closet a little bit more but it took a lot to come out of the closet for me.”
The true extent of child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Honolulu only became publically known after changes to Hawaiʻi’s statute of limitations allowed survivors to file suit decades after the abuse took place.
The legislature first opened a two-year, retroactive window for survivors in 2012. That window was extended in 2014 and again this month when Governor David Ige signed Senate Bill 2719.
Wai’anae Senator Maile Shimabukuro speaks at a press conference on the passage of Senate Bill 2719, which extends the window for survivors of child sexual abuse to come forward and file a civil lawsuit. Photo credit Ku’uwehi Hiraishi.
“It’s finally showing both the victims and the abusers out there that this is wrong,” says Waiʻanae Senator Maile Shimabukuro, who introduced the bill.
“You know it’s not your fault if you’re a child sex abuse victim,” says Sen. Shimabukuro, “And that if you are a perpetrator, it’s not okay. It’s not something that is acceptable in our society to do, and that there are consequences.”
States have spent the past several years expanding statutes of limitation for sex crimes. In some states, victims could not seek justice if they didn’t report the assault within a few years of the incident. Now states are lifting or extending the amount of time victims have to file civil suits against their abusers, citing cases such as the revelations of widespread abuse within the Catholic Church. Many people abused as children waited years or decades to come forward.
But such measures remain controversial. In Hawaii, Attorney General Russell Suzuki, a Democrat, opposed efforts to extend the statute of limitations. “Over the passage of time, memories fade, witnesses move or pass away, and documents are lost or destroyed,” he said. “A claimant could conceivably wait to file a lawsuit until the most strategically opportune time to prevent a defendant from defending against the lawsuit.”
State Sen. Maile Shimabukuro, a Democrat, has tried repeatedly to end the statute of limitations in Hawaii. She has succeeded in the past in getting legislators to agree to a two-year window that would lift the statute of limitations for civil suits for sex crimes. But a similar effort failed last year, and she wasn’t expecting any progress this year.
Instead, the bill “glided through,” she said, due to news that at least 34 men, former students of Kamehameha Schools, reached an $80 million settlement after facing years of abuse by the school psychologist.
Kamehameha Schools, a private institution reserved for those with Hawaiian blood, is a point of pride for the state and the alma mater of many of its leaders.
“There’s been so much of a revelation … and I think victims are now feeling like there’s support for them to come forward and speak out,” Shimabukuro said, adding that the process can be particularly difficult for men. “This really brought this into our local consciousness too in Hawaii. It’s not just a Catholic Church thing.”
Note: Portions of the following letter, received on 7/23/18, have been omitted for publication.
Dear Senator Shimabukuro,
Congratulations! We are thrilled to announce that you have received the endorsement of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii for the 2018 election cycle. You have been a strong supporter of women’s health and equality and we know you will continue to be a dedicated advocate for our organization. We look forward to working with you.
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii is an independent, not-for-profit organization that engages in legislative, educational and limited electoral activity in Hawaii, Alaska, Washington and Idaho. Planned Parenthood Votes Hawaii PAC and Planned Parenthood of Hawaii Action Network PAC are separate segregated funds of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii, and support pro-choice, pro-family planning, pro-equality candidates for Hawaii’s state, legislative and municipal offices.
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii strives to use its electoral resources in the most effective way. We target a small number of races and direct the bulk of our resources to those targets.
Your support of sexual and reproductive rights and health means so much—not just to us, but to the thousands of patients Planned Parenthood serves every year in Hawaii. Our patients are women, men, teens and families; they are your constituents.ONE IN FOUR American women have visited a Planned Parenthood affiliate health center in her lifetime. Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii has nearly 382,000 supporters who care about women’s health issues. We are part of a national organization that reaches a network of nearly 9 million supporters across the country.
On behalf of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii, Planned Parenthood Votes Hawaii PAC and Planned Parenthood of Hawaii Action Network PAC, we wish you the best of luck in the coming election.
Sincerely,
Treasure Mackley, Political and Organizing Director
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawaii
Star-Advertiser 7/23/18: District 21 (Kalaeloa- Waianae-Makaha): Democratic incumbent Maile Shimabukuro faces Timothy Riley, a retired Georgia assistant county commissioner who’s also worked as a rehabilitation and child counselor. He advocates tackling housing and cost-of- living problems by raising the minimum wage and fixing the Jones Act. Shimabukuro has been adept at advocating for the district and delivering results, such as for Nanakuli traffic projects and funds to expand area schools’ programs and building. A lawyer for a legal services nonprofit, and as Hawaiian Affairs Committee chairwoman, she knows her constituents’ needs, from transitional shelter to Section 8 housing. She’s earned another term. The winner here will face Republican Diamond Garcia.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Adults who were victims of sex abuse as children have another chance to come forward and make claims under a new, two-year window for civil lawsuits.
Similar openings ended with dozens of pedophiles being exposed.
It also revealed “cover-ups” by multiple schools, churches, and non profits.
That’s exactly what a new Hawaii report released Wednesday seeks to spotlight, describing in detail 58 men of the cloth recently accused even though the alleged abuse happened decades ago.
Talk about the full package ~ Mrs. Wai’anae-Katelin Manansala, and Mrs. Makaha-Crystal Nielsen, both home school their children, and focus on promoting the health and well-being of our community. I had the pleasure of seeing them in action at the 07/08/18 Breathe Aloha fundraiser to benefit “Arise Five” non-profit organizations: Ho’ola Na Pua, She Rescue, Special Olympics, HUGS, and YWCA. Mahalo nui loa to Mrs. Hawai`i-Heidi Fowler, Mrs. Makaha-Crystal Nielsen, Mrs. Wai’anae-Katelin Manansala, and all others who supported this fantastic good cause!
Schools can now be “open for business” thanks to a bill spearheaded by Waianae High School. Senate bill 2051 is slated to become law on July 10.
The bill allows individual Department of Education schools and programs operated within a school, to engage in commercial enterprises, including the sale of goods produced by students.
Current laws prevent schools from selling more than $25,000 in goods or services.
The new bill removes this cap, and creates an outlet for all schools to engage in business enterprises which will generate much needed funds for their schools.
Waianae High School educators encouraged their legislators to turn the bill into law.
“Now you’ll have the marine science learning center being able to market and sell their shrimp, mullet, ogo, kalo, and sun fish on the open market. And then funds will go directly back into the program, which of course the school desperately needs,” said Senator Maile Shimabukuro (D) Kalaeloa-Honokai Hale-Ko Olina-Waianae Coast.
“My hope for the students is that we create employers rather than employees,” said Rep. Cedric Asuega Gates (D) Maili-Waianae-Makaha. “I believe a lot of them will go off to be small business owners, to provide for our community the services and goods that we get outside our community.”
Mary and David Lovelace
