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Sunday, October 18, 2020
October 18, 2020 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 7:42 PM :: 2035 Views

Pulling Teeth at OHA

Nobel Prize Winner Talks About TMT Challenges

How to diversify Hawaii's economy 

JSC Seeks Nominees for First, Third Circuit

Ige Announces Testing Partners for Inter-Island Travel

Circuit Court Decision Upholds Lawfulness of Governor’s Emergency Proclamations

COVID Count: 83 new cases out of 3,735 tests

Poll: Blangiardi 49% – Amemiya 36% 

SA: … The Honolulu Star-Advertiser poll shows the retired broadcast executive with 49% support among survey participants versus 36% for Amemiya with less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 general election. A fairly significant 15% remained undecided.

Blangiardi showed broad support across nearly all demographic groups, outpointing Amemiya in every gender, age and ethnicity category. The only demographic where Amemiya fared better was among those who identified themselves as Democrats, a group the former insurance executive has made a big effort to cultivate, even though city elections are nonpartisan.

Current Mayor Kirk Caldwell is unable to seek reelection due to term limits.

The Hawaii Poll, conducted Monday to Wednesday by Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, surveyed 625 registered Oahu voters who indicated they are likely to vote in the general election. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points….

CB: Cataluna: The Honolulu Mayoral Race Has Devolved Into Ugly Tactics

read … Hawaii Poll shows commanding lead for Rick Blangiardi in mayor’s race

Hawaii Poll: Oahu voters disapprove of Kirk Caldwell’s coronavirus response

SA: … With only 38% of respondents saying they approve of Caldwell’s handling of the coronavirus, 49% said they disapprove, with 13% unsure of what rating they think the mayor deserves.

In somewhat of a mixed message, however, a slight majority — 51% — said they approved of Caldwell’s four-tiered strategy for reopening Oahu’s economy. Some 37% disapproved, with 12% saying they were not sure.

And 57% of poll participants agreed with Caldwell’s decision to ban the reopening of Oahu bars and nightclubs as part of the four-tiered strategy, which is based on a gradual reopening of the island triggered by the number of cases and positivity rate over specified time periods. Only 36% of respondents disagreed with the decision and 7% were unsure.

read … Hawaii Poll: Oahu voters disapprove of Kirk Caldwell’s coronavirus response

Tourism Reopening is Josh Green’s Doom?

Shapiro: … Green’s freedom to sound off without being held responsible for results ended with Thursday’s reopening of tourism amid public skepticism, surging COVID on the mainland and confusion over rules and enforcement.

Green was an early advocate for reopening, arguing, “We have to begin the economy again. People are suffering.”

More important, he’s the top figure for making it work as Ige’s point person in organizing and running the network of pharmacies and airlines that will test visitors for COVID prior to their departure — touted by the state as the key to a safe reopening.

Green has been the authority offering the strongest assurances it’ll succeed in terms of keeping coronavirus infections within the limits our medical system. He predicts only 1 in 1,000 passengers with COVID will slip through the pre-arrival testing, and says we can handle the additional eight cases a day if we get 8,000 visitors.

After deriding concerns by the counties and others about the single-test protocol as “fear-based,” it’s on him if the number of infections is more troublesome than promised — and he won’t be able to blame local residents for not wearing masks….

read … Josh Green goes from political easy chair to the hot seat

Around 16,000 trans-Pacific travelers arrived in first 48 hours of reopening

KHON: … According to Hawaii Tourism Authority, 7,853 people arrived from the mainland on Friday. Most of them are visitors and about 1,300 were returning residents.

On Thursday, the total number of trans-Pacific travelers to Hawaii was more than 8,200.

About 3,200 of the travelers who arrived in the first 48 hours have had to quarantine, either because they’re waiting for their pre-travel test result, or they opted out of the state’s pre-testing program.

On Saturday, about 1,100 of the 3,200 were released after receiving negative test results….

Big Q: How do you think Hawaii’s Safe Travels pre-arrival testing program, which has reopened tourism, is going?

CB: Interisland ‘Trusted Partner’ Traveler Test Program Now In Place For Maui, Kauai

MN: Flyers with nontrusted COVID-19 tests accepted at Kahului through Sunday

KITV: What the Honolulu airport screening process looks like for trans-Pacific travelers

HNN: “It’s been a pretty good experience so far. We’ve had over 16,000 individuals travel to Hawaii and we’ve had a very small percentage of people not getting their tests properly,” Green said.

read … Around 16,000 trans-Pacific travelers arrived in first 48 hours of reopening

Kauai: COVID Bringing in More Rich Activist Types Who Immediately Want to Shut the Door Behind Them

TGI: … COVID-free Kaua‘i is becoming a mecca for wealthy COVID “refugees” fleeing the mainland and seeking a safe and beautiful place to live, creating a demand that will keep the price for land and housing high. …

SFG: California home buyers are flocking to Hawaii and snapping up homes, sometimes sight unseen.

TGI: Princeville Revolution: Lets use COVID to keep tourists out

read … Kauai Bill 2774 puts affordable housing in jeopardy

Caldwell calls for special meeting over future of an already costly rail project

HNN: … Honolulu’s Mayor is calling for a Special Meeting to come up with a new plan to finish the rail project.

News of the meeting request came Friday, just a day after the latest estimated price of the embattled project soared to nearly $10 billion.

A board committee this week sided with the Mayor on the issue, but the full board isn’t scheduled to vote until Oct. 27. Mayor Caldwell feels that’s too late.

He wants to formally end the procurement process as soon as possible and come up with a new financial plan in hopes of preserving more than $250 million in federal funding.

read … Caldwell calls for special meeting over future of an already costly rail project

Star-Adv: If Dems Win Senate Money from Heaven Will Rain Down on Us

SA: ... A renewal of COVID-19 economic assistance has stalled in Congress for many months, following what was touted as a fulsome and timely bipartisan response in the CARES Act funding. Hawaii continued to struggle throughout, due to its reliance on tourism and service-industry employment, while many other states initially bounced back fairly well.

This may have caused a false sense of security for influential members of the U.S. House and Senate, who variously thought they could play hardball in negotiations or saw no reason for accepting a deal involving even more deficit spending than the $2 trillion in CARES Act money that’s already out the door.

Now, with a crucial election around the corner, lawmakers appear to have missed the curve. Negotiations have continued between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, apparently bridging a divide over funds for testing, contact tracing and other critical needs for front-line workers.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, has been hesitant over the sticker shock — something approaching another $2 trillion — over which many of his members have balked.

Those in Hawaii hoping that the money may come before the election shouldn’t hold their breath. Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz last week gave that prospect nearly no chance of success, and he’s likely correct….

read … Editorial: Tighten belts and wait for coronavirus aid

Counting Down To One Hundred Days Out Of School

CB: … As Hawaii's students continue their learning online, something precious is being lost ….

SA: Hawaii public schools report 10 coronavirus cases, mostly off campus

read … Counting Down To One Hundred Days Out Of School

Tulsi Gabbard leaves Hawaii Army National Guard after 17 years for California duty

SA: … Congresswoman and former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has left the Hawaii Army National Guard after 17 years and has a new part-time military assignment: civil affairs officer with a California-based Army Reserve unit.

The Hawaii National Guard confirmed that Gabbard, who holds the rank of major, made the switch in June. The transfer to an out-of-state unit was not formally announced, even within the Hawaii Guard.

Gabbard, 39, has made reference to “Army Reserve duty” and her new civil affairs role in press releases since about mid-August….

Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center, said it might be an indication that Gabbard — rumored to have been interested in running for governor — doesn’t have plans to run for another office in Hawaii….

Her new command, the 351st Civil Affairs Command, is based in Mountain View, Calif., but has subordinate units in several other western states.

The Army Reserve, which has a support role for the active duty Army, has a lot more commands and promotion opportunities than the National Guard. Like the National Guard, most Army reservists serve part time…. 

CB: Tulsi Gabbard Is Refocusing Her Military Career In California

read … Tulsi Gabbard leaves Hawaii Army National Guard after 17 years for California duty

Former Hawaii state official clears his name 8 years after allegations forced him from federal post

WaPo: … Raymond Jefferson studied at the University of Hawaii and served as a deputy director of Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism in 2003 and 2004. This article about his exoneration years after allegations drove him from a federal position was first published in the Washington Post on Sept. 24…..

read … Former Hawaii state official clears his name 8 years after allegations forced him from federal post

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