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Wednesday, July 8, 2020
July 8, 2020 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 8:37 PM :: 2458 Views

Ige Vetoes $432M CARES Rainy Day Deposit

COVID Count: 41 new cases out of 1,423 tests

COVID Count: 23 new cases out of 2,056 tests

Candidate Forum: Rick Hamada Hosts 12 Honolulu Mayoral Candidates

Hawaii became a U.S. Territory July 7, 1898

Guam Ambulance Company Owners Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in Medicare Ambulance Fraud Scheme

HPD System Prevents Gun Owners from Registering Guns

Corona Virus Restrictions Hawaii vs Alaska

Vote by Mail: ‘Universal Disbelief’

CB: … Our totally unscientific polling of friends and acquaintances, random people at church and in the neighborhood, cashiers at the supermarket, cleaners and security staff at various buildings has been met with almost universal disbelief.

“You mean I cannot just go to my usual polling place to vote?” they ask.

One older gentleman expressed his certainty that he will be voting at the same place he has always voted — right after listening to a public announcement that Hawaii has switched to vote by mail.

People take time to adjust to change. Let’s not suppress the vote of those who are already struggling to deal with the challenges of the pandemic. Some constituents want the satisfaction of dropping off their vote on Election Day. We should respect that by providing more drop boxes and voter support centers….

(Yet another Scott Nago disaster coming soon.)

read … Voting By Mail Process In Hawaii Still Needs Work

Designed to Fail:  CVS can’t deliver COVID test in 72-hour window

KHON: … To help with testing travelers, the state has partnered with CVS, but there may be some issues with the program, including a requirement that would make the partnership practically useless to Hawaii residents.

CVS is helping administer the tests, which are supposed to have a 72-hour window of intake and results to clear a traveler from the 14-day mandatory quarantine. CVS promotes their tests as taking two to four days for results, and possibly five to seven days in times of peak demand.

With many labs across the nation facing a backlog as the country reports nearly 50,000 COVID-19 cases per day, demand for tests is high across the nation.

While searching for ways to travel to see family on the continent, Oahu residents Doug and Vickie Levinson haven’t been able to find a test site that can return a test in the 72-hour time frame.

“My wife and I have both called CVS,” Mr. Levinson said. “We have doctors offices, family members who have called their own doctors. They all say the same thing.”

Currently, CVS only allows people to be tested for COVID-19 in the state they reside in.  (Really Obvious Solution: Change policy.)

This leaves Hawaii residents who want to travel out of state without that means to get a negative test before returning home….

(Really Obvious Solution: Expand the testing time frame to 7 days.  How many people are going to catch COVID in a week?)

(CLUE: People are coming on Aug 1.  If we don’t have a workable system, the visitors will all be untested and break quarantine.  If we have a workable system, they will be tested negative.  Which kind of tourist do you want?)

read … Hawaii’s CVS trans-pacific testing partnership leaves holes for 72-hour window

Prominent Hawaii doctor says state should delay plan for trans-Pacific visitors

HTH: … “We are definitely going in the wrong direction as a state,” he said. “This is very, very concerning to me, at this point. The most concerning part is the randomness of the number of positives. We’ve gone from having definable clusters that we could track and understand where the positives came from and why they could be tracked down to just a few individuals scattered throughout. Now, we are seeing positives throughout, especially Oahu.”

Miscovich said that randomness compounds the difficulty of contact tracing and testing of contacts.

“I was on the phone this morning calling five positives, and every one of them was different. Every one of them was random … in that, they really didn’t know where they got it. That’s problematic,” he said. “There’s about 40% asymptomatic positives, and those people will be spreading.”

Another trend Miscovich finds alarming is the rate of infections in younger people, ages 20-35….

read … Prominent Hawaii doctor says state should delay plan for trans-Pacific visitors

Hawaii’s coronavirus testing capability to be reduced in half after mainland company cuts off supplies

SA: …One of Hawaii’s largest COVID-19 testing laboratories has been cut off from its mainland supplier of chemicals needed to continue to run tests locally due to a surge in coronavirus cases across the country.

That means the state’s testing capacity has been cut in half to about 2,500 tests per day from 5,000, said Dr. Scott Miscovich, who is leading broad testing efforts across the islands.

He informed Honolulu City Council members today that Diagnostic Laboratory Services will no longer receive reagents and other supplies from Roche, one of the largest manufacturers of equipment and supplies for COVID-19 testing.

The company has been forced to direct their supplies to hospitals in states where the intensive care units are being overrun, he said….

“We don’t want to scare the public. We still are able to address our testing needs currently in the state and plans are being made to increase our capacity,” Miscovich said. “Unfortunately, this may cause the return of the results to be multiple days instead of the 24-hour turnaround.”…

HTH: Drive-through options dwindle as COVID testing approach changes

read … Hawaii’s coronavirus testing capability to be reduced in half after mainland company cuts off supplies

Garbage: Kouchi Business Gets PPP Money

TGI: … A company that Hawaii Senate President Ronald Kouchi owns shares in and is employed by received a small business coronavirus relief loan from the U.S. government, according to data released by the Small Business Administration.

Garden Isle Disposal LLC, the largest privately owned solid waste service company on Kauai, received a Paycheck Protection Program loan amounting to between $350,000 and $1 million.

The company does garbage disposal and recycling for commercial and residential clients on Kaua‘i, according to its website. It’s been operating since the early 1990s….

Kouchi said he and his wife own shares in the company. Financial disclosure forms on file with the State Ethics Commission say the shares are worth between $50,000 and $100,000.

He also earns a salary from Garden Isle Disposal for performing …uh…’community relations’ …uh… ‘work’. His disclosure forms say he received between $50,000 and $100,000 annually.

Kouchi’s brother, Scott Kouchi, is the president of the company.

Ronald Kouchi said the company, which employs 40 to 50 people, suffered a drop in revenue after hotels and businesses closed during the pandemic….

2016: DOH cites 3 Kauai companies (including Kouchi's) for violating container rules

Recycling: Tokuda-Connected Recycler Busted for Fraud

2017: State Recycling Program: A Decade of Fraud (Part 6)

read … Garbage

Crooks and Cronies: A quick look at Colleen Hanabusa’s campaign fundraising during 2019

ILind: … By the end of 2019, Hanabusa’s campaign reported raising $258,977, placing her second among the mayoral candidates last year, according to an end of the year report filed with the Campaign Spending Commission. Of the total, $4,872.81 (1.8%) came in amounts of less than $100.

Hanabusa’s campaign reported raising $104,000 from 26 individuals who each contributed the maximum $4,000 permitted by law. Seven employees of the engineering firm R.M. Towill each gave the maximum. Six execs from the same company also were among the top donors to Keith Amemiya’s campaign during the same period. Also among Hanabusa’s top contributors were three top executives of Nan, Inc, which currently has a $267 million contract with the city for upgrades at the Honouliuli Waste Water Treatment Plant….

Reality: www.TheRealHanabusa.com

read … A quick look at Colleen Hanabusa’s campaign fundraising during 2019

Another School Announces Plan to Continue with ‘Distance Learning’ Scheme

KITV: … On Wednesday, parents of students at Blanche Pope Elementary in Waimanalo learned  the model chosen there will include a mix of students who get to come back to class, while others stay home for distance learning. The groups would then rotate.

Parents tell us the first day of instruction there will be on August 5th….

read … Hawaii public schools to finalize learning models for upcoming school year

A colored placard system could soon identify businesses abiding by COVID precautions

HNN: … With fall classes starting up soon and the tourism restart just weeks away, the anxiety is rising.

Leaders have been pleading with people to wear masks and distance themselves. But now, businesses could be held more accountable.

If the state does roll back re-openings, bars and restaurants could be the first on the chopping block.

The Health Department said in the meantime, it plans to hammer down on businesses not complying with safety guidelines.

The department’s Food Safety Branch once the plan is approved by the Attorney General’s office, details will be released….

read … A colored placard system could soon identify businesses abiding by COVID precautions

Maui restaurants plead for rule changes to stay in business

HNN: … The group recently took out a newspaper ad urging the Department of Liquor Control to help modify some rules. The requests include allowing the delivery of alcohol with food-to-go orders on a permanent basis, and suspending liquor fees through next year.

“Fees are a critical part of the operation of the department and because part of the department’s budget is dependent on the fees,” " said Nane Aluli, chair of Maui County’s Liquor Control Commission. “The fees are not going to go away.”

The restaurant hui is also asking for a review of existing regulations as well as quick permitting of outdoor areas for seating….

The group's concerns will be discussed during the Liquor Control Commission's meeting on Wednesday….The commission will meet through a BlueJeans video conference that starts at 9 a.m. on July 8….

read … Maui restaurants plead for rule changes to stay in business

DHHL conducts removal of unauthorized campers in Waimanalo

KITV: … Eighteen people were identified and issued trespass warnings and notices to remove personal property. In total, 12 camps were identified and cleared. These include eight areas that were unoccupied.

One vehicle was towed on DHHL land along Kalaniana'ole Highway, HPD also tagged and towed six vehicles on the mauka side of the road that were on DOT property as part of the project….

read … DHHL conducts removal of unauthorized campers in Waimanalo

Criminal Enters Country, Spends Next 44 Years on Maui Committing Crimes

MN: … Roland Campos, 64, had asked to have his bail reduced during a court hearing Tuesday.

Deputy Prosecutor Mike Kagami asked that bail be maintained for Campos.

“It appears he cannot stop committing crimes, and he can’t follow court orders,” Kagami said.

Campos has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, first-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle, disobedience to police officers and two counts of abuse by violating a warning citation.

He was arrested the night of June 6 after police went to a Waikapu neighborhood to arrest Campos, who was being sought for violating a warning citation to stay away from a family member and her residence on West Waiko Road after a domestic disturbance. At a preliminary hearing last month, officers testified Campos pointed a knife when they approached him. An officer deployed a Taser to subdue him, police said.

Earlier that evening, Campos was driving a gold pickup truck that jumped curbs in the Foodland Kehalani parking lot before turning onto Kuikahi Drive and running a red light at Honoapiilani Highway, police said.

Second Circuit Judge Peter Cahill said Campos’ 44-year criminal history began with charges in 1977, the year after he entered the country. Campos completed the Maui Drug Court program of treatment and supervision and later was sentenced to a five-year prison term for drug possession, Cahill said.

Campos’ criminal history includes 19 prior convictions….

KITV: Soft on Crime: 16 Priors and Wanted for Missing Court Date

KITV: Homeless Dude Arrested for Assaulting Cab Driver

read … Soft on Crime

Soft on Stupid: Hawaii County Council Panders to anti-5G Idiots

HTH:…despite the dearth of conclusive evidence linking 5G to negative health effects, several testifiers during Tuesday’s meeting claimed wireless networks in general, and 5G in particular, are responsible for a litany of ills, including cancer, diabetes, autism and social unrest.

Some testifiers claimed the technology is secretly a “beam weapon” developed by the U.S. military that will be used against the citizenry, while another testifier drew comparisons between 5G and a conspiracy theory alleging that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax.

“You have to ask yourself: ‘Will I be able to live with myself if I pass this and it’s as dangerous as people say?’” said testifier Eugene Elmer. “The answer is, yes, you will be able to live with yourself, it will just be a much shorter life.”

Nearly all testifiers praised Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder for raising the issue, with one going so far as to declare the councilman “an honorary member of the female gender,” based on a 2010 statement by the Dalai Lama….

Only one testifier opposed the resolution. Ikaika Rodenhurst, who is running for Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder’s council seat this year, said all young technologies inherently lack extensive study, but added that the proven connectivity benefits and lack of conclusive evidence of health risks should outweigh concerns for the time being.

Rodenhurst also said that, following disasters in Puna, cellular networks frequently become overwhelmed, preventing people from being able to call family members or emergency services….

(Wow.  Voters actually get a choice!)

read … Soft on Stupid

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