Maui Information Employment Law
Aloha and Welcome to the Maui Chamber of Commerce Chamber Events News Headlines Search Sorry, but your browser doesn't support this java applet. Maui Information Employment Law Seminar-February 10, 2006 The "2006 Hawaii Employment Law Seminar", presented by Torkildson, Katz, Fonseca, Moore & Hetherington, A Law Corporation, will be held on Friday, February 10th, from 8:30am-4pm, at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa . This event is being sponsored by KilaKila Employer Services . The presentations will include... Read More > Legislative "Talk Story" with Governor Linda Lingle-February 3, 2006 The Maui Chamber of Commerce would like to invite you to a Legislative Talk Story with Governor Lingle, on Friday, February 3rd, sponsored by: Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. and its family of companies on Maui . This luncheon will feature Governor Lingle, as well as... Read More > Temporary Front Street closure in Lahaina, January 3 thru February Construction activity at the Lahaina Wastewater Pump Station for its force main replacement project will require the closure of Front Street * between Shaw Street and Kauaula Road * for safety reasons starting Tuesday, January 3 and extending, weather permitting, until February, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Management announced... Read More > Looking for Ways to promote your Business? visitor info l chamber info l member info l links l faq l contact us l site credits l disclaimer Site Designed and Maintained By Third Wave Business Services, Inc. Kauai HICheap airline tickets to San Francisco, CA departing from Kauai, HI (LIH) Your guide to cheap airline tickets & hot airfare deals. Cheap flights Home Get your Free Deals Alert Newsletter! Search flights Book airline tickets Useful flight tools Why sign up? From: List all Departures To: List all Destinations Cheap flights to San Francisco, CA - depart from Kauai, HI (LIH) Alternative destinations that may save you $: Oakland [11 miles] San Jose [30 miles] More about these airfares Best Deals Discount Business Class From / To Dates Details Price Vendor Sponsored Positions From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Travel valid from: Mar 01, 2006 Travel valid until: Mar 28, 2006 Purchase by: Mar 14, 2006 Adv. purchase: 14 days Min/Max Stay: 3-30 days $530 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. American Airlines Book Online Toll-Free Offer Updated: 14 hours ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Travel valid from: Jan 25, 2006 Travel valid until: Feb 14, 2006 Adv. purchase: 0 days Restrictions: Mo/Tu/We/Th $421 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. CheapAir.com Book Online Offer Updated: 8 hours ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Depart: Mar 01, 2006 Return: Mar 08, 2006 Other dates & prices offered Weekday Fare Airline: United Airlines $514 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Est. $45 CheapTickets Website Toll-Free Offer Updated: 4 days ago Offers listed alphabetically by vendor From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Depart: Feb 22, 2006 Return: Mar 01, 2006 Other dates & prices offered Airline: Hawaiian Airlines $405 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Book with: 1800CheapSeats.com Book Online Offer Updated: 4 days ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Depart: Feb 15, 2006 Return: Feb 22, 2006 Other dates & prices offered Weekday Fare Airline: Island Air $521 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Est. $62 Book with: CheapTickets Website | Toll-Free Offer Updated: 4 days ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Depart: Mar 02, 2006 Return: Mar 05, 2006 Other dates & prices offered Weekend Fare Airline: United Airlines $532 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Est. $39 Book with: CheapTickets Website | Toll-Free Offer Updated: 4 days ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Depart: Feb 09, 2006 Return: Feb 12, 2006 Other dates & prices offered Weekend Fare Airline: Aloha Airlines $567 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Est. $63 Book with: CheapTickets Website | Toll-Free Offer Updated: 5 days ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Depart: Feb 23, 2006 Return: Feb 26, 2006 Other dates & prices offered Weekend Fare Airline: Island Air $581 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Est. $60 Book with: CheapTickets Website | Toll-Free Offer Updated: 5 days ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Depart: Feb 15, 2006 Return: Feb 22, 2006 Other dates & prices offered Selected Dates Only $521 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Book with: Orbitz Book Online | Toll-Free Offer Updated: 3 days ago From: Kauai, HI (LIH) To: San Francisco, CA (SFO) Travel valid from: Mar 01, 2006 Travel valid until: Mar 30, 2006 Purchase by: Mar 16, 2006 Adv. purchase: 14 days Min/Max Stay: 3-30 days $515 Round-trip Taxes & Fees Excl. Book with: United Airlines Website | Toll-Free Offer Updated: 3 days ago Best Deals Discount Business Class These prices are a guide to San Francisco, CA airlines tickets from Kauai, HI (LIH) . They are round trip airfares and do not include taxes or fees unless stated. Airfares are listed alphabetically by airlines/agent, some pay for sponsored positioning. Flights to San Francisco, CA: Change departure point For printable telephone numbers for all companies see our telephone quicklist Book Airline Tickets Note: These searches do not include the deals above and may not return the cheapest fares. Search our partners' online booking engines Flights to San Francisco, California from Lihue Departure Date: Jan 2006 Feb 2006 Mar 2006 Apr 2006 May 2006 Jun 2006 Jul 2006 Aug 2006 Sep 2006 Oct 2006 Nov 2006 Dec 2006 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Return Date: Jan 2006 Feb 2006 Mar 2006 Apr 2006 May 2006 Jun 2006 Jul 2006 Aug 2006 Sep 2006 Oct 2006 Nov 2006 Dec 2006 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Ticket type: One way Return Adults: 1 adult 2 adults 3 adults 4 adults 5 adults 6 adults Search using: About the booking engines Have a question on an existing booking? My flight destination begins with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Help | Feedback | Site map | About us | Careers Cheap flights (UK & Ireland) | Cheap Holidays | Short Breaks | Discount Hotels | International departures © 2003 - 2006 Cheapflights (USA) Inc All rights reserved Bookmark Us | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Hawaii travelers. Paradise MauiMaui Activities - information on Hawaii vacations and Maui weddings Maui Activities Maui Weddings Featuring: Maui activities , Maui activities discounts , Maui weddings , Maui spas , live Maui web cams , Hawaii vacations , Maui condos , Maui hotels , Hawaii discount card , Maui visitor information video and Maui magazines ! These Maui, Hawaii, Hawaiian Islands vacations travel guides and discounts are brought to you by ParadiseMaui.com! Maui Visitor Video Maui Magazines Maui Condos Maui Cams Read more... Maui Activities Maui Luau's Maui Cams Read more... 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There are so many activities on Maui that is impossible to describe them all here. We will be happy to assist you in any Maui activities you decide to participate in. Some of the Maui activities information and booking that you can reserve with us are: Maui Bike Tours Maui Snorkeling Maui Sunset Cruises Maui Horseback Riding Maui Kayaking Maui Wale Watching Maui Parasailing Maui Surfing And much More So if you are ready to experience life's greatest thrills while you are on Maui, book one or more activities with us and will take care of all the guesswork, and the paperwork before you arrive here. Maui Weddings Since we offer all these activities lets not forget about one more reason so many people come to Maui. To get Mauied. On Maui we get married and we get Mauied. So if Maui Weddings is what brings you here you are in luck, because we offer the best Maui wedding packages on the island. Celebrate your love for each other with a once-in-a lifetime wedding experiences. 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Finally, so you can stay in touch with Hawaii from all four corners of the earth, we've included a WebCam page which features a live-on-location Maui Hawaii photograph along with other web cam images from around the globe. Check out the Maui Web Cams for live shots of Maui, Hawaii! AWARDS | SITE CREDITS | SITE STATS | PRIVACY | LEGAL NOTICE | SITE MAP | RESOURCES © 1998 - 2005 Paradise Maui . All rights reserved. search10.com , Webvideo , mauiweddings.tv , iNews Hawaii are registered trademarks of Paradise Maui.Com © 1998-2005 ParadiseMaui.Com. All rights reserved Hawaiian City GardenStopMoskowitz :: The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem Support the Coalition with your Donation Donation Amount $25.00 $50.00 $100.00 $250.00 $500.00 $1000.00 thank you The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem P.O. 67903, Los Angeles CA 90067 310 553-1146 email -- How Moskowitz Profits from his Hawaiian Gardens Non-profits A Detailed Analysis of Irving Moskowitz's Non-profit Operations in Hawaiian Gardens nonprofit (non·prof·it) adj. 1. not conducted or maintained for the purpose of making a profit <a nonprofit organization> - noun 2. a nonprofit organization, institution, corporation or entity. These days, Dr. Irving Moskowitz is seldom seen in Hawaiian Gardens but his presence is everywhere. A banner bears his name in a picture of the Little League team that runs in the local paper. Senior citizens attending a city council meeting sport t-shirts with Moskowitz's name emblazoned across the back. Moskowitz may be hundreds of miles away at his home in Miami Beach but he is ubiquitous in the community as a businessman and benefactor who has pumped millions of dollars into the city. And there is no question Hawaiian Gardens is in need of help. The unemployment rate is high in this largely immigrant slice of LA County where half of all adults lack a high school diploma. And where close to one out of every four Hawaiian Garden residents lives below the poverty line. 1 But Irving Moskowitz's track record of less-than-charitable activity in Hawaiian Gardens belies his image as a philanthropist - a careful examination of his financial records and those of his non-profit foundation show that the majority of his contributions resulted in either financial gain or increased political influence for himself. Dr. Moskowitz, it seems, has engaged in non-profit profiteering in Hawaiian Gardens. Since posting this report on our website, more information has come to light that strongly suggests that Moskowitz's non-profit Tri-City Regional Medical Center is in violation of Internal Revenue Service rules qualifying health care providers for tax-exemption. (Click here to read more) Putting the 'profit' in Non-profit healthcare Tri-City Hospital sign greets motorists entering Hawaiian Gardens saying the "community" facility serves all health needs - as long as you're not poor or pregnant. Take Tri-City Regional Medical Center in Hawaiian Gardens. In 1996, when its balance sheets were beginning to look less-than stellar, 2 Moskowitz decided to spin off this privately owned hospital as a non-profit, while retaining ownership of the building and land. 3 Immediately after converting Tri-City Regional Medical Center into a non-profit, the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation 4 donated $4.9 million in tax-free proceeds from its Hawaiian Gardens bingo to the hospital. 5 Moskowitz then began collecting the money back by charging the hospital $95,000 a month in rent, payable to his private landlord company. 6 Those payments now exceed $110,000 per month. 7 California state financing records show that in 2000 the foundation made an additional transfer of funds to Tri-City. 8 The hospital's fidelity to the concept of charitable trust 9 is tenuous at best. This could perhaps be forgiven if the hospital was meeting the health care needs of the local community. But despite its non-profit status, Tri-City is less than solicitous when it comes to the health of Hawaiian Gardens. When the hospital applied for non-profit status in 1997, it made a commitment to provide pre-natal care. 10 Recent patient discharge data published by the state of California shows that Tri-City has stopped delivering babies - none were born at the hospital in either 2000 or 2001. 11 It isn't for lack of demand for services. Last year residents of Hawaiian Gardens brought home 98 newborn babies. 12 While small in size (the city's population is a little under 15,000 13 ), Hawaiian Gardens is a young, largely immigrant community - recent census data indicates the average age of its resident is 26. More than half of the households have children under the age of 18. And as of 2000, a little more than 10 percent of the population was under the age of 5. The women of Hawaiian Gardens are having babies - they are just not having them delivered at the hospital in their own neighborhood. Tri-City's failure to fully address the health care needs of the poor may be a factor. Again, nearly one out of every four resident of Hawaiian Gardens lives below the poverty line and many are immigrants who do not qualify for state programs such as MediCal (although MediCal is available to cover prenatal care and deliveries for undocumented immigrants, making the hospital's failure to provide these services all the more shocking). Stomach stapling accounts for a large part of Tri-City Hospital's tiny patient census. When it turned non-profit the hospital made a commitment to provide free or reduced cost care to the indigent 14 - and yet in recent years Tri-City has provided zero dollars in charity care. 15 State health care data shows the other four non-profit hospitals of comparable size in LA County provided a combined total of two million dollars in charity care in 2001 (the most recent year that statistics are publicly available). 16 Tri-City's failure to pull its own weight when it comes to helping out poor patients has little to do with its bottom line - in 2001 the hospital's gross patient revenue exceeded $72 million and its net income was slightly more than two million dollars - despite the fact that its occupancy rate in 2001 was an abysmally low 19.6 percent. 17 The average occupancy rate for other hospitals of comparable size in the state of California that year was 52.16 percent. 18 How does the hospital manage to stay afloat with such low patient volume? The answer may be as close as the sign in front of Tri-City's main entrance announcing it is also the home of "The Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity." Tri-City, it seems, has gotten into the lucrative business of stomach stapling. The Center, run by the somewhat famous Dr. Mathias Fobi provides surgical stomach shrinking services to patients clinically termed morbidly obese, that is, those who are 75 to 100 pounds or more overweight. (In what is perhaps an unfortunate display of poor taste, his website's motto is "lighten up." 19 ) According to a CBS News Report profiling his practice, Fobi performs surgery on up to 600 patients a year. 20 While Fobi charges for the surgeries he performs, the hospital also bills patients for the use of its operating and recovery rooms and other medical services it provides. In 2002 patients who underwent the surgical procedure at Tri-City, on average, racked up $50,000 in hospital charges. 21 State health care data shows that at least 439 Tri-City patients underwent the stomach stapling procedure last year, that is, more than one out of every four patients that received some sort of surgical treatment at the hospital had their stomach stapled. 22 Total charges for those patients was $21,936,400 - representing close to a third of the hospital's gross charges for the year. Tri-City's 2001 income tax forms (the most recent that are publicly available) indicate that by far its highest paid independent contractor that year was FOCA Management Company, a private company registered to Dr. Mathias Fobi. 23 Tri-City paid Fobi's firm $2,293,044 - more than its next four highest paid contractors combined. 24 Dr. Fobi has made numerous national television and radio appearances touting his surgical techniques and his patients come from as far away as Alaska, 25 but the obesity center appears to be of little value to the community where it is based: last year not one Hawaiian Gardens resident made the short trek across this mile-wide city to receive the procedure. 26 One former City Council member recalls that when the hospital was first built, Hawaiian Gardens welcomed it as the solution to the community's unmet health care needs. But citing the high cost of treatment at Tri-City and the lack of charity care, he said few use the hospital now. State health care data backs that assertion up - despite its proximity only 13.7 percent of all Hawaiian Gardens residents who were hospitalized in Los Angeles County last year were admitted to Tri-City Regional Medical Center. 27 Hawaiian Garden residents admitted to the hospital represented an even smaller percentage of Tri-City's total patient census - just 5.4 percent. 28 Since posting this report on our website, more information has come to light that strongly suggests that Moskowitz's non-profit Tri-City Regional Medical Center is in violation of Internal Revenue Service rules qualifying health care providers for tax-exemption. (Click here to read more) Banking on Bingo Bucks Moskowitz earns more than $1.3 million dollars annually as landlord of what is ostensibly a non-profit hospital. But his money-making off non-profits doesn't end there. In 1988, the city of Hawaiian Gardens granted the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation a license to operate a non-profit bingo within its city limits in exchange for a commitment to spend the majority of the funds generated by the bingo on the local community. The foundation, which had existed mainly to own a piece of land in Northern California and seldom got much cash, was suddenly taking in more than $30 million annually from bingo games. But the foundation's bottom line wasn't the only beneficiary. 29 Moskowitz is the managing general partner (for practical purposes, the sole owner) of Cerritos General Hospital Company, the private firm that owns the land where his bingo is situated and the building in which the game is played. 30 It is not possible to tell from the foundation's IRS 990 forms (which non-profits file instead of income tax returns), exactly how much Moskowitz's foundation is paying him for use of the land, but even by conservative estimates, the total comes to several hundred thousand dollars a year. The Moskowitz Foundation's 2000 and 2001 990 forms show that in both years it paid total occupancy costs (defined by the IRS as rent and utilities) of over $900,000 for services and programs. The bingo is the foundation's only activity -- apart from writing checks. If even half its occupancy costs went to paying rent on the bingo hall as opposed to covering the costs of electricity, gas and water, it's safe to say Moskowitz is paying himself roughly $450,000 a year for the privilege of holding his own bingo games. On top of the bingo's rental payments, Moskowitz also drew more than half a million dollars in salary ($322,880 in 1999 and $184,503 in 2000, respectively) from the Moskowitz Foundation. 31 By contrast, the Moskowitz Foundation takes advantage of a state law requiring bingo workers to be volunteers for the non-profit operating the bingo. To run the bingo, Moskowitz uses mostly immigrant workers who have no ties to, or even knowledge of, the aims of his foundation, compensating them with nothing but the opportunity to get tips from bingo winners. 32 Workers say that their nightly shifts sometimes bring in as little as $20, even though the "volunteers" essentially function as full-time employees. 33 The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is currently suing Moskowitz's bingo on behalf of 24 unpaid bingo workers. 34 continued on page two View all news reports 2003 the Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem Hawaiian City GardenStopMoskowitz :: The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem Support the Coalition with your Donation Donation Amount $25.00 $50.00 $100.00 $250.00 $500.00 $1000.00 thank you The Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem P.O. 67903, Los Angeles CA 90067 310 553-1146 email In 1988, Irving Moskowitz, a retired MD and local hospital owner, bought the non-profit Hawaiian Gardens Bingo Club, on Carson Street, the city’s main thoroughfare. The City Council gave his family-controlled Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation a monopoly on charitable bingo, which persists to this day, even though Moskowitz never lived up to his promise to donate most of the proceeds locally. He simply recalled or ran candidates against City Council members who challenged his monopoly and continued to run the taxpayer-subsidized bingo as a private piggy bank. more... The links below point to in-depth sections that show how Moskowitz has exploited the small community of Hawaiian Gardens, plus links to a damning state legislative report on Moskowitz's gambling operations. How Moskowitz Profits from his Hawaiian Gardens Non-profits *NEW* Moskowitz Hospital's tax-exempt status - an abuse of public trust? *NEW* Moskowitz's Charity Bingo Spotlight on the Moskowitz Casino Project - How Moskowitz got a sweetheart deal to build his casino and put Hawaiian Gardens deep in hock Moskowitz's Behavior in Hawaiian Gardens How Moskowitz seized political control of Hawaiian Gardens and got the casino deal he wanted by secretly switching contracts In July 2000, after a lengthy investigation, the Chairman of the California state legislature's Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) released a damning investigation of Irving Moskowitz's activities in Hawaiian Gardens Aftermath of the JLAC Chairman's report Maldef sues Moskowitz's bingo for exploiting workers State legislative action in 2000 and 2001 calls attention to problems of "mega-bingos" like Moskowitz's Moskowitz exports millions in bingo profits to hard-right opponents of peace and justice Non-profit profiteering in Hawaiian Gardens Dr. Irving Moskowitz has made much of his reputation as a philanthropist in his bid to win approval to operate his Hawaiian Gardens casino. But Moskowitzs track record of less-than-charitable activity in Hawaiian Gardens belies his self-image of an altruistic benefactor a careful examination of his financial records and those of his non-profit foundation show that the majority of his contributions resulted in either financial gain or increased political influence for himself. What follows is an excerpt from a forthcoming Coalition for Justice white paper explaining how Irving Moskowitz has used his Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation and other ostensibly non-profit organizations to his own benefit in Hawaiian Gardens. We have carefully sifted through foundation IRS forms, court and property records, lease agreements, the California state business registry as well as conducting numerous interviews with community leaders in our effort to follow a money trail proving Moskowitz has engaged in non-profit profiteering in Hawaiian Gardens. Click here to read more. Update: Since posting this report on our website, more information has come to light that strongly suggests that Moskowitz's non-profit Tri-City Regional Medical Center is in violation of Internal Revenue Service rules qualifying health care providers for tax-exemption. (Click here to read more) Moskowitz's "charity" bingo Over the years, the bingo club has netted tens of millions of dollars and Moskowitz has funneled the bulk of the money to extremist Israeli causes [see Blocking Mideast Peace ] By contrast, Moskowitz's use of bingo funds in Hawaiian Gardens has been strategically stingy. Moskowitz gave multi-million dollar donations from the bingo to organizations in Hawaiian Gardens - they just happened to go mainly to the hospital Moskowitz owns and the food bank he and his family control. Moskowitz's bingo operation has in the past supported the Hawaiian Gardens government. But that was from 1995 to 1997, while he campaigned for approval of his casino. In 1999 his total giving to the city was $35,000! The bingo operation takes advantage of a state law that requires that bingo parlors must be charities, staffed by volunteers. The Moskowitz Foundation staffs the bingo with immigrant "volunteers" who work set schedules only for tips – no wages or benefits. MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, is suing the Moskowitz bingo on behalf of 24 unpaid bingo workers. [see MALDEF Suit ] Irving Moskowitz used his bingo to hijack Hawaiian Gardens' political life and its development funds If he gets a long-pending casino license, he will continue to snatch this community’s future. In the mid-1990s, Irving Moskowitz used his "charity" bingo to gain political control of Hawaiian Garden, a predominantly Latino, low-income city. He then put the City millions of dollars in debt to build his casino. California's gambling authority is in the process of deciding whether to license Moskowitz's casino. We believe Moskowitz should not get the license, because it would mean the government endorses his abuse of Hawaiian Gardens. Based on the business practices Moskowitz’s has employed in running his bingo parlors, we are certain that if he gets a license, Moskowitz will not pay the casino taxes to Hawaiian Gardens, and instead will leave residents to pay off the casino’s debts! Click here to see how. [see DDA ] Moskowitz's Hawaiian Gardens Casino In 1993, Moskowitz pushed through a sweetheart deal with the Hawaiian Gardens Community Redevelopment Agency to develop what, at the time, everyone thought would be a large retail complex. But by 1995, Moskowitz was backing a ballot measure on a casino—spending over $500,000, almost $200 a vote, much of it to street gang "campaign workers." Hawaiian Gardens took a financial beating from the development of the casino. The 1993 deal stuck left the city's Redevelopment Agency paying many costs commonly born by developers. The financial burden so drained the Agency that its auditors warned it might go belly up. The City Council bailed out the Agency with more than $3 million. Then, with the casino still unfinished, the city borrowed $3.5 million from Dr. Moskowitz to finance additional Agency spending on the casino. The city then floated bonds to pay the debts that Moskowitz forced it to incur – including a million-dollar bill from his lawyers. The bonds are secured by the very casino revenue taxes which once promised prosperity – and which [see DDA ] we believe Moskowitz will probably stop paying if the state gives him a gambling license. Immediately following on this page are news stories. Use the links on the left to learn more on other pages in this section... The Bingo Connection by Christopher D. Cook 01 September 2000 Mother Jones “Like all bingos in the state, the Hawaiian Gardens club is run by a not-for-profit foundation. But while most bingos raise less than $100,000 a year for local churches and schools, Hawaiian Gardens is neither small nor local. The operator of the club has made international headlines for inflaming tensions in the Middle East.” Meanwhile, residents are struggling to make ends meet serve as “volunteers” in the bingo club, working solely for tips. This article looks at the Hawaiian Gardens bingo club and casino and controversial business dealings of Irving Moskowitz. It also gives background on Moskowitz's life and a brief history of the city of Hawaiian Gardens. The Last Good Cop by Ron Russell 18 February 1999 New Times Los Angeles Walter McKinney, the former Hawaiian Gardens police chief, lost his job in a tale of justice run amok involving the local Mexican Mafia prison gang. The good cop lost his job in a combustible combination of local politics, Sheriff's Department resentment, an exceedingly aggressive district attorney's office, and a judicial system that, in the end, chose to punish an exemplary cop's lapse of judgment with its eyes closed. California Bingo Hall Plays on World Stage by Charlie LeDuff 25 November 2002 The New York Times “This is a rundown town in the rundown eastern corner of Los Angeles County. Besides the palm trees, little here suggests Hawaii,” begins the report, which focuses on the massive, purportedly charitable Hawaiian Gardens bingo operated by "the reclusive and wealthy doctor, Irving I. Moskowitz," and the poor, predominantly Latino city, where Moskowitz also has a for-profit casino. Controversy in a Small, Casino Town by Douglas P. Shuit 25 March 1999 Los Angeles Times "The physician considered by some to be the city of Hawaiian Gardens' absentee landlord is stirring the pot again. This time, Irving Moskowitz -- who controls legal gambling in Hawaiian Gardens and keeps the city alive by funneling millions of dollars in gifts through a charitable foundation -- is said to be the force behind the abrupt resignation of City Atty. Julia Sylva. And the city attorney is not going quietly." Hawaiian Gardens Card Club Faces Legal Wrangle by Joe Segura 24 March 1999 Long Beach Press-Telegram This story reports that Hawaiian Gardens' assembly member called for a review of Hawaiian Gardens card-club development plan. It also reports that city attorney Julia Sylva, a Moskowitz opponent, resigned after a new solidly pro-Moskowitz government took office. "HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, said Wednesday he wants to review Hawaiian Gardens' card-club development plan to determine whether state law restrictions on public-fund use is being ignored. The city's Redevelopment Agency has been involved with Irving Moskowitz for the past few years in an effort to build a multimillion dollar card club - and the city's tab has reached about the halfway mark of a potential $20 million bill, according to former City Attorney Julia Sylva." Meanwhile, as a new, solidly pro-Moskowitz government took office, Julia Sylva, the Hawaiian Gardens city attorney long at odds with Moskowitz' attorney and local potentate Beryl Weiner, resigned. [The coalition heard residents say that, if Sylva hadn't resigned before the first meeting of the new City Council, she'd have been fired during that meeting.] " View all news reports 2003 the Coalition for Justice in Hawaiian Gardens and Jerusalem |
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