Some interisland travelers were raring to go on Tuesday’s Day 1 of the new quarantine exemption for those fully vaccinated in Hawaii. Most residents like the option but have no travel plans yet.

There are a few things they can do in advance. One is to visit the official Safe Travels site (travel.hawaii.gov), create their accounts and fill in their profiles. But the questionnaire and uploading the vaccine documents? Those tasks will have to wait until an actual travel itinerary is set — probably for the best, as rules do change. Travel safely, kamaaina!

Hoping for a boom in solar jobs

Given the abundance of sunny days here, it’s not surprising that Hawaii ranks among the top five states for solar jobs per capita. Even so, according to a recently released National Solar Jobs Census, we’re close to bottom in job growth. From 2012 to 2020, Hawaii saw a 48% increase in solar job growth, giving it a No. 44 ranking.

However, if President Joe Biden secures a green light on an ambitious goal of reaching 100% carbon-free or clean electricity throughout the U.S. by 2035, we could see a widespread surge in solar job opportunities as the nationwide workforce would need to quadruple in size, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.