Memo: U.S. Attorneys to be on ‘Lookout’ for Civil Liberties Violations Amidst Coronavirus Crisis
VIDEO: Police Ticket Mayoral Candidate for Videotaping Ala Moana Trees Being Cut Down
Reopen Hawaii--Rally Set for Capitol Friday May 1
COVID Economics: Who Suffers Most?
COVID Count -- 2 Deaths -- 1 New Case -- 5 Recover
COVID Count: 2 new cases, 12 released
Kahuku Windfarm Case Appealed to Supreme Court
Lyon Connection? Micronesia Acts Against Fake Shipping Registry
City to Open Second Homeless Tent City
Hawaiian Electric preparing new phase of community solar
Punahou Board Member Resigns over Child Molestation Allegations
SA: … A lawsuit filed confidentially against Punahou School last week was unsealed Monday, revealing that the former teacher and coach accused of sexual misconduct with a student in the late 1970s is Christopher McLaren.
Kelley Lum Oshiro, a 1978 Punahou graduate, filed the lawsuit Friday in Circuit Court against Punahou School and McLaren, who was an elementary school teacher and boys baseball coach at the time of the alleged sexual abuse, starting in 1976. Lum Oshiro alleges that McLaren pushed her into performing sex acts as a minor, which she did because she believed they were in love.
Punahou confirmed Monday that McLaren’s wife, Monica Mamiya McLaren, has relinquished her position on Punahou School’s board of trustees. The 1977 Punahou graduate, who taught elementary school students at the school from 1983 to 2015, was named to the board of trustees in October 2018….
read … Christopher McLaren identified as target of Punahou alumna’s lawsuit over alleged sexual misconduct
Economist predicts parts of state’s economy could soon reopen
HNN: … A top state economist is optimistic that some businesses could reopen in a month.
Carl Bonham, director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, told lawmakers Monday that a survey conducted with the Chamber of Commerce collected data from 623 businesses.
"They expect to reopen and staff up as soon as it’s safe to do so. In fact, 60% said they could return to almost full staff immediately. The rest of their staff would be fazed in as tourism begins to return to the islands,” Bonham reported.
Dr. Mark Mugiishi, of HMSA, used charts to show what is first needed: Widespread testing and contact tracing.
Workplaces also need to be reconfigured to ensure social distancing.
Tourism will almost certainly not be part of the initial reopening phases….
The UHERO survey showed businesses providing accommodations are down 83.3%, retail companies are down 76.3%. Those providing food service saw a drop of 58.1%.
Many associated with the tourism industry reported zero revenue.
And while most of the 221,731 people now unemployed are on Oahu, the neighbor islands have higher percentages of jobless because they have a higher dependency on the visitor industry, especially Maui.
The hardest impacts are being felt by the ones who live paycheck to paycheck….
read … In glimmer of hope, economist predicts parts of state’s economy could soon reopen
Less than one-third of Hawaii’s unemployment claims have been paid since March 1
PBN: … Since March 1 there have been 221,731 unemployment claims filed in the state of Hawaii, a number that doesn't include more than 88,000 duplicates, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations….
However, DLIR officials still report being behind by several thousands of claims — about 116,000 to be exact.
Additionally, 28,126 claims have been denied since the beginning of March, and officials with DLIR told Pacific Business News that the most common reasons for an unemployment application being denied are applicants not having enough work history, leaving their jobs without a good cause, and an employer disputing the benefits.
Several claims submitted to DLIR require corrections including more than 38,000 that need manual corrections and more than 78,000 needing interactive corrections. The number of unemployment claims are likely to continue climbing with Gov. David Ige's announcement over the weekend that stay at home orders have been extended to the end of May….
read … DLIR pays out more than 65,000 unemployment claims, backlogged by thousands more
Honolulu Police Commission to hold second secret meeting
SA: … The Honolulu Police Commission on Wednesday will hold its second secret meeting since the Sunshine Law was temporarily waived as part of Gov. David Ige’s emergency proclamation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sole agenda item for that meeting is Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard’s letter to the Hawaii Supreme Court chief justice — a communication of which other parties were not notified, and that Commissioner Steven Levinson, a former state Supreme Court justice, questions.
He said commissioners were made aware of the letter that objected to the early release of jailed inmates and prisoners due to COVID-19 at the end of the last meeting, and he asked that it be placed on the next meeting’s agenda. Commission Chairwoman Shannon Alivado set the meeting for Wednesday, and written testimony is due today, Levinson said.
The commissioners will be teleconferencing from their homes, but the public is not being allowed to participate or hear the hearing, except by written submission in advance.
The governor’s emergency order says, however, that the boards shall reasonably allow for public participation consistent with social distancing practices, allowing written testimony to be submitted and livestreaming of meetings, as Common Cause Hawaii points out.
“Common Cause has always contended that the public should be able to comment and provide testimony in real time because our testimonies can change based on what is discussed at the meeting because we cannot anticipate in advance what’s discussed,” said Common Cause Hawaii Executive Director Sandy Ma.
“Why bother to have a public meeting?” she asked…
Ma said the City Council’s Zoning Committee had a lot of public interest and that a lot of testimony was submitted, but it all had to be written.
It was livestreamed, but the public was unable to participate remotely.
“They allowed in-person testimony,” Ma said. “Why are you making people go down?”
She added that the Zoning Committee’s materials were available only at Honolulu Hale. “You were unable to submit meaningful testimony unless you went down” to City Hall, she said.
Ma said she was able to call in and comment by telephone at the State Ethics Commission meeting.
She couldn’t get the computer to work during the Honolulu Ethics Commission meeting, but was able to submit testimony by phone.
“We just want the opportunity to comment,” she said. “There are parts of the state that do not have high-speed broadband access, so phone works.”
Sheehan said some of the decisions made during the pandemic have not been properly justified.
“Personally, I understand the tension between having a lockdown and needing government services to go forward,” she said. “I’m a little bit nervous about the rational basis regarding the Easter weekend curfew. … I wanted the rational basis to be explained better. … You could come up with arguments justifying curfew. I feel that an explanation was lacking.”….
SA: Police Commission must open up
CB: Commission Chair Shannon Alivado says it’s because of logistical challenges, not because the board’s trying to be secretive.
LINK: Police Comm. Agendas
read … Honolulu Police Commission to hold second secret meeting
Squeaky Wheel Political Quarantine: Governor changes his mind on flower deliveries (No science here)
HNN: … In a case of political whiplash, the governor on Monday announced that flower deliveries would be allowed after all starting Friday, as long as social distancing was followed.
Over the last several days, florists have been told deliveries are back on then off and now back on again.
(Clue: This is all politics. No science here.)
After the governor’s announcement Monday, you likely won’t hear many complaining. But that doesn’t mean the episode is any less frustrating.
The debacle all started last week when the state told florists they could deliver for Mother’s Day. Then, on Saturday, the governor said he wasn’t notified of the change — and wouldn’t allow it.
But on Monday afternoon, he changed his mind.
In a statement, he said florists “will be able to begin operations on May 1, as long as they can do so in a way that is safe for employees and customers.”
Florists have been closed since the stay-at-home order went into effect, and many have been struggling to stay afloat. After getting the state’s green light to open for Mother’s Day, many purchased stock….
read … Governor changes his mind on flower deliveries, giving florists OK to operate ‘safely’
Maui Business Leaders Push To Join Western States Pact, Ige Demurs
HPR: … The leaders of California, Oregon, and Washington State announced the Western States Pact two weeks ago. Yesterday, the governors of Colorado and Nevada announced their states will also join. The working group is meant to coordinate efforts regionally, as state authorities begin moving toward reopening their economies.
At a meeting of the state House of Representative’s COVID-19 response committee on Monday, Maui Chamber of Commerce President Pamela Tumpap told local officials that she would like Hawaii to join the pact as well.
“Health officials and governors are developing plans and setting reopening parameters, including interstate travel and tourism, so that people can do this with a high level of confidence after COVID-19,” Tumpap said.
Local economists say consumer confidence that travel is safe will be a major driver of how Hawaii’s $18 billion tourism sector recovers. University of Hawaii economists say that resuming tourism, which accounts for roughly 23% of the state’s economic activity, represents a much greater challenge than reopening businesses that primarily cater to Hawaii residents.
Travelers from the United States account for almost two-thirds of Hawaii’s 10 million annual visitors. Residents of western states typically account for just under 40% of the total, the largest share of any group….
read … Maui Business Leaders Push To Join Western States Pact, Ige Demurs
Closure of mainland processing plants raises some concern among local cattle ranchers
KHON: … Some of the beef processing facilities on the mainland are closing because of COVID-19. This is causing concern for the cattle industry in Hawaii. These facilities are very important because that is where the animals get processed, packaged, and sent to grocery stores.
“We import 88-percent of our beef products, so obviously if there is any shortage or any interruption in beef supplies on the mainland, we will be affected,” said Keith Unger.
Unger is the President of the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council and also manages the McCandless Ranch in South Kona. The majority of the calves raised in Hawaii get shipped to the mainland. While there are processing facilities in Hawaii that could provide some flexibility, Unger says it is limited.
“For the most part, processing facilities are operating at maximum capacity and so to ask them to produce more, unless we build more processing facilities, we are at maximum capacity right now….”
read … Closure of mainland processing plants raises some concern among local cattle ranchers
Hawaii in line for close to $7 billion in federal assistance, Rep. Ed Case says
SA: … Case told the House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness this morning that Hawaii individuals, businesses and other organizations have already received an estimated $4.5 billion, including $1.25 billion to state and city governments to respond to the pandemic.
Among the beneficiaries is Hawaiian Airlines, which faces an existential threat from what could be a months-long tourism shutdown. Hawaiian is accepting $292 million in payroll support under the CARES Act passed by the Congress and signed by President Trump on March 27, according to an airline spokesman….
Hawaiian has also applied for another $364 million in loan assistance, but that has not yet been finalized, the spokesman said.
Hawaii small businesses have already collected or will soon receive about $2 billion in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which Case said puts Hawaii among the top states in the nation for loans per business and per capita. Case guessed that Hawaii businesses will receive another $500 million later from the second round of applications for the PPP.
Stimulus payments of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child that have been distributed in Hawaii totaled about $680 million as of 10 days ago, and Case said that sum has probably reached $800 million by now. He said he expects another $500 million to $600 million to be handed out in stimulus payments in the weeks ahead.
The CARES Act also included $400 billion to $500 billion to finance the “Main Street Programs” to help larger businesses, which could include a number of hotel chains operating in Hawaii, but the details of that program have not been made public yet.
Case said his congressional staff is tracking about 50 other programs that will provide varying amounts to Hawaii entities, including the $600-per-week in extra unemployment benefits being finance by the federal government….
read … Hawaii in line for close to $7 billion in federal assistance, Rep. Ed Case says
HECO Companies Bad Debt Is Rising -- Utilities Seek Deferred Accounting for COVID-19 Expenses
IM: … The Hawaiian Electric Companies request that the Public Utilities Commission approve deferral accounting for the costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, docket no. 2020-0069.
The HECO Companies assert, “The deferral ofCOVID-19 related costs is appropriate because the current catastrophic global health emergency and impact on the economy is outside the control of the Companies and COVID-19 costs are anticipated to be of such magnitude to warrant relief.
"These costs include increased bad debt expense (i.e., portion of accounts receivable that will be uncollectible), increased financing costs, sequestration costs for mission critical employees, non-payment of late payment charges, and increased sanitation and decontamination costs.”
“The Companies do not seek approval to recover these costs through this application; rather, the Companies will later propose for Commission approval the amount of, and vehicle for, cost recovery through a separate request when the costs and impacts are better known.”
read … HECO Companies Bad Debt Is Rising -- Utilities Seek Deferred Accounting for COVID-19 Expenses
Lawsuit: Hawaiian Airlines fraud on Corona Refunds
ETN: … Bases for this lawsuit, the United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”) has “issued an Enforcement Notice clarifying, in the context of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, that the U.S. and foreign airlines remain obligated to provide a prompt refund to passengers for flights to, within, or from the United States when the carrier cancels the passenger’s scheduled flight or makes a significant schedule change and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered by the carrier….
The California Plaintiff, like many other travelers, was scheduled to fly with Hawaiian from Los Angeles to Maui. The plaintiff’s flight was canceled by Hawaiian due to the coronavirus travel restrictions….
The plaintiff requested a refund from Hawaiian, which never came. Further, upon information and belief, the Plaintiff would not have been able to get a cash refund, as Hawaiian is only offering credits….
Click here to read the full complaint filed in the United States District Court in Honolulu.
read … Hawaiian Airlines a fraud, unfair, deceptive?
City resumes homeless sweeps, citing concerns about infection risk
KITV: … Honolulu police and city crews conducted the sweeps around 8:15 a.m. along Dillingham Boulevard.
The city had postponed sweeps last month following CDC guidelines that homeless camps should not be removed ― unless housing units are available.
Now, the city has a small tent village near Keehi Lagoon for homeless people to quarantine themselves.
Earlier this month, officials said they would restart enforcement with a 24-hour notice, saying they’re concerned that social distancing isn’t happening in encampments….
read … City resumes homeless sweeps, citing concerns about infection risk
Corona Virus News:
QUICK HITS: