Author: admin

  • Dine-in starts Friday, Neighborhood Board, COVID hearings

    Dine-in starts Friday, Neighborhood Board, COVID hearings

    Aloha Neighbor,

    READY, SET, GO… DINE-IN RESTAURANTS TODAY
    Oahu restaurants are allowed to open for dine-in services starting Friday under strict guidelines.  So not all restaurants are ready to open so check out Frolichawaii.com for a preliminary list of restaurants preparing for dine-in customers as well as Honolulu Magazine.  A list of SALT at Kakaako restaurants opening for dine-in is here.  Restaurants continue to offer take-out and curbside options.  See these lists at Hawaii Restaurant Association and Support 808.  If you do plan on dining out please do so safely. See this article on how.

    NEIGHBORHOOD BOARDS ARE MEETING AGAIN
    Board meetings began this month and must comply with safety guidelines.  Remember that if you are a senior, sick or at high-risk, you are highly encouraged to continue to stay at home.  Below are the regular meeting dates in our neighborhood but check the Neighborhood Commission website for the most accurate and up to date information.

    • McCully-Moiliili No. 8 – 1st Thursday, 6:30 pm; Washington Middle School
    • Waikiki No. 9 – 2nd Tuesday, 7:00 pm; Waikiki Community Center
    • Makiki/Lower Punchbowl/Tantalus No. 10 – 3rd Thursday, 6:00 pm; Makiki District Park
    • Ala Moana/Kakaako No. 11 – 4th Tuesday, 6:30 pm; Makiki Christian Church


    SENATE COVID COMMITTEE BRIEFING POSTPONED
    On Thursday, the committee was expecting to hear from eight agencies important to reopening and plans for economic recovery: Hawaii Technology Development Corporation, Hawaii State Energy Office, Business Development & Support Division, Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, Foreign Trade Zone Division, Creative Industries Division and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.  They submitted their slide presentations that were to be discussed today.  See     State Economic Recovery Draft Strategy Plan. We hope to meet with them soon.

    Take care and stay healthy!

  • Science Fair winners, Reopening, Contact Tracing, Food distribution, Library

    Science Fair winners, Reopening, Contact Tracing, Food distribution, Library

    CONGRATULATIONS RISING SCIENTISTS!!!
    The Hawaii Academy of Science announced the 2020 Grand Award Winners of the Hawaii State Science & Engineering Fair (HSSEF). From the 6,000 participants across the state’s 100 public and private school fairs, the following juniors and seniors in our district made us proud!  We congratulate Lian Fouse, Grade 9, McKinley High School, who placed 1st as HSSEF’s Grand Award Winner in the Senior Division.  She is also a ISEF State Delegation Finalist. Others we celebrate are:  Johnathan Le, McKinley, 2d Place, Biomedical & Health Sciences-Senior Division; Michael Hui, Kaimuki High School, 2d Place, Biomedical Engineering-Junior Division; Kaitlyn Nagata, Washington Middle School, 2d Place, Embedded Systems-Junior Division; Tyger Yong, McKinley, 1st Place, Engineering Mechanics-Senior Division; Katherine Liu, McKinley, 3d Place, Material Sciences-Senior Division; Minsub Song, McKinley, 3d Place, Robotics & Intelligent Machines-Senior Division; Lian Fouse, McKinley, Systems Software- Senior Division; Ayre Takamoto, 2d Place, and Jack Dias, 3d Place, Kaimuki Middle School.

    BEYOND RECOVERY: STRATEGY FOR REOPENING HAWAII
    The senate special COVID committee was briefed by Alexandra Slous, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s (HIEMA) State Disaster Recovery Coordinator, on the updated (as of May18 2020) roadmap for gauging our recovery.  I shared with you last week, but we got clarification today that we are in the “Act With Care”/Minor Disruption Phase, which will see more medium- and high-risk businesses and operations reopening. We will probably be in this phase for a couple more weeks but we were assured that the Governor, Mayors, HIEMA and the Attorney General are meeting often to explore how the state can reopen our borders carefully and safely to ensure the public’s health.  When asked about the specific guidance for various restaurants, adult care centers and facilities and other businesses, AG Connors said the State’s Recovery Navigator website will post these guidelines. You can check if it does at recoverynavigator.hawaii.gov.

    CONTACT TRACING
    The committee also heard from DOH Director Bruce Anderson and State Epidemiologist Sarah Park and Aimee Malia Grace, UH Director of Health Science Policy.  Focus was on one of the core covid control measures–contact tracing. DOH is gearing up their program.  From a staff of 25 or so contact tracers the Department of Health is partnering with the UH to train a cadre of contact tracers to be ready if a surge occurs in the numbers. The UH is now recruiting for three training tracks: 1) 1-1/2 day professional clinical contact tracing for those with clinical backgrounds; 2) 6-week community contact tracing; and 3) 1 semester community health worker training.  All training is free and conducted online. If you are interested, apply now at go.hawaii.edu/AQX

    TAKE OUT FOOD DISTRIBUTION CONTINUES: Food Saturdays
    Free food will continue to be distributed at Kakaako’s Na Kupuna Makamae Center from noon to 2:30 p.m. at 653 Ala Moana Blvd. (corner of Keawe Street and Ala Moana Boulevard (old pump station)).  Instead of Fridays, distribution will now be on Saturdays, beginning June 6, and continuing for the rest of the month.  It’s a walk-in pickup only. It is NOT a drive-thru. Mahalo to the Center, Aloha Harvest & other partners for the food boxes. If you have questions, please call (808) 773-7047 or email <a href=”mailto:carmenlee@pacificgatewaycenter.org?subject=carmenlee@pacificgatewaycenter.org” target=”_blank” style=”mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;”>carmenlee@pacificgatewaycenter.org

    TAKE OUT FOOD “FOR THE MIND”: Library Take Out
    Some of you have asked about the libraries not being available when books would be comforting during this stay at home time. “Library Take Out” is available but unfortunately not from the libraries close to us. McCully and the Main Branch are closed. See     this link on how to access the take out.

    Take care and stay healthy!