Hawaii Incarceration Rate Drops 19% due to Steven Alm probation reform
Conservative Rankings of Hawaii State Legislators-2019 Session
Auditor: Four Years Later HART Finally Acts on Recommendations
Employment Recovery: Nobody Lags Like Hawaii
COVID Count 110 new cases
COVID: Sister Isles Sense Opportunity to Kill off Tourism
CB: … “Our main priority with the opening of our economy is being able to stay open,” Kawakami said. “Friends on Oahu are looking at Kauai with wishful thinking … Kauai resembles almost-normal daily operations, though the visitor industry needs to be recovered. But we need to do it in a way that strikes the right balance, in a way that we can protect our people, the workers, manage any outbreaks, and make sure that we don’t have too many cases happen all at once. I know that the visitor industry is suffering. We’re doing everything that we can to get them recovered, but we’re also mindful of how quickly a shut-down could happen again on Kauai based on caseload and medical capacity.”
(Translation: This is our Superferry moment—again. We don’t like tourism and this is our best chance to tamp it down.)
Lt. Gov. Josh Green has not supported Kauai’s second-test proposal, telling Hawaii News Now this week, “From the start, I’ve always felt that testing was good, but mask-wearing is what actually stops the virus. And so, if the mayors want to stop the spread of the virus, get the mask-wearing rates up to 95% or 93% in your counties. That will stop the spread of the virus. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about inter-island tests, you wouldn’t have to worry about any tests if people were wearing masks at that level, except for testing close contacts of positives.”
According to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, Kauai County has a mask-wearing percentage of 62%. That statistic is prominently featured at the top of the page, like a scolding finger pointing directly at the island.
(Translation: This isn’t about COVID, it is about killing tourism.)
Rapozo, a former Kauai council member and Kawakami’s closest rival in the 2018 mayor’s race, wasn’t buying any of that. “They’re telling us to put on our masks, stay home and shut up,” he said.
Maui’s Mayor Michael Victorino is in the same situation, having also been denied plans for post-arrival testing of incoming visitors to the island.
Meanwhile, Hawaii island Mayor Harry Kim is just flatly opting out of the state’s pre-travel testing option, so visitors to that island will have to obey a 14-day quarantine even after the state’s new plan goes into effect Oct. 15. On Tuesday he joined the other mayors in backing a two-test program.
“I will say that they should see the mayors as a resource; that I know this island better than the governor and the lieutenant governor,” Kawakami said. “No disrespect to them, but they know their hometown better than I would. And so, when you have this sort of big operation, you need to have a decentralized command. That’s a military term … being able to have trust in your team that they have the decision-making processes to make good decisions for what’s closest at home.”….
HTH: Kim wants more tests; Big Island mayor might opt out of governor’s plan for trans-Pacific travelers
KITV: Kaua'i Mayor: A decision has not yet been made on whether Kaua'i will opt-out of state's pre-travel testing plan
read … Neighbor Islands Chafe At Oahu-Centric Tourism Plan
Honolulu 'Boogaloo' Activist Charged with Cyber Attack on HPD, Ammo, Drugs
HNN: … A Waikiki man who was arrested in May for illegally carrying ammunition during a protest rally has now been charged with orchestrating email attacks on the Honolulu Police Department’s computers.
Christian Grado, 29, (whose bail money website says 'Back the Boog-igloo') remains behind bars after he was accused of sending thousands of emails to a server used to help report and enforce stay-at-home violations. Authorities characterized the attack as an email bomb.
“It’s basically what we call a DNS -- a denial of service attack -- where they system gets overloaded with data coming in that it’s not able to handle and process all that data. It’s like clogging the pipes,” said former HPD cybercrime investigator Chris Duque.
A criminal complaint filed Tuesday said that between Aug. 9 and Aug. 10, Grado used a program to send “2,292 emails ... or one email sent every 30 seconds for 20 hours straight.” …
Along with the computer evidence, sources said police also found drugs and ammunition. He was arrested on the drug charges on Sept. 24….
Police said he was arrested then for illegally carrying ammunition during a George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protest….
“The defendant has prior arrests in 2020 for illegal possession of ammunition and also for a C felony for promoting a harmful drug," said Deputy Prosecutor Darryl Miyahira….
read … Waikiki man charged for bizarre 'email bomb’ cyber attack targeting HPD
Looking at Alaska’s Two-Test Travel Policy
CB: … Alaska’s policy of requiring tourists to take two COVID-19 tests – something some Hawaii’s neighbor-island mayors are calling for – has had mixed results. On one hand, he says, the two-test policy has probably prevented visitors from spreading virus; on the other hand, it hasn’t prevented disease from spreading out of control – thanks to residents.
“We have rampant uncontrolled community spread” in Anchorage, McMurren said. “And honestly travel, while it’s still a concern, it’s not the predominant cause.”…
In Alaska’s case, non-residents visiting the state are expected to take a test 72 hours before departure and upload the negative result into an app, similar to what Ige’s COVID-19 Liaison, Lt. Gov. Josh Green, described in a presentation last week. Travelers who don’t have results back when they arrive in Alaska have to stay quarantined until the results come in, which is similar to Hawaii’s plan.
In Alaska, the difference is that travelers who stay longer than a week have to take a second test seven to 14 days after arrival. Until visitors have taken the test, they’re required to practice “strict social distancing.”…
read … Why Alaska’s COVID-19 Test Program For Travelers Isn’t Working As Well As Hoped
Fauci: Hawaii can reopen to tourists
HNN: … As the state prepares to launch a pre-travel coronavirus testing program next week, it’s inevitable that COVID-infected people will slip through the cracks and into Hawaii, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert said Wednesday.
He added that shouldn’t stop the state from attempting to breathe life back into the tourism industry.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, made the comments Wednesday morning during a live talk story session on Olelo with Lt. Gov. Josh Green.
Fauci added that he understands that many people in Hawaii, and especially those in rural communities on the neighbor islands, may have anxiety about tourists returning to Hawaii.
But controlling the coronavirus will end up being much more about the preventative measures taken in the state than it will be about who comes into it, Fauci said ― especially if you accept one specific thing from the beginning.
“Let me say something that’s reality. No matter what you do, there are gonna be infected people who slip through the cracks. It’s inevitable,” said Fauci. “The critical issue is that since you have such a low level of infection right now, you should be able to handle that.”
With enough attention paid to preventative measures, like mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing, Hawaii should be able to reopen.
“I think you can. You can do it gradually and prudently and carefully, you can do that,” Fauci said. “You can get the economy back, and the jobs that are so dependent on people traveling into your state.”
SA: Dr. Anthony Fauci offers advice to help Hawaii through coronavirus crisis – “Wear a mask”
read … Fauci: Hawaii can reopen to tourists, but should do so gradually and carefully
To Justify Tax Hike, Honolulu Agencies Asked To Pretend to Identify Potential Budget Cuts Up To 10%
CB: … The City Council budget chair says property tax increases may be necessary in a year or two if revenue continues to drop….
read … Honolulu Agencies Asked To Identify Potential Budget Cuts Up To 10%
COVID outbreak at a Maui care home jumps by 7 cases, bringing total to 67
HNN: … Health officials are tracking another growing outbreak of COVID-19 cases at a care home in Kahului.
Roselani Place in Kahului said seven more residents have tested positive for the coronavirus. The facility now has had a total of 67 cases among staff and residents; 31 cases among staff, and 36 among residents.
Of the cases, 19 are currently considered active, all of which are residents. They remain in isolation.
The independent living facility has been directed to change the resident isolation period from two weeks to three weeks….
MN: 7 more Roselani residents test positive
read … COVID outbreak at a Maui care home jumps by 7 cases, bringing total to 67
New DoH Leadership Helps Move COVID Patients out of Nursing Home
CB: … Last month, state Rep. John Mizuno visited the 92-bed Liliha Healthcare Center after receiving a tip from a nurse there about an uncontrolled COVID-19 outbreak.
The nursing home’s director of nursing told Mizuno she needed help — immediately.
So he contacted senior administrators at the Hawaii Department of Health, who in turn contacted the DOH’s new acting director Dr. Libby Char. Four hours later, Char and her colleagues had organized the relocation of 15 nursing home residents who tested positive for COVID-19 to Wahiawa General Hospital….
read … ‘We’re In A Really Tough Place Right Now’: Can Hawaii’s New Health Director Make A Difference?
Hawaii -- Two Nobel Prizes
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