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State to drop social gathering and restaurant spacing limits, leaving rules up to counties. Gov. Ige lifts some rules, gives emergency powers to counties. Gov. David Ige on Tuesday announced he intends to keep certain restrictions related to COVID-19 in place while giving counties the authority to make their own pandemic emergency orders and rules. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii Public Radio. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Now. Maui Now. Garden Island. Hawaii News Now. KHON2. KITV4.
On Saturday the Hawaii Republican Party elected a new state chair, Lynn Finnegan. The former state House representative and Lt. Gov. candidate is the third party chair this year, following a short stint by Signe Godfrey, who replaced Shirlene Ostrov, who quit in January following a period of party turmoil. Civil Beat.
Hawaii’s Food Hubs Get $1 Million For Statewide Expansion. A collective of statewide food hubs has a plan to get more crops from small farmers to businesses, institutions and families that want locally grown food. Civil Beat.
The land department offers online tours of Hawaii’s nature preserves in exchange for donations. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources announced Tuesday a new program ahead of Giving Tuesday next week offering nature lovers a “new donation opportunity to give back to the land.” Star-Advertiser.
50 Years Later, Hawaii’s Law Requiring Professional Licenses Could Be In For An Overhaul. The occupational licensing requirements for many professions may be hindering qualified professionals from moving to Hawaii and getting work. Civil Beat.
Hawaii sees 52 new coronavirus cases, bringing statewide total to 86,991. The new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 23 new cases on Oahu, 14 on Hawaii island, nine on Kauai, five on Maui, and one Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state. Star-Advertiser.
Oahu
Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi loosens capacity restrictions and social distancing. Effective Dec. 1, there will be no capacity limits for restaurants, bars and social establishments on Oahu. And indoor or outdoor events on Oahu will also be unlimited although attendees will have the option of being tested in lieu of being vaccinated, and establishments will no longer have to collect contact tracing information, Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced Tuesday. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. Hawaii News Now. KITV4.
UH sports to allow food and beverages as long rebound from pandemic begins. New changes to the City and County of Honolulu’s reopening strategy Tuesday mean that University of Hawaii athletics fans can go back to eating and enjoying a beverage at sporting events starting in December. KHON2.
Honolulu Rail Holds Onto Federal Funds And Buys Time To Craft Recovery Plan. The FTA has been withholding the local transit project’s federal dollars for the past seven years as its struggles have mounted. Civil Beat.
Hawaii Island
Water Board mulls rate hikes. Members of the island Water Board favored a 9.5% annual rate increase over options of 12% and 8% after a presentation Tuesday from consultants anticipating revenues and expenses over the next five years. West Hawaii Today.
Coast Guard Patrols off Big Island 19 Days in November. Potential federal law violations by recreational and commercial fleets were observed by the U.S. Coast Guard during a patrol operation conducted in Big Island waters this year, officials reported Tuesday, Nov. 23. Big Island Now.
Maui
Maui County Mulls An Agreement Between Police And US Immigration Agency. The proposal would authorize the mayor to enter into an agreement with the homeland security division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allowing federal officials to designate Maui police officers as customs officers and train them in the use of body cameras. Civil Beat.
Proposed cancer center raises questions over staffing, need. Questioning the need for additional services, costs and staff availability, a proposal for a cancer center in West Maui was denied by a Hawaii State Health Planning and Development Agency advisory committee last week. The agency’s Certificate of Need Review Panel recommended that the administration not approve Maui Medical Building LLC’s certificate of need application to establish radiation therapy services at 214 Kupuohi St. in Lahaina because the proposal was “not concrete enough.” Maui News.
Maui County Hotel Occupancy at 60% for October 2021, Lower than October 2019. Maui County hotels occupancy for October 2021 was 60.3%, which is 16.1 percentage points lower than pre-pandemic October 2019, according to the latest Hawaiʻi Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. Maui Now.
Kauai
Island health-care providers to receive $3.6 million in federal aid. Eighteen Kaua‘i health-care providers will receive more than $3.6 million in federal funding under the American Rescue Plan. Garden Island.
State to hire slew of new DOCARE officers. State DLNR DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla said successful applicants assigned to Kaua‘i can expect to police locations throughout the island and its surrounding waters. Garden Island.