A Non-Partisan, Peaceful Rally
Dear Editor, May 24, 2020
It’s ON and we are ready to GO BIG! This is the Time to take a Stand with Us!
OUR MISSION -- We are calling for an immediate end to the Governor’s Emergency Proclamation and for the Restoration of All our Inalienable Rights and Personal Freedoms Guaranteed under the US Constitution.
Date/Time: Friday, May 29, 2020 at 12PM (Staging begins at 11:30AM.)
Place: Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, just south of Henry Street.
We will keep a 6’ distance as we stand on the side of the highway with our signs. Our goal is to have a peaceful stance and positive message with both Aloha and Kapu Aloha.
We envision all signage to be Positive in Nature as well as non-partisan.
United, we are the ones who will affect change. We will not be promoting any particular political party, individual, etc. If this resonates with you, then this is the group and event to support! ALL are welcome. The time is NOW to show we have large numbers and will persist until our Mission is realized.
Sincerely,
Ma'ata Tukuafu
Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i
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Memorial Day: Thanks for your Service Is Not Enough
Dear Editor, May 24, 2020
In the last scene in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" the dying Captain John Miller tells Private Ryan to be a good man. In other words he wanted Private Ryan to validate the sacrifice he and fellow soldiers made to save his life by becoming a good person.
That is a message we should all take to heart.
To our politicians, you can validate the sacrifice our soldiers made in the battlefields throughout this World by taking care of the interest of America first and not your own or another country’s. It means that the people we trust to enforce our laws are people of integrity and who won't accept bribes or kickbacks from the criminals in our society.
It means that business people will make sure that their employees make enough money to put a roof over the heads of their family members, provide food on their tables, clothes on their backs and medical insurance to keep them healthy and able to work in a safe environment.
Everyone of us are enjoying life in a beautiful country that has all the resources to continue our prosperity to endless times. A country that declared to the world on July 4, 1776 "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equally (have a humble respect for God and each one of us for are all children of God), that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life (seek adoptions and not abortions), liberty (the rule of law instead of the rule of men) and the pursuit of happiness (don't take away from others what don't belong to you, live by the ten commandments, be kind to one another, practice aloha)".
We can honor and validate the sacrifice our heroes made on Planet Earth by being caring and loving people that respect each other no matter how much money we have in our bank accounts or how much education we have.
I pray this Memorial Day in 2020 that America will always be a Country worth dying for and we will never ever forget the sacrifice our fellow citizens made to keep this country free and strong.
God Bless America and its people now and forever.
Thank you for your service is just words, lets all try to become better people for the sake of our fallen heroes!
Norman C. Franco
Vietnam War Veteran
Survivor of the Tet Offensive of 1968
Kahului, Maui
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Is the State Corona Plan Secret?
Dear Editor, May 17, 2020
I have been through a number of different crises in Hawaii over the last 20 years. Some were health related; some were financial related and others were natural disasters. None of the past crisis was as devastating economically as COVID-19. The novel virus is particularly nasty and difficult to deal with. Our local government, led by Governor lge, was blindsided as were most of the states.
It seems to me that, after the state of emergency was declared, the State Emergency Action Plan (EAP) would be dusted off and brought out. I would think that task forces would be created. The first a community stakeholder response team, second a state leadership team to make substantive safety decisions and lastly the team defined in the EAP to submit a risk assessment to the leadership team. This is standard stuff for most critical infrastructures.
Now all the pieces would be in place to start making substantive measured decisions that are in the best interest of the health and well being of our people and paychecks. While some or all of this may have been done it has not been shared, while there was a phased plan it appears to be secret. If we are following CDC guideline who knows? It truly appears as if there is some group huddle nightly to make up the next days "what do we do now" plan. I think we could have dealt with this in a more humane and abbreviated fashion than the shotgun ‘everyone goes hide, we will tell you when it's safe’ approach. We need higher quality leaders in our state going forward that can plan and manage a state with enormous tourist and federal job revenue to oversee the prosperity and health of our peoples.
I am grateful about the opening steps taken, getting people in restaurants, bars and beaches before June. Some of this to help soften the economic blow on the horizon which most of us know includes state furloughs, pay cuts, more business failures and high unemployment for some time to come. The debate on whether to open or close will go on for some time and we will know shortly. The weather will get warmer and likely COVID-19 will fade mostly for summer season and some cases may return in the next winter flu season but I think if Gov. lge tells the Hawaii people to go back and hide again he will get a very different response. Sadly, he has lost our trust completely for his term duration.
I paint a gloomy picture of pain and am being a bit Captain Hindsight but what I do know is when we come out of the impending business, job and wage contraction the best of the best will have survived and we will experience another boom in responsible prosperity and success like no other in State history. We will lag the rest of the states recovery-wise but we will get there as we always do. I encourage everyone to communicate with you State Representative and Gov. lge's office directly and let them know what you think the future should look like and how you feel about your current situation.
And please vote.
Aloha,
Bill Yarian
Honolulu, Oahu
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CMS: Nursing Homes Should Screen for COVID
To the Editor: May 14, 2020
On behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), I’d like to thank all those who work in nursing facilities -- doctors, nurses, food preparers, housekeepers, and others -- for their unwavering dedication to compassionately caring for the vulnerable residents who are relying on them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These facilities have been on the front lines of the pandemic, and our hearts are with all of those who have been affected by this virus and their families.
We at CMS share the goal of keeping nursing facility residents safe and healthy. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are using CMS’s regulatory authority to facilitate residents’ care and ensure that long-term care facilities have the guidance they need to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The best thing nursing facilities can do to keep residents and themselves safe is to ensure they’re following effective infection-control practices. These are outlined in our guidance and include recommendations that employees wash their hands properly; separate ill residents from well residents; use personal protective equipment correctly; get screened for illness; and stay home if they’re sick.
By employing effective infection control and prevention, coordinating with local and state health authorities, and showing patience and kindness to others, we can beat the virus, reopen America, and keep our nursing home residents safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Seema Verma
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Washington, D.C.
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Hotel Policy?
Dear Editor, May 13, 2020
Instead of imposing truly insulting conditions on tourists, why don’t hotels establish testing areas in their lobbies and offer guests daily tests?
If a guest comes up positive, he goes back to his room, if negative, he can go out and enjoy Hawaii while wearing a mask.
Andrew Rothstein
Honolulu, Oahu
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Will Bankrupt Sandwich Isles Provide Sufficient Service to DHHL?
Dear Editor, May 12, 2020
The creditors of Paniolo Cable Company, Sandwich Isles Communications, and Paniolo’s bankruptcy trustee reached a settlement agreement recently that preserves connectivity for homesteaders on Hawaiian homelands. The agreement stipulates that Paniolo lease a maximum of two fiber pairs to Sandwich Isles Communications for statewide connectivity for $1.00 a year + office, administrative & management costs. SIC, or its successor in interest, can lease additional bandwidth at market rates if more capacity is needed. Sandwich Isles leased capacity from Hawaiian Telcom for inter-island connectivity pre-Paniolo for 1.9 million dollars a year.
This tri-party agreement provides insufficient bandwidth for future growth on Hawaiian homelands. The homesteaders are already receiving shoddy service from SIC. This agreement, if executed, will continue that poor service going forward. The only winners from this agreement are Paniolo’s creditors, who’ve agreed this sweetheart deal. They’re able to auction the Paniolo asset without any significant liens, or capacity constraints. I strongly urge the Department of Hawaiian Homelands object to this settlement agreement when it is reviewed by the bankruptcy judge on June 1st, 2020.
Aaron Stene
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
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Michaels Organization Mismanages Affordable Housing Project
Dear Editor, May 11, 2020
For two years The Michaels Organization has refused to fix the plumbing problem at Lei Kupuna senior affordable housing. Air is trapped in the laundry room hot water lines that creates reduced water levels in our washers, lack of consistent hot water and causes our washing machines to breakdown. At a time when we are being advised to wash our clothes in hot water to help kill the coronavirus.
When residents first moved into Lei Kupuna we notified management about the issues. Maintenance told us, “Management will not increase the water level in the washers because they do not want to pay more for their water bill.”
Recently a service call was made to the washing machine company to repair a washer that kept breaking down when residents selected hot water. During that same week 3 other washers were reported with no hot water. The service technician discovered the air in the hot water line is preventing hot water flow. All of this was reported to management with the recommendation to have a professional plumber look at the problem. I spoke to 2 plumbers that recommend getting the air out of the lines. To date this has not been repaired.
Our washing machines are front load washers so residents don’t notice when they’re not getting a hot water wash. It costs us $2.25 a load to wash. I think it is only fair residents get the correct water level to wash their clothes and the hot water they paid for, especially now.
Most of us are tired of the constant run-around we get from Michaels Management. Many times seniors are forced to do without basic services at Lei Kupuna. The list is long, but this one crosses the line. For years management has deliberately postponed repairing this problem to avoid the cost.
The despicable part is the trusting tutus, aunties and uncles who live here are being taken advantage of.
Carrie Borge
Kailua Kona, Hawaii
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What a great time to battle a pandemic!
Dear Editor, May 10, 2020
What a great time to battle a pandemic! For the absolute first time in history, most people can do absolutely NOTHING and STILL win the War On Virus.
In prehistoric times, we would still have to hunt and gather each day THOUGH INFECTED, or starve. In the past, we would still have to daily tend to the farm. Or be forced to go to the market daily and risk infection. There was no refrigeration. Food or beer(!) could not be kept for long, making food concerns during a pandemic deadly.
Now, we don’t even have to leave the couch and unlimited food will be dropped off at our door.
Your grandparents only had AM radio, NO TV! OMG! Imagine trying to entertain yourself under quarantine with NO computers and iPhones!
In the past, they didn’t need a pallet of toilet paper per person per day! They had leaves.
Be grateful.
Leighton Loo
Mililani, Oahu