Page 4 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Aug 4 2021

4 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK AUGUST 4, 2021
Amanda Leonard and Kaleilani Grant, who make up the entire state Department of the Attorney General’s Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i, are doing amazing things to keep the islands’ keiki safe.
police departments, Hawai‘i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, FBI, Homeland Security, Na- tional Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the Department of Justice and its national AMBER alert program (locally, it’s the MAILE AMBER Alert) — among countless others.
“Like Kalei said, we don’t do this alone,” Leon- ard adds. “This is a collec- tive effort of local, state and federal law enforcement partners.”
There’s a small but mighty entity with- in the state’s Crime Prevention and Justice As- sistance Division dedicated to the plight of Hawai‘i’s kei- ki. Its mission: to locate the thousands of children report- ed missing in Hawai‘i each year and recover them before something tragic happens.
Leading the valiant ef- fort are Amanda Leonard, coordinator for the state Department of the Attorney General’s Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i, and assis- tant coordinator Kaleilani Grant — whose exemplary work in the islands is getting noticed across the country.
the U.S. Department of Jus- tice Child Protection Award for their efforts with Opera- tion Shine the Light, which resulted in the recovery of five endangered runaway teens from the foster care system. So effective was the multiagency operation that it garnered national attention — and an accolade to boot.
“We couldn’t have done it without our partners,” says Grant. “Seeing the commu- nity (and) different agencies coming together to keep our community safe and keep keiki of Hawai‘i safe is just so amazing.”
While the work most definitely is a team effort, a lot falls on the shoulders of Missing Children Ha- wai‘i’s dynamic duo, who are the only two in their department. With so much
SEE PAGE 5
When a child goes missing, parents and
guardians should report it to the police as soon as possible — there is no waiting period. It’s also important to call Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i at 808-586-1449, as well as National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
Both were honored with
The specialized crimi- nal justice program works closely with the four county
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SAVING THE DATE AND STILL LOOKING....
hawaiianrealty.com 800-667-5028 ext. 8122
Denise S. Nakanishi
RB-17031, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRS
“Major Mom is a Major Difference”
cell 936-5100
majormom@ilhawaii.net
Look up, look down, all I see is trash on the ground....or at least that’s how I felt this past weekend as members of Team Nakanishi along with employees from HPM and members of the Puna community joined Rep Greggor Illagan and Councilperson Susan Lee Loy in cleaning portions of the roadway near the Keaau Transfer station. We collected close to 70 bags of rubbish but guess what, no sooner than we got in our cars to leave, another entire bag of rubbish appeared right
smack dab where we just cleaned! In this beautiful place that we live, I’ll never understand how anyone could
ever use the sides of the road as a
rubbish dump. It was actually hard work but totally worth it. Rep Illagan says the next pick up will be Oct 9th
so save the date! Hopefully, we will be able to move to a new section and not end up re-tracing our path. At our “after party”, the conversation naturally drifted to housing. Seems we are all concerned about making things more affordable
here in Hawaii Nei. While there’s no easy or
fast solution, the fact that we can all join the conversation is step in the right direction. During the same discussion, a “getting started” story was shared. An owner who started in lower Puna sold and re-sold, built wealth, and is moving forward. For those still in the market, remember, you
aren’t looking for your forever home. Get started where you can. Many upper and lower Puna subdivisions are as affordable as rent. Zero down loan programs are available. The house in Ainaloa that was $179k three years ago is now $339k. While there’s fierce buyer competition, there are steps (as previously covered) that might help. Find the busiest listing agent you possibly can. They normally have new inventory in their pipeline. Get preapproved and when it’s time to write an offer, it should be well-written. Seller’s agents are crazy busy. We don’t have time to clean up paperwork for other agents. Besides, sloppy paperwork equals sloppy representation. On the practical note, remember when you are looking at property
that “Mr Blink” and “Mr Ring” (security cameras) allow the seller to hear what you are saying. If you absolutely love the property, curb your enthusiasm until you are out of earshot. Those same tools also allow sellers to see how you are dressed. Looking like a hobo may not put you in the best negotiation position. I’ve had buyers request that sellers turn off the cameras but even if they agree, they are under no real obligation to do so. After all, most sellers are simply tuning in to determine if the showing is complete. So, when you are planning on “moving on up on the East Side”, remember there are many of us who really want to help but there is one thing I know for sure. You can’t buy
if you don’t have a J-O-B. Lenders may overlook periods of COVID unemployment but buying time means it’s time to go back to work...and guess who just happens to have a few good job openings at the Hilo Airport concession? Don’t delay, send your resume to denise@hawaiianrealty.com.
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