Please Do Not Close Community Gardens
Perpetual Pandemia
Honolulu Hale closing – Caldwell Tests Negative
Lawsuit Victory: American Samoans Win Gun Rights in Hawaii
COVID Count: 118 new cases out of 1,671 tests
‘Out of Control’ -- HGEA grievance cites just 15 contact tracers on Oahu
SA: … The Hawaii Government Employees Association has filed a grievance against the state Department of Health alleging that there are only 15 epidemiological specialists on Oahu and three on the neighbor islands to perform contact tracing for thousands of potential COVID-19 cases.
(EDITOR's NOTE: HGEA's pension and jobs depend on re-starting Hawaii's economy. Restart depends on contract-tracing to knock COVID numbers down. Instead of bickering with DoH, HGEA should be volunteering to staff up a contract tracing phone bank just as they eventually, after some initial kicking and screaming, volunteered to staff-up the DLIR unemployment phone bank in April and May. That contact-tracing phone bank is the key to saving Hawaii ERS. HGEA needs leadership that can tell the membership to step up to save their own pension and jobs.)
The grievance, which was emailed to state Department of Heath director Bruce Anderson on Friday, was filed on behalf of employees who are performing or have performed COVID-19 contact tracing, field swabbing and outreach response duties.
The state DOH said today that it was not available for an immediate comment.
The union alleges that far fewer employees are working in contract tracing than DOH has publicly indicated and that they are overworked. According to HGEA’s grievance, epidemiological specialists have been working daily overtime, including weekends and holidays. The union said some employees were mandated to work six-days a week and were required to answer and respond to phone calls during non-work hours and participate in last-minute meetings about newly assigned cases.
“Our members have been working incredibly hard to keep up with contact tracing but it has become an impossible task,” HGEA said in a statement on Monday. “The steady surge in cases over the last couple of weeks could have been mitigated if the DOH had brought on additional staff more quickly. This grievance represents the tip of the iceberg of a much larger public health problem.”
HGEA’s grievance also alleges that some of DOH’s epidemiological specialists were required to perform field swabbing and outreach response without official guidelines, protocols or proper training. Further, union members were, “simply provided personal protective equipment (PPE) and directed to go out and swab or to report to positive COVID-19 persons homes to collect medical specimens.”
HGEA’s allegations are in direct contrast to comments made by Anderson during an Aug. 3 media briefing and by State Epidemiologist Sarah Park during an Aug. 6 hearing of the Senate Special Committee on COVID-19. Both said the state has about 105 active contract tracers that could be increased as needed.
Anderson said DOH can tap other staff members, public health nurses and Hawaii National Guard members. He added that the state has a bench of about 450 tracers that had been trained at the University of Hawaii. But as of last week, only about 20 contact tracers had been hired from this partnership, which was funded with $2.5 million in CARES Act money….
Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green said Monday that Hawaii needs at least 400 to 500 contact tracers to handle the current increase in cases.
Recommendations vary, but George Washington University proposes a staffing ratio of at least 40 contact tracers per 100,000 population, which in Hawaii is about 564 . The National Association of County and City Health Officials says there should be 30 tracers per 100,000 population — about 420 tracers in Hawaii….
read … HGEA grievance cites just 15 contact tracers on Oahu, where COVID-19 cases are surging
Contact Tracing: Use DLIR’s Hawaii Convention Center Phone Bank
KHON: … He says he and other health experts have been calling on DOH to hire more contact tracers and do more testing. Both Anderson and Park have said there will be enough when the surge comes.
Green says the time has come and we’re only doing more than 2,000 tests daily when we should be at 10,000. And we have fewer than 100 tracers when we need up to 500.
“This was a failure and the reluctance and the animosity towards those who made recommendations to test and trace was very evident,” said Green.
State senators with the Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 also expressed frustration after visiting DOH on Friday to see contact tracers at work. Senators say tracers were clearly overworked and overwhelmed, working 12-hour shifts, and prioritizing to cases who are more vulnerable….
He adds that the committee will work with the health department to use the Hawaii Convention Center as a call center. Similar to the way the labor department used it to handle the surge of unemployment claims.
As for Green’s push to put someone else in charge, that’s up to the governor….
HNN: Senators encouraged a move to the Hawaii Convention Center, which still has work stations set up to handle a previous huge increase in unemployment claims.
HPR: How Hawaii Botched Contact Tracing And What It Will Take To Fix It
read … Lt. Gov. Green calls for new DOH leadership to handle Covid testing and contact tracing
Over the weekend, Honolulu police issued 1,350 citations to those violating COVID-19 orders
HNN: … Most of the violations were issued to those who were in closed parks or lingering on beaches.
There were also violations issued to those gathering in groups of 10 or more.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell said Monday that at least one of those groups was a wedding party.
Meanwhile, HPD said it made one arrest connected to the emergency order. Officials said a man allegedly tried to kick an officer who was informing him that a park was closed.
Additionally, some 300 phone calls came into the hotline for those reporting violations of the emergency order in the first 24 hours that it was active.
The city also got about 80 emails with possible violations….
read … Over the weekend, Honolulu police issued 1,350 citations to those violating COVID-19 orders
Deputy Sheriffs exposed to inmate with COVID-19 upset DPS didn't notify them
KHON: … The Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA) claims the deputies conducted their own research and found that the inmate tested positive the same day he was in court. The inmate with COVID-19 had close contact with employees during a pat down search and while transporting the person to and from court interviews. …
CB: Hawaii Corrections Workers Fear Infection As COVID-19 Outbreak Grows
KITV: DPS reports no new positive COVID-19 cases on Monday
read … Deputy Sheriffs exposed to inmate with COVID-19 upset DPS didn't notify them
Military and their family account for 7% of Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases
SA: … In the first acknowledgement of its kind, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said military members and their families in Hawaii represent approximately 7% of the total COVID-19 cases for the state — meaning about 204 as of Thursday’s statewide count of 2,914 since the start of the outbreak….
Big Q: Should Hawaii be keeping the military’s coronavirus cases here confidential?
read … Military and their family account for 7% of Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases
Honolulu election officials address what happens to ballots that missed the Saturday deadline
KITV: … You can see people rushing to Honolulu Hale to be among the last to turn in those ballots before the 7 p.m. deadline on Saturday.
A small handful just missed the cutoff but their ballots were still taken.
KITV4 was told those ballots will not count.
Instead they are stored separately from the other ballots for 22 months.
"It would be completely segregated, it would not undergo the validation process, it would be separated and stored as late ballots,"
Now there were also 1,200 ballots total that were on time but were flagged for signature issues or missing signatures.
Voters will be notified and have within five days to correct any issues, those ballots will be included….
read … Honolulu election officials address what happens to ballots that missed the Saturday deadline
Who Wrote Letters for Miske?
CB: … Among those vouching for Miske was Angela Varnadone, who used to work for him at the M Nightclub as a brand manager, and has known him since she was “23 years old, newly divorced, and all alone in Hawaii.”…
Other people who wrote letters on Miske’s behalf included Curt Kekuna, a retired senior pastor from the historic Kawaiahao Church in downtown Honolulu, and Makani Christensen, a Marine veteran and local tour company founder who ran for U.S. Senate against Brian Schatz in 2016.
He also received letters from a handful of employees and business partners, including Larry Kapu, Brian P.K. Marinas, Allen Lau, of Kamaaina Plumbing and Renovations, and Kurt Nosal, of Univar USA….
ILind: Just a quick follow-up on those character references
ILind: Defense lawyers seek Mike Miske’s release to house arrest
read … ‘A Heart Of Gold’: The Other Side Of Accused Crime Boss Michael Miske
Nimitz Homeless Sweep Nets Appliances, SUP Boards
SA: … A private contractor for the state removed on Monday appliances and other items from the sidewalk along North Nimitz Highway where a homeless encampment has grown to about a dozen tents.
Hale Toa Mui Contractors removed three refrigerators, beds, stand-up paddleboards and a washing machine from the sidewalk near West Marine on Nimitz, makai of Longs Drug Store.
The contractor, hired by the Department of Transportation, also collected debris, trash, blankets, tarps and shopping carts that were also found on the sidewalk….
To report an unsafe situation or request services for a person experiencing homelessness, the public can call the state’s Homeless Help Line at 586-0193 or email gov.homelessness@hawaii.gov….
SA: Photos -- State sweeps Iwilei homeless encampment near Nimitz Highway
read … State sweeps Iwilei homeless encampment near Nimitz Highway
City to Gift Kamehameha Schools Development Plan with $80M in Decorative Improvements to Kalapama Canal
SA: …On Saturday, the DPP published a draft environmental impact statement for the project that includes a challenging permitting process that could take two years to obtain approvals for dredging and disposing of sediment tested for hazards.
Construction is anticipated in phases with completion by early 2026.
The DPP views the project as especially timely because a nearby planned city rail station next to the canal has prompted interest from developers to add thousands of new homes in the largely industrial area within Honolulu’s urban core.
Such interest includes a master plan by Kamehameha Schools to produce 4,000 to 5,000 new homes largely in towers on land it owns along Kapalama Canal near the planned city rail station projected to open next to Honolulu Community College in early 2026….
read … The city advances an $80 million plan to turn Kapalama Canal into a recreation area
Condo Sales Down Sharply on Maui
SA: … the number of single-family home sales for Maui County last month was one transaction shy of the sales tally for the same month last year….
In the bigger piece of Maui’s housing market last month, condominium sales continued a string of severe sales volume declines.
The number of condo sales in July fell 44% to 91 in July from 162 in the same month last year. Prior to that, year-over-year condo sale volume had plummeted 46% in June, 63% in May and 37% in April.
Despite the divergence in single-family home and condo sales in July, median prices for both types of housing were close to where they were a year earlier.
Single-family homes sold for a median $777,595 in July, down 1.3% from $788,000 a year earlier. Condos sold for a median $502,530 in July, up 1.5% from $494,875 a year earlier.
read … Some homebuyers busy on Maui in July
What Is the Jones Act, and How Does It Differ From the Passenger Vessel Services Act?
CB: … The Jones Act's less well-known counterpart, the Passenger Vessel Services Act, is worth noting because it applies to the transportation of cruise ship passengers (instead of cargo) and requires cruise lines to lay out itineraries that have the right mix of U.S. and foreign port calls.
And not just any foreign port calls will do. The act states that "nearby foreign ports" -- ports in North America, Central America, Bermuda or the West Indies, with some exceptions -- do not meet the requirements to avoid a violation. However, in the case of a roundtrip sailing, where a ship leaves from and returns to the same U.S. port, a nearby foreign port will suffice.
For example, mainstream cruise lines with foreign-flagged ships generally leave from or include Canada ports on their Alaska sailings, and Mexico calls appear on most cruises to Hawaii. (One notable exception is Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America, which is registered in the U.S., so it has permission from the American government to sail the Hawaiian Islands without calling on foreign ports.)
But, because ports in Canada and Mexico are considered nearby foreign ports and wouldn't fulfill the PVSA requirements on an open-jaw voyage, sailings to both Alaska and Hawaii tend to be roundtrip sailings, which means Canada and Mexico stops do qualify. It also means that Hawaii sailings tend to be quite long -- at least two weeks in duration -- to allow ships time to sail roundtrip from ports on the U.S. West Coast…
read … What Is the Jones Act, and How Does It Differ From the Passenger Vessel Services Act?
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