VIDEO: Waimanalo Woman Disrupts Beach Wedding
COVID Count 284 new cases out of 3,033 tests
COVID Count: 220 new cases out of 2,649 tests
DoE Releases Statewide List of COVID Cases by Complex Area
Sen Mike Gabbard Joins Pro-Life Democrats
Jones Act: A public policy conundrum without a clear and ready solution
Honolulu Stay-at-Home Order Coming this Week?
KHON: … “The only way I envision getting our numbers under a hundred would be a stay-at-home order for 30 days,” Green explained.
He said that could happen as early as this week.
“That may be what we need from a healthcare standpoint and if the governor and mayor make that decision it will be to save lives.”
Not everyone is in favor of shutting down.
KHON2 asked, “What do you say to those that would say its an overreaction?”
“I’d say that I can’t allow 4,000 people to die on my watch. And that’s what would happen if we let COVID roll over Hawaii completely.”
The last thing he wants to have to do is turn someone away from the hospital who needs care because they don’t have any room available.
Lt. Gov. Green said there will likely be some stops and starts through the end of the year, or at least until there is a vaccine….
SA: With a benchmark of 3,000 active COVID-19 cases surpassed, another lockdown is on the table
Big Q: Given the rise in COVID-19 cases, should the governor impose a stay-at-home order for Oahu?
read … Lieutenant Governor: Honolulu could be heading for another shut-down as early as this week
From Early On, Miske Was On The Path To A Life Of Crime
CB: …Federal prosecutors allege that while the exact origin of Miske’s racketeering conspiracy is unknown, it was already up and running as a criminal gang “by at least in or about the late 1990s.”
A review of court records, newspaper archives, and other available public documents from that period confirms that by the time Mike Miske was 21 years old, he was a felon, a multiple offender, and well on his way to a criminal career…. (which was enabled by Hawaii’s Soft on Crime Judiciary and stopped ONLY by the Feds.)….
Mike Miske turned 19 years old on Feb. 15, 1993.
Shortly before his birthday, Miske was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and criminal property damage (a petty misdemeanor). He was arraigned in Honolulu’s 1st Circuit Court on Feb. 16, represented by a court appointed attorney, Reinhard Mohr.
Miske pleaded not guilty, asked for a jury trial, and his case was set for trial in August. These were the first charges to appear on his criminal record after becoming an adult.
Court records show prosecutors were unable to contact their complaining witness, and when she failed to appear for the trial, the charges against Miske were dismissed.
On Feb. 5, 1993, just a week before Miske’s 19th birthday, police seized his car in connection with a burglary and theft case, according to a legal notice published later when the car was designated for forfeiture and sale.
In April 1993, Miske was charged with tampering with physical evidence, a misdemeanor, and again represented by Mohr in the Kaneohe District Court proceedings. These charges were thrown out after prosecutors acknowledged exceeding the 180-day limit for providing a “speedy trial.” …
CB: It will be at least another year before suspected Hawaii Kai crime boss Michael Miske and his 10 co-defendants stand trial
(See how this ends up?)
read … From Early On, Miske Was On The Path To A Life Of Crime
Local nonprofits fear inmate release will free domestic abusers to Spread COVID to their Victims
KITV: … Domestic Violence Action Center and Child and Family Service are cautioning against releasing inmates as a means of combating COVID-19 in prison.
DVAC Chief Executive Officer Nanci Kreidman told KITV4 she strongly opposes a "wholesale" release of inmates, and believes each release should be vetted thoroughly and coordinated with any victims of that inmate's crime.
"Did anybody make contact with [the victim] to see what kind of risk, what kind of lethality might be present?" asked Kreidman.
"So few abusers go to jail in the first place," said Kreidman. …
"Where is he going to stay? He's either going to be homeless or he's going to show up right where she is, and she is going to be too afraid to say no," Kreidman explained….
read … Local nonprofits fear inmate release will free domestic abusers
Sensing Opportunity Created by ACLU: Book Burning Criminals Light Fires, lockdowns twice at Oahu's largest jail on Saturday
KITV: … "Due to the strains the facility is facing from the COVID-19 outbreak, lunch was served an hour late. Inmates became upset and attempted to start a small fire but it was quickly extinguished."
Our sources tell us lunch is usually served at 10 a.m. but it was nearly 1 p.m. and there was no food yet, which is when the fire started. PSD says food service is now back on track.
Sources also say multiple civilian kitchen workers and inmate kitchen workers tested positive for COVID-19 in Module 18. That's where the food is prepared, so it's now drastically understaffed….
Multiple sources confirm that upset inmates burning paperback books caused the second fire. We're told that one started in the Max Control Unit….
(Idea: Don’t give them books to burn.)
"The inmates upped the level. Now they're attempting to flood the holding units by stopping up the toilets because they know we can't turn off their water."
This guard says meals are being served several hours late. He also says, "It's getting bad inside the facility." He tells us some COVID-19 units have been locked down for more than 2 days with no showers, no time out of rooms, no recreation, and no phone privileges….
(And they think they can get out so they are creating a crisis.)
read … Fires, lockdowns twice at Oahu's largest jail on Saturday
DoE, HSTA Working Together to Ensure Distance learning is a Failure? (again)
MN: … If students do not return to campuses until 2021 or 2022, top DOE officials will have to account for why they didn’t have teachers spend this summer preparing for the inevitable. The brass has consistently focused on schools offering some form of in-person classes.
This focus may turn out to have forced many missed opportunities. Resources spent on things like installing Plexiglass shields could have gone to providing computers and internet access for students in need. Curriculums could have been videotaped and then shown on cable TV channels that were secured over the summer. Teachers could have centered their time developing remote teaching programs and supplemental materials….
(CLUE: If distance learning is successful, why would we need so many HSTA members or DoE bureaucrats? Failure is job security.)
read … DOE turning in C grade work
COVID Recession Sharply Reduces Electricity Consumption
SA: … For Hawaiian Electric, the drop in kWh sales in June was 6.3%, 12.4% and a whopping 25.8% for HECO, HELCO and MECO, respectively. For Quarter 2, HECO experienced a reduction of 9.2% in kWh sales, HELCO 11.7% and MECO 24.5%….
(HEI) brought in 15.7% less revenue in last quarter compared to the same period last year….
According to a recent report from the economics-consultancy firm Brattle Group, the average hit in kWh sales across seven representative mainland regions for June was 3.2% compared to the average of the previous four years….
PV: “Hawaiian Electric finances –fewer tourists and less revenue challenges regulatory model.”
read … Hawaiian Electric and COVID-19 costs
Honolulu mayoral candidates pay a hefty price for rail misdeeds—Caldwell Gubernatorial Campaign Doomed
Shapiro: … the losing veterans — Mufi Hannemann, Colleen Hanabusa and Kym Pine — all were tainted by the city’s $9.2 billion rail disaster.
Hannemann initiated the project, winning approval from the City Council and funding from the Legislature after those before him had failed. He got a referendum of approval past a skeptical public by barely half the vote.
It made him the primary face of the project’s overpromising and underdelivering, and his efforts to pass blame to his successors never resonated.
His fifth-place finish for mayor, after two lopsided losses for governor and one for Congress, appears to derail any hope for further political relevance.
Hanabusa served for 10 months as chairwoman of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation…
Pine was an unabashed promoter of rail as a state legislator and city councilwoman…
These three aren’t the first casualties of rail at the polls. Hannemann’s successor, Peter Carlisle, was soundly defeated for reelection after two years of cartoonish cheerleading for rail as it sank deeper into trouble….
Current Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Hannemann’s managing director and staunch ally on rail, was elected on a false “Build Rail Better” promise only after Pacific Resource Partnership — an alliance of the Carpenters Union and construction industry — ran a $3 million smear campaign on his behalf against former governor and anti-rail candidate Ben Cayetano.
The betting here is that if Caldwell proceeds with his plan to run for governor in 2022, voters fed up with rail will be waiting to give him the same smackdown they gave Hannemann and Carlisle….
read … Honolulu mayoral candidates pay a hefty price for rail misdeeds
Ige to Kouchi: Senators’ visit to DOH was ‘neither respectful nor appropriate'
HNN: … the political infighting and backlash continues at the state’s highest levels of office.
In a newly obtained letter, Gov. Ige calls out the state senators who made an unannounced visit to the health department earlier this month.
He sent the letter, dated Aug. 11, to Senate President Ron Kouchi, essentially scolding members of the state Senate’s COVID-19 task force for their actions. It also asks Sen. Kouchi to ensure it doesn’t happen again to the Department of Health, or any other state agency .
The letter says in part, “...When disagreements exist, there are respectful and appropriate ways to address them. What happened on Friday was neither respectful nor appropriate."
He echoed concerns about the purpose of the visit and privacy issues in protecting sensitive health information. Concerns very similar to those from Health Director Bruce Anderson, who previously called the move “blatant political showmanship.”
But in Senator Kouchi’s response, he says leaders simply need to work together to get things done for the people of Hawaii when it matters most.
Kouchi stands by the actions of the senators, saying the visit brought to light the faults of the department — particularly in its contact tracing program….
in Massachusetts: Contact tracers and community partners don’t just inform people of possible exposures, their program takes it a step further by helping individuals get the supplies they need while in quarantine. That limits the spread of the virus while ensuring people have day-to-day necessities.
Hawaii is nowhere near such a program…
SA: Hawaii Gov. David Ige calls out senators following Department of Health contact tracing tour
read … Ige to Kouchi: Senators’ visit to DOH was ‘neither respectful nor appropriate'
Local leaders work to ensure mail-in voting is available to all, despite USPS challenges
HNN: … legislators are requesting for mail ballots to be sent out earlier so voters will have more time to get their ballot.
They’re also asking for the elections office to consider getting more voter ballot drop boxes….
Hawaii News Now reached out to Rex Quidilla, elections administrator for the city and county of Honolulu who said they don’t have enough time to get more ballot drop boxes between now and the general elections.
But adds that they will be sending the ballots in advance and is encouraging voters to plan ahead and send ballots at least five days before the deadline ….
read … Local leaders work to ensure mail-in voting is available to all, despite USPS challenges
DoE Staffer Chooses Homeschooling
CB: … there’s less variability now with most public schools turning to all-distance models until mid-September, Honolulu resident Melyssa Ching-Goya is familiar with the tough choices that inevitably await.
A speech pathologist of 18 years at a Hawaii Department of Education school, Ching-Goya grappled with the decision of keeping her 8-year-old daughter in her DOE school in the Punchbowl area, when it was offering a hybrid plan, or opting to homeschool her this year.
She was not comfortable sending her child back into the school — and still isn’t, even to get trained to use online platforms — amid the surge of coronavirus cases in Hawaii and growing body of research that younger kids can exhibit milder symptoms of COVID-19 but still spread the virus….
Related: Homeschooling? Hawaii State Library offers free 'Scholastic Teachables'
read … Parents Navigate Difficult Choices Around Schools’ Reopening Plans
‘COVID-19 exposure’ to staff temporarily closes Kapiolani Medical Center’s Adult ICU
KHON: … It will remain closed until Thursday, Aug. 20.
Officials say that a six employees who work in the hospital’s Adult Intensive Care Unit are now in self-quarantine due to what hospital officials say is a COVID-19 exposure.
The AICU is a three-bed unit with a small staff.
“Due to the limited staff now available, we are taking precautionary steps to ensure there is minimal impact to our patients and they continue to receive the appropriate level of care needed,” said hospital officials. “We will continue to provide acute-level emergency care for any adult inpatient with staff from other departments within the medical center.”
The hospital says that patients who need ICU-level care during the closure will be transferred to Pali Momi Medical Center or Straub Medical Center as needed….
read … ‘COVID-19 exposure’ to staff temporarily closes Kapiolani Medical Center’s Adult ICU
Criminal Gets COVID—tries to use it to justify escape from halfway house
HNN: … “They’re sending me back when I’m still considered positive for corona. Sending me back in to infect other people in the prison,” Jason Lewis, the OCCC inmate said in a video before he turned himself in on Thursday.
Jason Lewis was out on parole when he tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 3. — 11 days before he turned himself.
After testing positive, Lewis’ mother said he got permission to move into a studio to self isolate so the halfway house could be cleaned. After he declined to move back into the halfway house, she said authorities issued a warrant and sent him to jail.
(IQ Test: Do you believe this?)
“He was trying to reason with them that they had COVID there and he had a place, a studio, which was OK’d by the state,” Kim Lewis said.
She said her son was in the final weeks of his stay at the clean and sober house and was eager to get out.
Attorney Myles Breiner said Lewis was trying to protect himself and prevent infecting anyone else. “They wanted him to move back into the halfway house where he contracted the virus. He objected to that and as a result, he’s back in custody now at OCCC where it’s even worst. Literally out of the frying pan into the fire,” said Breiner.
(IQ Test: Do you believe this?)
Hawaii Paroling Authority officials said they were unable to comment on offender health information, but confirmed Lewis was arrested on Thursday.
“Due to State and Federal laws regarding the unauthorized disclosure of protected health information, we are unable to provide any information regarding this offender testing, results of the testing, etc.
“What we can state is that on Friday, July 31, 2020, HPA issued a warrant for his arrest for alleged violations of the terms and conditions of his parole, which included being away from his authorized residence on two (2) separate occasions, and for failure to remain at his clean and sober residence for six (6) months."…
KHON: 42 more inmates, 9 staff at OCCC test positive for COVID-19, brings inmate case total to 166
read … Parolee positive for COVID sent to OCCC, despite state’s knowledge of diagnosis
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