01-14-2015, 09:49 AM
Actually, there was very little new info in this article. I am quite disappointed in Mitch Roth as I voted for him as a reformer. He has stonewalled actions against TEH from the beginning, when it was discovered during last season's campaign that she and her husband had been cheating on their home real property taxes for years. It was only during researching that that the voter fraud issue came to light.
By way of explanation of my own motives in this, I considered Tiffany a friend in the beginning, being a journalist, and even loaned her some of my clip files. But over time that fell away as it has done with many of those who trusted her initially. I don't feel I need to give my specifics which were minor compared to what she'd done to others. However, as a freelance journalist (no longer answering to any publisher) and retiree now able to advocate for various community causes, I was appalled that this woman journalist who had chastised people publicly for what she labeled ethical violations was running for public office when public records showed her apparently ignoring rules and laws and violating ethics while claiming to know the county laws better than the lay public.
All of a sudden, after the police investigation began, legal advice given to the Real Property Tax people indicated the Edwards'-Hunts' real property tax claims from 2004 to 2012 were irrelevant. To me, that was a bigger ripoff of the Hawaii County public than the voter fraud! Why isn't any of that initial complaint brought up in the news?
Mitch Roth's reputation as a deputy prosecutor was being established back in 2003-2004 when Roth, Rene Siracusa and TEH worked together to create the Pahoa Weed and Seed program using federal grant monies. As you can tell, there is no more drug problem in Pahoa as a result of all the cameras they put around the town w/those funds (I AM being facetious here...) Anyway, it was a good project and I think the foundation of a good public partnership for the people of Puna. But it also seems to have blinded Roth to the day-to-day reality of TEH's interactions and published commentaries.
I now feel like Mitch Roth is much more of a politician that I originally believed. TEH's newspaper and her ability to reach Hawaii County voters thru that and her blog has had Hawaii County politicians eating out of her hands over the years.
That's understandable, especially in today's world where the Big Island has NO radio news gatherers and no other community newspapers independent of the former DonRey/Stepehens Media papers now owned by the Star-Advertiser's Mike Black, a Canadian publisher. Thank our lucky stars that Dave Corrigan makes the Big Island his home as he presents feature-length news articles giving various sides of news stories with minimal editorial cutting on BigIslandVideoNews.com and also on public access TV.
However, I myself and I believe many of you look at the person in charge of the Prosecutor's Office as hopefully more ethical than other public offices. Having now observed Roth's handling of the verified ethical violations of his friend TEH, I'm sadly disappointed.
Another recent action by Roth that also makes me question his ethics is the fact that the Prosecutor's Office issued a press release and provided info for updated news stories recently on the tragic Peter Boy murder, now decades old.
Done as a result of Roth's pushing for the resolution of "cold case" files, he said. Really??? That story had nothing to do with the County Council vote that same week on funds for a new West Hawaii Prosecutors facility???? Gimme a break!
Let's hope the grand juries at least get to act on the Peter Boy case. Don't hold your breath for TEH's case before the grand jury.
By way of explanation of my own motives in this, I considered Tiffany a friend in the beginning, being a journalist, and even loaned her some of my clip files. But over time that fell away as it has done with many of those who trusted her initially. I don't feel I need to give my specifics which were minor compared to what she'd done to others. However, as a freelance journalist (no longer answering to any publisher) and retiree now able to advocate for various community causes, I was appalled that this woman journalist who had chastised people publicly for what she labeled ethical violations was running for public office when public records showed her apparently ignoring rules and laws and violating ethics while claiming to know the county laws better than the lay public.
All of a sudden, after the police investigation began, legal advice given to the Real Property Tax people indicated the Edwards'-Hunts' real property tax claims from 2004 to 2012 were irrelevant. To me, that was a bigger ripoff of the Hawaii County public than the voter fraud! Why isn't any of that initial complaint brought up in the news?
Mitch Roth's reputation as a deputy prosecutor was being established back in 2003-2004 when Roth, Rene Siracusa and TEH worked together to create the Pahoa Weed and Seed program using federal grant monies. As you can tell, there is no more drug problem in Pahoa as a result of all the cameras they put around the town w/those funds (I AM being facetious here...) Anyway, it was a good project and I think the foundation of a good public partnership for the people of Puna. But it also seems to have blinded Roth to the day-to-day reality of TEH's interactions and published commentaries.
I now feel like Mitch Roth is much more of a politician that I originally believed. TEH's newspaper and her ability to reach Hawaii County voters thru that and her blog has had Hawaii County politicians eating out of her hands over the years.
That's understandable, especially in today's world where the Big Island has NO radio news gatherers and no other community newspapers independent of the former DonRey/Stepehens Media papers now owned by the Star-Advertiser's Mike Black, a Canadian publisher. Thank our lucky stars that Dave Corrigan makes the Big Island his home as he presents feature-length news articles giving various sides of news stories with minimal editorial cutting on BigIslandVideoNews.com and also on public access TV.
However, I myself and I believe many of you look at the person in charge of the Prosecutor's Office as hopefully more ethical than other public offices. Having now observed Roth's handling of the verified ethical violations of his friend TEH, I'm sadly disappointed.
Another recent action by Roth that also makes me question his ethics is the fact that the Prosecutor's Office issued a press release and provided info for updated news stories recently on the tragic Peter Boy murder, now decades old.
Done as a result of Roth's pushing for the resolution of "cold case" files, he said. Really??? That story had nothing to do with the County Council vote that same week on funds for a new West Hawaii Prosecutors facility???? Gimme a break!
Let's hope the grand juries at least get to act on the Peter Boy case. Don't hold your breath for TEH's case before the grand jury.