COVID Count: 28 new cases out of 1,321 tests
Star-Adv: Vigilantes Should Hunt Tourists on Beaches
SA: … State officials — the governor, the attorney general and others — said in an online conference on Thursday that they have had success with the enforcement of the 14-day quarantine for new arrivals. A lot of kamaaina onlookers have their doubts: Many travelers have eluded spot checks and escaped to the beach, they say.
However, AG Clare Connors said word has reached the mainland about arrests, and this has deterred other scofflaws. Spot one who’s undeterred? Call the police, she said.
Maybe check the beach? ….
read … Hear this tourists: Hawaii has quarantine
Reopened destinations not attracting large numbers of tourists
SA: … Destinations across most of the U.S. and in many foreign countries have reopened tourism, but so far none have figured out how to get large numbers of tourists to return to the skies.
Even results for drive-to locations have been pretty wobbly.
A glimmer of a promising recovery emerged in some drive-to markets in May and June; however, it had all but disappeared by July, which is typically the peak summer travel month….
“From the outlook that we are seeing, the COVID-19 traveler is turning into an oxymoron — because no one is traveling due to COVID-19,” said Chris Kam, OmniTrak president. “We’re hearing from our clients that travel demand weakened significantly in the second half of June. People are holding off their vacations to fall and possibly beyond that to some time next year. It’s not just air travel, it’s car travel too.”
As a result, even members of Hawaii’s tourism and commercial real estate industry and some economists are espousing a cautious approach to reopening timelines.
Some 63% of a commercial real estate audience, attending a Thursday Zoom webinar put on by the Certified Commercial Investment Members and the Pacific Asia Travel Association, agreed with Gov. David Ige’s decision to delay the start of pre- arrivals testing until at least Sept. 1. The program would allow passengers who have taken an approved COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their Hawaii trip and can produce a negative result upon arrival to bypass a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine…….
The commercial real estate group, however, was more receptive to targeted tourism. Some 88% of the group favored forming international travel bubbles that would allow for an ease of travel restrictions between Hawaii and like-minded destinations such as Japan that also have relatively low COVID-19 counts….
read … Hawaii, like other destinations, struggling to reopen tourism
Rise in Hawaii coronavirus cases not as bad as feared
SA: … Hawaii’s COVID-19 new case count hit its highest level in four days Sunday, but officials found some relief in that the number was still well below what they feared it would be in the wake of the Fourth of July holiday.
The state registered 28 new cases, the most since Wednesday (when there were 29), but experts had feared the count could reach 60 per day or more after going as high as 42 on July 11 and credited residents’ efforts.
“To start seeing these numbers gives a better feeling that maybe the community is standing up and doing what we need them to do — social distancing, wearing masks, preventing gatherings in enclosed environments and washing hands,” said Dr. Scott Miscovich, who is leading broad testing efforts in the islands through his organization, Premier Medical Group Hawaii.
… Hawaii continues to grapple with community spread of coronavirus, which so far has been responsible for 92% of all of the coronavirus cases in the state since the start of the outbreak….
As of Sunday, 314 infections in Hawaii are active cases…
Hawaii’s coronavirus-related death toll remains at 24. Seventeen deaths have been on Oahu, six have been on Maui, and one was a Kauai resident who died in Arizona….
read … Rise in Hawaii coronavirus cases not as bad as feared
People are saving money in pandemic, survey finds
SA: … A statewide survey by SMS Research &Marketing Service Inc. in June found that the total percentage of residents who responded that they were “saving a lot” or “saving a little” was 58%.
This is not surprising because it is a trend seen across the country and around the world as consumer habits have become paralyzed by fear of COVID-19.
In America, the personal savings rate — or the percentage of disposal income sent to savings — has shot up to 33%, up from just 8% a few months ago. The current savings rate has never been this high since the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis started monitoring it in the 1950s….
But not everyone is squirreling their money away. Some 31% told the SMS survey that they were just managing to get by, while a combined 27% said they were either drawing on savings or running into debt.
As for savings, according to the survey, residents 55 years of age and older were more likely to be putting away some money, while younger residents between 18 and 34 years of age were just managing to make ends meet.
Elsewhere in the survey, significantly more men responded that they were “saving a lot” compared to women (22% to 9%)….
Neighbor island residents were more likely to say they were “running into debt” (15% to 10% on Oahu) and receive food from nonprofits (8% compared to 3% on Oahu). This matches with neighbor island residents who said they were more likely to be temporarily laid off (25% compared to 16% on Oahu)….
read … People are saving money in pandemic, survey finds
Hawaii Joins Scheme to Outlaw Gasoline, Diesel Trucks in 30 years
AP: … A coalition of states is following California’s lead in setting goals to jump-start a transition to electric-powered trucks, vans and buses in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality for communities choked by diesel fumes.
The 15 states, plus Washington, D.C., announced last week that they’ve agreed to develop an action plan aimed at having 100% of all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold be zero-emission by 2050, with an interim target of 30% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2030….
Details are yet to be worked out. One option would be to adopt the mandate California’s Air Resources Board announced in June requiring that all new commercial trucks and vans purchased must be zero-emission by 2045, with milestones along the way. Or the states could focus more on subsidies and incentives, as well as investment in charging infrastructure….
As Explained: Planet of the Humans: Michael Moore Debunks Hawaii's Clean Energy Initiative
read … States set goals to jump-start transition to electric trucks
Hu Honua Petitions the Community to Challenge Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission
IM: …Hu Honua, a privately-owned, Delaware-incorporated, entity wants to sell electricity to HELCO at two-and-a-half times the rate for solar+storage.
On July 9, 2020, the Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission ruled that the Hu Honua was not entitled to a waiver from competitive bidding….
Hu Honua launched an aggressive email and petition campaign aimed at convincing the public to write to the Commission demanding that the Commission reverses its decision.
The drive to get the public to pressure the Commission to reverse itself is apparently not being waged by the public relations firm hired by Hu Honua --Hastings and Pleadwell--nor by the law firm--Yamamoto Caliboso--hired by Hu Honua to represent them at the Public Utilities Commission.
The Hu Honua website states, “Support Honua Ola and Help Save 200+ Local Jobs Sign the Petition.”
The "Save Hawai`i Island Jobs" campaign has a web site, Facebook page, and YouTube Channel….
Hu Honua asserts because they built the facility before securing the permits, they are entitled to profit from the deal.
The new organization, Save Hawaii Island Jobs, includes Hu Honua President Warren Lee (former HELCO President), Hu Honua General Manager Kevin Owen, and 32 other Hu Honua employees….
read … Hu Honua Petitions the Community to Challenge Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission
Kahuku Red Raiders vs PC Mob: “Petition Against the Dumb Petition”
SA: … As of Friday, the anti-Red Raiders online petition titled “Change Kahuku High’s Racist Mascot” that was started by 2019 Kahuku graduate Kainoa Kester has close to 1,000 signatures. The counter “Petition Against the Dumb Petition” by Fatu Te‘o-Tafiti has more than 1,300, though the gap has closed in the past few days. Both are on change.org….
Big Q: Should Kahuku High School change its Red Raiders team’s name and mascot? 60% --"No; not racist, overly politically correct"
HPW: Petition to change Kahuku nickname draws supporters, opponents
BG: PROBLEMATIC: BIG-WAVE SURFER SHANE DORIAN SLAMMED BY WOKE FAN FOR ‘RACIST’ POST, “YOU ARE A TRUTH SPEAKER AND I CAN’T BE SILENT.”
TG: Facebook’s Zuckerberg accused of ‘colonizing’ Hawaii, ‘whiteface’ photo
read … Kahuku nickname stirs emotions in rival petitions
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