...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...East winds up to 25 kt and seas up to 10 feet.
* WHERE...Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu Leeward Waters, Kaiwi
Channel, Maui County Windward Waters, Maui County Leeward
Waters, Maalaea Bay, Pailolo Channel, Big Island Leeward
Waters and Big Island Southeast Waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Friday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) - A forensic audit released today found fraud and abuse totaling nearly $8 million at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) between 2012 and 2016.
Officials approached 38 questionable transactions made by staff members. Early this year, OHA with Plante Moran, an audit and tax firm, found that 22 of those transactions showed evidence of manipulation.
Officials said they themselves are not in charge of prosecution but will hand over the information to authorities if needed.
“We are not prosecutors; we are policy makers for our Hawaiian people. However, our money was misspent and we certainly would like that to be heavily investigated and see the guilty parties be reckoned with,” said Carmen Lindsey, chair of Board of Trustees OHA.
Trustee Mililani Trask said she was disappointed in the PM report that staff members abused more than $7 million in funding - pointing out that members who may have been involved are no longer working with OHA.
"We have to dispel the belief that you can come to OHA seeking funding and receive funding without any accountability. Those days are over. We're not doing business for friends and associates at OHA anymore," said Trask.
Trustee Keliʻi Akina said it is imperative to recover all lost funds.
Officials said their main goal is to regain trust with the public. The PM report says in order to impact the most change for beneficiaries, OHA will focus on education, housing, health and economic stability.
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