Updated 12/21/20, 3:49 p.m.
Governor David Ige has released his proposed state budget for lawmakers to consider in the 2021 legislative session. Ige says the two year spending plan reflects the difficult decisions forced on the state by the COVID-19 pandemic. The extent of the state s projected revenue loss means that permanent and ongoing changes must be made to the way state government operates, Ige said during a Monday press conference. Regrettably, we are unable to shield our employees and priority programs from reduction. In addition, we will continue to evaluate those that are necessary to bring out
The proposed budget includes cuts to all departments, including the K-12 public education system and the University of Hawaii.
Sandee Oshiro/HPR
Oʻahu will be adjusting its tiered reopening plan by removing new cases from the Halawa Correctional Facility cluster. Under the changes, Honolulu will be subtracting new cases among the prison population from its weekly averages, but will still count positives among prison guards and staff.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced the city will be making the changes to its weekly case averages to avoid the island from going back to the most restrictive tier in the plan.
The state Department of Health on Monday reported 104 new cases of COVID-19 on Oahu. 55 are connected to the Halawa prison cluster.
Updated 12/18/20, 11:53 a.m.
The state Department of Health reported 130 new cases and one fatality Friday.
According to the state s numbers, Oʻahu had 104 new cases, Maui 11, Hawaiʻi County 7, Kauaʻi 1, Lanai and Molokaʻi had none.
The latest state counts bring the Oʻahu total to 16,760, Hawaiʻi County 1,770, Maui 746, Kauaʻi 136, Lanai 106 and Molokaʻi 22. The number of out-of-state cases total 320.
Since the pandemic began, the state has tallied 19,859 cases. The death toll stands at 281.
Tripler distributes COVID vaccine
Hawaiʻi s Tripler Army Medical Center is part of a Defense Department test project to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. The Oʻahu military hospital is one of 16 locations worldwide selected by the Pentagon to assess its ability to ship vaccine doses to military personnel, their families, and the department s civilian work force.
Updated 12/18/20, 9:37 a.m.
Hawaiʻi s Tripler Army Medical Center is part of a Defense Department test project to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. The Oʻahu military hospital is one of 16 locations worldwide selected by the Pentagon to assess its ability to ship vaccine doses to military personnel, their families, and the department s civilian work force.
Much like the broader population, the military will prioritize healthcare workers and personnel in critical jobs for early vaccination, before shifting to those most vulnerable to infection. We ve already had quite a few patients at the hospital, most of them are older, and we ve had quite a few die unfortunately from COVID, said Col. Martin Doperak, a physician and Commander of Tripler Army Medical Center.
Honolulu Rapid Transit Facebook Page / HART
Details of the two bids to construct and manage the final 4.2 miles of Honolulu s rail project have been released. The priority listed offerors (PLO) bidding on the city center project were City Center Connection Group and Imua Transit Honolulu.
According to the city, both bids were more than a billion dollars higher than the affordability limit the highest the city was willing to accept to design and build the rail project from Dillingham Boulevard to Ala Moana Center. Both came in . . . almost $1.3 billion above the affordability limits. That was 60% higher than anticipated, said Mayor Kirk Caldwell during a press conference yesterday afternoon. And to get that price down, it would be nearly impossible.