161,000 Hawaii Unemployed Fall off Cliff at Midnight?
Kauai PD provides firearms registration forms online
COVID Count: 87 new cases out of 3,390 tests
Isle voter turnout surging in first-ever all-mail election
SA: … The number of primary election ballots collected by the Honolulu Elections Division to date is eclipsing the number of absentee votes cast in the 2016 primary election — with 10 days to spare before the official Aug. 8 Election Day….
(Note: Absentee ballots were 61% of 169,531 total ballots cast on Oahu in the 2016 primary election.)
>> As of end of day Thursday, 119,401 ballot envelopes had been collected. The total absentee turnout recorded in 2016, the last time there were presidential and Honolulu mayor elections, was 103,459, according to state election records.
>> The 119,401 is about 70% of the 169,531 votes cast in the 2016 primary.
The highest primary election turnout on Oahu since 2000 was the 207,437 votes tallied in 2010, and Takahashi said the numbers so far indicate this year’s total will surpass that. “We seem to be on our way,” he said. “That’s pretty encouraging with 10 days to go.”
This is the first election that is being conducted in an “all-mail” manner, and that is contributing to the higher, early turnout, Takahashi said. “We mailed out three times as many mail ballots as we did two years ago, so one would kind of expect that (higher, early turnout),” he said.
On Thursday alone the office collected 15,273 ballot envelopes. It collected 15,765 ballots Wednesday and 16,378 packages Tuesday. The ballots were collected from the U.S. Post Office or one of eight ballot drop boxes across the island.
The Elections Division mailed out about 457,000 ballots for this year’s primary. Two years ago the city mailed out 150,000-160,000 pieces, Takahashi said.…
read … Isle voter turnout surging in first-ever all-mail election
Quarantine is Fake: Number of Tourists Doubles Every Month Since April
HTH: … While the total number of visitors to the state is still a fraction of what it was last year, the number of visitors is increasing from previous months. The number of visitors bottomed out in April at about 4,500, but rebounded back up to 9,000 in May and nearly doubled again in June, according to Hawaii Tourism Authority data.
The HTA reports that 17,068 people arrived to the state by air in June, less than 2% of the nearly 1 million who visited the state in June 2019. Hawaii Island’s share of the visitors was commensurate, receiving 2,617 visitors in June, 2% of the total from the previous June.
This year to date, tourism to the state is down by 60%….
read … Visitor numbers on upward trend despite pandemic
Students being welcomed back on campus at private schools
MN: … “This school year will be unlike any other in my 30-plus years of education,” said Seabury Hall Head of School Maureen Madden.
The private intermediate and high school will welcome teachers back Monday and its first group of students to campus Aug. 11 for in-person teaching.
Tents will be put up to conduct outdoor classes, the health center has been moved to a central location on campus and dozens of tables have been purchased to allow for social distancing in the dining hall and to eat outdoors.
The school is prepared to switch to distance learning “if the circumstances make it necessary and practical,” she said.
Heads of school and principals of the island’s largest private schools this week expressed similar sentiments and strategies about in-person and online instruction and safety preparations.
At Kamehameha Schools Maui, the island’s largest private school, the new school year begins Aug. 10 and will offer a “hybrid” of on-campus and distance learning instruction.
“We will continue to actively monitor conditions, and our model gives us the flexibility to move in and out of distance learning as needed,” said Scott Parker, the school’s po’o kula or head of school….
About 13 percent of Kamehameha Schools Maui students have selected full distance learning this semester, he said….
Tonata Lolesio, principal of Sacred Hearts School in Lahaina, said she felt “confident” about this school year as students head back to class Monday for in-person learning….
St. Anthony School in Wailuku will begin its school year Tuesday with in-person teaching for grades kindergarten to 12th grade.
Along with in-person classes, the school is implementing a “school within a school” virtual program at its high school campus, said Head of School Tim Cullen….
At Haleakala Waldorf, high school will begin Aug. 10. The school’s early childhood program and grades 1 to 8 will start Aug. 12….
SA: Many Hawaii private schools gearing up for in-person instruction
KITV: Hawaii Baptist Academy delays reopening date
read … Students being welcomed back on campus at private schools
Former homeless mothers enjoy new apartments after transitioning from Kahaluu housing program
SA: … Lopez is one of 15 mothers who succeeded from The Shelter, a transitional housing program in Kahaluu, which she thanks for giving her a second chance to restart her life.
The program opened its doors for single mothers and their children in late 2018. Since then — in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — eight of the 15 families are living in their own rental units, and four mothers have reconciled and live with their own families. Three mothers have transitioned into other programs.
The Shelter — which works with the Institute for Human Services — connects the families with housing programs. Once they have a job for two months and meet other criteria, they can qualify for rental units through the city-county rental assistance program.
Senior Pastor Klayton Ko of First Assembly of God and The Shelter Executive Director Daniel Kaneshiro said the vision of the program is “changing the heart.” …
read … Former homeless mothers enjoy new apartments after transitioning from Kahaluu housing program
Proposed Kalihi homeless shelter opposed by some in community
SA: … Mitchell added that IHS is looking to establish the program at other locations if it doesn’t work out at the peach-colored, two-story building on North King Street in Kalihi. Downstairs would be for unemployment services, and upstairs would be the triage-and-transfer station.
But so far, there has been opposition from some of the residents.
Janice Onishi is one of the owners of the Terada Apartments, which is next door to the proposed program.
“I was horrified,” she said in an interview. “I found out from my friend, who said, ‘Oh, did you see your building on the news?’”
To make their stance clear, Onishi and about 15 Kalihi residents protested outside of the building all last week….
read … Proposed Kalihi homeless shelter opposed by some in community
UH telescope atop Maunakea to get big upgrade
WHT: … The telescope celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020, and has been the site of many leading-edge technological and scientific advancements. The UH 2.2-meter was used to discover the Kuiper belt, the outermost observed region of our solar system, of which Pluto is a member. In 2008, it became the first telescope on Maunakea to operate without any staff at the facility at night.
The new phase of improvements will take these remote operations to the next level. The robotic upgrades will enable the telescope to perform large surveys by responding nearly instantaneously to new discoveries. Traditional telescope observing often requires several individuals to operate the telescope and its various instruments. The time spent deciding where to point the telescope and what instruments to use take away from valuable time looking at the sky.
Plans also include a new mechanized tertiary mirror that can quickly switch between a number of cameras that will allow multiple science programs to be executed in a single night. An asteroid-tracking wide-field camera, a spectrograph for rapidly identifying supernovae and the Robo-AO-2 laser adaptive optics system for studying exoplanet observations will all be accessible. A new telescope control system, telescope scheduler and safety system, will together enable these new operating modes….
read … UH telescope atop Maunakea to get big upgrade
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