The Firing of Evan Dobelle

Sightings from The Catbird Seat

~ o ~

May 21, 2005

Regents to Monitor Dobelle’s Research

By Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

University of Hawaii-Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert and the Board of Regents have a plan to monitor the progress of former UH President Evan Dobelle’s research project.

But they are not saying what it is.

The regents met behind closed doors yesterday to discuss the status of the project.

Afterward, Chairwoman Patricia Lee would say only that Englert had presented a plant to monitor the former president’s research, and “the board is comfortable with that plan.”...

Dobelle is being paid more than $125,000 a year for two years as part of the settlement that led to his resignation last summer.

But as the Star-Bulletin reported earlier this month, all Dobelle has turned in is a 1 ½ page outline of a book proposal.

Dobelle also did not sign a November letter to indicate agreement with Englert’s proposal to have the former president file quarterly reports on his progress beginning last December.

Rick Fried, Dobelle’s attorney, said Dobelle and Englert are “in sync” about the project.

“Everything’s fine. He (Dobelle) is going to do what he needs to do,” Fried said.

In January, Dobelle started another full-time job as president of the New England Board of Higher Education....

The regents fired Dobelle on June 15, then rescinded the firing. Dobelle resigned in August after a mediated settlement that paid him about $1 million is severance and his attorney fees, continued payments on a life insurance policy and provided for the two-year faculty position as a researcher. Dobelle also agreed to give up his right to tenure at the university....

< < < FLASHBACK < < <

July 30, 2004

UH regents, Dobelle agree on settlement

BY BEVERLY CREAMER, Advertiser Education Writer

Firing `for cause' dropped; he will remain as a researcher

An agreement that rescinds the "for cause" firing of University of Hawai`i president Evan Dobelle, finds "no wrongdoing" by either Dobelle or the Board of Regents and gives Dobelle a total settlement package worth $3.4 million, was signed yesterday by the board and Dobelle.

In exchange, Dobelle will resign from the presidency effective Aug. 14, the same day he becomes a nontenured UH researcher for two years at a salary of $125,000 annually.

Under the details of the agreement, Dobelle will:

Receive $1.05 million in cash.

Have the university pay his $290,000 in attorney fees.

Have the university make annual payments of $40,000 for the remaining six years on a $2 million whole life insurance policy. As part of this agreement the Dobelle family must pay back to the university $400,000 in premiums on Dobelle's death, making the policy worth $1.6 million.

Give up his tenure option but accept an appointment for two years in a nontenured UH faculty research position.

Relinquish rights to about $2.3 million from a combination of his salary under his original presidential contract and proceeds from an annual $150,000 incentive fund, including 5 percent interest.

Give up any right to sue the university or regents.

The direct cost to the university comes to about $1.83 million, less than the $2.3 million Dobelle's contract called for under a termination clause. Firing "for cause" would have freed the university from paying any severance package.

However, those university costs do not include its legal fees.

The settlement signaled an end to six weeks of upheaval that began with the abrupt firing of Dobelle on June 15 and clears the way for the university to move forward, leaving behind an ugly chapter that capped more than a year of acrimony between the regents and Dobelle.

However, the regents' failure to reveal what they considered the "cause" for Dobelle's dismissal in the first place leaves behind a lingering skepticism over their actions and unanswered questions about the political overtones surrounding the firing.

In reaching the mediated settlement yesterday after nearly four weeks of negotiations, both parties agreed there was "no finding of wrongdoing on the part of either Dr. Dobelle or the board."

Dobelle, reached in Boston, where he was attending the Democratic National Convention, said: "I'm sorry I can't contribute to the future of Hawai`i as president of the university, but I have confidence the management team that I hired can finish the job that we started and I will look to contribute in other ways."

Dobelle, 59, came to UH from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., after a yearlong national search and was the most richly compensated president in UH history. He was fired just short of his third anniversary on the job, with four years remaining on his contract.

Regents hinted that there were concerns over his use of a protocol fund.

In a statement released as part of the settlement, both sides, and mediator Warren Price III, agreed "there were indeed several misunderstandings as the result of misinformation, as well as less than optimal communication between the board and Dr. Dobelle that exacerbated this problem."

The statement also noted that the board had fired Dobelle "for cause" June 15.

The statement went on to say:

"Based on the information the board had at the time, the decision was made to relieve Dr. Dobelle `with cause.'

"However, the board recognized at the time that it was obligated to apprise Dr. Dobelle of the basis of its `for cause' decision, to allow him the opportunity to respond, and to reconsider their decision thereafter if warranted. This is the reason why the grounds for Dr. Dobelle's termination were not made public at the time.

"During the mediation process, Dr. Dobelle was apprised of the basis for the board's `for cause' termination, and Dr. Dobelle was given the opportunity to respond to the issues raised.

"As in any dispute, there are always two sides. This dispute was no exception. However, while there is not an agreement on all issues, there is a deeper understanding of the perspectives of the parties, and how those perspectives came to be."

Board chairwoman Patricia Lee said the board would make no other comments after releasing the two-page statement and the agreement documents that accompanied it.

However, regent Trent Kakuda said, "I'm happy with the agreement."

It was not immediately known where the money will come from to pay Dobelle's settlement, and attorney Barry Marr, whose firm is one of two hired by the board to handle the dispute, would not comment.

"I can't get into that," Marr said later. He also said he does not know what the costs are for the regents' attorneys, including William McCorriston who joined the team as mediation began.

As the agreement became known yesterday, Dobelle's lead attorney, L. Richard Fried Jr., noted that Dobelle "is happy all parties have put the university first.

"He's very pleased the matter has been resolved," said Fried of Dobelle. "All parties have put the university first and they can now move ahead.

"This is a win for all parties," Fried said. "Protracted litigation is in no one's best interests."

Fried said that one of Dobelle's concerns was providing for his wife's and son's futures. The section of the agreement involving the whole life insurance policy maintained by the university on his behalf provides for that.

"It's like setting up an annuity, to provide your child money when you die," said Fried. Under terms of whole life insurance, once the premiums have been completely paid, money can be withdrawn, said Fried. That would become possible in six years when Dobelle turns 65. But first the university would have to be reimbursed for premiums paid, according to the agreement.

Aside from helping to ensure his family's future, Dobelle said "the only thing I cared about was paragraph four." It's that paragraph that rescinds the board's decision to fire him and absolves him, and the regents, of wrongdoing.

Reaction to the settlement was mixed, with the head of the UH faculty union questioning the position created for Dobelle, but former Gov. Ben Cayetano saying it reflected a hasty decision made by the regents when they fired Dobelle.

As a researcher, "normally you'd be doing research on the Andromeda or working off of Mauna Kea or working out on the ocean," said J.N. Musto, executive director of the University of Hawai`i Professional Assembly.

"This whole idea of two years of being a faculty member, that surprises me. That aspect of it is probably the most troubling in a way."

If there is any blame for the terms of the settlement, it should be with the regents who hired Dobelle in 2001, Musto said. At the time, Musto said, the terms were "so far above, at that point in time, the expectation of public university presidents."

But Cayetano, who was governor when Dobelle was hired, blamed the current regents for putting the university in this awkward situation. "It's pretty apparent from the settlement that the regents acted hastily and made a mistake," Cayetano said. "I haven't heard one person who said it was handled right."

Student Leah Sakamoto, a junior majoring in apparel merchandising, said it looks like Dobelle came out ahead. "He gets a job after he's been asked to resign. I would (say), `Yeah, OK, I'll take it,' " Sakamoto said last night at Hamilton Library. "He gets to resign, he gets this money plus he gets to sign on as faculty."

Tom Ingram, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, which provides guidance for universities, did not want to comment on the terms of the settlement, but he did say that Dobelle's lucrative contract and firing were both "very unusual" for a public university.

He said heads of universities are rarely let go for cause and even more rarely do they reach the point of threatening litigation. In most cases, he said, a resolution is reached so "everyone can leave with their heads up."

"Being a chief executive of a complex university is, first of all, a very tough business and boards know that and in this case felt compelled to offer a very generous package in the belief that this was a person who would bring the kind of leadership that was needed," Ingram said, speaking from his home in Delaware. "But life is what it is, and sometimes there are just bad fits and you don't discover that until you work together for a while."

Ingram said the settlement was reached rather quickly and that was in the best interest of the state.

In its conclusion, the joint statement from the board, Dobelle and mediator Price notes that:

"Dr. Dobelle brought energy and vision to the university, and the board recognizes this and appreciates his accomplishments."

It also notes: "Dr. Dobelle recognizes and appreciates the commitment, integrity and vital role the Board of Regents plays in governing the university."

The statement noted that "while there is sure to be public and media speculation and comment about this resolution, it is time to place the university and community first and to look to the future."

Staff writer Curtis Lum contributed to this report. Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer @honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.

~ ~ ~

Settlement details, community reaction, timeline of events.

The contract

Salary: $442,000 a year for seven years.

Incentive fund: $150,000 annually plus 5 percent interest.

Buyout: Would have included paying an annual salary for the remaining four years of his contract, plus three years of accrued incentive payments. The total would have been more than $2 million.

The side letter

The side letter signed by both Dobelle and then-regents' chairwoman Lily Yao stipulated that he would also receive:

Sabbatical leave in his sixth year at his president's salary.

Tenure as a full professor following his presidential appointment. It states that "after completion of your term as president you may return to teaching at the highest prevailing rate as a professor in your field."

Protocol money provided by the UH Foundation of $150,000 a year.

Dues paid for three country clubs as well as two clubs he belonged to at his hire.

An additional $10,000 from First Hawaiian Foundation in annual travel money or to be used at his discretion.

The settlement

Regents reverse Dobelle's termination "for cause" and there is no finding of wrongdoing on his part.

Dobelle resigns effective Aug. 14 and becomes a nontenured researcher in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

Dobelle gets about $1.8 million in compensation: $1.05 million in cash, $290,000 in attorney's fees and a salary of $125,000 this year and next.

Dobelle gets a $2 million whole life insurance policy, with the family required to pay the university $400,000 upon Dobelle's death.

CHRONOLOGY OF DOBELLE'S TIME AT UH

JULY 2001: Evan Dobelle takes over as the 12th president of the University of Hawai`i. At a salary of $442,000 plus benefits, he becomes the most richly compensated president in UH history. His contract runs through June 2008.

NOVEMBER 2001: Dobelle hires two former associates to be chief financial officer and vice president for external affairs. Their annual salaries are set at $227,000 and $184,000, respectively.

NOVEMBER 2001: Dobelle unveils ambitious plans for a Kaka`ako biotechnology park, which is expected to include a new medical school, the Cancer Research Center and the Pacific Biomedical Research Center.

AUGUST 2002: The UH Board of Regents praises Dobelle in his first evaluation, ticking off a string of accomplishments, especially in bringing about "a change in attitude" throughout the system.

SEPTEMBER 2002: Dobelle turns down a $28,000 pay raise approved by the regents.

NOVEMBER 2002: Dobelle, speaking as a private citizen in a television spot, endorses Democrat Mazie Hirono in the race for governor against Republican Linda Lingle.

MAY 2003: The first of a number of appointees to the Board of Regents by Gov. Lingle are seated. Ultimately, she will appoint eight members to the 12-member board. In the coming months, the relationship between Dobelle and the board deteriorates.

APRIL 2004: Months of acrimony between regents and Dobelle come to a head over whether the president's second-year evaluation should be made public in violation of long-standing university practice. After an advisory opinion by the Office of Information Practices said the public's right to know superseded Dobelle's privacy rights, regents release the evaluation. In it, they criticize Dobelle for such missteps as launching a film school without telling the board; fiscal extravagance, including paying "outrageous salaries;" and not raising faculty salaries as he had promised. Dobelle calls the evaluation a "highly unprofessional" collection of misstatements.

APRIL 2004: An outside consultant is hired to conduct Dobelle's third-year evaluation.

JUNE 15: The Board of Regents fires Dobelle "for cause" but declines to say what the cause is.

JUNE 22: Reports from the university's two accrediting bodies criticize the Board of Regents for micromanagement. One of the bodies, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, also criticizes Dobelle for being "distant" and failing to take an active leadership role.

JUNE 25: Dobelle's attorney accuses the Board of Regents of failing to follow proper procedures in firing him and said the fired president was considering a lawsuit that would involve character defamation and contract violations.

JULY 1: Attorneys for Dobelle and the regents announce that they have agreed to mediation to resolve their differences and avoid a lawsuit.

JULY 15: The regents change the effective date of Dobelle's firing to Aug. 15, superseding a letter that said the termination was effective July 23.

JULY 29: Settlement reached.

UH Regents, Dobelle Agree On Settlement

June 16, 2004

DOBELLE FIRED

A UH regent announces that the school’s
president “no longer has our trust”

~ ~ ~

Dobelle is sacked “for cause,” which
means he won’t be paid $2.26 million

~ ~ ~

By Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents fired UH President Evan Dobelle “for cause” last night after a 12-hour meeting, much of it behind closed doors.

About 8:30 p.m., board Chairwoman Patricia Lee issued a statement saying: “Sadly, we have come to the realization that the president no longer has our trust, and there is no longer a unity of purpose between the board and the president or a clear recognition of his integrity, character, and commitment.”

The vote was unanimous, Lee said.

“This is the most difficult decision ever to be made by the regents,” she said. But she added that the board believes it is the “right decision at the right time.”

Vice President for Academic Affairs David McClain was named acting UH president, “effective immediately.”...

In a statement issued late last night, Gov. Linda Lingle said, “The Board of Regents’ decision reflects what it believes is in the best interest of the University of Hawaii system and its students.

“As additional information is made available by the board in the coming days, we will have a clearer understanding of the reasons for President Dobelle’s dismissal and what the university’s next steps are.”...

Regents would not say what the “cause” is for the president’s dismissal. But the phrase is important because if Dobelle is fired for cause, he will not get the $2.26 million buy-out of his contract.

Dobelle’s contract defines “cause” as either conviction for a felony offense; a determination by doctors that he is mentally unstable or otherwise unable to perform the duties of his office; or conduct that constitutes “moral turpitude*,” bringing public disrespect or ridicule upon the university.

Lee would not speculate about whether Dobelle’s termination will lead to a lawsuit. She referred questions about “cause” to UH Vice President for Legal Affairs Walter Kirimitsu....

 www.starbulletin.com/2004/06/16/news/story1.html

~ ~ ~

* tur-pi-tude - n. baseness; vileness; depravity.

06/24/2004

Prominent political figure protests
his firing -- in Hawaii

By Don Michak , Journal Inquirer

A political figure prominent in Connecticut is forced from his state job after being accused of misusing an expense account to pay for personal items, hiring his cronies at big salaries, and treating his top aides to perquisites like first-class airfare upgrades and free tickets to a rock concert.

The official says he did nothing wrong and behaved no differently than any other executive in charge of a billion-dollar corporation, and his supporters contend he was done in by politics.

While that sounds very much like John G. Rowland, the three-term Republican governor who announced his resignation Monday, it's actually Evan S. Dobelle, the former Trinity College president, State Ethics Commission member, and Democratic National Committee treasurer.

Dobelle, 58, was fired from his $442,000-per-year job as president of the University of Hawaii last week after outside auditors questioned his spending from a $200,000 special "protocol fund."

Also caught up in the controversy are two Dobelle associates who followed him from Connecticut to Hawaii: Elizabeth "Betsy" Sloan, the former associate vice president for development at Trinity; and her husband, J.R.W. "Wick" Sloan, who had run a private investment firm in Massachusetts.

The same university regents who summarily dumped Dobelle "for cause" also ordered J.R.W. Sloan, whom Dobelle had installed as the school's chief financial officer and vice president for administration at an annual salary of $227,000, put on administrative leave without pay until Sloan's contract expires at the end of the year.

They had voted in December not to renew that contract, and several also had taken aim at Sloan's wife, the president of the University of Hawaii foundation.

Five months before Elizabeth Sloan's hiring as head of the charitable organization, Dobelle had used $10,000 from its special protocol fund to hire her to assess its performance....

After learning of his dismissal while escorting his son on a tour of mainland colleges -- a trip that also saw him make a brief stop in Hartford -- Dobelle said he was stunned by the regents' action and blasted his firing as "this rush to an inappropriate judgment."

He decried what he said was the "secret meeting" at which he was evaluated and terminated, saying the decision was "political" and "unbelievable."

Similarly, Dobelle's supporters have made much of his endorsement in a television commercial of the Democratic candidate in the 2002 race for governor in Hawaii, Mazie Hirono. Hirono was defeated by a Republican, Gov. Linda Lingle, who has appointed several of the state university's regents. Once Lingle became governor, they say, the regents began gunning for Dobelle.

Lingle has insisted "there is absolutely no relationship between what Even Dobelle did during the campaign and what the board of regents did," the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported last week.

The regents themselves have been mum on the exact reasons behind Dobelle's firing, except to say that he "no longer has our trust" and to confirm they had ordered the locks changed on Dobelle's offices.

Newspapers in Hawaii, however, have been full of reports about what would constitute a firing "for cause," which reportedly could deprive Dobelle of a $2.2 million severance payment.

Under Dobelle's contract, they say, he would have to have been convicted of a felony, suffer from mental instability, or exhibit "moral turpitude," bringing public disrespect, contempt, or ridicule upon the university.

The island press also has revealed that Dobelle's firing came just three months after an influential Democratic state legislator, K. Mark Takai, filed a complaint against Dobelle with the Hawaii State Ethics Commission.

The chairman of the Hawaii House Higher Education Committee, Takai questioned whether Dobelle's use of the University of Hawaii Foundation's protocol fund for "private school tuition payments, trips, hotel stays, dinners, etc." had to be publicly disclosed, despite the foundation's nonprofit tax status that "insulates" it from oversight by the state auditor.

He also asked whether trips provided Dobelle by the Molokai Chamber of Commerce, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, and other "non-state entities" should have been declared as gifts by the college president.

Questions about Dobelle's dips into the protocol fund also were raised in a draft audit report on the foundation by an outside consulting company hired by the regents, Deloitte & Touche.

The audit shows "inattention to accounting detail regarding credit-card charges, including mix-ups of personal and business charges, with the foundation reimbursing both and adjusting payments later, and some missing receipts," The Honolulu Advertiser reported the day after Dobelle's dumping.

The audit also found the foundation had made payments without adequate supporting documentation, that some charges for meals or hotel rooms considered as business-related occurred on days "stated as personal," and that "a number" of first-class airfare upgrades were made for staff traveling with Dobelle, according to the newspaper.

The Advertiser said the auditors found that Dobelle had charged 16 airfare upgrades for people other than himself to the protocol fund, a $38,174 cost they categorized as "disallowed and questionable."

Altogether, they flagged $97,000 in Dobelle's charges over the past three years, which include the cost of parties and private club memberships.

News reports in Hawaii also revisited Dobelle's second-year evaluation by the regents, which sharply criticized his fund-raising efforts, "lavish spending," and "wholesale escalation of executive salaries."

The report had been confidential, but it was made public in April by the state Office of Information Practices. Dobelle has said the report was filled with "misinformation, misstatements, and mischaracterizations," according to The Associated Press.

Some newspapers also referred to a previous legislative audit that showed Dobelle used protocol fund money to take two dozen university donors and staff members to a Janet Jackson concert.

A few island columnists also have aimed barbs at Dobelle's lifestyle, with one sniping at his habit of wearing shoes without socks and his "sporty Porsche." Another resurrected a debate over the $1 million reported to have been spent renovating his Hawaii residence, which, according to The Associated Press, was roughly three times the amount planned.

The regents began their latest evaluation of Dobelle's performance in February. The review was reportedly headed by its vice chairwoman, Kitty Lagaretta, a key official in the gubernatorial campaign of Lingle.

Dobelle was appointed in Connecticut to the State Ethics Commission in 1996 by former House Speaker Thomas D. Ritter, now a lobbyist.

Dobelle resigned in January 1998 after Rowland assigned him to work on Hartford redevelopment.

For more, GO TO > > > A Connecticut Yankee in King Kamehameha’s Court

October 16, 2004

Details emerge on
UH public relations
deal in Dobelle ouster

A consultant was paid $275 an hour
for legal advice and strategies

By Craig Gima, Star-Bulletin

A law firm hired by the University of Hawaii Board of Regents released a partial list of services provided by a public relations consultant that led to an $89,743 bill in connection with the dismissal of former UH President Evan Dobelle.

Rick Zwern, a former boss of Board of Regents Vice-Chairwoman Kitty Lagareta, billed at a rate of $275 an hour for 294 hours of work between June 25 and Aug. 10. The rest of the bill went for taxes and expenses....

"All I know is, it's lower than my rate," said attorney Bill McCorriston, who hired Zwern after consulting with the regents and who charged the university $350 an hour for his legal services....

"I think it's consistent with top-rate public relations services. It's certainly not out of line," he said....

Zwern, who is also international training director for the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton, also billed for work with Jim Jennings, a former Hill & Knowlton executive and former executive vice president of America's Promise, the national youth development organization begun by Colin Powell and current and former U.S. presidents in 1997.

The full bill for Zwern's and Jennings' services was not released.

In a written statement, McCorriston said that much of Zwern's services was related to his legal work for the university, which is protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege.

The list released yesterday is for public relations activities for non-legal matters, McCorriston said.

The list includes media coverage review, research, developing communications strategy, drafting potential news media statements and planning and review for the release of documents after an OIP opinion that the public should have access to many of the documents and meeting minutes that led to Dobelle's dismissal.

He said Zwern consulted on public relations strategies for UH on Dobelle and the transition to a new president. Zwern also coordinated news media inquiries and managed public communications from the university regarding the mediation efforts, potential litigation, the settlement and Office of Information Practices issues.

Lagareta has said that while she participated in the discussion over hiring Zwern during a June 15 board meeting, she did not make the final decision and disclosed her relationship with him.

Zwern was a co-owner of Communications Pacific when Lagareta was hired in the late 1980s. Zwern and his partner sold the company in 1993 to Hill & Knowlton, and Lagareta and her partner bought the firm from Hill & Knowlton in 1998.

Lagareta said she hires Zwern as a vendor to provide training services at Communications Pacific. But she said Zwern has not had a financial interest in the company since 1994.

University general counsel Walter Kirimitsu also said he does not see a conflict since McCorriston hired Zwern and there is no financial relationship between Lagareta and Zwern.

http://starbulletin.com/2004/10/16/news/story7.html

July 2, 2004

Regents, Dobelle hire mediator

The parties also are to follow
a gag order during the mediation

By Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Attorneys for the University of Hawaii Board of Regents and fired UH President Evan Dobelle have hired former state Attorney General Warren Price III as a “neutral mediator” to try to resolve differences out of court.

They also imposed a gag order on themselves. “During this period, public comments will not be made by any party or counsel for any party,” according to a joint statement issued yesterday....

Price, a partner in the firm Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum, was a state attorney general under Gov. John Waihee in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The regents unanimously fired Dobelle on June 15 “for cause.” The firing for cause denies Dobelle a $2.26 million severance pay.

Citing legal advice from their attorneys, the regents have not identified the “cause” for firing Dobelle....

Dobelle’s attorneys are researching a possible lawsuit against the university.

Yesterday’s statement does not give any indication about when the public will be able to find out why Dobelle was fired.

Tracey Wiltgen, executive director of the Mediation Center of the Pacific, said going into mediation is a “positive thing.”...

Mediation is “a huge savings in money,” she said. “Litigation takes a long time unless they can settle.”

Wiltgen said mediation is likely to last for several hours or days, compared with a court case that can drag on for months or years....

Money is often not the only issue, Wiltgen said.

Dobelle, for example, might want an apology or a public statement clearing his name, she said. The regents might want something from Dobelle saying they had a reason to fire him or assurances that he will no longer be involved with the university.

Settlements are sometimes confidential as well, Wiltgen said.

However, she said she believes public documents cannot be hidden through the mediation process.

“If something is actually a public document and should be available to the public, you can’t use mediation to hide it,” Wiltgen said.

“But you’d have to establish that it is in fact a document that the public is entitled to see.”

UH REGENT’S LAWYER

Barry W. Marr, Partner, Marr Hipp Jones & Wang; specializes in representing management in labor and employment law; adjunct professor at UH school of law; practicing attorney in Hawaii for more than 25 years.

THE MEDIATOR

Warren Price III, Partner, Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum; attorney general during Gov. John Waihee’s first term; practicing attorney in Hawaii since 1972.

DOBELLE’S LAWYER

L. Richard Fried Jr., Partner, Cronin Fried Sekiya Kekina & Fairbanks; was involved in more that 50 judgments and settlements over $1 million; Hawaii Trial Lawyer of the Year 1994; practicing attorney in Hawaii since 1969.

July 10, 2004

UH professor wants
Dobelle audit made public

By Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

A University of Hawaii journalism professor has asked the state Office of Information Practices to issue an opinion on whether this year’s evaluation of fired UH President Evan Dobelle and final audit of his protocol fund spending should be made public.

On Wednesday a university attorney denied a June 21 request by professor Beverly Keever to release the documents to the public.

“These records are public, and it’s not a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy,” Keever said. “The audit has nothing to do with personal privacy; it’s an accounting issue.”

But in a letter, UH associate general counsel Presley Pang wrote Keever, “It is the University of Hawaii’s position that all documents pertaining to the current evaluation and the decision to terminate President Dobelle are not subject to disclosure to members of the public at this time.”

Pang cited Dobelle’s request that the evaluation process be conducted in executive session, closed to the public; potential threatened legal action based on “purported violations of constitutional protection of his reputation”; and the ongoing mediation to resole the dispute between Dobelle and the regents over his firing.

“Because there are ongoing discussions, this matter of President Dobelle’s evaluation has not finally concluded, and the materials are considered pre-decisional, protected from public disclose under the frustration of legitimate government function (exemption to the open records law),” Pang wrote....

Yesterday, Keever appealed the university’s denial of records to OIP and asked the agency to expedite the request by hiring additional attorneys if necessary.

“Providing resources to address and resolve this urgent issue benefits the Lingle administration, the institutional reputation and image of the university and the goals of students, faculty and staff whose already inadequate resources are being drained by an expensive, time-consuming secret process to which the public is locked out,” Keever wrote.

OIP Director Les Kondo was out of the office yesterday and had not seen Keever’s request.

He said his office will be asking the university to review copies of the documents and for further explanation of why access is being denied.

Keever said she is afraid the public might never find out why Dobelle was fired, especially if a settlement reached in mediation includes keeping documents confidential.

“Basically, the idea is to hold the parties accountable. They are covering up the elements of the decision-making. The decision-making has cost the university big bucks and a big cloud over its reputation,” Keever said.

“It seems to me as though they are dragging their feet in resolving this. The more they drag their feet, the more the public loses out and UH loses out,” she added.

“I don’t know if I can really comment on that (whether the documents may remain secret),” Pang said....

(Catbird note: Beverly Keever’s e-mail address is bkeever@hawaii.edu)

~ ~ ~

Regents plan closed-door meeting

The Board of Regents has scheduled a closed-door meeting Thursday morning to discuss the status of mediation with fired University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle.

Regents are scheduled to consult with their attorney on “mediation, settlement issues and other matters related to claims by Dr. Evan S. Dobelle.”

The notice also includes, “discussions, deliberations, and decision-making regarding mediated settlement of Dr. Dobelle’s claims, if necessary.”...

Because of an agreement not to talk about the mediation, regents’ attorney Barry Marr had no comment about whether a mediated settlement was in the works and could not elaborate on the written notice.

www.starbulletin.com/2004/07/10/news/story6.html

July 25, 2004

The Dobelle Debacle

The secrecy surrounding Evan Dobelle’s
interrupted tenure as UH president has done
great harm to Hawaii’s public university

By Beverly Ann Deepe Keever
Special to the Star-Bulletin

The hiring and surprise firing of University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle expose the high price and great perils of secret government decision-making in Hawaii.

In a textbook example of a counter-productive public policy, the Dobelle debacle demonstrates that unwarranted secrecy in Hawaii’s government does not pay. A key lesson learned is that secrecy breeds a lose-lose policy for citizens – who are often called upon to foot the bill – as well as government officials on all sides of a divisive issue and even Gov. Linda Lingle, who has pledged to restore public trust in government.

With the public locked out of knowing why official decisions are being made, secrecy fosters rumors and leaks of information.

Unwarranted secrecy works to the advantage of insiders and to the disadvantage of the most disadvantaged segments of society. And, in the Dobelle case, the Board of Regents’ decision-making, cloaked in secrecy, has tarnished incalculably the image nationally and globally of Hawaii’s only public institution of higher education.

The spiral of secrecy that augured the Dobelle debacle began in early 2001 when the UH Board of Regents met in a series of unannounced, closed-door meetings and agreed to a lucrative contract with Dobelle.

On March 9, 2001, Lily Yao, then-chairwoman of the Board of Regents, signed Dobelle to a contract paying him at least $3 million over seven years and giving him residency in the state-owned mansion near the Manoa campus, use of a state car and a number of other perks.

His first-year salary of $442,000 was more than double that of outgoing President Kenneth Mortimer and four times that of the governor. This multimillion-dollar commitment was agreed to just as the board was raising student tuition and Gov. Ben Cayetano was arguing that the state was too impoverished to increase faculty pay enough to forestall a strike that eventually did occur.

Contesting the secret negotiations that led to such an expenditure of taxpayer monies were graduate student Mamo Kim and Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), who filed a lawsuit in Hawaii’s First Circuit Court. They argued that this secrecy violated Hawaii’s “Sunshine Law” requiring open meetings of public agencies, except in specific cases permitting closure. This “Sunshine Law” was passed by the Legislature in 1975 in the wake of the Watergate scandal so that opening up closed doors of government would allow in sunshine that acts as a disinfectant to reduce mismanagement and even illegal or unethical decisions.

Unfortunately, graduate student Kim and SPJ lost the case. Circuit Court Judge Virginia Crandall OK’d the board’s practice of recessing one closed-door meeting in order to hold another unannounced closed-door meeting without the public and the news media even being aware that the board was meeting or what it was meeting about.

Also unfortunate, the board’s secret decision-making on Dobelle’s high-priced and lengthy contract sent the wrong signal to the incoming president that money was no object at UH. Dobelle assumed the presidency on July 1, 2001, just 72 days before the spectacular attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon sent Hawaii’s struggling tourist-based economy into an even steeper nose dive.

The rest is history – and a lot of news stories. Dobelle brought in his own management team from the East Coast, paying members up to twice the salaries of the veterans they replaced. He recommended – and the board agreed – to pay double his own salary to UH’s head football coach June Jones. And Dobelle racked up a tremendous cost overrun in refurbishing his state-owned residence.

Dobelle’s public aura of extravagance was magnified by his driving around campus in his pricy Porsche, rather than the state car, and buying a million-dollar-plus home while he was living rent-free in the president’s mansion, College Hill....

The spiral of secrecy continued. In March of this year, the board was reprimanded by another state agency – the Office of Information Practices – for the way it conducted secret meetings to evaluate Dobelle’s performance.

Then, on June 15, while Dobelle was on the mainland, the board announced that he was fired – and fired “for cause.” Those two little words were a significant way to avoid paying to Dobelle for the last four years of his contract ... The surprise decision – and the board’s secrecy about the “for cause” rationale – sparked news worldwide.

Now, still refusing to explain its “for cause” decision, the board and Dobelle are holding secret mediation sessions. The board has hired at least three private high-priced attorneys to supplement UH’s permanent legal staff to represent it. A mediator, former Attorney General Warren Price, also has been hired.

Mediation is described as a less expensive alternative to a lawsuit. But even if it succeeds, it is costing Hawaii’s taxpayers plenty. And secret mediation sessions continue to keep the public in the dark while open court sessions would have been excruciatingly revealing....

The Dobelle debacle may provide for decades to come a case study in why more needs to be invested in resources that promote inclusiveness and openness, which are essential for restoring public trust in government.

 www.starbulletin.com/2004/07/25/editorial/special.html

~ ~ ~

For more on Warren Price, GO TO > > > RICO in Paradise

July 30, 2004

Dobelle and regents settle

Agreements rescind the ousted UH president’s firing
for cause in exchange for his resignation

by Craig Gima, Star-Bulletin

The University of Hawaii regents and Evan Dobelle agreed to a mediated settlement that will pay the ousted president $1.05 million, give him a $125,000-a-year faculty position for two years and pay his attorney fees.

Under two agreements signed yesterday, the Board of Regents will rescind Dobelle’s firing for cause on June 15, and Dobelle will resign as UH president on Aug. 14.

Both sides agreed that there was no wrongdoing by Dobelle or the regents and that they will not sue each other.

In a joint statement with mediator Warren Price III, Dobelle and the regents said, “While there is sure to be public and media speculation and comment about this resolution, it is time to place the university and community first and to look to the future.”

The regents unanimously approved the settlement at a closed-door meeting yesterday afternoon after meeting with their attorneys....

Dobelle, who is at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, said he will be staying in Hawaii....

Under the agreement, Dobelle will work in the urban planning department at UH-Manoa. He will work on a special project to be determined my Dobelle and Chancellor Peter Englert.

The nontenured faculty position will end after two years, and Dobelle will get collective bargaining raises.

The university also will continue to make $40,000-a-year payments for the next six years on a $2 million whole life insurance policy. The policy was started while Dobelle was at Trinity College and, as part of his contract, continued during his employment at UH.

UH and Trinity will be reimbursed $400,000 for their payments to the insurance company when the policy is cashed in or a death benefit is paid.

Dobelle’s attorneys, Cronin Fried Sekiya Kekina & Fairbanks, also will be paid $290,000.

“This is a win for everyone, and everyone can move forward,” said Dobelle’s attorney Rick Fried....

Regents attorney Barry Marr said, “It’s a good settlement.”...

www.starbulletin.com/2004/07/30/news/story1.html

~ ~ ~

For more on Arbitration/Mediation, GO TO > > > Arbitrate This!

September 25, 2004

Dobelle legal costs hit $1M

By Vicki Viotti, Honolulu Advertiser

The ouster of former University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle will cost the university about $1 million in fees from lawyers hired by the Board of Regents to negotiate a settlement and fees for his attorneys, university records show.

And while university officials are still haggling over how much the settlement will finally cost taxpayers, several said yesterday that the legal bill is less than what it would have cost to buy out Dobelle.

The bill, which includes $290,000 paid to Dobelle’s legal team, and an estimated $750,000 due to UH lawyers, enabled the university to avoid at least $4.5 million that would have been paid if Dobelle had been fired without cause and his contract paid off, regent Kitty Lagareta said.

Officials involved in negotiating Dobelle’s exit package said yesterday that talks are ongoing with the UH carrier, National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburg [a member company of American International Group, Inc.], in hopes that the policy will cover most or all of the costs, including legal bills....

Rick Fried, Dobelle’s lead attorney, said yesterday that the university should include Dobelle’s life insurance death benefit of $1.6 million and other costs in its calculations and would have done better if it had simply paid off his contract.

“This trying to terminate ‘with cause’ not only has created an incredible stir at the university but they’ve ended up having to pay more money, and in addition to paying Evan they have to pay another university president,” Fried said.

However, that assessment was countered by William McCorriston, whose firm McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon headed the UH legal team. McCorriston said that, in addition to the central contract with about $2.2 million payable, the buyout would have included several side agreements for a grand total of about $4.5 million....

Viewed through this lens, McCorriston said, the July settlement plus the legal bills that came later would bring costs to about $2.3 million.

“For me, we paid less than 50 cents on the dollar to get this guy to resign,” McCorriston said.

Kitty Lagareta, vice chairwoman for the Board of Regents, agreed.

“The point for us is, we got out of this thing for $2.5 million; I’m thrilled,” Lagareta said. “It’s over. “We think our lawyers did a great job and earned every cent.”...

Lagareta said university general counsel Walter Kirimitsu had been collecting the bills that already arrived – about $650,000 – and yesterday informed regents and UH officials that about $100,000 more are expected....

McCorriston said his firm’s bill also includes fees for professional services such as a forensic audit of Dobelle’s financial records, public relations services for communications with news media, and private investigation services to locate a witness.

State Rep. Mark Takai, D-34th (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit), the House Higher Education Committee chairman, said UH has turned a corner in a difficult ordeal....

~ ~ ~

FEES BILLED

McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP *(legal services)     $291,080.83

Marr Hipp Jones & Wang* (legal services)                            $185,105.81

QSR-Pacific, Inc. (public relations)                                          $89,742.81

The Law Offices of Jerry M. Hiatt (legal services)                    $46,348.49

Candon Consulting Group LLC (forensic auditing)                  $38,194.17

Investigative Services Worldwide (private investigation)         $685.00

SUBTOTAL                                                                             $651,157.11

Dobelle’s attorney fees, paid as part of 7/29 settlement         $290,000.00

TOTAL                                                                                                $941,157.11

* For another McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon case, GO TO > > > Dirty Money, Dirty Politics & Bishop Estate

* For another Marr Hipp case, GO TO > > > RICO in Paradise

October 23, 2004

Dobelle returning to New England

A nonprofit agency overlooks his clash
with UH when he was president

Associated Press, Star-Bulletin

HARTFORD, Conn. - Former University of Hawaii president Evan Dobelle is expected to return to New England to take a job leading a Boston-based nonprofit agency that supports higher education.

Dobelle, the former president of Trinity College, is expected to be named next month as president of the New England Board of Higher Education....

Dobelle, 59, was fired by the University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents “for cause” in June. After Dobelle threatened to sue, both sides reached a settlement on July 29, under which the regents rescinded their action and Dobelle agreed to resign and take a faculty position for two years.

UH officials said it’s unclear what will happen to Dobelle’s research, which was being conducted under the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

Under his deal with the board, Dobelle was set to earn about $125,000 annually for two years as a nontenured researcher.

Carole A Cowan, head of the search committee for the New England board, said such clashes have happened before in higher education and added that the committee was impressed with Dobelle’s credentials....

Dobelle will replace Robert A. Weygand, a former U.S. representative and lieutenant governor from Rhode Island, who left earlier this year to become a vice president at the University of Rhode Island....

June 17, 2004

ALBANO SWORN IN AS UH REGENT

From http://maui.unclewebster.com

More than 150 Oahu residents were officially sworn in to serve on the state’s various boards and commissions Thursday....

Among those sworn in to office yesterday was Andres Albano Junior – the newest member of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents.

Albano joins the regents at a time when the panel is embroiled in the fallout from their controversial move to fire university’s president Evan Dobelle.

Albano who is the vice president of commercial real estate firm C-B Richard Ellis was approved to a four-year term.

< < < FLASHBACK < < <

November 3, 2003

Former Congresswoman Saiki, Three Others Appointed to East-West Center Board

East-West Center News Release

HONOLULU - Patricia F. Saiki, former Hawaii congressional representative, has been appointed to a three-year term on the East-West Center’s Board of Governors by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Also appointed were former Sen. William V. Roth Jr. of Delaware; Tai-Young Lee, president of PTC International, Inc., a marketing firm in Baltimore, Maryland; and Albert C. Chang of San Francisco, president of Eastern Sea, Inc.

Saiki was elected to Congress in 1986 and again in 1988, representing the 1^st Congressional District of Hawaii. She served as a member of the Committees on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; and Merchant Marine and Fisheries. She also was a member of the Select Committee on Aging. From 1991-1993, Saiki was appointed by the president as administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration....

The EWC board also includes five members appointed by the governor of Hawaii. They are Roland Lagareta, client services at Morgan Stanley and interim chair of the EWC Board; Lyn Flanigan Anzai, executive director of the Hawaii State Bar Association and interim vice chair of the EWC Board; Joan Bickson; Eddie Flores Jr., president of L&L Drive Inn; and Miriam Hellreich, president of Speech & Pathology Associates. Puongpun Sananikone, president of PACMAR, Inc., serves as the governor’s designee....

Ex-officio members are Gov. Linda Lingle; Patricia Harrison, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, U.S. Department of State; and Evan Dobelle, president of the University of Hawaii.

~ ~ ~

For more financial and political connections between CB Richard Ellis; Kamehameha Schools, and the University of Hawaii, GO TO > > >
The Nests of CB Richard Ellis; Dirty Money, Dirty Politics & Bishop Estate - Part IV; How To Pluck A Billionaire; Kajima; Paradise Paved

June 17, 2004

Former Trinity President Fired

Dobelle Ousted From Hawaii Job

By Robert A. Frahm, Hartford Courant

HONOLULU - Evan S. Dobelle, the former Trinity College president who made the school a national model among urban colleges, has been fired for unspecified reasons as president of the University of Hawaii....

Dobelle, 58, went to Hawaii in 2001 after seven years as president at Trinity. At Trinity, he became one of Hartford’s most influential and recognizable figures and raised Trinity’s profile by making the college a key partner in an ambitious, $250 million neighborhood redevelopment project.

The centerpiece of that project is the $110 million Learning Corridor, a complex of public schools adjacent to the Trinity campus.

At Hawaii, however, the regents’ fiscal year 2002-03 evaluation criticized Dobelle’s performance in several areas, including fiscal management and fund-raising efforts.

It faulted him for establishing a film school* without notifying the board, and failing to follow through on promises to raise faculty salaries, among other concerns....

*See also: Elizabeth Lindsey Buyers

< < < FLASHBACK < < <

July 31, 1997

Learning Corridor Groundbreaking Celebrates
Promise of Neighborhood Renewal

Trinity College Press Release

Hartford, Conn., July 31, 1997 – Governor John Rowland joined Hartford Mayor Mike Peters and hundreds of others today for a groundbreaking celebration on the site where three new educational facilities and related child- and family-support facilities will be constructed as part of a community-based urban renewal strategy in the Frog Hollow/Barry Square neighborhoods of Hartford.

The Learning Center is the centerpiece of a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization initiative spearheaded by Trinity College and its partners in the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA) – Hartford Hospital, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, the Institute for Living, and Connecticut Public Television and Radio....

The neighborhood revitalization initiative is supported by the State of Connecticut, the City of Hartford, the federal government, corporations and foundations, and local residents and community organizations. A total of over $100 million has been firmly committed – $79 million in state funding, $6.75 million from the City of Hartford, $1.8 million in assistance from the federal government, $10 million from the SINA member institutions themselves, and over $3 million in support from corporations and foundations. In addition, significant federal funds have been pledged in support of home ownership and economic development initiatives.

“This celebration is not just about renewing neighborhoods. It is about building community and restoring hope and confidence in a city that enjoys not only a proud past but also a promising future,” said Trinity College President Evan S. Dobelle, who served as master of ceremonies at today’s groundbreaking....

April 22, 2002

UH foresees neighborhood development

by Terrence Sing, Pacific Business News

The idea of creating a college town surrounding the University of Hawaii is not new, but it’s one UH President Evan Dobelle is making one of his top economic development priorities....

The college-town area would run approximately from Dole Street down to King Street and could be several blocks deep on either side of this corridor, Sidener said....

“Elsewhere in the country, high-quality master-planned university centers are thriving ... tangible results for the key sponsors, the university, large landowners and the city, must emerge within the first two years of the inauguration of the champion [i.e., Dobelle],” the institute letter said....

Much will depend on interest and cooperation of the landowners, Dobelle acknowledges. Much of the property in the Moiliili area is owned by Kamehameha Schools, Dobelle said.

“Obviously, no one is in the business to lose or break even on an economic proposition, but there is a necessity to have an enormous upside to [the concept],” he said.

The university has discussed the college-town concept with Kamehameha Schools only in general terms, Dobelle added....

August 16, 2002

Land owner leads move on Moiliili

Dobelle’s UH ‘college town’ concept advances

By Terrance Sing, Pacific Business News

Land Owner Kamehameha Schools has joined University of Hawaii and Miiliili community groups and merchants in discussing the creation of a college town near the Manoa campus.

“This was a sort of coming together,” said Karl Kim, professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Hawaii, describing a recent meeting organized by Kamehameha Schools, Moiliili’s largest private land owner.

The area under discussion is the University Avenue corridor from the campus makai to about South King Street. Under the college town concept, the corridor would be replete with book stores, coffee houses, apartments and other facilities commonly found near American bastions of education.

“At this state we are still looking at options and we are trying to envision the future and build a sense of community and collaboration that we can work together on,” Kim said.

“The first thing we need to do is acknowledge the leadership of Kamehameha Schools in general and Sanford Murata [director of the schools’ commercial assets division] in particular in terms of bringing together all the participants in the community to participate in the ‘charrette’ process.” (A charrette is a short, intense design of planning activity.}

Kamehameha Schools owns about eight acres in the area under discussion.

Concept moving forward

UH President Evan Dobelle initiated discussion of a possible college town when he arrived a year ago. He is credited by supporters with having created a college town in the community surrounding Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., where he was president from 1995 to 2001....

Kamehameha Schools has hired Honolulu-based Group 70 International Inc. and New York-based Cooper Robertson and Partners to prepare a regional plan for Moiliili that fits into the Moiliili college town concept....

May 17, 2003 

Trust sets record on educational spending

Despite losing money, Kamehameha Schools
still spends $144.2 million

By Sally Apgar, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Kamehameha Schools spent a record $144.2 million on educational programs in its last fiscal year, according to records filed with the Internal Revenue Service....

“The emphasis and focus of the trust has been extending the legacy to more Hawaii children, and I think the financial activity of the trust reflects that,” Kamehameha spokesman Kekoa Paulsen said yesterday about the increase in educational spending.

At the same time, Kamehameha, like many companies and institutions over the past two fiscal years, was hit hard in the stock market and on other investments....

For the year ending June 30, 2002, the trust listed a loss of $93 million for one group of investments compared to a gain of $548 million the year before when it benefited from selling shares in Goldman Sachs.

The trust, which has $4 billion in assets, had revenues of $174 million in fiscal 2002 compared with revenues of $303.5 million the year earlier when the trust spent $138.7 million on educational programs....

In addition to educational programs, Kamehameha spent $120 million on capital and major repair projects. Among the major projects is the design and initial construction of high school facilities for Kamehameha’s Maui and Hawaii campuses.

In the late 1990s, when the five trustees each earned between $800,000 and $1 million a year, the big news of the annual tax return typically was how much they made. But since the investigations of the IRS and the state attorney general and the ouster of the previous board, major educational and financial reforms have been instituted.

Last year, all five trustees together made a total of $525,000. The trustees’ individual compensations ranged from a low of $99,000 to a high of $113,500.

The highest paid officer, who received $504,160 in salary and $4,088 in employee benefits....

Hamilton McCubbin, who resigned recently as chancellor and chief executive, was paid $350,240 in salary, $8,608 in benefits and $103,500 for his expense account and other allowances. McCubbin has a $400,000 severance package with the trust.

Colleen Wong, the chief legal officer for the trust, who has been appointed acting CEO, was paid $168,831 in salary and another $9,231 in benefits. Mike Chun, headmaster of the schools, was paid $195,057 and $1,111 in benefits.

During the height of the scandal of the late 1990s, the trust maintained armies of inside and outside accountants and lawyers. Now, the highest paid outside firm is Group 70 International, a Honolulu architectural firm that was paid $5 million.

Arthur Andersen, the accounting and management consulting firm, came in second at $1.5 million.

May 8, 2003

Campaign Spending Commission Meeting

Members Present:

A. Duane Black, Delta Au Belatti, Clifford Muraoka, Mona Chock, Richard Choy

New Business:

... Conciliation Agreement 03-13 Group 70 International, Inc.

Investigation found that during the period of 1996 to 2001 Group 70 and its officers made contributions totaling $55,000 to several candidates and $36,000 to Jeremy Harris. Rather then [sic] be subjected to a lengthy investigation Group 70 agreed to acknowledge making four excess contributions, two in the period before 2000 and two after the 2000 election period. They have agreed to a fine of $2,000.

Ms. Belatti moved to accept the Conciliation Agreement with Group 70 International, Inc. Mr. Muraoka seconded. Motion carried.

For more, GO TO > > > Predators in Paradise; Cesspool; www.starbulletin.com/2000/10/31/news/story1.html

> > > FAST FORWARD > > >

June 22, 2004

Governorship floated on
river of corruption

By Don Michak, Journal Inquirer

HARTFORD - Gov. John G. Rowland’s resignation was forced by an array of questionable dealings with his political cronies and personal friends, who helped him live like the highly paid corporate executives he saw as his rightful counterparts....

While pundits point to Rowland’s belated admission last winter that he had accepted gifts from contractors as the main reason for his resignation, those probing the governor’s finances say it was all but assured a year ago after Rowland’s former deputy chief of staff, Lawrence E. Alibozek, admitted helping to steer state contracts.

Rowland and his top aides for years personally approved all big contracts awarded by state agencies, administration officials told the Journal Inquirer last year.

Aided by Alibozek, federal prosecutors began gunning for the real decision-makers in Rowland’s administration – the governor himself and officials like Peter N. Eilef, who, as the governor’s co-chief-of-staff, presided over the state trash authority’s disastrous $220 million deal with the now-bankrupt Enron Corp....

For more, GO TO > > > A Connecticut Yankee in King Kamehameha’s Court

June 18, 2004

New locks keep Dobelle, aides
out of UH offices

A university attorney says the regents must
wait to reveal why the president was fired

By Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Locks to the office doors of fired University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle and some of his top aides have been changed, and their offices have been secured.

UH spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka confirmed the actions yesterday but referred questions about why they were taken to UH legal counsel Walter Kirimitsu, who said he could not comment because it is a legal matter.

Kirimitsu also said the regents cannot release the reasons for Dobelle’s dismissal or the Deloite & Touche audit of his protocol fund until the regents formally communicate the results of his third-year evaluation to him.

Kirimitsu said that the evaluation, which led to Dobelle’s firing on Tuesday night, is still considered private....

Meanwhile, Tanaka said Dobelle’s executive assistant Prescott Stewart and assistant Kristin Blanchfield turned in their resignations this week.

On Thursday, UH Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer J.R. Wick Sloane was put on administrative leave with pay until the end of his contract in December. Sloane was given a one-year notice last December that his $227,000-a-year job would not be renewed....

Stewart also turned in his resignation Thursday from his $111,552-a-year job. Stewart had been on leave without pay for personal reasons, Tanaka said.

Blanchfield turned in her resignation Monday. She had a base salary of $93,168.

June 24, 2004

Prominent political figure protests
his firing – in Hawaii

By Don Michak, Journal Inquirer

A political figure prominent in Connecticut is forced from his state job after being accused of misusing an expense account to pay for personal items, hiring his cronies at big salaries, and treating his top aides to perquisites like first-class airfare upgrades and free tickets to a rock concert.

The official says he did nothing wrong and behaved no differently than any other executive in charge of a billion-dollar corporation, and his supporters contend he was done in by politics.

While that sounds very much like John G. Roland, the three-term Republican governor who announced his resignation Monday, it’s actually Evan S. Dobelle, the former Trinity College president, State Ethics Commission member, and Democratic National Committee treasurer.

Dobelle, 58, was fired from his $442,000-per-year job as president of the University of Hawaii last week after outside auditors questioned his spending from a $200,000 special “protocol fund.”

Also caught up in the controversy are two Dobelle associates who followed him from Connecticut to Hawaii: Elizabeth “Betsy” Sloan, the former associate vice president for development at Trinity; and her husband, J.R.W. “Wick” Sloan, who had run a private investment firm in Massachusetts.

The same university regents who summarily dumped Dobelle “for cause” also ordered J.R.W. Sloan, whom Dobelle had installed as the school’s chief financial officer and vice president for administration at an annual salary of $227,000, put on administrative leave without pay until Sloan’s contract expires at the end of the year.

They had voted in December not to renew that contract, and several had also taken aim at Sloan’s wife, the president of the University of Hawaii Foundation.

Five months before Elizabeth Sloan’s hiring as head of the charitable organization, Dobelle had used $10,000 from its special protocol fund to hire her to assess its performance.

Dobelle, whose lawyer has scheduled a news conference Friday to respond to his client’s firing, is not going without a fight.

After learning of his dismissal while escorting his son on a tour of mainland colleges – a trip that also saw him make a brief stop in Hartford – Dobelle said he was stunned by the regents’ action and blasted his firing as “this rush to an inappropriate judgment.”

He decried what he said was the “secret meeting” at which he was evaluated and terminated, saying the decision was “political” and “unbelievable.”...

Dobelle was appointed in Connecticut to the State Ethics Commission in 1996 by former House Speaker Thomas D. Ritter, now a lobbyist.

Dobelle resigned in January 1998 after Rowland assigned him to work on Hartford redevelopment.

For more, GO TO > > > A Connecticut Yankee in King Kamehameha’s Court

July 15, 2004

UH Foundation Board of Trustees Appoints Vuchinich President and Names New Trustees

UH Foundation Press Release

The University of Hawaii Foundation’s Board of Trustees recently appointed Donna Vuchinich as president of the Foundation and named 10 new trustees. Vuchinich, who most recently served as the Foundation’s acting president, brings more than 20 years of experience in public university fundraising to the Foundation.

“On behalf of the UH Foundation Board of Trustees, I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Donna Vuchinich as president of the Foundation,” said Howard Karr, board chairman....

Vuchinich has been closely involved with other major capital campaigns, including University of New Mexico’s first in 1984 and second in 1989 ... Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as director of leadership gifts for Oregon State University (OSU) Foundation. ... Among her other responsibilities was stewardship of OSU’s development program in Hawaii. Vuchinich joined the Foundation in September 2002 as vice president for development and was named acting president in April 2004.

New members to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees are:

>        Bruce Coppa, Managing Director, Pacific Resource Partnership

>        Mark Fukunaga, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Servco Pacific, Inc.

>        Robert Hiam, President and CEO, Hawaii Medical Service Association

>        Stuart Ho, CEO/President, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific

>        Louise Ing, Founding Share Holder, VP and Dir., Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing

>        John Komeiji, Partner, Watanabe Ing Kawashima & Komeiji

>        Myles Shibata, Chief Operating Officer, Kawailoa Development

>        Gerald Sumida, Of Counsel, Carlsmith Ball LLP

>        Artie Wilson, Partner, Prudential Locations

>        C. Scott Wo, Vice President, C.S. Wo & Sons, Ltd.

The Foundation Board also reappointed Vice Chairperson Faye Kurren*, President, Hawaii Dental Service; Barry Weinman, Managing Director, Allegis Capital, LLC; and Secretary James Wo, Chairman, Bojim Investments, Inc. for a second three-year term.

About the University of Hawaii Foundation

The University of Hawaii Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise private funds according to priorities determined by the academic leadership of the University of Hawaii. Founded in 1955, the Foundation provides a full range of fund raising and alumni relations services for all 10 UH campuses. For more information on the Foundation, visit www.uhf.hawaii.edu

* Catbird Note: For more on Faye Kurren, (wife of Judge Barry Kurren), and Hawaii Dental Service, GO TO > > > Predators In Paradise

June 18, 2004

GOVERNOR LINGLE APPOINTS JOHN KAI
TO BOARD OF REGENTS

State of Hawaii Press Release

HILO - Governor Linda Lingle today appointed Hilo businessman John K. Kai to serve on an interim basis on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents. Kai, who is president and founder of Pinnacle Investment Group, will serve as one of two Big Island representatives on the Board.

His appointment, which takes effect immediately, will need to be confirmed by the State Senate in the next legislative session....

As president of Pinnacle Investment Group, Kai hosts a morning Stock Market update market commentary of KPUA AM 670 radio station. He previously served as a financial consultant for PaineWebber, Inc. and Merrill Lynch, Inc., both in Hilo, and sales manager for Hyatt Regency Waikoloa....

June 7, 2004

ML Macadamia Orchards Appoints
John Kai as Director

Business Wire

HILO, Hawaii – ML Macadamia Orchards, L.P. (NYSE: NUT) announced today that the company declared a quarterly cash distribution of five cents per Class A Unit at the June 2004 meeting of the Board of Directors of its general partner, ML Resources, Inc. (MLR)....

In other company news, John Kai, President of Pinnacle Investment Group, LLC, was appointed to the Board of Directors of ML Resources, Inc....

* * *

From ML Macadamia Orchards website (www.mlmacadamia.com ):

HISTORY OF THE MACADAMIA NUT

The macadamia is originally from Australia. The macadamia was classified and named by Baron Sir Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller, Director for the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne and later an internationally acclaimed fellow of the Royal Society of London, and Walter Hill, first superintendent of the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane. It is named in honor of Mueller’s good friend, Dr. John Macadam, a noted lecturer in practical and theoretical chemistry at the University of Melbourne, civil servant, and member of Parliament.

William H. Purvis, a sugar plantation manager on the Big Island, first introduced the macadamia to Hawaii in 1882....

In 1921, a Massachusetts man named Ernest Shelton Van Tassell began the first macadamia plantation on government land near Honolulu. The early attempts met with failure since seedlings from the same parent would often produce nuts of widely varying yield and quality, this led to 20 years of research by the University of Hawaii.

Macadamia nuts were marketed in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the 1950s, when larger corporations entered the industry, that production became substantial. The first major investor was Castle & Cooke - the Dole Pineapple Co. Soon after, the oldest company in Hawaii, C. Brewer and Company Ltd., began their investment in macadamia nuts. Eventually C. Brewer bought Castle & Cooke’s macadamia operations and began marketing its nuts under the Mauna Loa brand in 1976.

Since then, Mauna Loa’s macadamia nuts have continued to grow and prosper.

ABOUT ML MACADAMIA ORCHARDS LP

ML Macadamia Orchards, L.P., founded in June 1986, is a partnership engaged in the business of growing and farming macadamia nuts in Hawaii. The Company owns or leases approximately 4,169 tree acres of macadamia nut orchards in three locations within a 50-mile radius on the island of Hawaii. ... The Company is managed by its general partner, ML Resources, Inc.... Until July 31, 2001, the Managing Partner was a wholly owned subsidiary of C. Brewer and Company, Limited, which in turn is wholly owned by Buyco, Inc.

On August 1, 2001, all of the stock of the Managing Partner was purchased by D. Buyers Enterprises, LLC....

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

John W.A. Buyers (Age 75)
Chairman of the Board, CEO

Mr. Buyers has been an officer since 1986 and a Director of the Managing Partner since 1986. He is also Chairman of C. Brewer and Company, Limited, and Buyco.

Mr. Buyers was elected Chairman of ML Resources since July 1992. He has been Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBCL since 1982. After service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mr. Buyers attended Princeton University where he graduated cum laude in 1952. ... He is a Director of First Hawaiian Bank, BancWest, Inc., and Outrigger Enterprises, Inc. He is also a Director of John B. Sanfilippo & Sons, Inc., a nut and marketing company located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois and the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board. He is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee on Food and Agriculture in Washington, D.C....

~ ~ ~

Dennis J. Simonis (Age: 47)
President, Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Simonis has been an officer since May 2001 and a Director of the Managing Partner since 2002. ... He served from 1985-1993 as a Vice President of Theo H. Davies and worked as a senior auditor for Price Waterhouse between 1979 and 1985 ...

~ ~ ~

James H. Case (Age: 84)
Director

Mr. Case has been a Director and member of the Audit and Conflicts Committee of the Managing Partner since 1986.

Mr. Case is senior partner in the Hawaii law firm of Carlsmith Ball. ... He has served on the Boards of Directors of Hamakua Sugar Company, Inc. ... InterIsland Resorts, Ltd. ... Pacific Club ... and Arcadia Retirement Residence...

~ ~ ~

John K. Kai (Age: 38)
Director

Mr. Kai is the President of Pinnacle Investment Group, LLC and Branch Manager of an LPL Financial Services office in Hilo, Hawaii.... He currently serves as a committee member of the Governor’s East Hawaii Advisory Committee....

For more on C. Brewer & Co., GO TO > > > Paradise Paved

From the Kamehameha Schools website:

Board of Advisors

Elizabeth Lindsey Buyers is President of D. Buyers Enterprises, LLC, a Hawaii-based company which recently purchased historic assets from C. Brewer & Co., Ltd.

A 1974 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools, Dr. Buyers sits on the board of the PBS affiliate KHET, the Advisory Boards of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, the State Film and Television Board, the Kamehameha Schools’ Ke Alii Pauahi Foundation and the Leadership Council for the Hawaii Community Foundation.

Dr. Buyers, who received a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, is a noted documentary filmmaker who has received national and international recognition including the prestigious CINE Eagle Award for her film “Then There Were None.”

A guest lecturer at Harvard, Stanford, and the Smithsonian Institute, Dr. Buyers recently joined Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker, Susan Faludi, Meg Wheatly and Marianne Williamson in an effort to support the women and children of Afghanistan.

< < < FLASHBACK < < <

July 1, 2003

From www.ilind.net (www.ilind.net/diary/jul_1_03.html):

Both Honolulu papers this morning report on the resignation of Maui developer Everett Dowling from the University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents. Both focus on the flap over Dowling’s potential conflict of interest in a proposed land deal.

But Dowling also has been one of President Evan Dobelle’s key backers on the board, and his departure could signal rockier relations between the president and the board.

October 12, 2001

UH President’s Home Getting $1 Million Makeover

By Jim Dooley, The Hawaii Channel

HONOLULU - The University of Hawaii has spent at least $1 million on renovations to President Evan Dobelle’s home on College Hill – more that 300 percent more than the state expected to spend when the renovations began earlier this year, according to KITV4 News investigative reporter Jim Dooley.

The home was built at the turn of the century and donated to the university in the 1960s by the Atherton family....

KITV4 News began asking the university a week ago how much the work has cost. On Thursday, a UH spokesman declined to release the figures, saying, “President Dobelle feels an obligation to report on these matters first to the Board of Regents in November after all the work has been completed.”

But Dobelle denied that was his position on Friday, when questioned directly by KITV4 News.

“I didn’t say that. I never said that,” Dobelle said. “All the records are open.”

Dobelle said that he doesn’t know precisely how much the work on College Hill has cost. But he admitted that the renovations are costing at least three time the $328,000 price tag that was quoted in June.

He said that interior decorations, things like carpets, drapes and furniture, are being paid for by the UH Foundation and not with taxpayer money. Dobelle said that he wants to raise private donations to reimburse the state for the physical reconstruction costs....

Dobelle chose to live on College Hill. But last month, Dobelle and his wife also bought a home in the Portlock area (on current or former Bishop Estate land?) for $1.4 million.

“We bought a home to rent, not to live in,” he said. “So hopefully in 10 years, when my contract ends and I’ll be in my mid-60s, I’ll have a place to live.”

In addition, Dobelle drives an $80,000 Porsche Carrera – which he says he pays for himself.

October 24, 2002

University of Hawaii Breaks Ground for
New Medical School

UH News

The University of Hawaii broke ground today for the new John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at Kakaako. The project, which is Phase I of plans for a larger biomedical research center, is anticipated to be completed in Fall 2005.

Among the speakers at today’s program were UH JABSOM Dean Edwin Cadman, Governor Ben Cayetano, Senate President Robert Bunda, House Speaker Calvin Say, UH Board of Regents Chair Bert Kobayashi, UH Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert, Kamehameha Schools CEO Hamilton McCubbin, and UH President Evan Dobelle.

“This is an especially meaningful day for the University of Hawaii and for all who have pledged their tremendous and ongoing support,” said University of Hawaii President Evan S. Dobelle. “This project and what will be achieved when it is completed is not only a triumph for the faculty and students who will fill these future classrooms and laboratories, but also for the state of Hawaii and all its citizens.”...

The entire project is estimated to cost $300 million. Approximately $150 million of that has been provided by the state from tobacco settlement funds in the form of revenue bonds. The University of Hawaii earned strong ratings this summer by three national financial rating agencies – Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s – for issuance of the revenue bonds.

The university has committed to finding another $150 million in private philanthropy, foundation, and federal government support.

Architects Hawaii designed the plans for the facility. The joint venture of Hawaiian Dredging/Kajima is the contractor.

The project is anticipated to create about 600 construction jobs in all trades for an 18-36 month period, and about 1,100 permanent jobs.

# # #

For some more “birds of a feather” that you’ll also
find building nests in this tree...

ACT 221

AIG: THE UN-AMERICAN INSURANCE GROUP

THE BIRDS IN THE HALLS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII

BUZZARDS OF PARADISE

BUZZARDS ON THE HILL & KNOWLTON

A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING KAMEHAMEHA’S COURT

~ ~ ~

DIRTY MONEY, DIRTY POLITICS & BISHOP ESTATE

Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV - Part V - Part VI

~ ~ ~

KAJIMA: BLOOD, BRIBES & BRUTALITY

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

THE NESTS OF CB RICHARD ELLIS

PARADISE PAVED

SUKAMTO SIA: THE INDONESIAN CONNECTION

THE STARR FOUNDATION

VULTURES OF THE SANDWICH ISLES

~ o ~

MORE OF THE CATBIRD’S FAVORITE LINKS

THE CATBIRD SEAT FORUM

THE CATBIRD SEAT

~ o ~

FAIR USE NOTICE. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Latest update February 21, 2009, by The Catbird