Holocaust knowledge among Millennials and Gen Z -- Hawaii Among Worst States
Corona Virus Restrictions Hawaii vs Alaska
Ige Releases Final Veto List
Honolulu is only county in USA that has shut down local businesses.
SA: … What is completely unfair is the fact that mainland big-box stores and online retailers — such as Amazon, Wayfair, Costco, Target, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, Office Max — are all allowed to sell and deliver furniture “all day long” in Hawaii during this pandemic, all profiting from the COVID pandemic and the mayor’s shutdown.
Meanwhile, local businesses such as INspiration Furniture, our friends at C.S. Wo and Homeworld and other smaller local furniture stores as well as many other retailers are shut down. How shameful, Mayor Caldwell and Gov. David Ige, that you have locked us out and we cannot compete against these major mainland retailers. Why are they all open and we are not?…
The mayor told me personally that we are allowed to sell furniture online; however, we are not allowed to deliver our furniture and will be fined if we do so. We may, on the other hand, hire or contract with “island movers” to deliver our furniture. Can anyone explain how this makes sense?
In no other state in the union are furniture and retailers closed down. In fact, it’s just Oahu that remains as the only county in the entire country that has shut down local businesses….
SA: Goal of “behavior modification” that is driving current lockdown orders will take too long and have negative outcomes for the public and businesses
KHON: Car dealers ask Honolulu Mayor to allow in-person sales
CB: Cataluna: Behold Honolulu's Flip-Flopping Mayor
read … Column: Cry for help from a local business owner
Hawaii has lost half of its recovery since June, analyst says
SA: …As restrictive measures were eased, a gradual recovery to Hawaii’s economy began in May, and by late June through the middle of July, the state had regained about 35% of economic activity that had been lost since the April low point, according to UHERO’s gauge.
Fuleky said this rebound was fueled in part by many businesses reopening and federal aid that included direct payments to households, extra unemployment benefits, money for state and county governments and $2.5 billion in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans received by about 25,000 businesses in the state.
However, in the wake of spiking COVID-19 cases that triggered a second round of business restrictions and a partial interisland travel quarantine, economic activity has backslid to where the recovery as of Sept. 5 was only 19% of what was lost since the April low, UHERO’s latest pulse readout said.
“So we’ve lost roughly half of our recovery since the end of June,” Carl Bonham, UHERO’s executive director, told the state House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness in a presentation Monday….
read … Hawaii has lost half of its recovery since June, analyst says
Hotel industry pushes Gov. Ige to relaunch trans-Pacific travel no later than mid-October
HNN: … “We’re hoping Oct. 1, that’s what he’s talked about. If it ain’t going to happen Oct. 1, it has to happen shortly thereafter,” said Mufi Hannemann, CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association.
“We’ve been ready for quite some time. In fact, we have 5,000 rooms in Waikiki that are ready to go tomorrow."
In a letter to Gov. Ige, the HLTA, the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation said that if the state can’t lift the 14-day quarantine for transpacific travel on Oct. 1, it favors reopening in stages, with mass travel resuming Oct. 15.
Those stages include the creation of resort bubbles for travel to the Neighbor Islands or a pre-testing program for interisland travel. Ige just approved a plan for resort bubbles on Kauai….
While the hotels are taking steps to make their properties safer, the union representing hotel workers said they’re not enough to protect their employees."
“It’s absolutely apparent to us that more work has to be done to get it right,” said Eric Gill, financial secretary for Unite HERE, Local 5, which represents 9,000 hospitality industry workers.
“The provisions for the safety of workers ... to ensure the back-of-the-house safety and cross contamination type of protections are not in place.”
The union said many hotels aren’t testing their own employees….
KHON: City Council pushes mayor’s office to produce guidelines to help businesses reopen
KHON: 65% of Hawaii restaurants expect to close in six months, HRA meets with Mayor Caldwell
SA: Over 50 Hawaii restaurants permanently close due to COVID-19 pandemic
read … Hotel industry pushes Gov. Ige to relaunch trans-Pacific travel no later than mid-October
DoE Foolishly Relies on DoH for Contract Tracing—DoH, of Course, Drops Ball
SA: … Addressing the state Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 on Friday, schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said in recent cases connected to Dole Middle School, the Department of Education (DOE) quickly activated its own response team, notifying affected staff and families, and anyone who had been exposed to infected individuals was sent home to quarantine.
But response slowed to an unacceptable pace when the Department of Health (DOH) took up to several days to follow up on new case notification and initiate contact-tracing efforts. Given that every day of delay multiplies the chances of coronavirus community spread, contact tracing must be required to start within 24 hours of notification — the timeline that Kishimoto said she had hoped for….
(Solution: Do it yourself.)
(Exploiting) this haze, Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) President Corey Rosenlee says Hawaii should hold steady with its current distance-learning model for at least the first half of the school year, while assessing safety for possible pivots in 2021.
Also, Rosenlee is calling for DOE to specify how many students are on each campus, and how many teachers are allowed to lead their classes from home. (IE Get paid without bothering to show up on campus.) HSTA says that slightly more than 55% of the statewide school system’s students are potentially eligible for in-person “learning hubs” because they’re enrolled in special education or English learning programs, or fall into a “vulnerable” set because of poor internet access or other issues….
read … Editorial: DOE needs more help, transparency
Is DOH Epidemiologist Jennifer Smith Legally Protected As A Whistleblower?
CB: … Known as the Hawaii Whistleblower Protection Act, the 1987 law essentially protects a worker from retaliation by an employer if the worker reported or was about to report illegal activity by the employer.
A worker wrongly retaliated against — and being put on paid leave could qualify as retaliation, lawyers say — is entitled to a variety of types of relief including in some cases punitive damages. In one case, Smith’s lawyer, Carl Varady, won a jury award of approximately $3.8 million from The Queen’s Medical Center after the jury found an employee was harassed and discriminated against for blowing the whistle on suspected wrongdoing.
So the state faces a potentially big penalty if Smith can establish she has whistleblower protections that the DOH violated.
And in some ways, the law favors employees like Smith.
For example, the statute is broad when it comes to protecting an employee who blows the whistle. Employers can’t “discriminate against an employee regarding the employee’s compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment.”
But it’s narrower when it comes to what it considers whistleblowing. The employee’s report has to be made to a “public body” and it has to pertain to a violation or suspected violation of a state or federal law, rule, ordinance, regulation or contract.…
simply reporting a violation isn’t enough, he said.
There’s also an issue of to whom the employee is reporting. Blabbing to a friend or the media isn’t enough; the whistleblower generally must tell a government entity, he said.
In an interview, Smith’s attorney, Varady, said his client meets these standards….
“An employer’s always going to come up with some reason” for taking adverse action against an employee, he said.
It’s usually the jury’s role to see if that reason meets “the laugh test,” he said….
read … Is DOH Epidemiologist Jennifer Smith Legally Protected As A Whistleblower?
12 Weeks Wait for unemployment claim
KHON: … It has been a common complaint about Hawaii's unemployment system since the start of the pandemic: After submitting claims, residents have been left waiting - sometimes for months.
"All of the weeks say pending. I have tried every day since June to call," said Kaneohe resident Anela Tory.
Tory used to work at the Pacific Aviation Museum, but that came to an end because of COVID closures.
"I was the second round of employees to be laid off in May. I filed for unemployment and received the first two checks then they just stopped coming."
Her claim is just one of more than 10,000 claims still waiting for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to take action.
Some claims go back even further than May. The longer the wait, the higher the frustration for many Hawaii residents.
"If we knew a time perhaps, how long it would be or are they working on it? If they just let us know how claims are processed...is it by alphabetical order?"
Frustration isn't the only thing rising, so are Tory's bills.
"I am 12 weeks now with no paycheck, going into debt slowly but surely."
According to the DLIR spokesperson, the vast majority of those claims waiting to be processed are due to job separation issues and require a claims examiner to look more closely at them -- which takes more time.
Tory said she did get through to someone on the phone once, but that worker wasn't much help.
"She said they were inundated with claims and I should be lucky to have received two checks. If they are so shorthanded, can we not volunteer? I'd like to volunteer, I have a degree, I am sure I can help process."…
read … Hawaii's high unemployment claims could start to drop
Hawaii County Spends $21.8M of federal COVID-19 relief funds in August
HTH: … After spending just $4.4 million of its $80 million federal coronavirus relief allotment from March through July, Hawaii County has stepped up its game and in August reported $21.8 million in expenditures.
The bulk of the money, $19.3 million, went to recovery initiatives, including $14 million for small business and nonprofit grants for COVID-19 impacts, $4.3 million for individual rent and mortgage assistance and $750,000 for individual nongovernmental utility assistance, said Deputy Finance Director Steven Hunt on Tuesday….
read … County ramps up efforts, spending $21.8M of federal COVID-19 relief funds in August
Distance learning to continue through second quarter?
KHON: … “One of the biggest challenges has been technological difficulties. They may be doing the work but they’re not always seeming to get credit for it because something doesn’t get submitted the way we thought it should or there’s a glitch in the system,” Coel explained.
Nasser agrees that technical problems one of the biggest hurdles.
“A lot of my students are sharing workspaces with siblings and WIFI with siblings and that makes it difficult.”
Nasser said that as a teacher, she has found not seeing her students to be another major drawback.
“I find it very difficult when students don’t turn on their video cameras. Some of my students I’ve never seen yet so far this year. As a teacher, you’re constantly responding to feedback you’re getting from students and I don’t receive that in the same way that I’m used to,” she said…..
The DOE posts COVID-19 cases within school complex areas statewide each week on its website. According to the website, so far they’ve had 89 cases since June. Eleven cases of those cases have been in the last week….
read … Distance learning should continue through second quarter according to parents and teachers
(Finally) Mass testing at all prisons and jails starts with the Waiawa Correctional Facility
KHON: … The Hawaii Department of Public Safety Health Care Division is working with the Hawaii Department of Health to conduct mass testing for COVID-19 at all correctional facilities statewide….“We anticipate test results to take up to 3 days to receive. The WCF warden has been preparing the facility and is ready to go with their pandemic plan for inmate isolation, quarantine and cohorting, if it is needed,” said Maria Cook, Deputy Director for Administration/Acting Director ….
HNN: State kicks off mass COVID-19 testing program at correctional facilities
read … Mass testing at all prisons and jails starts with the Waiawa Correctional Facility
Chemtrails Conspiracy Theorist Questions Surge Test Results
HNN: … A member of the lieutenant governor’s security detail who tested positive for COVID-19 had tested negative 72 hours earlier after taking a free “surge” test.
Lt. Gov. Josh Green told Hawaii News that the false negative is a concern.
And he urged anyone who is feeling sick to get tested for COVID-19 — even if they previously tested negative after taking a free test through the surge testing program….
Dr. Lorrin Pang, Maui District health officer, said he ‘believes’ as many as 50% of the people who have coronavirus and got tested in the surge program may have received false negatives, erroneously indicating that they did not have the virus….
(CLUE: Dr Lorrin Pang also ‘believes’ the ‘chemtrails’ conspiracy theory.)
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Hawaii News Now that it has not been made aware of any false positives or false negatives at the surge testing sites in Hawaii. However, the department also said in a statement: “If you test negative, you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. The test result only means that you did not have COVID-19 at the time of testing.”
read … After a false negative in Green’s office, accuracy of ‘surge’ tests questioned
JABSOM Corona Testing Lab was Fake—Just a Way to Scoop $3.9M from CARES Act
CB: … A University of Hawaii lab that was envisioned to ramp up Honolulu’s ability to conduct widespread COVID-19 testing has been struggling to get off the ground.
The partnership between Honolulu and UH, announced in May, was supposed to provide nearly 100,000 tests to people on Oahu. With the help of $3.9 million in CARES Act funds from the city, the John A. Burns School of Medicine was going to provide “surge capacity” of 50,000 traditional diagnostic tests by the end of the year, conduct 49,000 antibody tests, and develop new methods to test for the coronavirus, officials said at a press conference.
At the time, the city said the new lab should be operational within six weeks.
Nearly four months later, the lab has yet to conduct a single test. Delays in delivering funding and setting up the lab infrastructure mean the program hasn’t accepted any patient samples and doesn’t know when it will be able to, according to Rosie Alegado, a UH professor and community liaison for the lab.
“On paper, the six weeks number was if we had the money today, we would be able to order the machines, do X, Y, and Z and do all of this,” she said. “But of course, there are many things out of our control.”…
read … CARES-Funded Lab Hitting Delays In Delivering Coronavirus Tests
Budget Sales Pitch-- University of Hawaii at Manoa pretends to mull possible cuts in programs, degrees
SA: … The University of Hawaii at Manoa is (pretending to) considering merging, realigning or cutting some academic programs as it tries to meet Hawaii’s future needs in the face of a looming budget gap.
The preliminary ideas from a small team of administrators are labeled as merely “suggestions” to kick off discussions among faculty and other stakeholders.
(Translation: This is just a sales pitch to get mo’ money.)
The proposals include eliminating the Public Policy Center and the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and phasing out bachelor degrees in religion, journalism, dance and German along with some advanced degrees that attract few students.
(Yeah. Sure. Like whatever.)
The suggestions and many others are posted along with relevant data at a new website, “UH Manoa Planning for Post-Pandemic Hawaii.” If ultimately approved, any changes would not take place until the new fiscal year that starts in July, or later.
(Translation: A lot of COVID money is sloshing around right now. We gonna git some.)
“Over the course of the semester, you are likely to hear debates about the future of some of our degree programs, and about how departments or schools and colleges might be reorganized in order to be stronger, more effective and cut costs,” UH-Manoa Provost Michael Bruno wrote in a message to students Saturday.
(Translation: This is just a sales pitch to get mo’ money.)
He assured them that such changes would take time and that students would graduate before any degree program is terminated. Also, classes in the subject would typically continue at lower-division levels even if a major is phased out.…
(Translation: This is all fake.)
KITV: UH students and faculty testify against the proposed cuts (what a shock!)
read … University of Hawaii at Manoa mulls possible cuts in programs, degrees
Sly Amemiya Does not File Campaign Spending Complaint Against Hanabusa Supporters SuperPac
KHON: … Lokahi Cuban, who founded the PAC told KHON2: “The statements made by Keith Amemiya against Aloha ‘Aina Oia’i’o LLC and myself are completely false and, if anything, shows the sheer desperation of Keith Amemiya and his campaign.”
The Campaign Spending Commission tells KHON2 they received no formal complaint about the PAC but did get the letters from Amemiya’s attorney asking them to investigate. Formal actions on any investigation would have to show up on a commission meeting agenda. The last meeting ahead of the general election is Oct. 14.
(Translation: Amemiya doesn’t want the CSC to reject his complaint on Oct 14 while voters are still voting so he didn’t file one.)
“Ballots will be going out in mid-October or earlier,” Amemiya said, “and the public has a right to know about the smear and the status and whether people were found guilty of wrongdoing.”
There was no action taken on these allegations at the September meeting last week. In a marathon session, the Campaign Spending Commission plowed through dozens of claims and complaints from all kinds of primary races over things like late financial filings, prohibited contributions and expenditures, and alleged advertising violations. In the end, they doled out more than $4,000 total in small fines to about 20 candidates, campaigns or political action committees.
The commission dismissed two complaints alleging Amemiya violated ad laws by purchasing a front-page story in MidWeek but not disclosing it was a paid placement until the end of the story inside.
It is yet to be seen whether the Aloha Aina Oia’i’o PAC will raise money for the general election and how they will spend it. The PAC spent $100,000 entirely opposing Amemiya.
Meanwhile, reports from other PACs show lucrative activity in the primary too, like HiVision 2020 PAC which got $160,000 from a plumbers union PAC, spending the bulk of it to help Amemiya….
read … Mayoral candidate seeks campaign watchdog action on PAC allegations
Oscar-Winning Charles Burnett to Direct Documentary About MLK’s 5-Day Visit to Hawaii
BN: … “A King in Paradise” Will Explore the Untold Journey of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Five Days in Hawaii…
For more information or to support the documentary’s crowdfunding campaign, visit: AKingInParadise.com
Related: 1959: Martin Luther King Jr Salutes Hawaii Statehood
read … Oscar-Winning Charles Burnett to Direct Documentary About MLK’s 5-Day Visit to Hawaii
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