Why has no one here done this?

Container living: a home for under £50,000 - Telegraph

...since containers are ubiquitous here. You see them used as sheds, barns, garages. But no residences that I'm aware of. Is it the building codes? The impossibility of getting a design through the planning process?

Unanticipated consequences - Hawaii Business on Act 105 tax pyramid

Hawaii's Tax Pyramid plan crippling small businesses - Hawaii Business - April 2012 - Hawaii

 A state tax increase imposed last year is killing off construction projects, raising the cost of other projects and encouraging law-breaking, say leaders in the construction industry, who want to make sure the tax increase is not extended after its planned two-year run.

...

Small general-contracting companies are the hardest-hit victims of the law, which ended some exemptions on the 4 percent General Excise Tax. Now the contractor and all its subcontractors must pay the full tax, creating what is called “pyramiding.” ...

The building industry is the main victim, but not the only one. Transportation companies such as Matson and Hawaiian Airlines, plus businesses in other industries, are also hurt by the pyramiding tax.

Rage Against the Smart Meter - Technology Review

This article will sound familiar locally

In 2010, county officials in Marin County, a liberal bastion in California, voted to block the meters over health concerns. In Texas, Tea Party activists and militia members are now opposing smart meters and calling them Big Brother–type spying.

...

The intensity of the opposition has caught utilities flat-footed. "It was stunning to us when we ran into the response that we got. We did not see it coming," says John Carroll, a spokesman for Central Maine Power. Customers worried that smart meters could start fires, interfere with medical devices, or even cause cancer.

...

So far, there is no evidence that radio-frequency energy causes cancer. Harder to dismiss are concerns about privacy. Because smart meters yield readings frequently (every 15 minutes in some cases), it's theoretically feasible to deduce what is happening inside a home—what appliances are being used, how many people live there, even what schedules they keep. In 2011, the University of Washington showed that electrical signatures could determine if a TV in a house was playing Shrek 2 or The Lion King.

In California, meters now collect 750 to 3,000 data points per month instead of just one monthly reading, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group. The EFF says it is satisfied with controls put in place by the local utility, PG&E, but spokesperson Rebecca Jeschke says strong privacy controls are needed because so much personal data can be gleaned just from electricity use. "Many third parties will want access to this sensitive information," she says.

Local police forces are likely to be among them. Police in Ohio and other states already regularly subpoena electric bills as a way to pinpoint the location of marijuana-growing operations.

Legal humor

KIUC filings in smart meter case

KIUC has filed its opposition to Adam Asquith's pro se motion for preliminary injunction which asks the U.S. District Court of Hawaii to enjoin KIUC's installation of smart meters until KIUC "recognizes the right of members to keep and continue to utilize analog meters at no additional expense; and establishes a policy whereby smart meters will be installed only on an 'opt in' basis."

KIUC also filed a motion to dismiss Asquith's pro se complaint.

Hawaii Supreme Court: Police practice of inviting unmirandized arrestee to give his or her "side of the story" violates constitution

For the defense bar.

Defendant was arrested for assaulting and seriously injuring his seven-month-old daughter. At the station, a detective asked Defendant if he wanted to give a statement and, as the detective later testified, “may have mentioned to him that, you know, it’s a chance to give me his side of the story.” Detective stated that he did not imply to Defendant that by hearing his side of the story things might change. Defendant agreed to make a statement.

Detective then advised Defendant of his constitutional rights and asked Defendant if he wanted an attorney. Defendant said no, and Detective obtained a taped statement in which Defendant told Detective that on the day of the incident, he had been “trying to work things out” with his girlfriend in their minivan at Ala Moana Beach Park.

Defendant said he was frustrated at the time, and that his daughter, who was sitting in the back seat, would not stop crying. He stated that he hit his daughter on the feet and slapped her on the head four times. Defendant then told Detective that he took his daughter out of her car seat and dropped her by accident. He subsequently admitted to throwing his daughter on the car seat “[f]ace first” two times.

From the decision, State v. Eli, NO. SCAP-30420, slip op. at 1 (Hawaii, April 13, 2012):

We hold in this case that after arrest the police practice of inviting an arrestee to make a statement and to give his or her “side of the story” or similar entreaties in a “preinterview” before Miranda warnings are given, violates the defendant’s right against self-incrimination, article I, section 10, and right to due process, article I, section 5 of the Hawai'i Constitution.

The court went on to hold that the Mirandized statement offered into evidence at trial resulted from the exploitation of the preinterview practice of inviting the defendant to tell his side. The Miranda warnings did not remove the “taint” of the practice. Consequently, Defendant's conviction for attempted manslaughter was vacated and remanded for a new trial.

Who doesn't think this would reduce the number of people interested in medical marijuana cards?

New Marijuana Strain Eases Pain Without the High

First, a bit of background on pot. What we know as marijuana is a of 40-plus cannabinoids. One, cannabidiol or CBD, is the compound that has medical effects – it eases pain and reduces inflammation, spasms and anxiety – but it doesn’t make people feel high. Another, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, is the psychoactive compound that produces the high.

Over decades, marijuana growers have favored high-THC varieties because that’s what users wanted; the point was to get stoned.

McAhren and Althouse realized that’s not the point for a lot of the patients seeking marijuana to ease their pain.

“A lot of patients are not trying to get high,” McAhren said. “They want to feel better, to be able to walk across the room, to take care of their kids.” Terminally ill patients want to be engaged in their remaining days.

McAhren and Althouse started trying to breed up the CBD and breed down the THC, hoping to find a sweet spot that would provide a plant that offered optimal medicinal value with no high.

A few weeks ago, they hit the jackpot. McAhren and Althouse proudly showed me two tall, gangly plants of the new marijuana strain they call A Todo Madre – “perfect” – their miracle plant.

Asquith v. Kauai Island Utility Cooperative update

From the docket:

Plaintiff filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. On 4/2/2012, Plaintiff filed a Certificate of Service indicating that he served the Motion on Defendant. Defendant shall have until 4/16/2012 to file an Opposition to the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiff shall have until 4/23/2012 to file a Reply. A hearing on the Motion is set for 4/25/2012, at 11:00 am. before the Honorable Helen Gillmor.

Courthouse News Service on the Hawaiian homelands settlement legislation

Courthouse News Service

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie ended a 33-year-old dispute Wednesday by signing into law an historic settlement of ownership to Hawaiian homelands.

Koloa Camp - suit for summary possession filed

The Star-Advertiser reports (pay wall)

The landowner of a historic plantation camp in Koloa, Kauai, sued three tenants Tuesday who failed to vacate the property by Sunday's eviction deadline.

Haupu Land Co. LLC, an affiliate of Grove Farm Co., filed suit in District Court for summary possession against three tenants who remained on the property.

...

In November, Grove Farm issued 13 tenants — eight residential and five agricultural — a 120-day notice to vacate the property to make way for a proposed 50-unit housing subdivision called Wai­ho­honu. The landlord extended the deadline by 30 days to give tenants more time to make alternative living arrangements.

In the lawsuits, the landowner is seeking an order for a law enforcement officer to remove the remaining tenants from the property.

Of the eight residential tenants, three have moved out since the issuance of the eviction notice, and two were allowed to stay on the property for two more weeks after the eviction deadline until their rentals are ready, Sandblom said.
...

The article goes on to quote some relevant law from HRS §521-71, Termination of tenancy; landlord's remedies for holdover tenants.

Wall Street Journal: Hawaii Turns to Dog Shrinks as 'Incessant Barkers' Cut Plea Deals

Article here.

Dog counseling has been in demand in Hawaii County since early last year, when county commissioners passed an ordinance banning "barks, bays, cries, howls" that go on continuously for 10 minutes, or intermittently for 20 minutes within a half-hour.

Ninth Cir: Native American Church of Hawaii claims against feds for marijuana confiscation are ripe, but law does not provide for monetary compensation

OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF HAWAII, INC. v. HOLDER

Plaintiff Oklevueha Native American Church of Hawaii, Inc. is a 250-member chapter of the Native American Church. Plaintiff Michael Rex "Raging Bear" Mooney is the founder, president, and medicine custodian of the Oklevueha chapter. He is of Seminole Native American ancestry, and is an "authorized Spiritual Leader," or "medicine man."

In 2009, federal officers in Hawaii seized from FedEx one pound of marijuana that was addressed to Mooney and intended for Oklevueha use. The marijuana, worth about $7,000 was turned over to the Honolulu Police Department and later destroyed. No one has been prosecuted or threatened with prosecution in connection with the seizure or in relation to any other procurement or use of marijuana.

Claiming their use of marijuana is protected by the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("RFRA"), Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief barring the Government from enforcing the Controlled Substances Act against them and for return or compensation for marijuana taken by the Government.

The district court dismissed the claims for declaratory and injunctive relief on ripeness grounds. It also dismissed the claim for the return of, or compensation for, the seized marijuana because the marijuana had been destroyed and monetary damages are not available under RFRA.

After analyzing the constitutional and prudential requirements for ripeness, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court's dismissal of the declaratory and injunctive relief claims without commenting on the underlying merits. Noting that RFRA does not authorize suits for money damages, the court affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claims for compensation for the seized marijuana.

Hawaii State Salaries 2012: Hawaii Judiciary

Honolulu Civil Beat - Hawaii State Salaries 2012: Hawaii Judiciary 

A Civil Beat analysis of the salary data shows that justices and judges earn the most.

Chief Justice: $156,727

Associate Justice, four positions: $151,118

Chief Judge, one position: $145,532

Associate Judge, five positions: $139,924

Circuit Judge, 32 positions: $136,127

District Judge, 36 positions: $128,296

But, Hawaii judges' pay lags behind their national counterparts.

Another foreclosure wave imminent?

Reuters -

a painful part two of the slump looks set to unfold: Many more U.S. homeowners face the prospect of losing their homes this year as banks pick up the pace of foreclosures.
...
"The subprime stuff is long gone," said Michael Redman, founder of 4closurefraud.org. "Now the folks being affected are hardworking, everyday Americans struggling because of the economy."
...
Real estate company Zillow Inc says more than one in four American homeowners were "under water" or owed more than their homes were worth in the fourth quarter of 2011. The crisis has wiped out some $7 trillion in U.S. household wealth.
...
Zillow expects the resurgence in foreclosures this year, combined with excess inventory of unsold, bank-owned homes will contribute to a 3.7 percent national decline in prices before the market hits bottom in 2013 and stays there until 2016.

Tyler Durden has related commentary in The Second Foreclosure Tsunami Is Coming, And Is About To Kill Any Hopes Of A "Housing Bottom" -

For those curious how much more foreclosed properties are about to hit the market, we have the answer. Courtesy of RealtyTrac we know how many homes were foreclosed upon in the period until November 2010, when robosigning became a prevalent, if short-lived issue, or roughly 330,000 a month. In the aftermath, this average has dropped to 227,000 a month: a roughly 100,000 difference in less foreclosures each month! Which means that in the deferred amount of foreclosures, over and above the already endogenous deterioration in home prices and declining household income, means that there is at least 1.6 million in homes that are just waiting for a green light to be foreclosed upon, sending shadow inventory in the double digit millions, and unleashing a selling wave unlike any seen before.

Cross poster at KauaiBankruptcy.net

While not on point, this case is interesting given recent local hydropower controversies

Via Corporate Law Report-

Unanimous Supreme Court Decision Supports Hydropower Industry and Private Landowners (K&L Gates LLP)

“The United States Supreme Court gave the hydropower industry a major victory last week in the closely watched case of PPL Montana, LLC v. State of Montana… The decision … makes clear that States are not free to start charging the owners of dams and reservoirs, or other water-based facilities, millions of dollars of ‘rent’ based on novel and sweeping claims of riverbed ownership. For PPL Montana, the State’s claim for back rent was over $50 million and it claimed many millions of dollars going forward.” Read the full update»

Supreme Court Settles Riverbed Battle (Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP)

“The Supreme Court’s ruling relieved PPL of its obligation to pay the state of Montana $41 million in back rent for use of the riverbeds, and likely quelled any fears in the hydropower industry that similar ownership theories would be advanced by other states seeking to fill empty coffers with millions of dollars in back rental payments.” Read the full update»

For the defense bar

New York Times -

WASHINGTON — Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to effective lawyers during plea negotiations, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a pair of 5-to-4 decisions that vastly expanded judges’ supervision of the criminal justice system.

The decisions mean that what used to be informal and unregulated deal making is now subject to new constraints when bad legal advice leads defendants to reject favorable plea offers.

Oh well

Slate -

Wind power is too costly, inefficient, and won't stop climate change

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Art

By Vincent Mathy

Civil unions, public accommodations, and religious facilities

Honolulu Civil Beat discusses the inevitable collision.

Practice Management products I'm currently looking at

Robert Ambrogi -

In January, I wrote here that the Web-based practice management application Rocket Matter had added document assembly. Less than a week later, I posted here that Clio had announced its addition of a document assembly feature. Then I learned that HoudiniEsq had already offered document assembly for at least a year.

Now it seems that MyCase is joining the fray.