VOTE! LAST DAY IS TOMORROW!
I hope you all have voted but if you still haven’t, please do! You’ll have to take your ballot to the elections drop box. The closest one in our district is at Honolulu Hale Voter Service Center at 530 South King Street. You can still register to vote and vote at the same time tomorrow — Election day– from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For last minute voters on election day, the absolute deadline to drop off your voted ballot is 7pm. This is a hard stop! Any later and your vote will not be counted. If you already submitted your ballot, click here if you want to check if it was received.
WANT TO VOLUNTEER? Be A Voice for Our Kupuna Who Need YOU!
Make a difference in the lives of Hawaii’s most vulnerable. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCO) needs people who care about our kupuna. The program’s success is due to the commitment and work of caring volunteers who are trained to support residents in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Due to the pandemic, volunteers are needed more than ever to provide a voice for 12,876 residents in 1,729 facilities statewide. We need volunteers on all islands, so if you know of anyone who is at least 21-years of age, enjoys being with kupuna, and has an interest in being an advocate on their behalf, please contact LTCO volunteer coordinator, Lynn Niitani, at (808) 223-0468 or email her at: lynn.niitani@doh.hawaii.gov.
UPDATE ON UNEMPLOYMENT: MORE ON THE EB20 EXTENDED BENEFITS PROGRAM
For those who have exhausted the 26 weeks of unemployment (Regular UI) and the 13 weeks of federal pandemic emergency unemployment compensation (PEUC), you may be eligible for extended benefits. The Extended Benefits 20 (EB20) program provides additional benefits so long as the state’s unemployment rate is above 5%. The weekly benefit amount and procedures to apply and submit reports are the same as under the state’s regular UI. The first step to take to apply for EB20 is to log into your unemployment insurance account. See how to apply here.
STATE HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: Update
The State’s Rent Relief and Housing Assistance Program was going slowly but seems unclogged now and moving more quickly. The two agencies administering the program –Aloha United Way and Catholic Charities Hawaii—are working to get the 20,000 applications out as quickly as they can before the December 26 deadline (when CARES Act federal relief funding terminates). The program provides renters and homeowners with monthly rent or mortgage, as well as HOA dues, financial counseling or loan modifications. For more information, click here. While new applications are not being accepted, those in line should hearing soon if you meet the eligibility requirements. If you applied to Catholic Charities you can check on the status of your application here.
A BETTER WAY TO FIND PARKING? Find a Parking Stall Before You Arrive
From Waikiki to Kakaako, what are those colorful signs popping up in private parking lots and near parking stalls? It’s for a smartphone app called PARKLINQ which allows people to find a parking spot and pay for it before they reach a destination. The app also enables businesses to earn extra cash off their idle parking stalls. On Oahu, about 450 parking stalls are in the process of uploading right now. Here’s more:
Even homeowners can sign up and rent out their private driveways.
Parking owners can list the number of stalls they want to rent out and decide how much they want to charge.
Parking rates on the app average $1.25 to $1.50 an hour. Stalls can also be rented out daily or monthly.
Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) will hold its Kakaako meeting online Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. Victoria Ward Ltd. will present its plans for the Ala Moana Blvd. Pedestrian Bridge and projects located at its Land Blocks F & H. Preview their presentation slides here. See the HCDA agenda here.
McCully–Moiliili Neighborhood Board meets Thursday, November 5, 2020, 6:30 P.M. at Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church, 2062 South King Street. Presentations include the City Department of Transportation Services HOLO Card Overview, 820 Isenberg Street (former Bowl-O-Drome) Redevelopment Project Update by Department of Hawaiian Homelands and Stanford Carr, and Ala Wai Watershed Flood Risk Management Project by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. See the agenda here.
