Monthly Archives: September 2013

On Saturday, September 28, 2013, I finished the 7th draft of my novel, a paranormal romance with 78,305 words.

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Senator Cal Kawamoto. (He passed away on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at the age of 73). He served in the Hawaii State Senate, representing Waipahu and Pearl City from 1994-2004. Senator Kawamoto was a very strong man, a veteran fighter pilot, but once you got to know him, he had a fun side and was extremely loyal to his friends.

I first met Senator Cal Kawamoto in 1997 when I was 22 years old as a member of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board where he would give his legislative updates at the meetings.

In 2002, after I won my House race for the Waikele, Village Park, Royal Kunia, and Waipahu district, I got to know Senator Cal Kawamoto really well. I would put all the money I could for my district in the budget bill as it started in the House first. When the bill crossed over, Senator Kawamoto shoved even more money. Within two years, I achieved all of my priority funding goals for my district with the help of Senator Kawamoto, just in time for the 2004 election.

I remember a meeting I had with the Senator in his capitol office going over some of the bills I drafted that were before the Senate. He walked me out of the office and told his staff, “Pass the kid’s bill out.” I knew he didn’t really care for one of the bills he pushed out of his committee for me, but he did it anyway. That was the kind of man he was. Like many people, I got to see the Senator’s serious side, but my favorite moments with him were when he was smiling and laughing.

My friend, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Loren Haugen called me tonight and said my dad was on his jury trial for a burglary in the Second Degree case. I voted on the current version of this law when I was in the Hawaii State House of Representatives. The trial started on Monday, September 16, 2013 and ended today, Thursday, September 19, 2013 with a “guilty” verdict by the jury. From what Loren told me, Judge Edward Kubo asked my dad, “How often do you see Riki?” My dad answered, “Once a week, but he comes over more often when he’s hungry.” Everyone in the court laughed. During voir dire, Loren asked my dad, “So what’s the worse thing Jon Riki did?” Just before my dad could answer, Loren told him, “No, I’m just playing.” Everyone in the court laughed again.

For week 2, my fantasy football team in the Prosecutor’s League, 455+349 won for the second game in a row and is ranked 3rd out of 12, up from its 6th place ranking in week 1.

455+349 (2-0, 242.98 points) edged BlkPajamaPrty (1-1, 266.22 points) 116.78 – 116.70 in a back-and-forth battle. They were led by Jamaal Charles who had 24.30 points and Peyton Manning who had 19.98. BlkPajamaPrty was the first to put up points and by Sunday was already out in front 18.20 – 0. That advantage slipped away after the early Sunday games and they trailed by 45.60. After the late Sunday games, the lead swung back the other way to 1.22. Thanks to 13.00 points from the San Francisco 49ers Defense, Sunday night ended with 455+349 on top.

After two days of trial on a child abuse case where the father punched his 13 year-old son over seven times and stabbed him at least three times with a lawn chair on his body, the jury returned a “not guilty” verdict on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 18, 2013. After talking with three members of the jury after the trial, I learned that they felt the discipline of a minor defense applied and they believed the father’s testimony saying that he used open handed backslaps and not closed fisted punches. My overall win-loss record in Domestic Violence Misdemeanor jury trials is now 2-3.

I entered the Prosecutor’s League, my first Fantasy Football League for the 2013 NFL football season with 12 owners from the Department of the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney, all of whom are friends of mine. For week 1, I am currently in 6th place out of 12 teams with 126.2 points. The leader has 163.12 points and the last place team has 96.52 points.

The following was my starting line-up for Week 1 (I was too late in placing Peyton Manning in as starting quarterback for the Thursday game): QB Eli Manning of New York Giants, WR Vincent Jackson of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, WR James Jones of Green Bay Packers, RB Jamal Charles of Kansas City Chiefs, RB Lamar Miller of Miami Dolphins, TE Jason Witten of Dallas Cowboys, RB DeAngelo Williams of Carolina Panthers; K Blair Walsh of Minnesota Vikings, and DEF San Francisco 49ers.

My week 1 players on the bench were: QB Peyton Manning of Denver Broncos, RB Shonn Greene of Tennessee Titans, RB Mike Leshoure of Detroit Lions, WR Reuben Randle of New York Giants, WR Vincent Brown of San Diego Chargers, and QB Peyton Manning of Denver Broncos.

As of now, my week 2 starting line-up will be: QB Peyton Manning of Denver Broncos, WR Vincent Jackson of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, WR James Jones of Green Bay Packers, RB Jamal Charles of Kansas City Chiefs, RB Lamar Miller of Miami Dolphins, TE Jason Witten of Dallas Cowboys, RB DeAngelo Williams of Carolina Panthers; K Blair Walsh of Minnesota Vikings, and DEF San Francisco 49ers.

For week 2, I put in QB Peyton Manning as the starting QB. I am contemplating on replacing WR James Jones of Green Bay Packers with either WR Reuben Randle of New York Giants or WR Vincent Brown of San Diego Chargers. Any advice?

On Thursday, September 5, 2013, I won my second jury trial in a row in the domestic violence misdemeanor area of law. The trial started on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. The case was a violation of an Order for Protection where the Defendant went to the airport and came within 100 feet of the Complaining Witness, a violation of the Order. I currently have 2 wins, 2 losses, and 1 re-trial. Each star on my name plate represents a win against a motion by defense for judgment of acquittal after the State rests. Our team of attorneys have a 22% winning percentage, which is considered good in the domestic violence misdemeanor area of law.