The Peregrine Gallery
presents
LINDA LINGLE
Sightings from The Catbird Seat
~ o ~
January 6, 2006
Hawaii Governor Gets Political Donations from Corrupted D.C. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff
By Malia Zimmerman, Hawaii Reporter
Campaign Spokesperson for Gov. Linda Lingle Says Funds Returned This Week After Abramoff Pleads Guilty to 5 Counts of Fraud, Public Corruption and Tax Evasion for Defrauding His Native American Clients of More than $1 Million in Fees and to Fraud and Conspiracy Charges Related to His Gambling Casino
Hawaii Reporter learned Hawaii’s Republican Gov. Linda Lingle’s campaign received $4,000 from Jack Abramoff -- the powerful and influential Washington D.C. lobbyist. Money her campaign swiftly returned this week after learning Abramoff pled guilty to five counts of fraud, public corruption and tax evasion on Wednesday in two state courts.
The counts are related to defrauding Abramoff’s Native American clients of more than $1 million in fees, with the help of former associate Michael Scanlon.
Miriam Hellrich, the governor’s campaign spokeswoman, told Hawaii Reporter that the governor’s campaign returned the $4,000 to Abramoff earlier this week...
Lingle is not the only Hawaii politician who received contributions from Abramoff, his firm or the clients he represents.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, received at least $6,000 through Abramoff.
Several Congress members as well as President George W. Bush announced earlier in the week that they plan to donate the funds they received from Abramoff to charity.
But Inouye, who serves on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, says he is still considering whether to return the contributions.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie also accepted money from clients of Abramoff -- $2,000 -- but he says he does not plan to return the funds because he received the money before Abramoff worked with the Native American Indian group.
Opensecrets.com -- a Web site that closely tracks political contributions and provides analysis into political scandals such as this -- says "Abramoff used to be the toast of Washington."
That is until Scanlon, Abramoff’s associate, was charged in late 2005 by the U.S. Justice Department with conspiracy to corrupt a U.S. lawmaker. He has agreed, as has Abramoff, to cooperate with investigators and testify in court about the scandal, which involves some of the most powerful and prominent people in America.
Abramoff "used his connections to influence legislation by enticing lawmakers with golf trips, sporting events or fancy meals at his Washington restaurant," reports OpenSecrets.com.
In addition to charges related to taking money from the tribes -- including Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Pueblo of Sandia, Pueblo of Santa Clara, and Tigua Indian Reservation -- Abramoff is facing additional charges.
He pled guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges related to the casino boat company -- SunCruz Casinos -- that he had formerly represented and then purchased in 2000.
Adam Kidan, his partner in the deal, already agreed in December 2005 to plead guilty.
March 27, 2005
EDITORIAL
Honolulu Advertiser
DLNR audit needed to resolve dispute
Recently, criticism of Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Peter Young's stewardship of the agency has been growing.
It ratcheted up last week when representatives from the Sierra Club Hawai'i Chapter, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. and Hawai'i's Thousand Friends undertook an extraordinary public airing of their complaints. They accused Young of putting private landowners above the public trust and so mismanaging the department that several upper-level staffers have resigned.
Gov. Linda Lingle says she has full confidence in Young. Leaders of the Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Nature Center stood by him at a press conference he held in response to the criticism and acknowledged his support of the environment.
Most of us pay scant attention to the daily workings of government unless we have a personal interest in the matter.
But we all need to pay attention if there are problems affecting the DLNR. The department manages more than 1.3 million acres of conservation land, one-quarter of the land in the state, making it the state's largest landowner. The department also is responsible for managing historic sites, water resources an ocean recreational concerns, wildlife, hunting and natural area reserves.
DLNR's responsibilities are too important for this dispute to linger.
A legislative committee will meet tomorrow to decide if an audit of the department is in order. For the sake of the department, the public resources it manages and public confidence, the answer must be yes.
September 3, 2003
GOVERNOR LINGLE APPOINTS JAMES HAYNES
TO U.H. BOARD OF REGENTS
HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has appointed Maui businessman James J. C. Haynes II to the University of Hawai`i Board of Regents. Haynes, who is president of Maui Petroleum, Inc., and vice president of Hawai`i Petroleum, Inc., will fill the vacant Maui seat created by the recent resignation of Everett Dowling. His appointment, which takes effect immediately, will need to be confirmed by the State Senate in the next legislative session....
In addition to his current positions with Maui Petroleum and Hawaii Petroleum, Haynes also is president of Minit Stop Stores on Maui and the Big Island. He previously served as president of Big Island Petroleum, which merged with Hawaii Petroleum in 1998. Haynes was also president of Maui Disposal Co., Inc., as well as president of JBG Corp., the parent company of McCabe, Hamilton & Renny, the state’s largest stevedoring company.
He is a past president of the Hawai`i Petroleum Marketers Association and a past director of the Western Petroleum Marketers Association. He is also on the board of directors of Kalama Land Co. and Kaupo Ranch.
Haynes has been a trustee with Seabury Hall for nearly 25 years. He is the vice president of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, past president of Maui Historical society, trustee of the Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i, and a member of the Rotary Club of Maui and the Hawai`i Professional Businessmen’s Association.
Haynes is a graduate of the University of Hawai`i and Punahou School.
May 23, 2003
GOVERNOR LINGLE SIGNS BILL TO CREATE
HAWAI`I INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL
Unified, unprecedented effort necessary to
protect environment, economy
HONOLULU - Governor Linda Lingle today signed into law two bills designed to protect Hawai`i from harmful invasive species. The Governor signed the bills during a reception held at Washington Place to thank workers who carried out the successful removal of the invasive weed Salvinia molesta from Lake Wilson in Wahiawa....
SB1505 establishes the Hawai`i Invasive Species Council, which will provide policy-level direction, coordination and planning among state departments, federal agencies, and international and local initiatives....
The new law requires the Hawai`i Invasive Species Council to create and implement a plan that includes the prevention, early detection, rapid response, control, enforcement and public education with respect to invasive species and protecting native species. The Council will coordinate with the federal government on these issues, as well as identify and record all invasive species in the state....
The Governor also signed SB552, which limits liability for private landowners who allow access to their properties for the control or eradication of invasive plant or animal species.
The negative impact of invasive species was dramatically underscored in recent months by the explosive infestation of the alien aquatic weed Salvinia molesta at Lake Wilson. At one point, the weed covered 95 percent of the lake’s surface. “When I first saw pictures of Lake Wilson, it looked like a meadow,” said Governor Lingle.
In February, the Department of Land and Natural Resources led a multi-agency effort to remove the salvinia molesta from Lake Wilson. The coordinated effort was carried out by 29 agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Health, Transportation and Defense, the City and County of Honolulu, the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps...
Various organizations supported the passage of the two bills signed today, including the invasive species committees on Kaua`i, O`ahu, Maui, Moloka`i and Hawai`i; the Coordinating Group on Alien Plant Species; The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i; the Sierra Club Hawai`i Chapter; and DLNR.
Contact:
Peter Young
Director, DLNR
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Last Updated on May 25, 2007 by The Catbird