Ige Announces Vaccine Rationing Plan
It’s Time to Review Your Medicare Coverage
Aloha and Mahalo from Rep Cynthia Thielen
COVID Count 102 new cases out of 4,329 tests
COVID Count: 131 new cases out of 4,843 tests
Rail and Bill 80 two peas in a pod
Not the Kiss of Death? Blangiardi Still Winning Even After Admitting he Voted for Donald Trump
CB: … The 30-second spot opens with Blangiardi telling two Civil Beat reporters that he voted for Donald Trump in 2016. The ad closes with the same clip.
In between there is a compelling series of images of people in the islands and a voiceover that says in part “Here, we won’t let hate and division take hold … Here, we’ll beat COVID by embracing science and caring about each other.”
There is mention of “the values that make us special,” but it’s clear they are not shared by Trump — and, by implication, Blangiardi.
Is the ad fair? You betcha.
Judgment is a big part of politics, and four years ago Blangiardi voted for a man who has become perhaps the most polarizing president in modern times. The ad does not include Blangiardi acknowledging he was wrong, but still.
Trump is also unpopular in the islands, according to recent polls, and Democratic Party voters who are still on the fence in the mayor’s race might be persuaded to lean left and fall on the green grass of Amemiya’s camp after seeing this ad ….
(This indicates that Trump is not the kiss of political death.)
Reality: Poll: Blangiardi 49% – Amemiya 36%
Flashback: In 2016 Caldwell drove Djou’s Poll Numbers Down with ads reminding voters that Djou was a Republican
read … Blangiardi = Trump, Amemiya = Values
Honolulu Mayoral Candidates Can’t — Or Won’t — Say What They’ll Do About Rail
CB: …The nearly $10 billion project is now short between $1.25 billion and $1.5 billion, and outgoing Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told members of the Honolulu City Council earlier this month that “we know we’re not going to have the money we need” to finish the project as planned.
If that “October surprise” has triggered any innovative thinking on the part of mayoral candidates Rick Blangiardi and Keith Amemiya, there is no sign of it yet — and voters are already sending in their ballots in the all-mail Nov. 3 general election….
When asked how he plans to proceed in the face of the latest rail crisis, Blangiardi replied in a written statement Tuesday that this was “a question I cannot adequately answer at this time. In fact, without the benefit of having a lot more information, anything I might say would be highly speculative, and candidly, not the way I want to begin my administration as Mayor.”
Amemiya said in an interview that he cannot say what his plan for rail is going forward, either, “because it’s a changing situation. Should I be elected, there will be a transition period for me to get more information, and I’ll have more specifics for you at that time.”
Colin Moore, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said those responses are “scary” ….
Blangiardi told Hawaii News Now after that bad news broke that “I will not raise property taxes to pay for rail.”
He added that “I would not take property tax money to pay for the construction of rail at the expense of core city services.”
Amemiya’s statement on taxes at the time was more squishy. “Well, I’m against using real property taxes for rail,” he told Hawaii News Now when interviewed about the project. “So, I’m very bullish on making sure we do it, but of course try to be mindful of the cost overruns and delays.”
Those are similar to the responses both candidates made to Honolulu Civil Beat earlier this month before the scope of the construction cost increases was made public.
“We are not going to raise property taxes,” Blangiardi told Civil Beat at the time. Amemiya was again more cautious, saying that “increasing real property taxes to fund rail is not on the table for me right now.” But he added that “Realistically, you can’t put a red line through anything if all else fails.”…
Big Q: Given today’s circumstances, what would you favor for Oahu’s rail route?
read … Honolulu Mayoral Candidates Can’t — Or Won’t — Say What They’ll Do About Rail
Oahu Alcohol-Related Crashes up 33% – Drug Related Crashes up 60%
HNN: … Bars are closed on Oahu and there’s far less traffic on the roads. But that doesn’t seem to have made the roads any safer.
In fact, the number of people killed on Oahu roads this year is up slightly compared to 2019.
According to Honolulu police, 42 lives were lost in crashes from Jan. 1 and Oct. 20. That’s up by one compared to the same time in 2019.
In those numbers are several deadly trends. Data from police sources shows fatal crashes involving alcohol have risen 33%. Meanwhile, deadly crashes tied to drug use jumped 60%
read … Bars are closed and people are driving less, but Oahu’s roads aren’t any safer
Nursing home deaths--41% of all virus-related deaths in Hawaii
HTH: … A new data dashboard released this week by AARP shows Hawaii had nearly double the national average in COVID-related nursing home deaths throughout a four-week period in August and September….
According to the dashboard, 29 COVID-19 deaths were reported in Hawaii between Aug. 24 and Sept. 20, a rate of 0.91 per 100 residents. That’s nearly twice the national average of 0.48 per 100 residents.
The nursing home deaths accounted for 41% of all virus-related deaths in the state during that time, and for 28% of such deaths since June 1.
There were 90 nursing home cases reported during the same period, or a rate of 2.8 cases per 100 residents compared to the national rate of 2.6 cases per 100 residents.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in nursing home residents since January— 135, or 1.2% of all COVID cases in the state — is lower than the national average of 3.5%.
Additionally, there were 88 staff cases, a rate of 2.8 cases per 100 residents….
read … AARP dashboard provides data on COVID-19 in Hawaii nursing homes
58,611 people have been screened in the first seven days
HTH: … Between Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Kim said, 3,891 travelers took the second test at Big Island airports, 407 of whom did so in Hilo.
Kim said people 15 tested positive on the rapid-response test administered at the airports. Of those 15, only one tested positive again on a follow-up polymerase chain reaction test, or PCR test.
According to data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, 5,013 trans-Pacific passengers arrived at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in West Hawaii during the same date range.
Lt. Gov. Josh Green, during a news conference Thursday, said 58,611 people have been screened in the first seven days since the state began its Safe Travels Hawaii program. Under the program, each island that is not the Big Island also requires a negative pre-flight COVID test to avoid quarantine, but not a post-flight test, although each other island has policies in place to allow voluntary post-flight tests.
Of those travelers, 49,791 were permitted to skip quarantine, with 7,293 still required to quarantine.
“We’ve had almost nobody have COVID when they got here,” Green said. “Out of the first 4,100 tests that we’ve done on people’s arrival, only one person out of all those people tested positive for COVID.”…
read … Almost 4,000 tested after arriving on the Big Island
Backlog in the state’s manual COVID-19 test verification process sends thousands of Hawaii travelers to quarantine
SA: … at least 3,700 travelers to Hawaii whose test results uploaded after they arrived have received status updates on the Safe Travels Hawaii platform saying that their results had to be reviewed manually. State Office of Enterprise Technology Services Caroline Julian-Freitas said the process “can take up to three or four days.”…
Miller’s test result lagged his arrival by about three hours. He said he understood that he’d have to quarantine until the test came in, but was dumbfounded when the platform marked his test for manual verification. He then joined a growing backlog of travelers in Hawaii’s pre-arrivals testing program who were struggling to get out of quarantine.
Julian-Freitas said the state cleared about 2,500 of the tests that needed manual verification over the weekend, and as of late Wednesday still had about 1,200 tests to go….
read … Backlog in the state’s manual COVID-19 test verification process sends thousands of Hawaii travelers to quarantine
Quarantine: Police Issue 8,400 warnings and 885 Tickets Since Oct 15
HNN: … Caldwell said that HPD Chief Susan Ballard and deputy Chief John McCarthy organized a call with the security personnel of all the major resorts in Waikiki.
“We were told that security is actually having calls being made up to the rooms for those who need to quarantine,” Caldwell said. “So it gave me some comfort to know that there’s enforcement going on because the Honolulu Police Department can’t be everywhere.”
Caldwell said that if hotel security finds violators, they refer the situation to HPD.
Since the pre-travel testing program launched on Oct. 15, police have issued about 8,400 warnings and 885 citations and or arrests. The majority are for large gatherings, masks and social distancing….
read … Hotels help police enforce quarantine for travelers who land without a negative test
Going after the surgeon general
SA … The city appears to be going to the mat over citations of U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams and his aide for violating the pandemic closure of Kualoa Regional Park. Their arraignment is set for Nov. 2, and there could even be a jury trial, said attorney Michael Green.
They were cited because they were taking pictures rather than swimming, which would have been OK. Worst case, he could pay a $100 fine. Still, Adams had been here to help with COVID-19 surge testing, which makes it all seem a bit harsh….
read … Going after the surgeon general
Public Defender Uses COVID as Excuse to keep Fentanyl Dealer on Streets
MN: … In arguing for supervised release or a bail reduction, Deputy Public Defender Heather Wolfenbarger said Camacho has ties to the community, has lived on the island for at least 14 years and has a job and family here.
The court can keep tabs on him by having him check in with the Maui Intake Service Center, she said.
She also mentioned trying to keep him out of jail during the COVID-19 pandemic as the Maui Community Correctional Center had 260 inmates as of Monday, over its design capacity of 209 inmates.
But Deputy Prosecutor Tracy Jones argued to maintain bail at $250,000 because of Camacho’s actions and the danger he poses to the community, as he had bootleg pills that resembled oxycodone.
Testing showed the pills actually contained fentanyl, which is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine and is lethal, she added….
In a preliminary hearing Oct. 7, a Maui police officer said Camacho told him he had sold some of the opioids to a man who later died in August….
read … Bail kept at $250K for man found with bootleg fentanyl
How Distance Education Fails One Family
CB: … Before the Rosses relocated to Honolulu from Japan in early August, school for their two young children followed a regular routine. They were at school Monday to Friday, with the kids on the bus by 8:15 a.m. and back on base at 3 p.m.
The school — located just outside Tokyo, which runs on an April to March school calendar — took “great precautions” to bring children onto campus during the pandemic, such as mask wearing, frequent hand washing, daily temperature checks and sanitation of high-touch surfaces, said Misha Ross….
Now, structure has given way to fidgety sessions in front of the computer, distractions posed by noisy leaf blowers and parental acquiescence to spontaneous play time, as Amelia Ross, 5, and her brother Graham, 3, adapt to virtual learning on a new island, in a new country.
“The space we are living in is small and it is hard to find any quiet, private space to do work,” said Misha, 37, whose husband is in the Navy. “There’s also not much for the kids to do, so they get bored and disruptive easily.”…
read … Military Family Struggles To Find School Routine That Works
Legislature Must Give The Police Standards Board The Money It Needs To Do Its Job
CB: … Hawaii has a long history of cops behaving badly. The new oversight panel aims to address that, but it can't without financial support….
read … Legislature Must Give The Police Standards Board The Money It Needs To Do Its Job
Hawaii CBD Restrictions
CBJ: … Perhaps more surprising is Hawaii, which restricts the sale and distribution of CBD, aligning with the FDA’s guidance. In Hawaii it is illegal to add CBD to food, beverages, as well as to sell it as a dietary supplement or market it by asserting health claims. It is also illegal to add CBD to cosmetics, an uncommon restriction across the many states with CBD-specific laws and regulations. Unlike Idaho and Mississippi, which have no medical marijuana programs, Hawaii has long legalized marijuana for medical purposes and in January 2020 decriminalized recreational possession. Hawaii very recently enacted legislation allowing the production and sale of cannabis-infused consumable and topical products by medical cannabis licensees effective January 1, 2021, but this legislation did not address CBD. Given the foregoing, Hawaii’s restrictions on CBD stand out….
read … A Survey of State CBD & Hemp Regulation Since The 2018 Farm Bill
American Samoa Medical Charter to Bring 100 for Treatment in Hawaii
RNZ: … Hawai'i's governor David Ige, has granted a quarantine exemption with conditions, to passengers arriving from (COVID-free) American Samoa on a medical charter next week. … More than 100 patients and their escorts are confirmed for the one-way flight….The flight will also include federal employees or US residents who had been stranded in American Samoa since borders closed in March to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to the territory….
read … Hawai'i grants American Samoan flight quarantine exemption
Four Cronies of the Apocalypse: Ex-Governors Back Hu Honua Scheme
SA: … Four former Hawaii governors (who never met a crony capitalist they didn’t like) have (unsurprisingly) thrown their support behind the controversial Honua Ola Bioenergy project, whose fate is under appeal before the state Supreme Court.
George Ariyoshi (1974-1986), John Waihe‘e (1986-1994), Ben Cayetano (1994-2002) and Neil Abercrombie (2010-2014) issued a joint statement Thursday urging that the biomass (overpriced) plant be allowed to go forward and begin producing clean renewable energy (cashflow) ….
read … Former Hawaii governors support Big Isle energy project
COVID 38 Cases on Lanai
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