If ever there was a year to forget, it’s 2020, but tradition is tradition and it’s time to “flASHback” one last time on the year’s news that amused and confused.
>> The Legislature opened its 2020 session in January with House Speaker Scott Saiki warning, “As a community, we are at best treading water. At worst, we are drowning.” And that was before COVID-19 hit.
>> As the coronavirus threat became clear, Gov. David Ige insisted it wasn’t circulating here, even though nobody had been tested because of defective kits. If hogwash cured diseases, Hawaii would have been golden.
>> People rushed to buy toilet paper and hand sanitizers as personal hygiene became the first line of defense. It was so scary even politicians worried about keeping their hands clean.
>> As citizens begged for leadership, Saiki called the governor “utterly chaotic, ” Lt. Gov. Josh Green derided state testing as “a total fail,” and county mayors issued competing plans. Other states appointed coronavirus czars; we needed a referee.
>> The pandemic ended Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s prolonged presidential campaign that netted virtually no votes in Iowa and 3% in New Hampshire. Only in presidential politics can a vainglorious also-ran collect a $174,000 congressional salary to travel the country on other people’s money auditioning for a job on Fox News.
>> Facing COVID, 22% unemployment and a $2.3 billion budget deficit, Hawaii’s Legislature bowed to unions and voted $150 million in pay raises for state workers. We were all in this together except public servants who social distanced from their conscience.
>> University of Hawaii economists forecast three possible recovery paths for Hawaii’s economy. They were labeled optimistic, pessimistic and sadomasochistic.
>> A Department of Education survey found 70% of kids learned “much less” or “somewhat less” during remote learning. The real story is the 30% who learned more.
>> Hawaii bankruptcies surged in the pandemic, with half of households losing significant income and unable to pay bills. I’m sure they’re happy to suffer a little more so public workers don’t have to suffer at all.
>> State Health Director Bruce Anderson resigned after defending botched contact tracing as only one prong of his pandemic response. The other prongs were obfuscation, blame shifting and information hoarding.
>> Loretta Sheehan, the only police commissioner to call out former Chief Louis Kealoha’s corruption and oppose his $250,000 retirement payoff, was ousted as chairwoman. Our city can handle only so much integrity.
>> Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who ran on a promise to “build rail better,” leaves office with the project $6 billion over budget, 14 years behind schedule and interim service to Honolulu Stadium scheduled for this year delayed. This train wreck can’t even get halfway to nowhere.
>> Rick Blangiardi was elected our new mayor on record pandemic voting, pledges to clean up city hall, and backing from former first lady and United Laundry Service president Vicky Cayetano. I’m not sure that’s the kind of dirty laundry that needs cleaning.
