Spotlight Hawaii

Governor David Ige said the state has done a great job of setting up a broad network of locations to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, but that Hawaii’s rate of vaccinations is being hampered by a bottleneck at the federal level.

“We could easily provide inoculations to twice the number of people that we are currently doing each week,” the Governor said this morning on Spotlight Hawaii.

Ige said the state is receiving up to 40,000 doses each week, and distributing them as quickly as possible.

“We’re not sitting on it. It’s a pretty effective and efficient system that we have.”

Ige himself has still not received a COVID-19 vaccine, but hopes to in the next week or a two.

In a wide-ranging interview, the Governor took questions about the COVID-19 variants now present in Hawaii, potential changes to the Safe Travels program, loosening restrictions on Oahu’s tier system, and Aloha Stadium. He also took several questions about unemployment benefits, which have been delayed due to issues with the state’s antiquated computer system.

“That is the most asked question I get here in the governor’s office, about those that have applied and have not gotten an answer back yet. And it’s unfortunately that the system is just so old that it’s very hard to predict when we would be able to complete the changes necessary,” Ige explained.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is working off mainframe from the 1980s, which was recently approved to be replaced. But that multi-million dollar project will not be completed any time soon, and is of little help to current jobless claimants. Thousands of Hawaii residents are waiting for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits that were approved in December.

“These are new programs and new requirements that make it difficult. These old systems do not allow us to rush it, because if in fact the systems crash that would really be devastating and we would be unable to deliver services for a real long time,” Ige said.

State Reps. Aaron Johanson and Sylvia Luke joined Spotlight Hawaii this morning to discuss the future of Aloha Stadium, and more broadly about the state’s budget challenges.

The Stadium Authority is seeking to redevelop the 98-acre site, with a 30,000-seat facility, to replace the aging 50,000-seat stadium. The project is expected to also include a mix of housing and retail development.

“The stadium is great but for too long it’s been sort of this fallow property that other than games, and a parking lot, and a swap meet, it hasn’t really been leveraged for it’s maximum potential,” said Johanson, whose district includes the redevelopment area.

“We see this as a great opportunity to leverage not just the stadium itself, but the entire 98-acre campus, which is a prime jewel that is largely undeveloped, to turn it into an additional thriving community that really does connect the edge of Honolulu in the stadium area with Aiea.”

The project is expected to run upwards of $300 million dollars. Luke, who chairs the House Finance Committee said that it is important for the public to understand the state funds allocated to the project have been generated through bonds, set aside long before the financial woes brought on by the pandemic.

“This project was already underway before COVID and there’s a commitment to continue, otherwise you know, any time there’s a delay it will essentially be wasting taxpayer’s money,” she said.

Both Luke and Johanson said that they believe it may still be possible for the University of Hawaii to play games at Aloha Stadium in the near future, despite the Stadium Authority telling UH that that is no longer an option.

Just this morning, UH athletic director Dave Matlin told the Board of Regents that the university is projecting expenses to play football games on its Manoa campus will exceed revenues by $400,000 a year.

“When the Stadium Authority made an assessment that the stadium is partly unsafe, they looked at the utilization of the entire stadium. But as you know, we have not been filling all 50,000 seats so we could probably utilize a portion, so it really depends on what portion we can keep open to allow UH football and other things to happen,” Luke said.

Luke suggested the possibility of repairing part of the existing stadium to allow for games.

Johanson agreed, “The field is still very usable at the stadium…I think we have to do what is ultimately in the best interest of the taxpayer.”

Health Department Director Dr. Libby Char joined Spotlight Hawaii, a series from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that shines a spotlight on issues affecting our islands, today for a livestream video and took viewer questions.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green joins Spotlight Hawaii, a series from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that shines a spotlight on issues affecting our islands, today for a livestream video and took viewer questions.

Gov. David Ige joined Spotlight Hawaii, a series from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that shines a spotlight on issues affecting our islands, today for a livestream video at 10:30 a.m. and took viewer questions.

Four weeks into the job at Honolulu Hale, Mayor Rick Blangiardi says he is energized and undaunted by the challenges ahead.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a role before where you can feel the expectations. They’re so high,” he said today on Spotlight Hawaii.

“It’s really palpable as I go around and meet people and listen to what they have to say. And at the same time, the sense of responsibility is amazing. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.”

The mayor has largely been focused on assembling his cabinet, including 21 new directors, some of whom were being confirmed by the City Council as the interview took place this morning. He spoke highly of the team he has put together, and said that he has urged each of them to lead from day one, for example by trusting them to choose their own deputy directors, rather than assuming that choice himself.

Blangiardi said that he plans to work closely with the City Council, in a spirit of collaboration and action.

“I’ve heard all the horror stories in the past about dysfunctions between mayors and city councils, this is not that moment in time,” he said.

For now, the mayor said he is keeping tier system created by the Caldwell Administration in place. Blangiardi has been critical of some of the restrictions on business, and said that that he hopes to loosen the rules on certain sectors next month.

“I’m hoping by the middle of February I’m gonna be able to relax a couple of things, which is what we’d like to do. And I very much understand the need to get bars open, to get our kids playing, and those kind of things,” he said.

One of the primary challenges facing the City will be the budget deficit, projected to be roughly $400 million. Blangiardi did not offer specifics on where he hopes to make up that money.

“We’ll make it work. I can say this, we got a lot of tough calls in front of us. A lot of tough calls,” he said.

Blangiardi also reflected on the death of former Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi, whom he had dinner with just last month. He said Kenoi seemed “incredibly strong and vibrant,” and that his passing came as a shock.

“It is such a privileged to lead, and the thing about Billy was, he embodied all of that. It was like he was born to do that, he felt it and he loved it. He was just a real inspiring guy. He leaves an incredible legacy,” Blangiardi said.

“He was the real deal. My love and aloha to Billy Kenoi. He lives in my heart.”

Lt. Gov. Josh Green joined Spotlight Hawaii, a series from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that shines a spotlight on issues affecting our islands, today for a livestream video at 11:00 a.m. and took viewer questions.

As the newly chosen chair of the Honolulu City council, Tommy Waters said his top priority is to balance the budget.

“We have a $400 million deficit. $400 million, now that’s not insignificant. That’s gonna be our number one challenge, how are we gonna fill the budget?” Waters said this morning on Spotlight Hawaii.

“In county government, police, fire, ambulance, your garbage, your sewers, your roads, these are all very, very important things that we need every day, and I can’t see cutting any of those things. We’ve got to figure out how we’re gonna do it. Do more with less.”

With so many residents facing financial challenges, Waters said he does not want to raise taxes and is instead looking at other options like refinancing the city’s bonds, and not filling vacancies on the city payroll.

The Councilman said he supports keeping the previous administration’s tier system in place, because it provides clarity on what is and is not allowed. He said there could be some room for loosening restrictions on certain sectors, but overall, believes the rules are helping to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Waters has been a proponent of increased access to COVID-19 testing, and in the past has called for secondary testing for travelers once they arrive on Oahu. He said that while he is comfortable with the way the Safe Travels program is being conducted, more testing is always preferred, especially for local residents.

“Make this free. Have these testing machines all over the place. We could be testing our teachers twice a week, testing our students twice a week, right? Testing our sports coaches and athletes twice a week, just to ensure that they’re safe, and make it free,” he said.

Waters said he will formally be meeting with Mayor Rick Blangiardi to discuss their priorities next week, and expects that the new mayor and city council will have a productive working relationship. The 2020 election meant vast changes to the council, with five new members, and comprised for the first time ever of a majority of women, and four Native Hawaiians, including Waters himself.

“It’s a really wonderful team, and I’m so proud to be the chair at this time,” Waters said.

“In any decision that we make, whether it be the budget, housing, homelessness, if we treat each other with aloha every day, think about how our decisions affect our keiki, our kupuna, and our families, right? If we think about that, and channel every single decision that we make though that lens, I don’t think we can go wrong.”

Lynelle Marble and Brandon Kurisu of AlohaSafe Alert app joined Spotlight Hawaii, a series from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that shines a spotlight on issues affecting our islands, today for a livestream video and took viewer questions.

Bill Comerford and John Harrison have each owned and operated bars in Honolulu for decades, but both say that if COVID-19 restrictions are not lifted soon, they will lose their businesses.

“It’s crushed my business. We have no business. And we have hope, I do, that things get better and we get a chance to open,” Harrison told Spotlight Hawaii this morning.

“I’ve committed 29 years of my life to this, I’m just not walking away.”

Harrison owns Legends Sports Pub in Waikiki, which opened in 1993. Since the first lockdown in March, he has been allowed to open for a total of 53 days, hardly enough to generate the income he needs to fully cover rent or pay his employees.

“People may not see bars as essential, but the jobs are essential to the people that work here,” Harrison added.

Comerford, who is also the president of the Hawaii Bar Owners Association, owned four Irish-themed bars before the pandemic hit: Kelley O’Neil’s, Irish Rose Saloon, Anna O’Brien’s and O’Toole’s. All have had to close under the City’s tier system, and in the space of less than a year, he has seen years of hard work disappear.

“Obviously a business can’t stay in business without income. And that’s the circumstance we’re in. We don’t have the income to survive,” Comerford said. “I”m on unemployment…Our company has come apart completely.”

Both men said they are appealing to city and state leaders to allow bars to open under the same restrictions placed on restaurants.

“I think we can operate safely the way the bars do in restaurants. They’re doing basically the same thing we were doing,” Harrison said.

“All we want is opportunity. And you punish bad behavior. If the bars are not able to obey by the rules, then shut them down, as any other business. But we’re looking for the opportunity.”