Retire in Hawaii: Got $1.48M?
Hawaii Hardest Hit by Omicron: 964% increase
DM: … Hawaii has suffered the largest growth in cases, jumping almost ten-fold over the past two weeks…. Cases have rocketed in recent weeks, though, up to 96 out of every 100,000 residents testing positive every day. …
Seven U.S. states see COVID-19 cases TRIPLE over the past two weeks - including a 964% increase in Hawaii and a 238% jump in New York - as Omicron continues to ravage the nation
Covid cases have increased by over 200% - or three-fold - over the past two weeks in seven U.S. states as Omicron continues spread in the U.S.
Hawaii has been the hardest struck, with cases increasing nearly ten-fold over the past two weeks
New York is experiencing the highest rate of positive cases in the U.S., with 167 out of every 100,000 residents testing positive every day
Cases are declining in states like Alaska and Michigan where the death rate is among the highest in the nation, signaling the recent surge is nearing the end …
read … Seven U.S. states see COVID-19 cases TRIPLE over the past two weeks - including a 964% increase in Hawaii
Drain Red Hill? Oil Company Response Exposes Empty Rhetoric
SA: … As the chorus of calls grows to drain the tanks at the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, the question of what to do with the millions of gallons of petroleum now amassed at the fuel farm emerges as a front-and-center concern.
State officials have been discussing the possibility of using facilities maintained by fuel refinery and distribution company Par Hawaii to store some of it.
“We have been approached by state officials to offer support, and we are willing to do what we can to provide help for the Navy and the community,” said Eric Wright, Par Hawaii’s senior vice president and lead executive. “Once we understand the Navy’s plans, we will be able to offer recommendations to meet their needs while also addressing the community’s concerns.”…
(Translation: We have no recommendations to offer right now.)
“Any movement of that amount of fuel — and we’re talking about well over 100 million gallons of fuel — would move slowly and safely to any number of places,” said Lt. Gov. Josh Green, who toured the facility earlier this month and met with Navy officials as acting governor.
“One discussion has already begun between the private sector, specifically Par Hawaii, and the Navy. That’s one part of the solution,” said Green. He asserted Par could hold as much as one-third of the fuel currently in the Red Hill tanks.
(CLUE: Systems are not connected to each other.)
Par Hawaii operates a refinery in Campbell Industrial Park in Kapolei that is currently capable of producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ship fuel and fuel oil for electrical power generation. Par executives say it offers total storage fuel capacity of 6 million barrels — or roughly 252 million gallons.
“The majority of this storage is used for fuel that we produce to meet the current demand of Hawaii residents; however, we estimate that a third of this storage, or 2 million barrels, could be available,” said Wright…..
Regarding the way forward, Green said, “We really should spare no expense on the military side, to appropriate funds to help them move the fuel above ground….
(This is the real plan, but it requires an act of Congress. Unlike rear-echelon mainland facilities, a surface tank farm in Hawaii would be more likely to be subject to enemy attack.)
HNN: 'Decision' on future of Red Hill fuel tanks could be announced as early as this week
read … Hawaii company could play role in removal of Red Hill fuel amid water contamination
Ensure access to online meetings
SA Editorial: … The state’s Sunshine Law, the first part of Chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is what makes open meetings by lawmakers and government boards and commissions an imperative. Its shuttering, even if its intention was to prevent transmission of a virus that was little understood, needed to be overcome.
Alternative means were found to bring light back to the people’s business. With a new statute enacted in the 2021 session and effective Jan. 1, they will become permanent, welcome additions to the tools of governance. The goal now should be to ensure that they are used correctly and consistently….
Act 220 which began as Senate Bill 1034, incorporates the practice in place before pandemic restrictions. That means smaller elected or appointed bodies that have limited staff and resources do not have to change the basic protocols unless there’s a shutdown barring the board from holding in-person meetings.
A second format, already authorized, enables in-person meetings located at multiple sites that are connected by interactive conference technology. These do not have to provide for remote internet connections. Neighbor island boards favor this option particularly, because it allows participation for board members and others who may be in distant locations.
The third is the “remote” meeting in which board members and the public might either participate remotely, using their own internet connection, or at an official in-person meeting site that provides the connection to other participants. This is a needed option, given that people who lack a computer or internet service must have a way to attend as well.
Further, if an official in-person site under the third option loses its connection to the meeting, the board must recess while reconnection is established. If it can’t be done within an hour, and if notice of when and how it will be continued cannot be given to the public, the meeting is terminated….
read … Ensure access to online meetings
Research Institute Faces Challenges Bridging Criminal Justice Data Gaps
CB: … She has also started getting acquainted with the state’s pretrial data by doing manual extractions, but is still working on determining the best way to merge it all into one.
Harbinson has since mapped out three possibilities.…
(Idea one is a fantasy. Idea three is an admission of failure. Idea two is real. Here it is:)
Another idea would be to enlist help from a software or IT company to pull the data from each agency database into a cloud-based platform, which would allow agencies to keep their current systems as they are, according to Harbinson.
“Illinois has taken this approach to find ways to get reports and enter whole data into one location, but still not asking courts to spend money on new IT systems,” Harbinson said.…
She added that she will choose an approach over the next year and hopes to begin seeing preliminary trends in the state’s pretrial criminal system around the time the research institute issues its 2022 annual report….
read … Research Institute Faces Challenges Bridging Criminal Justice Data Gaps
Map is pau: New Hawaii County Council boundaries completed by Redistricting Commission
HTH: … After seemingly endless meetings where tiny population clusters were moved block by tedious block, spirited public input and a dozen drafts later, a final map of County Council districts has been approved that will stand for the next 10 years.
The county Redistricting Commission finished its work and adjourned Tuesday, pronouncing the numbers within the required ranges and the boundaries as near to the public’s wishes as the commission could make them….
read … Map is pau: New County Council boundaries completed by Redistricting Commission
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