US House Impeaches Trump
Pro-Trump 'Knights of Aloha' Plans Hawaii Capitol Protest
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Worst Drivers: Hawaii Ranks 7th
Court Order: All commercial aquarium fishing completely banned in Hawaii
Hawaii Ranks 46th In Administering COVID-19 Vaccines, Feds Say we have 118,000 shots sitting in the Fridge
CB: … Hawaii is lagging in rolling out COVID-19 vaccines, falling to 44th nationwide on Wednesday as health officials struggle with capacity and uncertainty surrounding the federal delivery of more doses.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 154,000 doses have been shipped to Hawaii, but just over 36,000 have been administered. The Hawaii Department of Health says it has received about 109,000 and administered more than 40,000 — a figure that has not yet been reflected in the federal system.
Those involved in the state’s vaccination effort say the pace is expected to pick up, especially with the establishment of two mass vaccination centers on Oahu, including one opening Monday at the Honolulu Harbor’s Pier 2 Passenger Terminal.
(WRONG: The two Oahu locations will fall short of keeping up with future vaccine deliveries.)
But limited space in the health care systems and difficulties in identifying and coordinating with members of priority groups have slowed the operation since the state received its first batch of vaccines on Dec. 14.
(TRANSLATION: This is the usual Hawaii DoH bungling. Just like the DoH resistance to mass testing.)
Health officials also spoke of uncertainties about how many and when doses will arrive from the federal government, which has made scheduling and staffing challenging.
(REALLY? We’ve got vaccines in the fridge and they can’t plan? That’s true. They can’t plan. And they never will be able to plan anything except how to get their top three.)
“We are doing our best to anticipate what we will actually receive and how we can effectively get them out to the community,” Lt. Gov. Josh Green, Hawaii’s COVID-19 Liaison, said.
(YES! That is the problem. This is DoH at its best. It isn’t good enough and it never will be.)
House Speaker Scott Saiki said the state health department took unnecessarily long to set up the mass vaccination centers — a deal he and others helped broker between the state and private health networks.
“The longer the DOH drags its feet, the more Hawaii people get sick and die,” he said….
“It’s troubling that the health department didn’t take the initiative,” Saiki said. “They knew there would be a need, and they didn’t have a plan.”
(Surprised again?)
SA Editorial: Speed up access to vaccinations
FLASHBACK: VIDEO: Hawaii DoH Official Goes on 10-minute Rant Against Corona Testing
read … Hawaii Lags Other States In Administering COVID-19 Vaccines, Federal Data Shows
Oahu Vaccinations Begin Monday Age 75+ Sign Up Here
KITV: Mass vaccinations for the public are scheduled to begin on Monday.
Front line workers along with anyone age 75 and older are currently eligible for the shot.
There will be two sites -- one at Pier 2 being run by Hawaii Pacific Health, which will be open six days a week starting Monday.
The second site is scheduled to open on the following Monday, January 25th at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. That site will be run by The Queens Medical Center.
Both sites are by appointment only, and as of now they're being scheduled online.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said the city is also looking at more sites across O'ahu, possibly at Waipio Soccer Complex.
A spokesperson for the state Health Department says as of Tuesday, more than 109,000 doses of vaccine have arrived in Hawaii.
Just over 40,000 people have been vaccinated across the state so far.
Click here to sign up….
KHON: Hundreds of seniors already scheduled appointments to get vaccinated at community vaccination center
SA: Hawaii’s first mass vaccination to kick off on Monday
read … Community vaccination sites to open to essential workers and those 75 years and older
Crowds Form at Maui Vaccination Site, Hundreds Turned Away
MN: … Wait times Wednesday were also long, with some waiting around two hours to get a shot. Cars lined up for the clinic from the college’s Kaahumanu Avenue entrance and snaked to the back parking lot facing Kahului Harbor. UH-Maui College Chancellor Lui Hokoana transported some elderly participants on a large golf cart from their cars to the bathroom. There were also scores of volunteers who took time off from work to assist, with some monitoring patients after their shots were administered and others checking people in.
Pang told The Maui News in an interview at around 1:30 p.m. that Wednesday’s clinic was more difficult, as more senior citizens showed up and needed more time to get the shot, as well as additional care such as bathroom breaks, which made the clinic process longer and challenging.
Pang said people also showed up based on word of mouth and had no appointment, and some were told by their doctors to report to the site Wednesday.
The volume of patients can also be attributed to the online Vaccine Administration Management System developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which takes registrations for the vaccine and gives people the option to take the shot either at the Department of Health site at the college or at Maui Memorial Medical Center, the Health Department has said.
People end up reserving a spot at the UH-MC location, which state officials said is actually a closed point of delivery, or POD site, and is still trying to work on vaccinating the 1A top priority tier that includes health care personnel and people who live and work in high-risk facilities such as skilled nursing homes.
Maui Memorial, meanwhile, has moved on to the 1B tier that includes people older than 75, along with frontline essential workers not in the health care field.
The hospital opened up an online registration site late last week. Those that register on the hospital’s online electronic platform are supposed to get their shots at the hospital, but many may have chosen the college site instead, DOH officials said….
HNN: One Californian gets shot on Maui, Outrage ensues (yawn)
MN: UHMC Vaccination Site Closes Early to “Maintain Safety and Order”
read … Shot clinic closes early as lines build up again
What Crisis? $30M pricetag to renovate water features at the state Capitol raises eyebrows
HNN: … A $30 million price tag to renovate the state Capitol pond may be too much for lawmakers to swallow, especially with the state facing a massive budget shortfall.
State Comptroller Curt Otaguro asked lawmakers for $17.5 million this year and $12.5 million next year to fix the pond, which has been leaking water into the Capitol basement for years.
“You see paint rusting. There’s some things coming through the electrical lighting which is of concern so we shut down those areas,” said Otaguro.
“Some of drips ... exposed the new carpet that was installed last year.”…
CB: Now Is Exactly The Wrong Time To Waste $30 Million Fixing Capitol Pools
CB: Ige Seeks $30 Million To Repair Capitol Reflecting Pools
read … $30M pricetag to renovate water features at the state Capitol raises eyebrows
DoE Wastes $5M Pretending to Assemble Digital Lessons That Won’t be Ready Until COVID is Gone
CB: … Hawaii community groups plan to convene dozens of local educators this summer to help build an open-source digital collection of lesson plans and teaching materials that will be free and accessible to students, teachers and parents by 2022.
(CLUE: COVID will be gone by 2022.)
Funded with half of the $10 million of a federal grant the state received last April to address pandemic-related learning loss, the effort addresses the need to develop more place-based, culturally relevant content for use in the classroom and home….
read … Teacher Training Initiative Takes Shape Under COVID-19 Federal Grant
Barricades block Hawaii Capitol building entrances after FBI warns of armed protests in all states
KHON: … The entrances to the Hawaii State Capitol, both on the mauka and makai side, are now protected with water walls and a chain-linked fence in preparation for possible protests that federal and state agencies are monitoring….
read … Barricades block Hawaii Capitol building entrances after FBI warns of armed protests in all states
Ochs Used as Excuse to Restrict Journalists
YN: … When the live streamer known as Dick NeCarlo entered the U.S. Capitol last week with a mob incited by President Trump, he said he wasn't there to join the insurrection but to report on the mayhem shaking the nation.
But NeCarlo was treading a blurred line between journalism and activism for a far-right cause. He and colleague Nicholas Ochs were dispatched by Murder the Media, a right-wing company based in Monte Rio, Calif., that posts video and livestreams. NeCarlo donned an MT Media shirt and hat. Ochs — host of “The Ochs Report" and leader of the far-right nationalist Proud Boys in Hawaii — wore an MT Media badge. ….
But there was less journalism and more far-right sentiment evident in video the two men soon posted: “Congress stopped the vote when we stormed the Capitol. As we’ve been saying all day: We came here to stop the steal,” says Ochs.
“We did it!” NeCarlo replied. “That’s what I came down here to do. That’s what we did.”…
“Not everyone qualifies as a journalist," said David Hudson, an assistant law professor at Nashville's Belmont University and a 1st Amendment fellow at the nonprofit Freedom Forum. "Even in the age of citizen journalism and participatory journalism — and no doubt there have been some valuable contributions from some citizen journalists — there has to be some limit.”
Hudson said the law considers someone a journalist “if they are engaged in investigative reporting, gathering news, and have the intent to disseminate such information to the public.” But the law is unclear on where to draw the line between advocacy and reporting. Some courts have found bloggers to be journalists, while others haven’t.
“At some point, we do need to address who exactly qualifies,” he said….
(This is what happens when you overplay your hand by attempting to overthrow Congress.)
read … Some who stormed the Capitol, including a Proud Boys leader, claim they were citizen journalists
Results from first phase of Snorkel Safety Study explains causes of snorkeling drownings in Hawaii
KITV: … New results show most of the incidents were caused by a lung condition called Rapid Onset Pulmonary Edema or ROPE….
read … Results from first phase of Snorkel Safety Study explains causes of snorkeling drownings in Hawaii
Homelessness anticipated to gradually rise—PIT Count cancelled
HTH: … The state’s point man on homeless issues told lawmakers Wednesday he expects the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic to result in a gradual increase in homelessness statewide over the next few years.
Speaking to a joint session of the Senate Committee on Human Services and House Committee on Health, Human Services and Homelessness, Scott Morishige, Gov. Ige’s coordinator on homelessness, used the state’s homeless numbers following the Great Recession of 2008 as a predictor.
“After the last recession in Hawaii, homelessness increased in Hawaii by 2,100 people during that seven-year period between 2009 and 2016. It was a nearly 37% increase,” Morishige said. “… It’s important to recognize that the increase in homelessness that we saw was not a onetime spike. It was a gradual increase over time….
SA: PIT Will Count only Sheltered Homeless this year
read … Homelessness anticipated to gradually rise
Homeless man, 34, arrested after allegedly assaulting homeless woman with tire iron
SA: … Honolulu police arrested a 34-year-old homeless man after he allegedly assaulted a homeless woman with a tire iron in Mapunapuna early today.
Police said the suspect and the victim got into a physical altercation, “exchanging strikes” with a tire iron at about 1 a.m. today.
The two wrestled over the tire iron when the suspect took it away from the victim and assaulted her with it, police said. Several bystanders intervened and the suspect fled….
(This happened because we did not FORCE them into shelters. Now we are paying for one’s medical care and another’s jail. Soft on homelessness is expensive and inhumane.)
TGI: Recidivist Gun-Toting Tweeker gets Supervised Release
read … More Homeless mayhem
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