AirBNB taking down illegal campsite listings in Hawaii ADVERTISING AirBNB taking down illegal campsite listings in Hawaii HONOLULU (AP) — Executives from the private lodging website AirBNB are removing some campsite listings from their website. They’re responding to Hawaii’s attempt
AirBNB taking down illegal campsite listings in Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP) — Executives from the private lodging website AirBNB are removing some campsite listings from their website. They’re responding to Hawaii’s attempt to crack down on illegal campsite rentals advertised online.
The company says they took down seven camping ads that may be for campsites in public parks. That’s just a fraction of the company’s 10,000 rental listings in Hawaii.
Critics say those ads can easily pop up again because people can re-advertise using a different name. A bill in the Hawaii Legislature aims to end that by requiring online brokers like AirBNB to verify that their listings are legal.
AirBNB’s Cynthia Wang says the company doesn’t have the ability to verify whether its listings are legal. She says the company has 2 million listings in 34,000 cities, each with different laws.
California man gets 10-year sentence for sex assault on Maui
WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — A California chiropractor charged with sexually assaulting a woman while visiting Maui to conduct holistic health seminars was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ward Larry Joiner of Roseville, Calif., was sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to second-degree sexual assault and third-degree sexual assault. A charge of first-degree violation of privacy was dropped as part of a plea deal.
First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera said the 64-year-old Joiner used alcohol to incapacitate a business associate, who he sexually assaulted twice in September 2011 while on Maui. Joiner used his cellphone to take pictures during the first sexual assault, Rivera said.
John Wilkinson, Joiner’s attorney, framed the relationship between his client and the victim as “flirtatious.” But he also acknowledged the woman did not give her consent to Joiner’s advances.
In court Tuesday, Joiner apologized and sought forgiveness from the victim.
“I’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart and hope someday she will find it in her heart to forgive me,” he said. “This has never happened in the past and will never happen again in the future.”
