STORYLINE

Lahaina Fire Department Hosts Luau Fundraiser

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As I’m sure many of you have heard, a recent call at the power plant turned bad and exposed the limits of some of our gear. The fire proximity suits and the standard breathing apparatus issued to all of our people proved to be insufficient to protect us from the effects of the 127 fire. While we all made it out, several were injured and it was made clear that we needed some new, more robust equipment.

Unfortunately, budget cuts have limited our ability to properly protect all of our brave men and women. So we’re asking the public to tap into a little of that famous Hawaiian spirit in order to help safeguard these first responders. In an attempt to raise the money we need, we’ll be hosting the biggest and best Luau we’ve ever held at the Lahaina training facility Saturday, June 27th. The food will be served starting at 7pm and will continue until you go home. A seat only costs $30 for an evening of food and entertainment. Bigger donations are of course welcome. You’ll be helping a worthy cause and doing your part to make the island a safer place.

We got 2nd Ladder’s most famous cook. Trust us when we say Rodger can whip up the most broke da mouth food you’ll find in Lahaina next to Hula Noodle. The menu will feature such favorites as: lomilomi salmon, chicken long rice, kalua pork, ahi poke, SSHAM Lau Lau, a wide variety of fresh fruits and all the poi you can eat. Make sure to wash it down with a few nice cold beers or with a well blended chi chi at our cash bar.

We have more than just a great meal planned. You’ll be entertained throughout the night with our crew showing off their amazing talents. We’re kicking off the evening by getting you hooked on our ladder races. Watch as 8 teams compete tournament style climbing up the 6 stories of our training building to see who can get to the top first. Keep in mind that going up is only half the competition, just like in life, it’s the race to the bottom where things can get interesting.

What Matt Makakū can do with his hose has always been the talk of whatever house he’s been stationed in. Now, watch for yourself as the hose-master carves and molds a block of ice into a piece of art. Without the hard metal tools usually used in ice sculpture, Matt will gently coax away all the parts that don’t belong with his sublime nozzle techniques, leaving only pure artistry behind.

Gnarly Lou will raise 4 alarms of funny with his witty observations and unbelievable stories. Hear about calls you won’t believe and maybe learn a few embarrassing things about your neighbors. After 15-years on the force Lou has seen just about everything and he isn’t afraid to share .

We’ll slow things down later and help you experience some of our old traditions with the drums and fire dancers of Engine 6. Embrace your roots with the rhythm of the drums and the precise movements of our firedancers. We’ll even try to teach a few moves to anyone brave enough to come up on stage.

We’ll close the evening with the angelic vocals of Driver Engineer Sarah Kekoa streamed live from her hospital room. Sarah will put her trademark Hawaiian spin on a number of old standards and classics while she recovers. Close your eyes and let yourself float away or have a slow dance with that special person in your life.

We have it on good authority that the man himself, Eric Oeming, will be in attendance to show his support for our brave men and women. It will be a night to remember for sure! Please come and help us secure the equipment we need so the next time you hear Sarah sing, it won’t be from her hospital room. They’d charge into a burning building for you, won’t you please have a meal and a few laughs for them?

STORYLINE

Case In Third Veilcorp Bombing Suspect Faces Legal Roadblock

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The case against the third suspect in the Veilcorp Luau bombing has hit a major roadblock. While she is still being held for trial, attorneys for 35-year-old Sierra Tabot have alleged that major pieces of evidence in the case against her were obtained improperly as part of a wide-ranging illegal rendition program. They contend that the government colluded with Veilcorp officials to wrongfully hold and interrogate dozens of suspects in undisclosed locations. If proven to be true, it could have a devastating effect on the State’s case not only for Tabot, but also for her alleged conspirators.

The Veilcorp bombing back on May 4, 2041 shocked the world. 39 were injured and 10 people lost their lives including founder Eric Oeming’s wife and young daughter. 3 days later Ben Drakes, a Veilcorp employee with ties to the radical environmentalist group Gaia Guard, confessed to the crime and released a manifesto accusing the company of “tearing her [the Earth] apart with gateway technology.”

The arrest so soon after the attack led much of the public to expect a quick resolution to the investigation but it was over 6 months before the next suspect was apprehended. On January 15, 2042 Richard Yates was arrested for his involvement in the conspiracy. A branding associate at Reality Machine, Yates had moved to Lahaina to work on the inter-island rail project and blamed Veilcorp for the project’s early end.

The case seemed to be picking up momentum again when earlier this month the government released some additional information about their case against Yates and arrested a third suspect, Sierra Tabot.

The state says that Tabot was working as a Barraloha instructor at the Kokua Wellness Center when she met Richard Yates. The two seemed to bond immediately over their shared hatred of Veilcorp and the company’s leader, Eric Oeming. The pair were soon inseparable and Sierra’s fellow employees began to worry about her stability. Ascended Pali-ites Master Autumn says,

“Sierra began to travel down some troubling paths. She became obsessed with the idea that the Veilstation was powered by draining the Ch’i of the living things around it and the people passing through the gateway. She talked about how the scientists and engineers working at the station were spiritually hollow and that they were trying to make everyone else hollow too. It began to affect her work and we had a few complaints from guests. The final straw came when she burst into another instructor’s class one day with a handful of her crystals, screaming about how they were no longer attuned and tried to evacuate the building. Management had to let her go.”

After her dismissal, Tabot found work with Kaiwi and Sons catering. The State says that it was at this time that Sierra and Yates became heavily involved with Gaia Guard extremists and met with Drakes for the first time. They contend that after discovering Kaiwi and Sons was scheduled to provide food for the annual Veilcorp company Luau, the trio began to craft the plan that would eventually claim 10 lives and stun the world.

Any forward progress in the case was stopped over the weekend however, when Tabot’s legal team accused the government and Veilcorp of participating in an illegal rendition program. They say that dozens of possible suspects were taken and improperly held at secret facilities, where they were interrogated and in some cases, tortured. The backlash has been quick and overwhelming.

U.S. Rep. John Kildee has been very vocal about the allegations and just this morning has called for a congressional investigation into the charges, “I think the American people deserve to know if Veilcorp has decided that it’s OK to snatch people out of thin air. As troubling as that idea is, I think it would be even more disturbing if it turned out that someone in this government gave them a green light or was working with them. These are not the kind of ideas that this country was founded on and I intend to find the truth.”

Veilcorp attorney Harold Breen counters, “Veilcorp works with government or law enforcement officials from time to time, by providing personal or travel details about certain customers when presented with the proper orders or writs. Nonetheless, to be clear, and for the record, we do not grab people while they are veiling and transport them to internment camps. These allegations are categorically false.”

At this point, while she sits waiting in her cell, the future of the case against Tabot is on hold until the courts rule on her lawyer’s allegations. If even some of her accusations prove true it could have huge ramifications. Yates’ case has already been slow and mired in motions, but this could derail the case entirely. There have been calls for the President to put a temporary stay on Drakes’ execution by a small but growing and vocal group. Any hope that the long investigation might finally come to an end seems all but lost at this point. Tonight, there is still no peace for the victims in Lahaina.

STORYLINE

Arrest Made In Veilcorp Bombing attack

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An arrest has been made today in the Veilcorp Luau bombing attack. 38-year-old Ben Drakes turned himself in to authorities this morning, claiming responsibility for the bombing which killed 10 and left 39 injured. Among the dead were Tracy and Alohi Oeming, wife and daughter of Veilcorp’s founder Eric Oeming. Eric himself remains in a coma. Officials say Drakes claims to have acted alone but the investigation remains ongoing. They had no comment as to motive in the case.

However, before turning himself in Drakes released a 5 page document to the press explaining why he bombed the Luau. In it he claims to be a member of the radical environmental group Gaia Guard and provides a detailed list of Veilcorp “crimes” against the Earth. The sometimes disjointed statement reads in part,

“Our mother is sick. She is sick because we turned our backs on her instinctual laws. She warned us many times but we refused to listen. Her tears flooded the land when we cut down her forests to build our cities, but we didn’t listen. She spread disease as we killed her other children for their meat and hides, but we didn’t listen. She ran a fever when we pumped our industrial smoke into the sky, but we didn’t listen. Her body quaked as we fracked into her, draining her rich dark blood, but we didn’t listen. She swept the land with cancer and deformity when we tried to play with the building blocks of life, but we wouldn’t listen. Veilcorp was tearing her apart with gateway technology. She was starting to lose her fight, so we made you listen. Oeming and his followers thought they were above Gaia’s law, so we made them answer for their cruelty. 18-years-ago a small town in Iowa was forever scarred by Oeming’s arrogance. A small group of people from that town pointed out the obvious and made the world listen for a moment. Our mother is running out of time, so we made you listen again.”

Drakes had been working as a lift operator at the Veilcorp station in Lahaina for the past 3 years without incident but has a long history with law enforcement. Records indicate that he was arrested and charged with assault or other violent crimes 3 times. Neighbors say they are in shock over the arrest and claim that Ben was “a quiet guy who kept to himself.” When asked about his employment a Veilcorp spokesperson had no comment.

Friends and family acknowledge that Drakes had a troubled past but claim that he had turned his life around 10 years ago. While he struggled when he was younger, they say Drakes completed treatment programs and was taking online classes to earn a college degree. They claim to have no knowledge of his alleged involvement with Gaia Guard.

His mother’s attorney released a brief statement that reads, “The Ben we all knew and loved would not do anything like this. My son was a loving young man who enjoyed spending weekends working with his grandfather on his farm. Ben always put other people first in his life and would go out of his way to help anyone if he could. Like many, he had a brief struggle with substance abuse and did some things he was not proud of. As far as we knew he had turned his life around and was working towards a better future. The Ben I know is not a monster and is incapable of such a violent act. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of everyone caught in this senseless act. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and would ask the media to direct all inquiries to our lawyer.”

Details of the crime remain few. With the investigation ongoing, police aren’t saying much but acknowledge that others might still be involved. Drakes 5 page public confession provides little additional information. For their part, Gaia Guard has remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Veilcorp spokesperson Lisa Hunt released a statement this afternoon about the arrest that said in part,

“I’m thrilled that this monster is where he belongs, behind bars. It’s too bad that the justice system will undoubtedly show him more mercy than he offered his victims. While it’s important to remember the 10 killed and 39 injured in this cowardly act, we should be devoting our energies to rooting out every last one of these Gaia Guard terrorists. We can spend time in reflection after they are all behind bars and awaiting execution. I would encourage officials to take a close look at anyone claiming affiliation with the group before more innocents lose their lives over nonsense and propaganda. In addition, we should take a close look at VeilWatch as well. They have been baiting these animals for years without any repercussions. They may not have planted the bombs but it’s clear that they planted the seed for this act. It’s time for them to reap what they’ve sown.”

STORYLINE

Tracy and Alohi Oeming, Friends and Family, Died on May 4th, Aged 39 and 10

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It was Thanksgiving. The day of reckoning for her uncle Frank. The shed had been delivered in pieces months before and his procrastination had finally caught up to him. Her father and grandfather were out there too, feeling the tug of war between family obligation and watching the game on a warm couch. The first casualty in the shed war had been initiative. The second was the instruction booklet. Tracy watched the trio rummage through the lumber and hardware for hours. She listened to them argue and plan and could see that the shed would never be finished in time. Her aunt wondered aloud if it would be done before the first snow came or if it would have to spend the winter buried in the backyard. That was all 8-year-old Tracy had to hear. She grabbed her tablet and went outside to see what she could do. She quickly inventoried what they had and what they needed. She sent her uncle into the basement for some missing bolts and washers and sketched instructions for them to follow. Under her guidance the group not only finished the shed, but they finished in time to catch the last 5 minutes of the game. That was Tracy and that was the moment her family knew she was going to be an architect.

Tracy Sklodowska was born September 29, 2001 to David and Anna in Ithaca, New York. She was an only child who excelled in her studies from a young age. She loved working with her hands as well as her mind and would spend hours sketching buildings. In high school she developed a love of swimming and was talented enough to win a number of awards.

There were many offers after high school but there was no question about where she would go. Cornell had always been her dream and that is where she went on a full scholarship thanks to her swimming and grades. Never one to think small, Tracy decided that instead of focusing on individual structures she would focus on building cities. She started her graduate studies in urban planning at the University of Michigan and was planning her next 5 years when she ran into something unexpected, a young physics professor named Eric Oeming.

“A physics professor? Why couldn’t you find a lawyer or a MBA? What kind of future are you two going to have?” her grandmother asked when she learned about their relationship. Proof positive that wisdom does not always come with age. Tracy split her time in those years working on projects in Maui and spending time with Eric. She told me once that meeting Eric was like discovering you had another arm that had just been asleep for a long time. The two fell deeply in love and were married as soon as she graduated from U of M.

Those who knew Tracy well would be the first to tell you that she was never a big fan of relaxing, but there was something about the Hawaiian spirit that fit her. She fell in love with the Lahaina area during her studies and introduced Eric to the land that they would eventually call home. While we all know how successful the pair became, she was not a fan of the limelight and tried carefully to provide a “normal” life for herself and her family. I assume in the next few days the extent of her philanthropic work will come to light and people are going to be surprised that they hadn’t heard about it before. That was the way she wanted it. Tracy didn’t do the work she did for acknowledgment or accolades. She did it because she was able to.

While her husband and daughter were well known fixtures in Lahaina and my noodle shop, Tracy rarely walked around downtown, preferring to avoid the cameras and questions. The locals would recognize her but most tourists and reporters wouldn’t. One day she came in for a quick bite and there was a guy in front of her who had been enjoying one of our beach bars a little too much for his own good. He started talking loudly about how he was sick of that Oeming guy always talking about how great he was. He complained that he couldn’t watch the news anymore because the guy was always on and bragging. He said his wife must have an endless supply of earplugs and rum. Before I could throw him out, Tracy gave me a little wave of her hand and said, “I know! Forget him and his precious awards. They should give that lady a Nobel for having to listen to that blowhard every day. Imagine how much we’d have to hear him if he didn’t have a wife and family to come home to. They should make her a saint,” and sat down next to the guy without missing a beat. I don’t know that I ever laughed so hard in my life. That was Tracy. She was a smile that didn’t ask for anything and gave everything in return.

2030 was a big year for the Oemings. Their daughter Alohi was born September 27, 2030, only missing her mother’s birthday by a couple of days and Eric won his Nobel prize. When Tracy was very young her aunt asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. The normally analytical girl uncharacteristically answered, “the sun, because it’s the brightest star.” Her family teased her about it often, and joked that they hoped her first born was a boy so she could name him “Sun”. Alohi means shining in Hawaiian, and man did she shine.

She was only a few months old when her family moved to Hawaii but she was born with an islander’s spirit. Alohi was an amazingly creative young woman who never shied away from a new experience, as if there was such a thing to her. When you’re the daughter of the man who invented a way to travel anywhere across the globe instantaneously, you end up visiting a lot of new places. Marco Polo and Magellan wish they were as well traveled as Alohi.

She had a passion for birds and loved walking the trails of the preservation zone on the hunt for rare species. She would come into the shop and tell me all about her favorite exotic birds and where she was when saw them. She kept a collection of their songs in her Ceremplant and could identify them all by ear. We used to play a game where I would pick one at random to see if she knew what it was. I could never stump her, not even once. But it wasn’t just nature and world travel for her, she loved making things with her hands just like her mom.

She loved going up to the local maker commune to see what those guys had come up with next. Let me tell you, talking to some of those guys would give anyone pause but not Alohi. She had seen so much in her brief time here with us that she never approached anyone or anything hesitantly. It never occurred to her that something might not be possible. It offers me some solace to know that she never will. If her mother was a smile Alohi was the feeling you got when you smiled. Being a part of her life made me feel proud somehow. I will always hold that honor dear.

Tracy and Alohi gave me many gifts in my life. The gift that I hold most precious was their friendship. The only thing I can give them now is a meager gift, my words. I’ve tried to articulate them as well as I could here, in the impossible hope that they could convey how truly rare and bright the two were. They had become part of my family and I feel immense sorrow that more of you will never have the joy of knowing them as I have. Goodnight my sistahs, memories of you will shine in our hearts forever.

STORYLINE

Eric Oeming Injured, Wife and Daughter Among Those Killed In Explosion

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All eyes are on Lahaina this evening as more information has been released about an explosion at a Veilcorp company luau this morning. It has now been confirmed that Tracy and Alohi Oeming, wife and daughter of Veilcorp’s founder Eric Oeming, are among the 9 confirmed dead. Other names are being withheld until officials can notify family members.

Eric Oeming himself has joined the official injury tally. That list has now crept up to 36, with many in critical or serious condition. Some of the injured were flown to Molokai General Hospital, Queen’s Medical Center, and the Straub Medical Center in Honolulu. Numerous outlets are reporting that Oeming is suffering from severe burns and significant head injury. Veilcorp officials confirm that Oeming was severely injured but would not comment on the details of those injuries.

An explosion rocked the annual Veilcorp ‘Innovators Luau’ this morning with hundreds in attendance. All available emergency services responded from across the island. For most of the day unconfirmed stories and details have been making the rounds in the media. It appears certain now that contrary to some reports, the explosion was not an accident. According to law enforcement officials the explosion was caused by the detonation of a catering vehicle that had been parked near the grill and serving area. Officials aren’t saying if the attacker is among those dead or injured, or if the bomb was remotely activated.

Agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency have taken control of what is now being called a crime scene. Those agencies had no comment about the incident and local police tell the Lahaina Advertiser that they have no suspects yet but are still gathering leads and interviewing witnesses. Although one anonymous officer told the Advertiser, “at this point it looks like an inside job.” They confirm that earlier reports of gunfire are untrue.

While officials aren’t saying much about who might be responsible, a number of fringe groups have applauded the attack, sighting a long list of accusations against the company and its dealings across the globe. Members of the radical environmentalist group Gaia Guard have been particularly vocal, and promise to release a major announcement regarding the attack later this evening.

Tim Durney, the founder of VeilWatch and staunch opponent of the corporation, was quick to distance himself and his organization from the incident, “I understand the anger that some feel towards Eric Oeming and his company, but this is not the answer. You don’t fight against injustice by blowing up a car at a company picnic. My deepest sympathies go to all the families involved including Eric. What happened here is a crime committed by cowards and a tragedy.”

Mayor Albert Cravalho will be leading a midnight vigil this evening and says,

“Things like this don’t happen on the island. Eric just isn’t a guy on the news to us, he is family. Just about everyone has seen him and his family walking around Lahaina at one time or another. I can’t tell you how many mornings I had a breakfast bowl with him and his daughter Alohi at Hula Noodle. We’re all devastated. My heart goes out to all the victims of today’s attack and I’d like to acknowledge the bravery of our first responders. This is a sad day for everyone and especially for everyone in Lahaina.”

Officials have opened a tip and information line and would like to remind the public again to use it and not 911. President Sawant will be making a statement about the attack within the hour. We will have reactions to her words after the speech and report any new developments as they happen.