Today, the great worry is finding a way around the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Infection rates are in an unprecedented upward spiral, primarily caused by unvaccinated Hawaii residents ignoring the dangers of the virus.

Whether the state’s inhabitants will do the right thing and get a vaccination shot is still an open question. It is a question that one way or the other will be answered.

Perhaps still unresolveable, but raising a ruckus, is Hawaii’s now-and-then love affair with tourism. Hawaii today is attacking the state’s No. 1 private-sector industry for bringing too many people here.

To a large extent, Hawaii’s county, state and federal governments are going to do what they are going to do. But tourists are either coming or they are not. And it is possible to scare them away.

Today we are in a period when the visitors just can’t get enough of us. And while the money is nice, 30,000 houseguests every night is a bit much.

So what to do? Critics immediately demand ways to trim Hawaii’s tourist load. So far the reaction has been a shoulder shrug and a mumbled, “I dunno.”

Of course, there is a way without being inhospitable. Just yank the beds.

Closing hotels isn’t a good idea because hotels are major employment centers. We always need jobs. They might not be sparkling, six-figure high-tech positions, but Hawaii doesn’t do that. So we should take a look at where lots of tourists are sleeping.

Yes, in illegal vacation rentals. Maui Mayor Michael Victorino recently said, “Maui’s surge in new vacation accommodations in recent years has come primarily from vacation rentals, not resort hotels.”

The rules say Oahu is allowed 1,700 new bed-and-breakfast operations with a permit issued by the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) via a lottery system.

Of course, DPP is just not ready. The last we heard from the city department was in March, when six current and former DPP employees were charged with taking bribes in exchange for performing official acts at DPP, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The city said a special master and an investigator have been appointed to oversee the city department.

“Areas that require changes that are identified by the special master and the independent investigator will be done immediately,” the department said in a statement.

So what about DPP’s former hot button issue: clamping down on illegal vacation rentals?

Well, the formal statement is: “Comments provided by the public at the April 6, 2021, hearing on draft administrative rules revealed potential problems with the registration components of Ordinance 19-18. Therefore, as of April 22, 2021, the adoption of the administrative rules and start of the registration process have been put on hold while DPP reconsiders the registration process.”

A quick check online shows that the Oahu vacation business is operating when and where it wants and is flourishing, with or without city permits.

Nothing like an FBI investigation and a swarm of federal indictments to slow down the city’s scheme to “run the city like a business.”

No wonder there are so many tourists. They can stay anywhere, no questions asked.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.