Open vaccinations for 65-plus age group

On Jan. 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidelines, recommending that all individuals 65 years of age and older be given priority in receiving the vaccine. This was based on the fact that those individuals are the most vulnerable and the death rate among them is highest.

While the majority of states have now complied with the CDC guidelines, Hawaii has refused to do so. This goes against the CDC and the statements of medical ethicists who realize this group may very well die while awaiting the vaccine.

Hawaii has put this vulnerable group in 1c, a group that consists of 47% of the population with others who are many decades younger. We always hear about how we must protect our elders. I urge officials to do so and move those individuals 65 and older to group 1b.

Cynthia A. Josserand

Hawaii Kai

Riders risk exposure on overcrowded buses

I do not want to overburden bus drivers. They are great people, and unfailingly polite and helpful. But I would like to see some way to limit the number of riders to a reasonable safe limit.

I got on a bus a couple of Fridays ago at 6:30 a.m. and there were eight people standing and most seats filled. It is impossible to social distance with that many standing and seated.

Of course, who would want to be left behind on a cold rainy morning when you have to get to work?

I don’t have a good solution but I am hoping TheBus will. One shouldn’t have to risk exposure to COVID-19 just to get to work on time.

Judith Pettibone

Makiki

Despite promises, UH laying off some faculty

Near the end of 2020, University of Hawaii system administrators assured faculty that, in the face of budget cuts, we would only lose our positions as a “last resort.” Furloughs would come first, then pay cuts, then only if necessary, termination of faculty employment.

Reiterating this system plan as recently as two weeks ago, the chancellor at Honolulu Community College already has begun discharging non- tenured faculty. These colleagues have undergone a rigorous process of review and earned high recommendations at the college, division and administrative levels. The chancellor’s actions are unheard of, yet she insists that she is doing “nothing new.”

Our objections have been met with responses equivalent to gaslighting. Faculty are not so obtuse as to believe we are imagining that our colleagues are being fired.

In an era recovering from normalized lying, perhaps the job description for chancellors should include possessing honesty and integrity.

Brenda Kwon

Associate professor of English, Honolulu Community College

Nuuanu

Police memorial shows Kenoi lived life of aloha

On May 7, 1990, my brother, Hawaii County Police Officer Ronald “Shige” Jitchaku, was killed in the line of duty. Learning there was no memorial to honor fallen officers on Hawaii island, I was determined to build one. I turned to Mayor Billy Kenoi for help from Hawaii County.

In a meeting with his staff, he said, “When Aunty Momi asked for help, I said yes. So we are not going to talk about if, we are going to talk about how.”

On May 16, 2016, Mayor Kenoi joined in the dedication of Ka Malu Aloha, the police memorial honoring fallen officers that he helped to complete.

Mayor Kenoi lived aloha, not as a slogan, but as a ritual. He was keiki ‘o ka ‘aina, a child of Hawaii. He lived his life with disarming affection and commitment.

Momi Cazimero

Niu Valley

Convoluted travel rules discourage tourism

Why is it “news” that tourism is down (“Pandemic drives sharp drop in Hawaii tourism, with arrivals down 75%,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 29)?

We have the most convoluted COVID travel program in the country. We expect visitors to make sense of a complex layered maze of rules and regulations that we can’t even make sense of ourselves.

Inter-island travel? Local people don’t want to deal with the expense of, and then the grief of, possibly not passing all the protocols just to visit another island. Imagine the angst of spending thousands of dollars to come here from the mainland with your family only to be told to quarantine for 10 days. No, thank you.

Besides, we hear from the governor and mayor almost daily to stay home. The president tells us to stay home. Dr. Anthony Fauci says nonessential travel should be avoided at all costs.

Don’t visit family. Don’t visit friends. Don’t go to church. Instead, come to Hawaii! To whom does that make sense?

Mark Middleton

Pearl City

Bureaucracy stymies negative-test travelers

Hawaii prefers form over function for the COVID testing of kamaaina returning to Oahu. We purchased test kits from “trusted partner” Costco, took the tests within 72 hours of our flight home, shipped them to the designated lab, and uploaded our negative results with our completed questionnaires before we boarded our flight.

When we arrived in Honolulu and presented our QR codes, we were told that our negative test results were on the wrong form and therefore were not valid, requiring us to quarantine as though we hadn’t been tested.

We called the lab, but by then they were closed for the day. The state wouldn’t allow us to upload the same negative results on its official form — which is not available on its website — the next business day.

Clearly Hawaii isn’t interested in negative COVID test results from its trusted partners — only that the correct form is used.

Rich Carpenter

Hawaii Kai

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