Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, July 24, 2020

     County of Hawaiʻi, in an abundance of caution, closed Punaluʻu and Whittington Beach Parks to the public at 7 p.m. Friday. All county parks and up the east side of the island shut down, with all their camping permits canceled for the weekend. Other county coastal lands on the east side are also off-limits. The port of Hilo is closed, Young Brothers barge arrival canceled. Hawaiian Airlines canceled all of its Neighbor Island flights for Sunday and announced it is moving some 60 planes to either Kona or the mainland.
     The Central Pacific Hurricane Center warns, "Douglas continues to approach the main Hawaiian Islands, potentially passing dangerously close to, or over, the islands Saturday night through Sunday night. The close passage of Douglas brings a triple threat of hazards, including but not limited to damaging winds, flooding rainfall, and dangerously high surf, especially along east facing shores."
     The Hurricane Center also warns of dangerous surf and heavy rainfall: "Large swells generated by Douglas are expected to affect the Hawaiian Islands this weekend. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions for a couple of days.
     "Heavy rainfall associated with Douglas is expected to affect portions of the Hawaiian Islands from late Saturday night through Monday. Total rain accumulations of 6 to 10 inches with isolated maximum totals of 15 inches are possible, especially in higher terrain. This rain may result in life-threatening flash flooding and landslides."
     As of Friday evening, Hawaiʻi Island is under a high surf alert and hurricane watch, as are Maui County and Oʻahu, which along with Kauaʻi, are possible landfalls for Douglas.
     A Hurricane Hunter plane and crew headed to the eye of the storm today to gather more data on Hurricane Douglas.
     At 5 p.m., Hurricane Douglas was 665 miles east of Hilo, with maximum sustained winds at 115 mph. Douglas is traveling fast at 20 mph in a west-northwest direction. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 105 miles.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our Fresh Food on The Kaʻū Calendar and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.


A PETITION TO PREVENT OPENING SCHOOLS UNDER PRESSURE from Pres. Donald Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy Devos is an initiative of Sen. Mazie Hirono. She sent out a statement this morning saying, "Amid the coronavirus pandemic and the surge in cases throughout the country, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and President Donald Trump are attempting to force
students to return to in-person classes in the fall with no plan on how to open schools safely. They forced the Centers for Disease Control to change reopening guidelines that were 'too tough', which they just reissued yesterday, and they are threatening to cut off funding to public schools that do not open, saying 'the science should not stand in the way of this.' DeVos falls right in line with Trump's cavalier disregard for the health and safety of our teachers, students, and families. Opening schools right now puts our keiki and educators in harm's way. The fall school year starts on August 4 in Hawaiʻi -- we must protect them at all costs.

Sen. Mazie Hirono launched a petition today concerning Pres. Donald Trump and the Secretary of Education pressuring schools to reopen without more protection from the COVID-19 pandemic. She also took an interview with MSNBC concerning the role of the federal Inspector General.   Image from MSNBC

     Hirono spoke on the Senate floor yesterday. She called DeVos and Trump's plan a "diabolical plot to dismantle our public school system and attack teachers," and said it is dangerous to open schools "without certainty, resources, and support from the federal government." She urged constituents to sign her petition.
     She also said that the U.S. Senate "must step up and put the welfare of our teachers and students ahead of Trump's political self-interest."
     Today, Hirono spoke out on MSNBC, saying that with a federal judge denying the request of the Oregon Attorney General to curb actions of federal agents in Portland, "the role of the Justice Department's Inspector General is more important than ever. The Inspector General is conducting an investigation." See msnbc.com/30JHsJV.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our Fresh Food on The Kaʻū Calendar and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

THE DATE FOR STUDENTS TO RETURN TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS MAY BE DELAYED in Hawaiʻi, beyond the scheduled day of Aug. 4. The issue drew thousands of comments and testimony from teachers, principals, school staff, and parents during a six-hour state Board of Education meeting on Thursday.

     Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association reported today: "After receiving a record-breaking amount of written testimony from administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents, the BOE will schedule a special meeting in the days ahead to consider changing the 2020–21 school calendar to delay students' return to public school campuses."
     Click here to listen to a recording of the meeting. Those prompted for a password, can enter HawaiiBOE2020.
     School employees and the public sent in 4,000 pages of testimony, and provided roughly two hours of live testimony during a virtual meeting of the board, during which more than 1,000 people listened virtually, exceeding the BOE's Webex platform's capacity.

Board of Education Chair Catherine Payne

     BOE Chair Catherine Payne said the board will "hold a special meeting to address the concerns in the testimony about training and health matters that came up. At that point, we could also consider a waiver (of the 180 required student instructional days) for some additional professional development days."
     BOE member Dwight Takeno said, "These individuals reached out to us as board members. They reached out asking for help. While I trust that the (Hawaiʻi State Department of Education) will do something if we give them some directives, I still think that overall, they came to us and we owe them something in return."
     BOE member Maggie Cox, a former principal, joined a majority of board members calling for a delay in bringing students back to campuses. "Some of them are going to be using curriculum they haven't seen before. We're trying to find out how to give extra time that the principals have asked for and that the teachers have asked for," Cox said.
     While it's unclear ultimately what will happen, board members discussed several options focused on bringing educators and other staff back to campuses on July 29 as scheduled.
     One proposal would start distance learning on Aug. 4 instead of in-school instruction for students, and then bring students back to classrooms two weeks later on Aug. 18. That would give educators time for training on COVID-19 protocols and distance learning. Another option discussed by board members would delay the beginning of the school year for a period of time so educators could concentrate on professional development, COVID-19 protocols, and other preparations before bringing students back to classrooms. Ultimately, the board could recommend other options.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our Fresh Food on The Kaʻū Calendar and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.

Onset of COVID-19 cases in the last 28 days, by zip code. White is zero cases. Yellow is one to five cases. Light orange (not pictured) is six to ten cases. Dark orange is 11 to 20  cases. Red (not pictured) is 21 to 50 cases. Hawaiʻi Department of Health map

THIS IS THE SECOND DAY OF RECORD NEW COVID-19 CASES IN THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI, with 60 new victims, following Thursday's 55 record. According to the state Department of Health, the majority of cases, both days, are on the island of Oʻahu. Fifty-eight are reported for Oʻahu today. One case is reported on Maui, and the other is a Hawaiʻi resident diagnosed out of state.

     State Director of Health Bruce Anderson said, "We're concerned that this relatively high level of cases is persisting on Oʻahu. Some of the cases we're reporting today are associated with existing clusters, known cases, and household spread, but others are new, unassociated cases that indicate increasing community spread. In contact tracing, we continue to identify cases connected with gatherings or just hanging out with close friends. Until we all recognize the importance of physically distancing from people outside of their households and wearing masks, we face the prospect of even higher numbers."

     State Epidemiologist Sarah Park said, "DOH is bringing on additional contact tracers to assist with case investigations and contact tracing. As we have over 400 contact tracers now trained to augment existing staff resources, we have sufficient reserves for that purpose. Nevertheless, contact tracing and testing alone will not control the spread of COVID-19. Everyone needs to adhere to the safe distancing recommendations and wear masks when near others. That is the only way we as a community are going to prevent the spread of this very infectious disease," said Park.

     There are nine active cases on-island. The patients are being monitored by Department of Health.