ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2014
Beth Chapman, left, was considered to have a role in selecting the city’s next police chief. Chairman Max Sword said he’s known Chapman personally for a long time and thought her background in the bail bonds business would have been helpful.
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In the process of selecting a new Honolulu police chief, which was never going to be easy, the whole issue of naming Beth Chapman to an advisory panel was an added distraction.
Ultimately the public would be best served if the Honolulu Police Commission could focus on filling such a crucial community role. So the chairman, Max Sword, was right to disperse the citizens panel.
But first he had to acknowledge learning belatedly that Chapman, the reality TV personality and a former client of his publicist wife, had a criminal record. No hiding from that embarrassment. Best to move on.
Discovery of bones in Waikiki should be no surprise
For those who have been following the Native Hawaiian burial protection issue for years, it was hardly a surprise that a Waikiki project ran into trouble, given that burials are often found near the beach.
In this case, a lawsuit stopped renovation at the Pacific Beach Hotel. It alleged a violation of the state law governing actions where burials are discovered.
The surprising thing is that the issue has been so quiet lately. Guess that hiatus is over. Heads up to developers and, for that matter, to the state Historic Preservation Division, which oversees all this.