Civil Beat: Latest Articles, Topic Pages and Discussions

Moderate Caldwell Says 'Build Rail Better'

2012-05-22T17:47:44-10:00

If Ben Cayetano is a naysayer and Peter Carlisle is a yes man, does that give Kirk Caldwell a window to become Honolulu's next mayor?

That's the political strategy Caldwell's now trying when it comes to the controversial Honolulu rail system.

The former acting mayor and longtime rail proponent called reporters to his Nimitz Highway headquarters Tuesday afternoon for what his campaign promised would be a "major statement" on the proposed 20-mile system.

Instead, Caldwell talked about how to "build rail better," painting Cayetano as a single-minded "just say no" candidate and Carlisle as a do-it-at-any-cost candidate. He said he wants to re-engage with the community to take another last look at the design for the fourth and final segment of the system, in Downtown Honolulu.

He's trying to walk a political tightrope.

Caldwell said he wants to "take a breath" so the city can listen to the community now and avoid heartburn later, but repeatedly said he does not want to delay work at all. He said he wants to give the community a chance to rethink rail, but ruled out big changes like taking the elevated system down to street level because that would be outside of the scope of the existing environmental review.

Hawaii Democrats Charge Candidates $500 a Minute to Address Convention

2012-05-22T17:27:28-10:00

Candidates running as Democrats in Hawaii this year must pay $500 a minute to address party delegates at the annual convention this week.

So far, only one contender — U.S. Senate candidate Mazie Hirono — has accepted the fee. She'll speak for eight minutes Saturday at the Sheraton Waikiki, setting her back $4,000.

It won't hurt her campaign much; she had $1.6 million in cash on hand for her 2012 race, according to her most recent campaign finance reports.

But her primary opponent, Ed Case, who had only about $211,000 on hand, said he has better uses for his limited resources.

Case expressed bewilderment at a press conference Tuesday that his party would not allow top candidates for office to address the party faithful, as has been customary. Two years ago, the top candidates for governor, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House addressed the delegates.

But party spokesman Chuck Freedman told Civil Beat that the money will be used to offset the costs of the three-day convention, which begins Friday. The pay-to-speak fee is "something new" for Democrats, he said.

"We've got way too many candidates this year, and we need the revenue," he said, adding that the fee only applies to what's known as the "rally" portion of the convention.

Final Decision on Hoopili Delayed Despite Opponents' Protests

2012-05-22T16:08:56-10:00

State officials on Tuesday granted the developer of a proposed 12,000 home master-planned community in Ewa extra time to file legal documents, pushing back what was supposed to be a major decision on the controversial development's fate.

The Land Use Commission is ruling on whether or not to grant D.R. Horton’s petition to reclassify about 1,500 acres of agricultural land to urban for its Hoopili development. This is the second time the case, which has dragged on for nearly six years, has gone before the commission.

But on Tuesday, the developer said it needed more time to clarify a constitutional issue of whether or not commissioners even have the power to make a decision in the case.

The nine-member panel voted in favor of the extension with with one dissenting vote — Thomas Contrades from Kauai. All three opponents in the case — the Sierra Club, Friends of Makakilo and Sen. Clayton Hee — objected to the extension.

“We are really troubled by the game of filing the motion Friday afternoon at a quarter to three,” said Kioni Dudley, president of Friends of Makakilo, of D.R. Horton’s last minute request for a delay last week.

Both sides have had two months to file documents laying out their case. D.R. Horton's filing is nearly 200 pages long.

On Tuesday, Hoopili opponents argued that D.R. Horton was attempting to delay proceedings to its benefit.

Final Decision on Hoopili Delayed Despite Opponents' Protests

2012-05-22T16:08:56-10:00

But on Tuesday, the developer said it needed more time to clarify a constitutional issue of whether or not commissioners even have the power to make a decision in the case.

Both sides have had two months to file documents laying out their case. D.R. Horton's filing is nearly 200 pages long.

On Tuesday, Hoopili opponents argued that D.R. Horton was attempting to delay proceedings to its benefit.

Elections on Track as Court Rules Against Hawaii Redistricting Suit

2012-05-22T11:50:15-10:00

Hawaii's elections can move ahead as planned under political boundaries that exclude nonresident military personnel, a panel of federal judges ruled Tuesday.

The court denied a preliminary injunction seeking to toss out the redistricting plan approved in March by the state Reapportionment Commission.

The judges said invalidating the plan would be "spawning chaos rather than confidence in the election process."

The plaintiffs — eight Hawaii voters, including state Rep. Mark Takai — had argued the plan is unconstitutional and discriminatory because it removed more than 100,000 military personnel, their dependents and out-of-state university students from political district population totals. Four of the plaintiffs are military personnel or veterans.

Their lawsuit claims the plan violates the federal Equal Protection Clause.

"Although we recognize that the right to representation is fundamental, 'a federal court cannot lightly interfere with or enjoin a state election,'" the order said, citing a 2003 California case.

U.S. District Judges J. Michael Seabright and Leslie Kobayashi and U.S. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown of San Diego said "the equities and public interest tip overwhelmingly in (Reapportionment) Commission's favor."

Can Citizens Access Hawaii's Legislative Processes and Documents?

2012-05-22T00:01:00-10:00

The public has access to most of Hawaii's legislative processes and documents. But in practice, some records that would facilitate the most transparency are exempt from disclosure laws.

Hawaii scored a C- in the State Integrity Investigation for Legislative Accountability, tying it for 14th among the 50 states.

The state got a 71 percent overall mark for Legislative Accountability. Leading the pack was Tennessee. Hawaii tied for 14th with New Hampshire, Kentucky and West Virginia. Maine came in last.

Overall, the State Integrity Investigation ranked Hawaii 10th after Civil Beat reporters researched 330 “Corruption Risk Indicators” across 14 categories of government. (Click here to learn more about the methodology used for the project.)

Bottom line: Many of the legislative records that would facilitate the most transparency, such as preliminary budget worksheets, are exempt from disclosure laws.

Here's the basis for the C- grade. Each day we'll print a different question and the criteria used to come up with a grade for each question. It's your turn to evaluate whether Civil Beat got it right and to share what you think should be done to improve the situation. Share your comments at the bottom of this story.

Here's the last of five questions the State Integrity Investigation asked about Legislative Accountability.

Can citizens access legislative processes and documents??

Overall score: 75%

Here are the criteria Civil Beat used to answer that question and what we found.

Arizona Demands Obama Birth Certificate But Takes A Pass On Romney's

2012-05-22T00:01:00-10:00

It's baaaack.

The so-called "birther" movement did not die off completely when President Barack Obama placed his "long-form" birth certificate on the White House website in April 2011.

That action, you may recall, came after gazillionaire Donald Trump (who was flirting with a GOP presidential run) raised the issue.

Since then, birther conspiracists (mostly) dropped off the news media radar, as most remaining doubters appeared to finally accept that Obama was born at Kapiolani hospital and not in Kenya.

Until now.

Last week, the Arizona Secretary of State, Ken Bennett, announced that he had spent the past two months asking Hawaii for "verification" of Obama's birth records.

If Bennett doesn't get his "verification," Obama may be left off the November ballot in Arizona, which has 11 electoral votes and could make a difference in a close election á la Bush v. Gore.

Civil Beat checked and Bennett has not asked Michigan, where GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney was born, for similar verification.

Bennett, a Republican and Romney's campaign co-chair in Arizona, says when it comes to Obama he is only doing his job.

"I believe the president was born in Hawaii," he explained Friday, according to multiple news reports. "I am not a birther. ... We're merely asking them to officially confirm they have the president's birth certificate in their possession and are awaiting their response."

Land Barren: Who is Genshiro Kawamoto?

2012-05-22T00:01:00-10:00

Editor's Note: This is the second in a three-part series on Japanese real estate investor Genshiro Kawamoto and the controversy he's generating along Kahala Avenue.

Part 1: Land Barren: Japanese Billionaire Is Raising Eyebrows, Razing Houses

Hawaii has known of Genshiro Kawamoto for nearly a quarter century now, but still little is known about the famously reclusive real estate mogul.

Kawamoto rarely grants interviews, and yet at times he has appeared to relish media attention. He is a man of many such paradoxes, known for being as charming as he is ruthless, equal parts impulsive and calculating. But in an attempt to find out what makes Kawamoto tick, you have to go back decades in time and to a faraway island.

Japan is where Kawamoto's story began.

Scattered biographical details have been repeated about him in newspapers and magazines over the years. His name has been spelled Genshiro and Gensiro. He was born in Fukuoka, on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu, the eldest of six. He inherited his family's small kimono company when he was in his early 20s, but closed the business to instead invest in real estate — first in ultra-expensive Tokyo and later in Hawaii.

Digging back through decades of local newspaper clippings, Kawamoto's name first appeared nearly 25 years ago. On January 1, 1988, the front page of the Honolulu Advertiser carried this headline: "Japan tycoon buys 78 Oahu properties."

By that time, Kawamoto had snapped up about $18.5 million in Oahu real estate, mostly in Portlock, the newspaper reported. Some other details emerged: A description of Kawamoto as being in his 50s, single and unmarried. He was said to be the owner of a real estate firm called Marugen, with his priciest Tokyo buildings filled with bars and cabarets. He rarely paid less than $1 million for a property, and always paid in cash. And there was this quote, attributed to Kawamoto and reprinted from an article in the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun:

"I firmly believe in always looking ahead and taking steps ahead of others. Land is something which must be used for practical purposes. I do not like the nouveau riche."

With that, Hawaii had officially met Kawamoto.

D.R. Horton Tries to Put the Brakes on Hoopili Decision

2012-05-21T18:52:43-10:00

The developer of a proposed 12,000-home master-planned community in Ewa has asked state officials to delay Tuesday’s final decision on whether its project can move forward by a month.

D.R. Horton filed the motion on Friday with the state Land Use Commission and the last-minute move is raising eyebrows among opponents who are trying to stop the controversial project known as Hoopili.

At issue is whether a delay would push a final decision past the end of June, when the terms of two commissioners expire. They will be replaced by appointees of Gov. Neil Abercrombie who has said that he supports the project.

“The new people would be Abercrombie people and the administration has been favorable to the development,” said Kioni Dudley, president of Friends of Makakilo, a chief opponent of the development.

Ninth Circuit Maui Trip Draws Criticism

2012-05-21T18:09:21-10:00

An upcoming conference on Maui involving federal judges from throughout the western U.S. and its island territories has two Republican senators trying to disrobe the event as being too lavish for taxpayers.

U.S. Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a four-page letter last week to 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski asking him to justify the costs of the August 13-16 conference, which they believe could reach upward of $1 million.

Included in the senators’ concerns are deluxe ocean-view rooms at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa in Maui that can cost as much as $250 a night and a government per diem that ranges between $289 and $433.

They’re also worried that outings, such as surf lessons, a tennis tournament and Zumba dancing, would make the event appear “more like a vacation than a business trip” despite the fact that the conference website specifically notes government funds wouldn’t cover any recreation or sporting activities.

“The taxpayers can’t sustain this kind of spending, and they shouldn’t have to,” Grassley said in a press release Monday. “The court should re-examine whether this is the best use of tax dollars.”

Esther Kiaaina

2012-05-21T16:18:18-10:00

Esther Kiaaina is a Democrat running for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District in the 2012 elections. The seat opened up after Rep. Mazie Hirono announced her candidacy for retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka's post.

The 2nd Congressional District includes Kauai, Maui, the Big Island, Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the north and west regions of Oahu. About 680,000 people live in the district, or roughly half of all the state's residents.

Before announcing her candidacy in August 2011, Kiaaina served as chief advocate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Currently she lives in her late grandmother's house in Nanakuli, taking care of her aging mother.

Bob Marx

2012-05-21T16:07:06-10:00

Robert “Bob” Marx, a Hilo attorney, is a candidate for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District in the 2012 elections. The seat opened up after Rep. Mazie Hirono announced her candidacy for retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka's post.

Marx and three others — Honolulu City Council member Tulsi Gabbard, former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs chief advocate Esther Kiaaina are considered the top candidates in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary.

Bob Marx

2012-05-21T16:07:06-10:00

Bob Marx

2012-05-21T16:07:06-10:00

U.S. Chamber Supports Linda Lingle For Her Record On The Economy

2012-05-21T10:18:14-10:00

Civil Beat got the question wrong in its ‘Does Lingle support the Chamber of Commerce?’ commentary on May 18, 2012.

The questions Civil Beat should be asking are: "Why does the Chamber of Commerce support Lingle?" and "Is that good for Hawaii?"

The Chamber of Commerce represents over 3 million businesses nationwide of all sizes, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. It is focused on creating jobs for the 15 million Americans who are unemployed, under-employed or who have given up looking for work.

Former Governor Linda Lingle is also focused on policies and initiatives that create jobs and economic growth. And Linda Lingle will act in a bipartisan manner, working with political leaders from both parties, including President Obama if he is reelected or Mitt Romney if he is elected. She will do what is best for the people of Hawaii, and will always put people ahead of political party.

When Civil Beat makes President Obama the issue it misses the point. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports Linda Lingle for the United States Senate because her record as Mayor of Maui and Governor of Hawaii show she is the only candidate running who has a record of creating a positive economic climate that produced job growth.

The Chamber's "Six-Point Plan for Job Creation" includes attracting more tourists and business visitors to the United States, with an objective of creating 1.3 million jobs by 2020. As Governor, Linda Lingle was a consistent and forceful advocate for easing foreign visa restrictions and the Visa Waiver status for South Korea and direct flights from China. Governor Lingle's platform includes getting a Subcommittee on Tourism created in the U.S. Senate.

A vibrant and growing visitor industry is one of the reasons the Chamber of Commerce supports Linda Lingle and that is good for Hawaii.

The Chamber's job creation plan also includes expanding international trade, leading again to jobs for Americans. During her terms as Governor, Linda Lingle oversaw an 85 percent increase of Hawaii exports to Asia from 2003-2010, and signed trade and commercial agreements with China, Korea and other countries in the Asia Pacific region. If elected Senator, Linda Lingle will use that experience to advocate for and enforce market-access trade and intellectual property protection agreements for American companies.

Increasing international trade is another one of the reasons the Chamber of Commerce supports Linda Lingle and that is good for Hawaii.

Producing more indigenous energy is also part of the Chamber's six-point job creation plan for America. As Governor, Linda Lingle initiated and implemented the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), acknowledged to be the leading state energy policy in the nation, focused on using Hawaii's local energy resources. If elected Senator, Linda Lingle will leverage that real-world experience to help put the nation on the path to energy security by fully developing America's own energy resources.

Growing our nation's energy industry and creating more jobs is another one of the reasons the Chamber of Commerce supports Linda Lingle and that is good for Hawaii.

These are a few of the job-creating reasons why the Chamber of Commerce supports Linda Lingle. Achieving these job-creating objectives that the Chamber and Linda Lingle share in common will be good for Hawaii and for our nation.

For Hawaii, this election should be about which candidate for U.S. Senator has the experience and will advocate for policies that grow our economy. The Chamber of Commerce recognizes that Linda Lingle is the best candidate to do this and that is the reason it supports her.

About the author: Maj. General (U.S. Army, retired) Bob Lee is serving as campaign manager for the Linda Lingle Senate Committee, as his first foray into politics. General Lee is the former State Adjutant General, head of the Hawaii National Guard, Hawaii director of Homeland Security and a member of Governor Linda Lingle's cabinet for eight years.

The Grand Illusion: Endless Money For Weapons and War

2012-05-21T00:01:00-10:00

Last Friday (May 18) Congresswomen Mazie Hirono and Colleen Hanabusa joined 222 of their Republican colleagues in voting for H.R.4310: National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 which authorizes $643 billion for, among other things, the war and occupation of Afghanistan, tank upgrades, submarines, long-range bombers, Air Force drones, and an East Coast missile defense system to be built by 2015 to "counter threats from Iran and North Korea."

Unlike the majority of House Democrats, both Rep. Hirono and Rep. Hanabusa voted in favor of this despite the fact that NDAA surpasses spending limits imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act by $8 billion and is $3.7 billion over what President Obama requested. Is this Congress’s idea of fiscal responsibility?

Beyond questions of financial prudence, does this type of excessive spending on the military and foreign wars really serve the best interests of Hawaii’s people or those living in the countries where we fight our wars, both declared and undeclared? 

Hawaii Historic Preservation Office Spent Job Money on Cars, iPads

2012-05-21T00:01:00-10:00

Hawaii's historic preservation agency was given more than $600,000 by the Legislature in the past year to beef up staff in order to avoid losing its federal certification.

But the State Historic Preservation Division didn't spend any of that money on new hires. Instead it bought iPads and new cars and extended the contract of a private company.

SHPD's director said she thought that a couple of staff had been hired this year — the department's total budget is about $2 million — but this is far short of the number of positions that the National Park Service says need to be filled in just the next few months in order to prevent federal action.

The agency is in charge of protecting Hawaii's historic and archeological treasures. But the National Park Service has warned it will strip SHPD of its federal certification if it doesn’t hire vital staff by the end of September, potentially delaying billions of dollars in projects.

Worse, top state officials overseeing SHPD are confused about how many staff positions — or which ones — needed to be filled.

State officials said that the Park Service hadn't been clear about the staffing requirements. And they defended the fund reallocations saying that they were unable to attract staff during the past year and needed to use the money by the end of June or it would be lost.

“I think I’ve been working on hiring,” said Pua Aiu, director of SHPD. “If I can’t use the money to hire the openings, which would certainly be preferable, then I think the best thing to do is get equipment for staff to do their job. And that’s what I did.”

The Rising East: Danger Mounts in the Strategic South China Sea

2012-05-21T00:01:00-10:00

A mistake that Americans and other Westerners often make when dealing with the Chinese is to look at issues and trends through Western rather than Chinese eyes. In short, the Chinese usually mean what they say and to suppose otherwise is to indulge in perilous wishful thinking.

Take the South China Sea, which has become potentially a dangerous flashpoint for a hostile confrontation between China on one side and Southeast Asian nations and the United States on the other.

The Pentagon issued its annual report on Chinese military power last week, saying that “China’s actions in 2011 with respect to ongoing land and maritime territorial disputes with neighbors reflected a mix of contentment with the status quo [and] renewed efforts to reassure wary neighbors.”

Further, the report said in a bland passage that China has been trying to “dampen suspicion among rival South China Sea claimants” arising from China’s claim that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over the waters and islands in most of that sea.

In contrast, China’s official news agency, Xinhua, was filled with authoritative demands that the Philippines back down from a six-week standoff over fishing grounds in the South China Sea near uninhabited rocks that the Chinese call Huangyan Island, the Filipinos Panatag Shoal, and the rest of the world Scarborough Shoal.

Further, Beijing announced that it was imposing a 2-1/2 month ban on fishing in much of the South China Sea, supposedly as a conservation measure to let fishing grounds revive. Chinese officials contended they had every right to ban fishing boats, including those of other nations, from its territorial waters.

The officials also announced that maritime surveillance ships, which in the past have often been armed and attacked the boats of other nations, would patrol the South China Sea to enforce the ban. Every other nation in the region and the US, however, maintain that the South China Sea is an international waterway.

Xinhua backed its demands with what appeared to be an extensive legal brief that asserted China’s control over the disputed Scarborough Shoal. “It is China that first discovered Huangyan Island, gave it the name, incorporated it into its territory, and exercised jurisdiction over it,” the brief said.

“In 1279, Chinese astronomer Guo Shoujing conducted a survey of the seas around China under the commission from his emperor Kublai Khan, and the Huangyan Island was chosen as the point for surveying the South China Sea.”

Altogether, Beijing left no doubt that it believed China had sovereign control over the shoal and the sea and that the dispute was not open to negotiation. The foreign minister of China, Yang Jiechi, set the tone for issues like this when he said in 2010: “China is a big country and other countries are small countries, and that's just a fact."

Beyond fishing, the South China Sea is believed to have large deposits of oil and gas beneath the seabed. And it is the most travelled international sea lane in the world, carrying more shipping than the Suez and Panama Canals combined. About 80 percent of China’s imported oil passes through those waters.

For the United States, the sea is not only a vital trade route but an essential way for warships to transit between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. If that sea was closed, American ships would be required to sail south of Australia, which would add about two weeks to their travel time.

Chinese insistence that the South China Sea is within China’s territory and therefore subject to Chinese control is thus a potential threat to the security and economy of every nation in East Asia and North America.

Therein lies the danger of a confrontation leading to a miscalculation, the most frequent cause of war. Not only are there disputed territorial claims but a tangle of international law on uninhabited rocks in the water, international maritime law defining freedom of navigation, and the UN Law of the Sea.

Compared with the South China Sea, the issue of the self-governing island of Taiwan is less dangerous because the lines are clearly drawn. If Taiwan were to declare formal independence, China would almost certainly attack. If China launched an unprovoked assault on Taiwan, the US would almost certainly come to Taiwan’s aid.

Much the same would be true of Korea. A North Korean invasion of South Korea would most likely draw a U.S. response and in turn China would be drawn into the fray. The so-called red lines are known.

Not so in the South China Sea.

Off the Beat: When Leaders Fail to Lead

2012-05-21T00:01:00-10:00

UPDATED 5/21/2012 7:15 a.m.

When President Barack Obama announced, on May 9, his support for same-sex marriage, a number of top Hawaii Democrats welcomed the decision.

They included Sens. Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel Akaka, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and congressional candidates Ed Case, Tulsi Gabbard, Bob Marx and Esther Kiaaina.

Three well-known leaders, however, didn't have a thing to say as of Friday, despite Civil Beat's repeated efforts to hear from them over the last two weeks: U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a Democrat, and Republicans Linda Lingle and Charles Djou.

Why are these major politicians mum on the defining civil rights issue of a generation?

The reticence of Lingle and Djou, candidates for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, respectively, fits with the GOP's political playbook.

After all, most Republicans nationally have said little or nothing about Obama's position on gay marriage. They don't wish to anger conservatives by agreeing with the president, nor alienate independents and younger voters by publicly opposing the controversial issue.

Hanabusa's failure to communicate is more puzzling; her spokesman twice promised us a response, but as of Friday we had yet to hear anything. Yet, the issue of gay marriage could well come up in her election rematch against Djou this fall.

UPDATE Hanabusa's office finally sent an email at about 8:30 p.m. Friday. Here is her response:

"I have always believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman. However, I have argued forcefully and consistently for the rights of all Americans. I am proud of the work I did to help write and first pass Hawaii's civil unions law, my support of the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and my co-sponsorship of the Respect for Marriage Act, which calls for federal recognition of any marriage that is valid in the state in which it was licensed.

"The issue of same-sex marriage is now before a number of courts and legislative bodies across the nation. If court rulings or legislative acts grant same-sex partners the right to marry, nationally or in the state of Hawaii, I will fully support those decisions."

The reality is that more than 40 states have some kind of prohibition against marriage between same-sex couples. Here at home, a recent Civil Beat poll showed that a majority of Hawaii voters do not support it.

Still, Lingle and Djou have each in the recent past been more open about their views on same-sex equal rights. Lingle vetoed civil unions legislation in 2010 — she said such emotional decisions should be left up to voters — while Djou, who opposed gay marriage, supported ending the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell military policy.

Give credit to Mufi Hannemann, another Democrat running for Congress, for at least telling us where he stands — even if it is at odds with most people in his party.

"I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman," he told Civil Beat. "However, I also believe that the decisions of the states which have permitted same-sex marriage and/or civil unions, such as Hawaii, should be respected, and I would oppose efforts at the federal level to override those states’ decisions."

Whether you agree with that position or not, Hannemann is taking a stand. And, belatedly, so is Hanabusa. It would appear Lingle and Djou are still lacking such courage.

DISCUSSION: Should Linda Lingle and Charles Djou tell voters their views on gay marriage?

Land Barren: Japanese Billionaire Is Raising Eyebrows, Razing Houses

2012-05-21T00:01:00-10:00

Editor's Note: This is the first in a three-part series on Japanese real estate investor Genshiro Kawamoto and the controversy he's generating along Kahala Avenue.

There are rats in Kahala.

In yard after yard along Kahala Avenue, that spectacular Pacific-flanked stretch of road, rusted twists of debris and abundant thickets of overgrowth are theirs for the nesting.

It may be one of the most coveted ZIP codes in Hawaii, but many of the houses there are abandoned. The man who owns them is rarely seen in the neighborhood.

Why Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto has left this kind of mark on Oahu is as mysterious as the man himself. Asking the famously reclusive Kawamoto is a challenge. Despite repeated attempts through multiple channels, Civil Beat couldn't reach him for this article.

According to a private Hawaii property database for realtors, Kawamoto owns at least 30 properties on Oahu — 27 of them on Kahala Avenue. That includes only the properties that are listed in his name.

Cedric Choi, vice president of Choi International, the luxury property firm that handles many of Kawamoto’s deals, says there have been other investors who have had an impact in Hawaii real estate. But Kawamoto is "definitely the biggest" buyer the islands have seen in decades, Choi says.

"I don’t think that he has affected the overall market except in his recent purchases in Kahala where he’s actually raised values," Choi said. "In Hawaii Kai, for example, I think he purchased a lot of property and maybe at the time it raised values there, but then over time, the market forces the prices back."

Another Oahu realtor, Michael Bates of i Properties Hawaii, says Kawamoto’s buying habits make sense from an investment standpoint.

“Kawamoto’s investments are not surprising, he has picked popular neighborhoods — Kahala, Hawaii Kai, Kailua — and areas that have potential for growth — Kahalu’u and Kula,” Bates said in an email. “His investments are unusual in that he has a lot more money to throw around than most investors. He’s probably held more properties than any other individual investor in recent years in Hawaii."

Kawamoto's 25-year legacy in Hawaii may make sense to real estate experts. But it's been baffling to others, especially his neighbors. And lately, it's become altogether surreal.