Ige Releases 'Intent to Veto' List
OHA Gains More Power Over NW Hawaiian Islands
UH Study: 58% of UH Students are Starving, 14% Live on Streets
Russian Naval Fleet 35 Miles South of Oahu
Why Hawaii residents are moving away
53,000 Unemployed in Hawaiʻi, But State Chamber Dealing with Employee Shortages
Green: Drop travel testing to avoid ‘large conflicts’
AP: … Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green wants the state to drop the testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers ahead of the July 4 holiday, but Gov. David Ige is reluctant.
Ige would not commit to dropping the travel tests on Monday, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
The Democratic governor said earlier this month that testing requirements for vaccinated domestic travelers would end once 60% of Hawaii residents are fully vaccinated. That figure has been slow to climb in recent weeks and currently stands at 57%.
“We do anticipate crossing that 60% threshold,” Ige said. “It is hard to predict exactly when that would happen because of the fact that the pace of vaccinations is actually slowing and the number of vaccines administered in the last week is significantly lower than the number of vaccines administered, for example, two weeks ago.”
“It’s just really important that Hawaii not get a black eye by being unclear,” Green said.
He said the state should end the requirement on July 1. If officials wait until after the holiday weekend — when Hawaii expects about 30,000 daily visitors — then “we are going to have a lot of confusion and a lot of large conflicts,” Green said….
CB: Ige: Hawaii Unlikely To Ease Travel Restrictions Ahead Of July 4 As Vaccinations Slow
read … Hawaii officials disagree about when to drop travel testing
Hawaii health officials confirm community spread of Delta variant
SA: … State health officials are investigating to determine the extent of the community transmission after the state laboratory detected the coronavirus variant in an Oahu resident with no history of travel.
There have been three cases of the Delta variant associated with mainland travel. Two cases were found on Oahu and one case on Hawaii island, state health officials said….
The variant, which was first detected in India, currently makes up approximately 10% of all cases in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the variant could become the dominant strain in the nation.
“A recently published study from Scotland found that the risk of COVID-19 hospital admission was approximately double in those with the Delta variant when compared to those with the B.1.1.7 strain, also known as the U.K. or Alpha variant,” said State Laboratories Division Administrator Edward Desmond in an email statement….
read …Hawaii health officials confirm community spread of Delta variant
Hotels Becoming More Efficient, Don’t Need so many Union Members
KHON: … Unite Here Local 5 represents nearly 9,000 hospitality workers. The union says about 55% of them are back at work, but not all have full-time hours. Some hotel departments like valet service are still closed….
COVID-19 restrictions also play a role. When it comes to room service, the CDC recommends not to do daily room cleaning at this time to lessen the possible risk of exposure to the virus. But Gill feels differently….
HTH: Domestic business improves for Hawaiian Airlines, but international travel still grounded
SA: North American travelers lift state’s hotel occupancy
read … Union representing hundreds of hotel workers says hotels need to return to full service
State seeks again to get ‘Peter Boy’ suit thrown out in tactic that could add another 2 years to case
HNN: … The civil lawsuit filed by the sisters and brother of “Peter Boy” Kema is stalled again because the state is appealing a recent ruling that the case can proceed.
The process could add another two years to the case.
The state wanted the case thrown out, saying the family filed the suit too late. They insisted the statute of limitations ran out because the boy died in 1997.
But the judge sided with the sister and brother of the Hilo boy who said the clock didn’t start ticking until after they knew the child was dead ― when their mother, Jaylin Kema, confessed in court in 2016. Her husband, Peter Kema, Jr., later admitted he killed the boy and dumped his remains in the ocean….
HNN: PODCAST: ‘The Other Side of Paradise’ revisits the devastating case of ‘Peter Boy’ Kema
read … State seeks again to get ‘Peter Boy’ suit thrown out in tactic that could add another 2 years to case
Pandering to the Ignorant: East Maui councilmember proposes ‘visitor impact fee’
HNN: … “Our small community is at capacity,” councilman for east Maui Shane Sinenci (playing his constituents like a fiddle).
Sinenci is suggesting a “visitor impact fee.”
He said other places do it, so why not Hawaii?
“Places like the Galapagos, it’s expensive to get there,” Sinenci said. “You would have to pay … impact fees if you’re visiting the Galapagos.”
(CLUE: Galapagos is not part of the United States.)
(Lying thru his teeth) Sinenci said it could be tacked on to every airline and cruise line ticket. He said locals would be exempt. (Nope. It can’t.)
He said the goal is to create a higher level of respect among those traveling to the islands (pander to the anti-tourism sentiment amongst his constituents while actually doing nothing about the problem because an entrance fee to a state is unconstitutional.)
Reality: Crandall v. Nevada
CB: Tourists Are Back In Force On Hana Highway. Why Not Charge Them? (Totally different proposal: A road toll.)
read … A ‘visitor impact fee’? East Maui councilmember proposes it to address tourism flood
Staff, inmates describe deplorable conditions in Hilo jail
SA: … In 2016, the Legislature appropriated $15 million to expand the Hilo jail. The project was slated to be finished this year, but with delays is now projected to be completed in 2024. Neither Public Safety officials or Gov. David Ige responded to questions about why the expansion wasn’t fast-tracked amid the state’s emergency orders in light of the health and safety risks posed by the pandemic….
HTH: State AG repudiates lawsuit over HCCC outbreak
read … Staff, inmates describe deplorable conditions in Hilo jail
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