{"id":6830,"date":"2020-02-23T20:29:42","date_gmt":"2020-02-23T20:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiioceannews.com\/?p=6830"},"modified":"2020-02-25T23:00:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T23:00:35","slug":"dobor-in-the-crosshairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiioceannews.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/23\/dobor-in-the-crosshairs\/","title":{"rendered":"DoBOR is Now in the Hawaii State Legislature’s Crosshairs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHouse Bill 2422 Hearing on Monday, February 24, 2020 Solicits Public Input -- Legislature Seeking Independent Audit of DoBOR Performance\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPublic Participation not Difficult and Will Help to Steer Hawaii Leadership in Right Direction\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Years of complaints -- past audits that did not target trouble spots<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

This may be the best evidence for kharma, ever.\u00a0 After years of complaints by Hawaii resident boaters and ocean recreation enthusiasts, Hawaii's legislature is taking note.\u00a0\u00a0 The recent introduction of House Bill 2422<\/a> seeks an independent audit of DLNR's Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Long overdue,\" said one boater at the Keehi public marina, and her sentiment was echoed over and over again during our interviews with residents in the Ala Wai and He'eia Kea public marinas.<\/span><\/p>\n

DoBOR officials, including DoBOR Administrator, Ed Underwood, have repeatedly been called out for gross negligence, malfeasance, chronic lying, corruption, mismanagement of public funds, illegal retaliatory responses to individual whistle-blowers, missing monies, inappropriately spent public funds, UIPA violations, public stonewalling, and a whole host of other complaints.\u00a0 In recent years, they have been involved, along with past and present DLNR chiefs, Laura Thielen and Suzanne Case, in an aggressive attempt to privatize public lands, submerged, fast and adjacent dry lands.\u00a0 Laura Thielen, and recently, Suzanne Case and Ed Underwood, have aggressively instigated legislation that would have our Hawaii laws changed so that privatizing public assets would be completely legitimate business-as-usual in the Aloha State. <\/span><\/p>\n

The public is urged to weigh in on this most crucial piece of legislation, a rule that signals legislators' impatience with the way our ocean recreation community is being misled and harmed by corrupt government officials and lax oversight, sloppy administration, and general mismanagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Auditors who did the last comprehensive DLNR audit sounded the alarm, loud and clear<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Suzanne Case's HB2422<\/a> testimony (HERE<\/a>) would have us believe that the DLNR is routinely audited.\u00a0 In fact, however, the last independent audit of the DLNR was in 2001.\u00a0 In that audit, auditors expressed their concern about the operation and management of public assets through the DLNR, stating: <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Inadequate management of state boating facilities has been a recurring problem. Our prior audits in 1993 and 1998 reported on these deficiencies.\u00a0 In our present audit, we found that little had changed in the poor conditions of these state boating facilities.\u00a0 The boating program\u2019s mismanagement and neglect have deteriorated facilities to the point where their continued use threatens public safety.\"\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Inadequate management of state boating facilities has been a recurring problem. Our prior audits in 1993 and 1998 reported on these deficiencies.\u00a0 In our present audit, we found that<\/em> little had changed<\/u> in the poor conditions of these state boating facilities.\u00a0 The boating program\u2019s mismanagement and neglect have deteriorated facilities to the point where their continued use threatens public safety<\/u>.\"<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

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Some recent examples (among dozens) of DoBOR bungling are troubling bellwethers:<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n