Wishing you all a restful weekend. Below is information from the past week and happenings in the coming days ahead.
SENATE SPECIAL COVID COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The committee met to hear updates on openings—the airports to trans-pacific travel and the public schools. In both cases, we heard about proposed actions and plans but nothing yet specific. With spikes in our COVID cases, the roll-outs have been cautiously rolled back. Reported below are what we know to date:
REOPENING THE AIRPORTS TO TRANSPACIFIC TRAVEL: Plans
Attorney General Clare Connors reported that the Governor’s decision to push back the opening to September 1 was based on policy and operational concerns. What is now being discussed is a multi-layered procedure: (1) pre-travel test; (2) mandatory travel declaration; (3) thermal screening at the airport; (4) secondary screening if symptomatic or temperature over 100.4 degrees. These travelers will be offered a covid test and referred to the Department of Health. Fourteen-day quarantine is required unless the traveler has a certified negative pre-test result. Although still in development, see here for the latest travel requirements. The AG is also working on mandatory quarantine locations. DOH is ramping up its contact tracing capacity through a training partnership with the University of Hawaii and a contact tracing app called “Aloha Safe.”
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OPENING IN 3 WEEKS: Are they ready?
As the pandemic continues to hover over our lives, we continue to tread carefully. With schools slated to open on August 4 and concerns about readiness from parents and teachers, the committee asked state department of education (DOE) superintendent Christina Kishimoto and health department (DOH) director Bruce Anderson and state epidemiologist Sarah Park to discuss the plan to re-open schools. The focus was on ensuring schools are safe and procedures in place to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff while also providing the best education for our students. DOE and DOH asked that students, teachers, staff as well as families work together to adjust and learn how best to do this. Responsibility at home and at school will require more thoughtfulness and consideration of others: stay home if sick, wash hands frequently, sanitize, wear face coverings, and physically distance in public. Schools are planning to make the classrooms and procedures COVID safe. The first two weeks of school will be only a half-day so that teachers can be trained and work with parents on the new procedures.
Which COVID-Safety Model? Principals, teachers and staff are working on how best to manage the safety of the students and to fulfill important academic benchmarks. Based on input from parents and teachers, each of Hawaii’s 283 public schools have selected one of the following instructional models for the upcoming school year: face-to-face learning every day, a blended rotation, or a combination of the two. “Blended” means students will be assigned to groups and take turns learning in person and remotely. Several high schools have opted for a “hybrid” model which is a variation of blended learning with some students on campus on certain days, while others required to report daily. See information on the models here. And see which one your school is using here.
If you have questions about your school, contact:
JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY — Principal Garret Zakahi at (808)971-6922 or email garret.zakahi@k12.hi.us
MCKINLEY HIGH – Principal Ron Okamura at (808) 594-0400 or email ron.okamura@k12.hi.us
KEIKI GRAB N’ GO MEALS CONTINUE THROUGH JULY 31
Love for our keiki never wavers. Mahalo to non-profit organizations working with Hawaii Child Nutrition Programs/Summer Food Service Program nourishing our keiki at 28 free meal sites through July 31st. Sites can be found here. For our district visit Boys & Girls Club Spalding.
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB SPALDING
1704 Waiola Street Honolulu, HI 96826
Contact: Brianne Villarosa, (808)942-5111
Time: 11am – 1pm
IT’S A WRAP FOR THE 2020 LEGISLATURE: It’s now up to the Governor
With the sporadic session due to COVID, the session adjourned on July 10, having passed 82 bills (see full details here) and adopted 62 resolutions (see here). Some of the bills benefiting our district and state that may interest you are listed below, e.g., pandemic measures and relief funding as well as other district-related issues like condominiums and sea level rise. But they will come to pass only if the Governor signs or decides NOT to veto the bills. He must let the legislature know which bills he intends to veto by August 31. If he doesn’t veto by Sept. 15, they will become law without his signature. Do any of these measures affect you? Now is the time to ask the Governor to act.
Act 8 (SB75 HD1) is the first increment of the federal CARES Act that is now law, appropriating funds to the counties and departments of defense, labor, human services, transportation, and DOH for immediate covid response implementation, including testing, contact tracing, thermal screening, and other efforts.
Bills: But the Governor has yet to act on other important bills below (click on the bill number to see the full text):
SB126 SD1 HD1 CD1 —CARES Act; Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund; Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund. Provides assistance to renters and homeowners; personal protective equipment to hospitals, childcare facilities, elderly care facilities, businesses, non-profits, and schools; airport screening and health assurance security initiatives; retraining and workforce development to help the unemployed; grants to develop supply chain for cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment; food assistance to families in need; support for the commercial fishing industry; support public high school seniors who were adversely affected by school closures; provides an additional $100/week unemployment benefits to eligible recipients; and, if needed, allows Governor to use funds available in the Hawaii hurricane relief fund.
SB2060 SD2 HD2 — Office of Planning; Coastal Zone Management; Sea Level Rise; Coastal ErosionRELATING TO COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT. Amends coastal zone management laws to protect state beaches and protect against impacts of sea level rise and coastal erosion.
SB2421 SD1 HD1 —Condominiums; Nonjudicial Foreclosure. Repeals the sunset provision of Act 195 (2018) which clarifies the priority of payments in handling foreclosures.
SB2425 SD1 — Condominiums; Associations; Mediation; Arbitration; Condominium Education Trust Fund. Repeals the sunset provision of Act 196 (2018) making permanent the rules for alternative dispute resolution, expanding the condo education trust fund to cover voluntary binding arbitration, and conditions for mandatory mediation to address condo disputes.
Resolutions: The following resolutions were adopted by the Senate. They do not require the Governor’s signature so they are ready for implementation:
SR174 SD1 —Advance Travel Quarantine and Stay-at-Home Orders in Advance of a COVID-19 Resurgence. Requests the Governor to establish stay-at-home orders, including civil and criminal penalties for violators, to ensure rapid response to any COVID resurgence.
SR78 SD1 —Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism Job Creation. Requesting DBEDTto work with the Legislature to crease 100,000 permanent jobs by 2022.
SR84 SD1 — COVID-19; Coronavirus; Restaurants Reopening. Convening a restaurant reopening task force to assist in safe reopening of restaurants statewide.
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM (PPE): Extended to August 8
Do you have a small business and have not yet applied for the US Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program? The program helps to keep your business afloat by providing a loan to keep your workforce employed during the pandemic; and, if you meet certain conditions, your loan may be forgiven. You still have time, so don’t delay. To find out more and to apply see Senator Schatz’s website that clearly provides information you may need. See also the list of SBA participating lenders here.
MAYOR’S ORDER: OAHU BARS WILL SERVE LAST DRINK AT MIDNIGHT
Bars are often happy-time places, so many may be disheartened by the Mayor’s recently amended Emergency Order. The recent uptick in COVID-19 cases prompted the City Administration to take these extra precautions. It’s hard to be happy if you are not safe. The Governor just approved the Mayor’s order to prohibit the sale, service, and consumption of alcohol in bars on Oahu at, or before, 12 a.m. daily. The amended order, signed July 14, is effective immediately. Click here to view the Mayor’s amended Emergency Order.
Any bar that doesn’t comply with these requirements, which also includes wearing of face coverings, social/physical distancing, and rules on certain indoor activities such as singing and dancing, shall be subject to immediate closure for 24 hours. Bar operators may also be subject to penalties that could include fines, suspension, and/or revocation of the liquor license. If you have any questions, visit oneoahu.org, call the 768-CITY (2489), or email covidresponse@honolulu.gov
ALA WAI CANAL DREDGING & IMPROVEMENTS: Schedule Changes
To reduce nighttime impacts of dredging work in the Ala Wai Canal, the Department of Land & Natural Resources (DLNR) changed work hours, effective immediately. The new hours are:
7:00am – 6:00pm (Monday-Friday)
9:00am – 10:00pm (Saturday, Sunday, & State Holidays)
The $21 million dredging and canal improvements project started last October which is dredging accumulated silt and sediments from the Ala Wai and repairing two sections of the canal wall. Project contractor, Hawaii Harbors Constructors JV, will continue taking decibel measurements to ensure it is within permitted noise levels. When completed the canal will enable storm water to efficiently flow to the ocean to reduce the risk of flooding as well as improve the aesthetics and use of the canal. The work is scheduled to be completed by this late this year or in early 2021. For more information, call (808)587-0396 or email Dlnr.comms@hawaii.gov. Additional project information can be found here.
HONOLULU SURF FILM FESTIVAL 2020: July 18 – August 2
The Honolulu Museum of Art – The Surf Film Festival will showcase in a new virtual format the best in surf cinema from around the world and celebrate the sport’s diverse global community. The 2020 film lineup will be free to everyone, with films and programming accessible via a video player embedded in each individual program webpage. The event kicks off tomorrow, July 18, with a special live Q&A with Kakaako’s very own, Carissa Moore. For a full list of films and information on how you can tune-in, visit Honolulu Museum of Art Surf Film Festival website.
