Hawaii’s Instaweek: Judging Wilson, Hokulea Sets Sail and ‘Our Kakaako’

By /
Reading time: 5 minutes.

Our big ongoing story of the week has been about whether or not Circuit Court Judge Michael Wilson is a suitable nominee for Hawaii’s Supreme Court.

Wilson has many prominent advocates in the legal community, but an array of imprecise allegations and whispered criticisms paint him as an imperfect nominee to the state’s high court.

Much of the controversy stems from the coconut wireless, which is essentially local gossip — at least unless the accusations are backed up by proof.

Critics and accusers in the legal world have been noticeably hesitant to go on the record in accusing a man who might then be confirmed by the Senate and placed in a position to judge their cases.

The Hawaii State Bar Association, meanwhile, is adamant that Wilson is “unqualified” for the position, even if it refuses to provide hard evidence or reveal details of the secretive internal vote that led the lawyer’s group to reach that conclusion.

But one or several people who are working against his nomination may need to publicly come forward and convincingly testify about specific problems before accusations about Wilson are substantiated.

Keep that in mind as you take a look at Civil Beat’s recent look at how the Hawaii State Bar Association’s came to its controversial judgment on the judge.

Expect more coverage of the issue. In the meantime, here are some compelling moments from the week.

Sunday, March 9

Three barges from Nagaoka launched a fireworks show into the air over Honolulu late Saturday night. It was, some residents said, the best fireworks display they’ve ever seen. By the next morning, there were plenty of photos online.

The show capped off the , an annual event celebrating Hawaii’s ties with Japan.

Monday, March 10

The workweek began with sad news. Word spread online that . Shima was believed to be Hawaii’s first licensed meteorologist to work as a weather forecaster. (Details of her death weren’t released due out of respect for her privacy.) She worked for KHNL until 2009, when it became Hawaii News Now.

She moved to the mainland soon after, but she had been immensely popular in Hawaii. A Honolulu magazine survey of readers once ranked her as the woman who readers most wanted to marry. More importantly, she was known as a reliable source on the weather.

Her former colleague and another popular news anchor, Stephanie Lum, posted this video tribute on her Facebook page. It was “liked” more than 1,400 times and shared 41 times.

Also on Monday, the famous Hokulea canoe returned to the ocean after some maintenance for the craft’s first trip around the world. Crewmembers intend to share their concerns about the environment and ocean with people from other countries as they dock at dozens of ports around the globe, according to a .

Tuesday, March 11

Hawaiian Airlines with service from Honolulu to Molokai and Lanai.

State Sen. J. Kalani English, who represents both islands, was on the inaugural flight.

There was a huge reception that included a cultural exchange and oli aloha (chant of welcome) from the Hawaiian language immersion students of Punana Leo o Moloka’i and ‘O Hina i ka Malama, and the seniors of Alu Like, Inc.’s Ke Ola Pono No Na Kupuna.

Of course, Sen. English couldn’t help but take a selfie.

Wednesday, March 12

On Wednesday Honolulu City Council members Ron Menor, Joey Manahan and Stanley Chang have introduced if they want to convert hotel rooms into condos.

Hotel workers union Unite Here Local 5 is backing the measure. The next day, they were present at a rally at Honolulu Hale.

Thursday, March 13

Our “Civil Cafe” with representatives of Kamehameha Schools drew a good crowd to Civil Beat’s newsroom Thursday. Some members of the Unite Here-backed Aikea Movement from the rally took part, as well.

Online, the event drew interest. #CivilCafe was a “trending” topic on Twitter in Honolulu.

It was a full house.

Reporter Nick Grube led the discussion with Paul Quintiliani and Elizabeth Hokada from Kamehameha Schools.

If you missed the discussion, the live chat and live stream are all archived at the bottom of Anita Hofschneider’s recap of the evening’s highlights. Click here to read the story and watch the event.

Friday, March 14

The Hawaii Kai Carnival started on Friday, despite some concerns from residents about traffic and noise, according to .

Why not end things with this striking photo of yoga enthusiasts striking a pose?

Support Independent, Unbiased News

Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in ±á²¹·É²¹¾±Ê»¾±. When you give, your donation is combined with gifts from thousands of your fellow readers, and together you help power the strongest team of investigative journalists in the state.

 

About the Author