Hawaii Ranks 47th in the Nation in Highway Performance and Cost-Effectiveness
36,000 travelers flew to Hawaii on Nov. 20; highest number since July
KHON: … The vast majority of 32,422 were visitors; 3,657 were residents coming home. The majority of travelers arrived in Honolulu (16,908), followed by Kahului (9,686), Kona (5,227) and Lihue (3,959).
Of the roughly 36,000 arrivals, 27,601 had a COVID-19 vaccine exemption and 6,489 took a negative COVID-test before entering the state.
The arrivals on Nov. 20 nearly matched pre-pandemic numbers, and roughly 60,000 more travelers are expected to enter the state through Monday, Nov. 22.
“We had been tracking about 15 to 20% under our kind of regular baseline, but now it’s catching up,” explained Lt. Gov. Josh Green….
read … 36,000 travelers flew to Hawaii on Nov. 20; highest number since July
Hawaii residents still back pandemic rules, poll finds
SA: … When asked for their impression of the coronavirus situation, 60% said it was “slowly getting better” while 12% said “it’s just about over now.” When asked about the state’s management of the pandemic, 62% said it was headed in the right direction….
Gov. David Ige has been criticized for his conservative approach to lifting restrictions even as average case counts and positivity rates in the state declined. The restaurant industry has said the 6-foot distance requirement hinders the recovery of struggling eateries.
But the poll found 44% strongly agreed, and 27% somewhat agreed, with 6-foot distancing between groups at restaurants and bars. Eleven percent somewhat disagreed and 6% strongly disagreed, while the rest were neutral….
More than a third, 36%, said they did not even dine in at a restaurant over the past month.
Also, a majority, 60%, said yes when asked whether the state should require all travelers arriving in Hawaii to test for COVID-19 even if they have proof of vaccination compared to 33% who said no.
More than three-quarters supported employee vaccine mandates, but many said there should be testing options.
Twenty-nine percent supported vaccine mandates, but with religious or medical exemptions and regular testing, while 22% supported them with regular testing as an option. Another 28% supported vaccine mandates with no exceptions or testing options.
Twenty percent said the mandates should not be allowed….
People also tend to like less ambiguous, finite conclusions — such as that restrictions can be dropped when 70% are vaccinated or that by January, masks can be ditched — but these clear answers are hard to provide with a pandemic.
If changes are framed as temporary, then people won’t invest in making long-term adjustments, focusing instead on when we can go back to the way it was….
read … Hawaii residents still back pandemic rules, poll finds
Blocking Agriculture: Hawaii’s regulations made it “probably the hardest in the country”
CB: … According to Michael Duponte, who recently retired from the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, there have been four main hurdles for livestock and poultry in Hawaii: feed, waste management, land tenure and ever-evolving regulations.
Hidden Villa Ranch Executive Vice President Mike Sencer attests to the height of those hurdles: It has been more than eight years since the company purchased the land from Dole and it only recently sold its first eggs.
Villa Rose has outright ownership of the 317 acre property, purchased in 2013 for $6.4 million.
The company has facilities and offices in 15 states so is accustomed to having to overcome problems, but Hawaii’s regulations made it “probably the hardest in the country,” Sencer said.
It has accounted for new regulations by making all of its chickens cage-free, as states continue to ban the practice, and the chicken manure is all filtered from the hen houses to an incinerator that turns the waste into biochar, an increasingly popular and climate friendly fertilizer.
“You can see though, we’re trying to be very proactive,” Sencer said.
However, feed remains a work in progress. For now, Villa Rose is importing feed from the mainland — a blow to its goal of self-sustainability — but is researching local alternatives.
CB PODCAST: What To Feed Animals During A Pandemic? Pigs And Chickens Are Pickier Than You Think
read … A New Chicken Farm Wants To Reduce Hawaii’s Dependence On Imported Eggs
Navy says 14,000 gallons of fuel and water have spilled from Red Hill
SA: … The Navy is working to contain a spill at its Red Hill fuel facility near Pearl Harbor that has so far released 14,000 gallons of a mix of fuel and water from a drain line that’s part of the facility’s fire suppression system.
The Navy said in a news release issued Sunday afternoon that the rate of release had slowed “considerably and continues to be captured.”
The cause of the spill is under investigation….
Shortly after 5 p.m. on Saturday, Navy personnel believed the release was a water leak, according to the Navy.
But overnight, fuel was detected within the mixture and increased into Sunday morning. The Navy says that the fuel was contained in the lower tunnel and has been transferred to an above ground storage tank.
“There are no signs or indication of any releases to the environment…
read … Navy says 14,000 gallons of fuel and water have spilled from Red Hill
Man locked up in Hawaii State Hospital because of mistaken identity files federal lawsuit
AP: … A formerly homeless man who ended up in a mental institution for more than two years because of mistaken identity (and is no longer homeless thanks to the treatment he received) is suing the state and various Honolulu police officers, Hawaii public defenders and doctors.
Joshua Spriestersbach’s attorneys say in a lawsuit filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu that Hawaii officials haven’t responded to a petition seeking to correct his records to ensure the error never happens again.
The petition filed in state court in August laid bare Spriestersbach’s bizarre plight, which started with him falling asleep on a sidewalk. He was homeless and hungry while waiting in a long line for food outside a Honolulu shelter in 2017….
Spriestersbach’s lawyers hope the lawsuit will lead to procedural changes to ensure proper identification of people in custody, (that the homeless aren’t accidentally given the mental health care they desperately need) said Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project. They’re also seeking monetary damages, to be determined in court….
Spiestersbach now lives with his sister in Vermont (because the State Hospital made him sane enough to move there)…..
REALITY FOR THOSE WHO CAN HANDLE IT: Lucky Dude: Mistaken identity gets homeless man the forcible mental health treatment he needed--Now he lives on 10ac Farm in Vermont
read … Man locked up in Hawaii State Hospital because of mistaken identity files federal lawsuit
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