#americoprs

[freehawaii]

ANOTHER ONE ENSNARED - WHO WILL BE NEXT?

 Honolulu Civil Beat - March 29, 2021 

The CEO of Hawaii island’s public access station, Stacy Higa, will take a leave of absence after his former colleague told federal prosecutors Higa tried to bribe him into steering CARES Act money his way. 

The board of directors of Na Leo, the Big Island’s only public access station, announced the news on Monday afternoon. 

“The Board has been informed that a former employee has made allegations concerning its Chief Executive Director, Stacy K. Higa,” the directors wrote in a statement to the media. “To enable Mr. Higa to address these allegations while limiting any interference or disruption to Nā Leo o Hawaii’s operations, the Board has agreed to have him take a leave of absence, effective April 1, 2021.” 

The station will continue “normal day-to-day operations,” they said

Higa did not respond to a request for comment sent on Sunday. He has not been charged with a federal or state crime, according to a search of court records. 

His leave comes three days after Hanalei Aipoalani, a former senior advisor to Higa, pleaded guilty in federal court to embezzlement and accepting a bribe. 

In a plea agreement, Aipoalani stated that the CEO of Hawaii island’s public access TV station conspired with him last year to fraudulently obtain CARES Act money from Honolulu. Aipoalani worked as a temporary CARES Act program administrator from August through November. 

The CEO was not named in the agreement, but Na Leo TV is the Big Island’s only public access TV station, and Higa has been its president and CEO for years. The FBI raided the station’s offices last year. 

According to the plea agreement, the CEO promised Aipoalani financial benefits if he would influence the approval of his applications to Honolulu for COVID-19 relief money. 

In August and September, Aipoalani said he repeatedly advised the CEO on how to apply for two grants through two entities controlled by the CEO: Na Leo and an unnamed “business and leadership consulting” business on Hawaii island. 

Aipoalani and his co-conspirator “discussed splitting the remaining funds” after Na Leo and the other company completed the required work for the grants, according to the plea deal. Aipoalani expected his co-conspirator to set him up with a job that would pay approximately $60,000 a year, the agreement said.  

The men also talked about having their wives front limited liability companies on Oahu in order to launder money, according to the agreement. 

Ultimately, the station leader applied for $845,000 on behalf of Na Leo and his other company and claimed false expenses, according to the agreement. According to a federal official, the criminal investigation “disrupted” the scheme to obtain those funds. 

Higa is a former Hawaii County councilman. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor of the county last year. Previously, he was the executive director of the Hawaii Commission on National & Community Service, which administers AmeriCorps programs. 

Aipoalani admitted in the plea agreement to embezzling more than $500,000 from Olelo Community Media’s AmeriCorps program when he was the nonprofit’s human resources director. 

Part of that scheme involved falsely representing to Olelo that it owed money to Na Leo for AmeriCorps services performed by Aipoalani’s wife and another individual, according to the agreement.

[beckhack]

City Year Blog Post

City Year Blog Post

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted to my blog! I haven’t forgotten about you, readers. I’ve actually thought about writing many many times since I accepted this Americorps job last August. City Year has actually taken over my life. I work ten hours a day (and then some) and barely have time to shower and eat dinner before collapsing in bed every night. I promise I will post some past…

[nationalservice]

VISTA Member recruits volunteers to help fight Houston's Literacy crisis (and makes a great Dr. Seuss!)

By AmeriCorps VISTA

My name is Radha Helekar, and I am serving as the VolunteerManagement Youth Literacy VISTA with the BarbaraBush Houston Literacy Foundation (BBHLF) as part of OneStar Foundation's statewide VISTA intermediary project. I began my AmeriCorps VISTA service term in August 2014, motivated primarily by the Foundation’s mission to mitigate the literacy crisis in my hometown of Houston. So far in my term, I have been fortunate to help in the launch and implementation of our city’s premier, literacy-focused volunteer portal, connect4literacy.org. I helped with site design, training our partner organizations, recruiting volunteers, and connecting community groups with fun service opportunities (including Dr. Seuss' Birthday!) In just a few short months, we have been able to recruit over 1,200 volunteers on our site and host partnerships with more than 20 literacy-focused organizations, including Houston Independent School District and Houston Public Library. My fellow AmeriCorps VISTAs and I are working diligently every day to fulfill the mission of BBHLF and be points of light in our city for others to follow. To see our Dr. Seuss' birthday event, see this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-LM_RJS-xs #IamAmeriCorps #AmeriCorpsWorks

[royalcreep]

Oh! And for my other question

Are there any other academically-beneficial social-volunteer work I can do in the US that's a bit "intense"...long lasting, might also look really good for my career? IDK something that's like AmeriCorp? 

I just need more options

Thank you

[strugglebus91]

Why we serve in AmeriCorps. I am actually in this video. 

[beckhack]

Themes That Have Been Running Through My Mind

Don’t praise me.

I know it’s because of my insecurities with my body, but I hate it when people praise my efforts to lose weight. When I come home from the gym and my mom says, “I’m so proud of you for going to the gym!” I cringe and don’t respond. I don’t tell people when I’ve lost weight because I don’t want to hear them say, “Wow! Good for you! I’m so proud of you.” I know it’s strange, but I…

[strugglebus91]

The cool kids. Capacity Corps. These guys are like my family!

[strugglebus91]

Work and play this has been an amazing 2 weeks. Of new friends, hard work and humbleness. God is so amazing. His timing is perfect and I am at a loss for words to describe how happy I am. It's not goodbye. It's see you later and you are always in my heart. I love AmeriCorps.