Kauai's economy would have been leading the state if the hotels reopened quickly after Iniki. Homes rebuilt and paid down, abundant cash flow from insurance and FEMA, hotels brand new. Instead, key hotels went into litigation when the County told them they couldn't rebuild, which, by 1994, should have become apparent, the information was false, and the economy was turning people's lives upside down.

In March 1999, former council chair Jimmy Tehada reviewed a letter Obayashi wrote to Yukimura prior to their lawsuit about the County condemning land, he told me condemnation and land use changes is not an administrative issue. After looking at information sent by a group suing Yukimura's former soul mate on Kauai's council Jeremy Harris for land use changes they felt was illegally obtained for Obayashi, and then on top of that, the bribery scandal they were involved in, he wrote there appears to be a problem. He told me about James Choi's letter to him about Poipu Beach Waiohai ownership, (Renaissance did, not New World Development). In May 1999, a letter from Tom Stauffer of Stouffer's, who owned the Poipu Beach Waiohai during Iniki, arrived, echoing Obayashi's public position before they sued the Trusts who owned the land they leased.

In 1996, US AG Steve Alm's office "saw no crimes" when approached with concerns. In early 1998 Walter Dods had VP Robert Alm write back to say, they "want to be continue developing a positive relationship" with the County. FHB and Hawaiian Trust Company were co-trustees at a hotel and had to have sustained losses. Kauai led the state, when the state led the nation, in foreclosures and bankruptcies for a few years.

Losses from the hotels down cost the people about 40 million per year, per hotel. Add that to the losses inflicted on the building, mortgage, retail and real estate industries, and the losses to the people of Kauai, are in the billions. Poor economies contribute to a host of problems, and studies show the group hardest hit has been Hawaii's youth.

Because Kauai was underinsured they had to rely on FEMA funds to restore infrastructure, Yukimura was quoted telling Hillary (Clinton), about the "creative way" the county was spending the money. It must have been, the County lost control of the FEMA office after the GAO audited them, and the County couldn't account for quite a bit (sixty million?) of money.

Before Yukimura was booted, she approved prominent FHB shareholder A & B's Kukuiula development "with reservations" giving about 100 million dollars worth of reductions when the Council eliminated the Southern bypass required by the Planning Commission because A & B were "good friends". It is still going to have to be built, but we all get to pay for it. Laws against timeshare were changed to benefit Marriott who has Henry Cheng Kar-Shun as a Director, also director of New World Development, also Renaissance, the owners of Poipu Beach Waiohai. Besides this and being Tom Stauffer and James Choi's boss, he is a committee member of the Eighth and Ninth Chinese People's Political and Consultative Committee of the People's Republic of China. Yukimura was supposed to be pro controlled growth, anti timeshare, a fighter; instead, she opened the door to uncontrolled growth and timeshare all approved with a whimper. What happened?

Our economy contributed to the ongoing airline merger attempt via Dan Inouye, who appointed Steve, and had brother Robert start his career as his aid. The approximately one million visitors that didn't come to Kauai a year due to the hotel closures along with the underemployed residents, who couldn't afford to travel, probably had something to do with it. Airline employees web page speculate about Aloha's forty million dollar debt with FHB, it was befitting the merger was announced at FHB.

Hawaii's depressed economy contributed to significant losses in real estate, you have to wonder what Waikiki property values would be as lessee's renegotiate their Queen Emma, Queen Liliuokalai and Bishop Estate leases, and properties are condemned with Hawaii courts' blessings, by Harris on behalf of Outrigger. Similar condemnations in California are routinely being overturned by Federal courts.

John Ashcroft defined terrorism as an action that hurts a lot of people, and causes significant financial losses. What's a mere 70% of the population, and a piddly few billion dollars, amongst friends?

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