The last time Congress created a new state
State Senator Clarence Nishihara tests positive for COVID-19
Gabbard Quits Presidential Race, Endorses Biden
DoE Closes Schools Until April 7 After HSTA Files Grievance over COVID Plan
COVID: Activist Groups Demand Ige Clamp Down Harder
Kauai Mayor Orders Nightly Curfew
Maui County Orders Bars, Restaurants Shut: Tourists Blocked from Road to Hana
COVID 16 Cases in Hawaii--all Travel-Related
Hawaii County Seeks to Fill Vacancies on Redistricting Commission
Hawaii Residents 10th Most Dependent on Federal Government
Hawaii GE Tax Takes $2431 per Capita -- 2nd Highest in USA
Emergencies, Police Power, Commandeering, And Compensation: Essential Readings
Democracy Still Matters in Time of Pandemic
Josh Green: The AIRPORTS DIVISION will Save us from COVID
SA: … Hawaii airports will begin mandating a 14-day quarantine for both residents and visitors coming to the islands, according to Lt. Gov. Josh Green.
Green told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser today that the Airports Division of the state Department of Transportation is working up a plan to “only allow individuals to come in who will have to home quarantine for 14 days,” with the exception of essential and health care workers.
“This is something now that can no longer be denied. We have to have a plan that is stricter than we have especially when we see the number of sick individuals in Italy,” Green said, adding that the policy should extend at least until April 30. “As the health care coordinator on this matter, we have to be safe for our kupuna. Anything short of that would be negligent.”
(Definition of Negligent: Putting the Airport Div in charge of anything besides kickbacks.)
Hawaii health officials’ official coronavirus count for the islands rose to 26 today, but they say the state has not seen widespread community transmissions so far.
SA: Hawaii airports planning to mandate 14-day home quarantine for incoming residents and visitors (?)
KHON: The State plans to quarantine everyone coming to Hawaii for 14 days(?)
KHON: Green’s office said the details for the policy are still getting sorted out at the Department of Transportation Airport Division.
read … The Airports Division will Save Us
Tourists: “We think Hawaii is the best place to ride out a worldwide scare”
SA: … “We think this is the best place to ride out a worldwide scare,” Shawna Moore, a visitor from Montana, said Wednesday afternoon while waxing up a surfboard in Waikiki while on vacation with her husband to visit their daughter, who attends the University of Hawaii. “We’re glad we’re here.”
(Editor’s Note: The purpose of this article is to scare you into supporting a full-on travel ban at Hawaii airports. You are being manipulated. It is easy to do when you are scared.)
Jamie Moore, who’s been surfing with his wife in Kalaeloa, the North Shore and Kaneohe during their three-week trip, added that it wouldn’t be bad if something derails their scheduled Tuesday flight home.
“We feel safe here,” he said.
Evan Asche, who flew from Pennsylvania with his fiancee, Trisha, to Oahu on Friday and got married on Waikiki beach Saturday, called Hawaii an oasis.
“Pennsylvania is freaking out,” he said.
“There’s a lot more panic there,” his wife added.
More than 250,000 tourists were in Hawaii on an average day last March and in January, according to state statistics.
Tourists interviewed Wednesday said they wouldn’t have traveled to Hawaii if they suspected they had COVID-19 or an elevated risk of having it….
Max and Alina Ivanov, visitors from Russia, considered cancelling their trip to Hawaii but felt it was safe in large part because there have been relatively few COVID-19 cases in their country.
“We live far from Moscow,” Alina Ivanov said. “It’s quiet in our city.”
The couple arrived Wednesday in Honolulu and have an itinerary to visit Kauai on Monday.
Melissa Casey, a visitor from Washington State, had planned to visit the Philippines for 10 days with her husband, Jack, but redirected their trip to Hawaii five days ago because of coronavirus concerns….
read … Oasis
Hawaii Corona Count Now 26 as Private Lab Testing Kicks in
SA: …Hawaii health officials today have confirmed 10 more cases of coronavirus, including eight on Oahu and two on Maui, bringing the statewide total to 26.
The latest total was disclosed in a teleconference this afternoon with the state Department of Health.
Before the teleconference started, officials reported a total of 22 cases: 14 cases on Oahu, five on Maui, two on Kauai and one on Hawaii Island.
Still, the state insists there is no evidence of widespread community transmission in the islands, contrary to what some Hawaii health care providers have been saying….
“As COVID-19 spreads globally and now nationally, we are detecting more cases introduced into our state by both visitors and residents alike. While we do not yet have an indication of community transmission, these introductions are concerning, and each represents an opportunity for COVID-19 to spread in our state,” Department of Health officials said in an online post today….
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “community spread means people have been infected with the virus in an area, including some who are not sure how or where they became infected….
read … 10 new cases of coronavirus
4,500 Unemployment Claims Filed in Just Two Days—Then system crashes
HNN: … The number of people trying to file unemployment claims brought the state’s online system almost to a halt Wednesday.
The sharp spike is the result of the hit to the tourism industry and businesses closures amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, 3,000 new claims were filed.
On Monday, there were almost 1,500. The entire week prior had less than 1,300….
Those who cannot file online at uiclaims.hawaii.gov are asked to call the office at (808) 586-8970 and the workers answering those calls have been flooded….
read … Avalanche of new unemployment claims in Hawaii nearly crashes online system
Homeless ‘Frequent Flyers’ Clog our Hospitals during Pandemic—But Opportunity to FORCE them into shelter ignored
SA: … IHS is reorganizing its space to maintain its service capacity in spaces that are less cramped. Meal service hours are extended, to deter the long wait lines, and all but the shelter guests are served their meals as take-out, Mitchell said.
(This article talks about everything EXCEPT forcing the homeless into shelter. 26 units is about 1,000 short.)
A welcome announcement came this week: The city is providing the space for 26 housing units on 909 Kaamahu Place that can be used to separate those in the homeless community who do test positive for the virus….
(Because of the health emergency, the City has a unique opportunity to FORCE the homeless into shelter. By evading the obvious, they seek to steer the debate away from the one true solution.)
The city spent $9 million to purchase the former halfway-house dormitory for released prison inmates. It was meant as a replacement site for the Sand Island drug treatment facility, displaced by the expansion of the sewage treatment plant, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said on Tuesday, but this need was more urgent.
It falls now to the state to staff health services at the shelter; an operational plan is needed there urgently….
There is also the HONU pop-up tent shelter for the homeless at Old Stadium Park. City spokesman Alexander Zannes said the homeless clients of that shelter already are given basic health screenings there, now with an eye out for those with flu-like symptoms.
Agencies are tapping what provider resources there are, so that fewer homeless will simply report to Oahu’s overburdened emergency rooms….
(NOTE: The homeless are wasting our hospital resources during a pandemic. But there is still no discussion of FORCING them into shelters.)
“We are still trying (sort of) to get people housed during this time, and that will help people take care of their health better than out on the streets,” said PIC Executive Director Laura E. Thielen….
The needs of the homeless in this pandemic are the same as anyone’s — a place to stay clear of infection, access to sanitation, food security — but just so much harder to fulfill.
“They’re very fearful, too,” said Andy Mounthongdy, who heads the nonprofit Homeless H4 (Hygiene, Healthcare, Housing, Humanitarian) Project, which provides basic clinical care in the community….
(Idea: This is an opportunity to abolish homelessness. Use medical emergency to FORCE the homeless to accept shelter. Since procurement and public comment requirements are suspended, create construction jobs by ordering mass rapid construction of stick-built 8x16 sleeping rooms on City land at Sand Island where some units and shared shower bathroom and kitchen facilities already exist and at other industrial areas where 100s of bums to be forcibly sheltered. Assign police to patrol the units and medics to provide care.)
read … Homeless uniquely vulnerable to virus
Governors Race 2022: Lt. Gov. Josh Green calls for suspension of non-essential travel to Hawaii and quarantine for arrivals
SA: … Lt. Gov. Josh Green is calling for the suspension of all non-essential travel to Hawaii and the closure of all businesses and schools until April 30 to prevent a mass outbreak of the coronavirus in the islands.
Green, who is also a practicing emergency room doctor on the Big Island and leading community efforts for widespread testing, said the state should also mandate a two-week quarantine for anyone entering Hawaii, “contact test” every positive case and completely isolate them and begin screening all passengers at local airports.
Health officials must study the states that are two to four weeks ahead of us, and stand up extra hospital capacity “the second we see it could help,” while ordering millions of masks and swabs, he said.
“Every second they approximate Europe we get closer to a mass fatality in Hawaii,” Green told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Meanwhile, nearly 100 Hawaii doctors and medical providers (activists) signed a petition imploring Gov. David Ige to mandate the shutdown of all non-essential businesses and order residents to stay home to stop the rapidly spreading virus….
(Translation: He is maneuvering to compete with Caldwell for the 2024 Gov race.)
read … Lt. Gov. Josh Green calls for suspension of non-essential travel to Hawaii and quarantine for arrivals
Governors Race 2022: Caldwell Closes More Stuff—Threatens Jail for Violators
KITV: … Mayor Kirk Caldwell held a press conference stating that all events with more than 10 individuals are cancelled.
City facilities that are closed through April 30th are Blaisdell, Honolulu Zoo, parks, pools, courts, fields, gyms, toilets, rec centers, botanical gardens, Hanauma Bay, and Koko Head shooting complex.
The Bus and Handi-Van will continue their normal schedule.
The City Council has passed Bill 35 which allowed Mayor Caldwell to sign the rainy day fund during his press conference on Wednesday.
Mayor Caldwell says there is no curfew for Honolulu.
Although he acknowledges that he thinks Kaua'i did the right thing he believes each island is different and curfews are not needed for Honolulu yet….
(Translation: He is maneuvering to compete with Green for the 2024 Gov race.)
read … Mayor Caldwell will not implement curfew in Honolulu, announces more changes in response to COVID-19
Hawaii County Government Continues Business as Usual
HTH: … Big Island Mayor Harry Kim said because Hawaii Island is larger and more sparsely populated than the other major islands, the concerns are different here. Unlike the state, where workers deemed nonessential have been ordered to stay home, all Hawaii County workers have been ordered to work.
Kim defended that decision Wednesday.
“People have to understand the why,” Kim said. “And I guarantee you it is to make sure we do our job of what it is we’re paid to do … with police, fire, water (and) environmental management. We can’t allow anybody to close that, because in two days we’ve got a compounded problem.”….
read … Harry Kim
Hanalei: 150 Cram into Shelter During Flood
TGI: … As most of the island took shelter from torrential rains on Tuesday, Tommy Hamai and Owen Wadhwani-Meeks spent the afternoon out in the storm, helping shuttle people and supplies across the swollen Hanalei River.
Both experienced watermen, Wadhwani-Meeks, 18 and Hamai, 15, were volunteered for the task by Wadhwani-Meeks’ mother, Tanya, who read a circulating Facebook post about 150 people sheltered at Hanalei School on Tuesday after Kuhio Highway was closed due to flooding, trapping people in Hanalei.
Kaua‘i resident Jimit Mehta was one who helped circulate the post early Tuesday morning, asking for assistance in providing breakfast for approximately 45 people who were being housed at the Hanalei School shelter….
read … Community bands together to assist stranded folks
Coronavirus forces Hawaii colleges to (slowly) capitulate on millions in student refunds
PBN: … Campus closures due to the coronavirus will cost the University of Hawaii at Manoa the most in terms of room and board refunds at more than $22 million, followed by Brigham Young University - Hawaii at more than $4 million, Hawaii Pacific University with an estimated $2 million-plus in refunds, University of Hawaii at Hilo with $1.7 million in refunds, Chaminade University of Honolulu with $857,953 in refunds, the University of Hawaii- West Oahu with $65,056 in refunds and University of Hawaii Maui College with $9,212 in room and board refunds, according to ACBJ estimates….
SA: College students returning home could bring virus with them
read … Coronavirus forces Hawaii colleges to (slowly) capitulate on millions in student refunds
Passengers of 2 cruise ships expected in Honolulu won’t be allowed to disembark
HNN: … State officials say the Maasdam has 850 people on board and the Norwegian Jewel has 1,700. Neither ship has any confirmed cases of COVID-19.
“The health and safety of all people in Hawaii is always at the forefront of operational decisions. Presently, all state resources are focused and directed towards containing the spread of COVID-19. Allowing more than 2,500 passengers and crew to disembark will further strain these resources,” said Director Jade Butay, Hawaii Department of Transportation….
Reality: Blocking these passengers from disembarking is just feeeel-good politics. 1000s of tourists are flying in to HNL every day with zero medical check. These boats have been at sea for quite a while and have no known cases of COVID on board.
read … Passengers of 2 cruise ships expected in Honolulu won’t be allowed to disembark
Honolulu rent increases for single-family homes lowest in the nation
PBN: … Honolulu’s year-over-year increase in rent for single-family homes in January 2020 was nearly five times less than the national average and more than 10 times less than the Phoenix market, which had the highest increase in the nation, according to a monthly analysis from CoreLogic.
The single-family rent increase analysis found that rents for single-family homes in Honolulu increased by just 0.6%, the smallest increase among the 20 cities in the analysis and less than half the more than 2% increase the market saw in January 2019.
Nationally, the analysis found that rent prices for single-family homes increased by 2.9% in January, compared to an increase of 3.2% in January 2019. The report, which analyzes rent changes among 20 metropolitan areas, notes that rents were increasing at double the rate of inflation, which presents affordability challenges to renters. …
read … Honolulu rent increases for single-family homes lowest in the nation
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