Ka‘ū News Briefs, Thursday, Sept.1, 2022

    The mayor's cabinet members said they have identified a source of funding from Capital Improvements Project appropriations for the new skatepark, which is planned for the land at Kahuku County Park in Ocean View. They promised that as they move forward in allocating funding, they will continue having meetings with Ocean View Skatepark project representatives and at some point with the broader community.
    The Parks & Recreation Director said, "It was great to meet the new generation of skate park users at the meeting - you folks have persevered through this process for them and never gave up on the Oceanview Skate Park project. We're looking forward to our continued partnership!'

CO-MANAGEMENT OF THE CORAL REEF COMMUNITY is the theme of the United States Coral Reef Task Force annual meeting, which is being held on this island through Saturday. It involves representatives of seven states, territories, commonwealths and three Freely Associated States. Also involved are 13 federal agencies. 

    Site visits included Miloli'i for the Task Force Fisheries Working Group. One panel at the meeting on Thursday included Laila Kaupu of the Miloli'i Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area in a discussion on Co-Management and Collaboration in Hawaiian Natural Resource Management. Joining her were Ryan Okano and Luna Kekoa, of state Division of Aquatic Resources; Athline Clark of NOAA Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument; and Phil Fernandez, of Fishermen's Alliance for Conservative and Tradition, Inc.

     Participants also discussed the American Samoa U.S Coral Reef Task Force site at Faga'alu.  On hand was Seaina Vaigautolu Tuimavave, of the American Samoa Department of Marine & Wildlife Resources.

     Another panel discussion Thursday was called Protecting Reefs and People in a New Climate Reality.

Learn more about the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force and its work at www.coralreef.gov.

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POLICE CHIEF FOR HAWAI'I ISLAND on late Wednesday afternoon became Kenneth Bugado who stepped up from Deputy Chief with the retirement of Chief Paul Ferriera on the same day. 

LOWER ELECTRIC BILLS ARE EXPECTED IN OCTOBER for power used in September. Hawaiian Electric said the decrease in charges for electricity will follow lower fuel prices. The lower bills will be on Hawai'i, Maui, Lana'i and Moloka'i. However, O'ahu bills will continue to go up, following the shutdown of its coal burning plant. Kaua'i has its own electric cooperative and does not use power from Hawaiian Electric.    The utility issued the statement Thursday, saying Hawaiian Electric is experiencing the first significant drop in oil prices since spring.

    "Customers are asked to continue to limit electricity use from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. through Saturday to ensure enough power is available during those hours. Conservation methods include turning off air conditioners and unnecessary lighting, shutting off water heaters, and delaying activities like cooking, showering, laundry, and dishwashing," says the Hawaiian Electric statement.  
THE NEW BIVALENT COVID BOOSTER VACCINE is recommended by the state Department of Health. DOH made the announcement Thursday that these first bivalent booster vaccines are designed specifically to protect against original COVID-19 and the most common forms of COVID-19 in Hawai‘i, the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.
    The BA.5 subvariant accounts for an estimated 91% of the COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i. The BA.4 subvariant accounts for an additional 4% of the cases in Hawai‘i.
    “The COVID-19 boosters we have been using do a good job of protecting us against severe illness. The new bivalent boosters are an upgrade because they take into account mutations of the COVID-19 virus to specifically address Omicron subvariants,” said State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char, FACEP.
    U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued Emergency Use Authorization for the bivalent COVID-19 boosters on Wednesday. U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and DOH recommend the bivalent booster manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech for people age 12 and older. DOH recommend the bivalent booster by Moderna for adults age 18 and older.
    The new bivalent vaccines are to be administered as a single booster dose to those who previously completed a primary series of COVID-19 vaccines and those who have had one or two booster doses. Bivalent boosters can only be administered if it has been at least two months since a person’s most recent vaccination. Bivalent vaccines replace previously authorized monovalent mRNA boosters for people age 12 and older. The DOH and CDC continue to recommend Pfizer’s monovalent boosters for children ages 5 through 11.
    The federal government allotted DOH initial orders totaling 37,800 doses of bivalent boosters. Those initial orders will arrive in the coming days. The state Department of Health will place additional orders weekly as needed, said its statement.

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A WAITING LIST FOR COUNTY HOUSING SECTION 8 VOUCHER PROGRAM will open Sept. 19 and close Oct. 3. The The County of Hawai'i Office of Housing & Community Development made the announcement for the Housing Choice Voucher Program on Thursday.
    The Office of Housing statement says that applications must be completed and submitted electronically through OHCD's online application portal, accessible with any computer or smartphone with internet access at: https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/i-want-to/apply-for-a-an
    There is no cost to apply. However, only one application per family is allowed on the waiting list.
    Those with a disability or a barrier to completing the online application may request a reasonable accommodation by contacting OHCD at (808) 959-4642.

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