Ige 45th: ALEC Ranks Governors
COVID Count: 90 new cases out of 3,873 tests
COVID Count: 121 new cases
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted October 24, 2020
Sexual Preference: Senator Hirono’s Double Standard
Ethics: DCCA Audit Examiner likes Nobu, Suntory, Hihimanu
HGEA Bumbling Ruins Vacations for Thousands
KITV: … Californians Val Chang and Elijah McCauley said they did what they needed to do--take a test from an approved provider 72 hours before departure. But days have passed since they arrived, and both are still cooped up in their hotel rooms.
"It's so frustrating for me to be here, with my negative COVID test, wanting to enjoy Hawaii but feeling so unwelcome," Chang said. She and her sister are staying at resort in Ko'olina on O'ahu. Her sister and husband are allowed to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine, as their results already came back negative.
Chang said her test was not processed until 48 hours after she took it--so she did not have the results when she landed in Honolulu on Wednesday. Her results came back negative on Thursday, but hours after calling and emailing the office that manages the state's pre-travel testing program, she was notified she needed to stay in quarantine until her results were manually verified.
"That's it. There was no other information and I was shocked that I thought, okay may be it takes an hour to manually verify my information, may be they can't do it instantly. May be a couple hours, and then now I'm reading, it could take three days," Chang said.
The delay is even longer for McCauley, who did not receive his results yet.
"It's a complete disaster, total nightmare, I feel kind of like I'm in jail," McCauley said.
McCauley was told his results could face a 10-day lag due to an error in his personal information. His Maui vacation, however, is scheduled for 7 days.
"I've been in my room for four days, and I guess I got another three or four days, and enjoying the view of my hotel room I guess and that's my trip," McCauley said. …
read … Some visitors are stuck in quarantine due to delays in pre-travel testing results
Green worries COVID-19 infections could hit triple digits on Lanai
KHON: … “I would not be surprised if we see well over a hundred people ultimately positive,” said Green.
With a potential lockdown scheduled on Tuesday, residents like Kathy Carroll said there hasn’t been much panic.
The island was COVID free for nearly 8 months as wearing masks and social distancing has not been an issue.
“I personally don’t see a lot of panic,” said Carroll. “I see people just almost more resolved to beat this and do what they can.” …
“I spent yesterday trying to find oximeters because we wanted as many as we can here,” said Grove. “And I finally reached out to friends on the mainland and started a competition to see how many can send small sets of them and I have about 80 on the way here.”
“Hawaii has really come to our aid, Maui Brewing Company just flew their plane over and donated a lot of supplies,” said de Jetley….
Over 500 pounds of cleaning products and masks were donated by the lieutenant governor’s office in partnership with the Taiwanese community and Coast Guard Auxiliary….
KHON: Hundreds show up for mass testing on Lanai, residents continue to battle spread of virus
read … Green worries COVID-19 infections could hit triple digits on Lanai
Caldwell: Build Rail Line to Station ‘Near Downtown’
SA: … Rather than stop at Middle Street, issue a new design/build request for proposals (RFP) that would extend the system from Middle Street to a station in or near the downtown area….
read … Pave path forward to complete Oahu’s rail
Honolulu rail delays could affect Oahu Community Correctional Center site redevelopment
SA: … Lawmakers and community leaders have long dreamed of redeveloping the 16-acre OCCC site into any number of possibilities and combinations, including a mix of open space, retail and housing.
The current jail, bordered by Dillingham Boulevard and Puuhale Road between two proposed rail stops, has to be relocated first. The current preferred location would be on 30 acres of state land where the Animal Quarantine Station now sits in Halawa. The animal quarantine operation would move to a smaller footprint on the same parcel to make way for a new jail….
read … Honolulu rail delays could affect Oahu Community Correctional Center site redevelopment
TMT opponents oppose small teaching telescope at Halepohaku
HTH: … UH-Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin told the Tribune-Herald earlier this month that she expects a certain amount of opposition to the Halepohaku site, but added that she believes that others — even some who are opposed to the TMT project — will be satisfied.
“Some of the (opponents) believe there should be nothing added anywhere on the mauna, but we also know that many of the opponents are very happy that we’re going to be decommissioning the site on the summit,” Irwin said. “And because where we would like to put the new teaching telescope is on ground that’s already been disturbed … the impact will be minimal and yet it will provide the opportunity for the community.”
Irwin also pointed out that the small size of the teaching telescope — it’s about 8 feet tall, with a 28-inch aperture — should allay fears about the scope of the facility.
After Monday, the public comments will be forwarded to the Board of Regents, which will then decide how to proceed with the project. Construction is estimated to begin in 2023.….
Meanwhile: Isle-based astronomer earns Nobel accolades
read … TMT opponents oppose small teaching telescope at Halepohaku
Hawaii: Meet Your Electoral College
CB: … The Democratic Party’s electors this year are Hermina (Mina) Morita, John William Bickel, Kainoa Kaumeheiwa-Rego and Michael Golojuch Sr. By law, they will meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December — this year, that’s Dec. 14 — at 2 p.m. at the state Capitol to cast their votes. Democrats have four alternate electors in case something happens with the electors, as well as another set of alternates as a secondary backup….
read … Here’s Who Really Votes For President In Hawaii
Latest Scheme: Free House in Hawaii in Exchange for your So-Called ‘Tech’ Stock
SA: … Most high-tech companies offer their employees incentive stock options (ISO). The options usually are priced in pennies or low dollars. As their companies develop and grow, those ISOs can become valuable. Those options become valuable when there is a liquidity event — acquisition, public offering, etc.
If Hawaii had a couple of venture capital funds, they could trade for some of those options with cash before the ISOs achieved their liquidity value. That would enable entrepreneurs to exercise (buy) some of their options for pennies or low dollars and then trade (tax free) those options to a local Hawaii venture fund for a significant cash profit. If a few of those entrepreneurs combined their profits, they could have enough capital to seed-fund their company and to subsidize their housing….
(IQ Test; How can you ‘work’ this system to get yourself a free oceanfront spread in Kahala?)
read … Are you dumb enough to fall for this?
Election News:
Corona Virus News:
QUICK HITS: