MEDIA RELEASE

Children at Konawaena Elementary School and Kanu o ka Aina New Century Public Charter School are now able to open a savings account and start saving for their future.

In a partnership between Dr. Michael Cheang of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, local credit unions (Hawaii First Federal Credit Union and Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union), the Hawaii Alliance for Community Based Economic Development (HACBED), and funding support from the county Resource Center a program of the County’s Department of Research and Development, up to 375 children on the Big Island have the opportunity to open a savings account, set a savings goal, and receive $25 for saving their money until the end of 2010.

Coran Kitaoka opened a savings account for his daughter, Celine, at Konawaena Elementary School’s Children Savings Project First Deposit Day on Jan. 14. (Photo courtesy of HACBED)

In 2008, Cheang, assistant professor with the UH Family and Consumer Sciences Department, started the Children’s Savings Project at Prince Jonah Kuhio Elementary School in Honolulu, where a majority of the students receive free to reduced priced lunch. Since then, the project has expanded to three schools on Oahu with an average children’s savings rate of approximately $150 for the school year.

With the addition of Konawaena Elementary School and Kanu o ka Aina New Century Public Charter School in January 2010, the Children’s Savings Project now includes five schools statewide with the ability to reach more than 500 children. Several new schools will start the project in August 2010.

The Children’s Saving Project provides children an opportunity to learn about finances while saving for a goal, whether a toy, video game, or for college education.

As staffers from the local credit unions regularly go into the schools to collect deposits from children, their experiences will help policymakers and the larger community learn about children’s savings and it’s affect on our children’s financial behavior for the future.

Additionally, funding from the county Resource Center helps provide the financial incentive for children to save, while strategies for asset building led by HACBED help make the project work on Hawaii Island.

As families struggle to make ends meet during these tough economic times, the Children’s Savings Project provides children who primarily come from low-income families, a means to open and maintain savings accounts.

Families that are part of the project are seeking out ways to provide monies for their children to earn money to put into their savings account. Some families of the project on Oahu have formed weekend outings where they pick up cans and recycle them and put the monies earned into their children’s savings account.

Initial findings from the project show success in children’s savings behavior and their thinking about finances, as well as, changes in family financial behavior and family discussions around savings.

The Children’s Savings Project is part of a larger movement in Hawaii around family financial empowerment and asset building. The Children’s Savings Project complements other local asset building and financial empowerment programs and projects on the island, which include a youth IDA program in Makuu and free volunteer tax assistance sites across the island.

The county Resource Center and HACBED will soon reveal the report, Hoowaiwai Framework for Family Self Sufficiency and Economic Opportunity for Hawaii Island.

A growing project, the Children’s Savings Project on Hawaii Island will help start family conservations around finances and asset building in hopes of providing our island keiki an opportunity to save and learn about finances.

Mayor Billy Kenoi praised the project because it helps lay a firm foundation of financial responsibility that will help children in the project to achieve their financial goals later in life.

“The Children’s Saving Project helps build a culture of savings, investing, and sharing on Hawaii Island,” Kenoi said. “It is a smart way to prepare our kids for the future.”

For more information regarding the Children’s Savings Project, contact Larissa Meinecke at the Hawaii Alliance for Community Based Economic Development at 550-2661 or assetpolicy@hacbed.org.

The Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development (HACBED) is a statewide federally tax-exempt non-profit organization established in 1992 to encourage increased investments in sustainable and community-based approaches to economic development.

HACBED’s mission is to address social, economic, and environmental justice in Hawaii through community-based economic development; and seek to help strengthen the voice and actions of Hawaii’s families and communities so that they have the choice and control they need to become self-sufficient and resilient.

For more information about HACBED, call 550-2661 or e-mail info@hacbed.org, or visit www.hacbed.org

Mayor Billy Kenoi will welcome back the state champion Pahoa High School boy’s basketball team Sunday, March 7 at Hilo International Airport.

The team is expected to arrive on Hawaiian Airlines Flight #382 at 10:55 a.m., following Saturday’s victory over Kailua (Oahu) that earned them the state Division II Boys Basketball Championship.

Kenoi will deliver a proclamation honoring the team’s outstanding achievement, including the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Isaiah Ekau.

Dignitaries, workers and representatives from Tahiti and Hawaii commemorate the undersea cable Honotua with a group photo at Spencer Beach Park. Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7.

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing Editor

Edouard Fritch, vice president of the government of French Polynesia (left) talks to Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi (center) and Hawaii State Senator Kalani English.

The links between Tahiti and Hawaii stretch back further than recorded history. On Monday, March 1, the connection entered the 21st century.

Mayor Billy Kenoi and dignitaries from Tahiti marked the landing of a submarine cable linking the two countries. It is the first Polynesian submarine cable linking French Polynesia (Tahiti) and the U.S.

Sen. Kalani English said the cable symbolizes the two country’s shared past and best future.

English noted the connection used to take weeks in canoes or hours in air travel, but the cable now means communication will move at the speed of light.

The total length of the cable between French Polynesia and its landing spot at Spencer Beach, adjacent to Kawaihae Harbor, is 3,107 miles (5,000 km). At its deepest, the cable lies 19,500 feet (6,000 meters) below the ocean.

The name of the $110 million cable is Honotua.

“Hono translates to ‘link’ and Tua translates to ‘backbone, horizon at sea,’” said Francois Voirin, chairman of the board of Office des Postes et Telecommunications (OPT). “Hawaiians and Tahitians have established links through voyaging canoes long before European explorers. Honotua reestablishes this connection positioning both countries for improved communication technology entirely relevant for the information age.”

Kenoi said the cable is more than just infrastructure, it’s a connection of culture and people.

“The first ancestors of the Hawaiian people arrived from the South Pacific, more specifically from Tahiti. It is an honor for our island to welcome this cable, Honotua, a physical link with our cousins,” he said. “One people, one community, one Pacific.”

The cable also serves as a reminder of where we’ve come from and the responsibilities we have today, Kenoi said.

The Alcatel-Lucent cable laying ship Ile de Ré offshore Spencer Beach Park as an excavator sits on the beach ready to dig a path for the fiber optic cable connected to Tahiti.

Office des Postes and Telecommunications, (Public Service Provider in Postal Services and Telecommunications of French Polynesia, Tahiti), Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Cable Systems, Wavecom Solutions are the key providers.

The cable will allow economic exchange with High Speed Internet Connectivity between French Polynesia and Hawaii, the United States mainland and the rest of world. It will dramatically improve communication services throughout the islands of French Polynesia, and allow more affordable international broadband internet connectivity.

“The possibilities for scientific research, distance learning, cultural exchange and telemedicine are among the opportunities for this region as a result of this historic landing,” said Edouard Fritch, vice president of the government of French Polynesia.

With half the population under the age of 18, Tahiti welcomes the opportunity for this generation to share its creativity and culture.

Testing of the final cable connection begins Tuesday, March 2, with live operation expected in July.

The Honotua project began five years ago. Cable laying started Nov. 24, 2009 on the island of Bora Bora for the domestic link with the French Polynesian Islands of Bora Bora, Raiatea, Huahine, Moorea and Tahiti. The international link began Dec. 19, 2009.

A cultural ceremony and other festivities celebrated the historic event at Puukohola Heiau National Historic Park and Spencer Beach.

During the ceremony, Kenoi accepted a buoy named Kealakahiki (Hawaiian for “the way to Tahiti”) to mark the end of the cable project and the beginning of a new era.

— Find out more:
www.opt.pf/groupe_opt/honotua_projet.php

Inside the Emergency Operations Center of Hawaii County Civil Defense in Hilo Saturday morning. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Baron Sekiya)

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing Editor

The tsunami sirens went off again at 11:45 a.m. Monday. The regular monthly test likely was more a source of comfort than an irritant to many on the Big Island.

Just two days earlier, the sirens blasted for a very different reason – a tsunami was coming, hammering across the Pacific Ocean at something like 500 mph following the 8.8M earthquake off Chile.

Scientists from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu monitored their instruments and fed regular updates to authorities in Hawaii and dozens of countries around the Pacific Rim.

What arrived in Hawaii – and on many other shorelines – was not nearly as destructive as scientists warned it could be. Hilo Bay emptied and filled a handful of times, Maui reportedly had a surge of 3-5 feet and some piers were flooded in Japan.

Chilean earthquake and aftershocks. USGS map

By Monday, some residents were left wondering if the scientists, county and state might have over-reacted. Hawaii County officials however said they would make the same decisions again.

“We had every indication right from 9:30 p.m. Friday, right after the earthquake, that this could be serious,” Mayor Billy Kenoi said Monday morning. “With every report, there was no indication of a lessening impact.”

Kenoi signed an emergency declaration at 12:30 a.m. Saturday, as soon as the tsunami watch was issued for Hawaii.

“There are plenty of people and countries that wish they had scientists like we have, wish they had hours of warning. I make no apologies for committing every resource,” Kenoi said. “The county’s core service is public safety. Every dollar spent was a dollar well spent.”

Kenoi said the total county tab has not yet been determined, although he called for all county department chiefs to meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday for a debriefing.

In addition to discussing what worked, Kenoi said they will address what can be improved upon and run through what-if senarios.

“I’ve told my guys not to break their arms patting themselves on the back. We should use these lessons learned to improve and get better for next time,” he said.

“Nobody should be under any illusion that things will always turn out so well,” he said. “We were once again spared any devastation.”

Kenoi said he was very proud of how the county staff and crews reacted, and was pleased that residents and visitors took the warning seriously and made smart decisions to stay safe.

County Parks and Recreation director Bob Fitzgerald is a former football coach and still speaks like one.

“We had it game-planned from 8:45 p.m., but it’s not easy to call plays when you don’t know what’s coming,” he said. “We were ready for crunch time, but we never got called on it.”

Fitzgerald said the mayor has repeatedly drilled into his cabinet that they should be prepared for natural disasters and be ready to respond.

“As far as being prepared, it was a great response,” he said. “People felt very secure.”

Fitzgerald said his top topic going into Monday’s debriefing would be communications and ensuring there are multiple options for Hilo headquarters to stay in contact with each of the island’s districts.

Also on the agenda will be the county’s tsunami warning sirens. A handful of the sirens, which dot the shoreline areas around the island, did not go off Saturday morning.

At any given time, some sirens will need maintenance and repairs. That is why they are tested every month.

The county’s goal is to have every siren sound every time.

Visitor Industry

Big Island Visitors Bureau executive director George Applegate spent Saturday in the Civil Defense Emergency Operations Center in Hilo.

Keeping visitors informed and safe was the No. 1 priority, he said, and he was pleased with how county officials and hotel and resort staff handled people who might not be as prepared as residents.

Applegate said, he does not believe Saturday’s tsunami scare will have any long-term impact on the visitor industry.

Potential visitors watching the television coverage around the world will see that Hawaii is capable of protecting people and responding professionally and quickly to threats.

Visitors who experienced it are taking home a great vacation story, Applegate said, and will be sharing their adventure with family, friends and colleagues.

That their stories have a happy ending, Applegate said, is the the most important thing.

Inside the Emergency Operations Center of Hawaii County Civil Defense in Hilo Saturday morning. County department heads kept in contact with workers in the field during the tsunami warning. Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing Editor

By 9:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, Hawaii County officials were gathered in the Civil Defense headquarters in Hilo, anxiously waiting for the next tsunami update.

Slightly more than 16 hours later, they were all still there, anxiously waiting to hear whether the danger truly had passed by Hawaii’s islands.

Director of Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Charles McCreery announced the good news, to cheers all around the room.

“We’re not seeing anything alarming,” McCreery said. “The wave was not any bigger than we expected. In fact, it might have been a little smaller. We’re all in agreement out here, we can end this thing for Hawaii.”

Mayor Billy Kenoi, who spent the night in the Emergency Operations Center, thanked the state and county leaders, workers, staffers and volunteers who leapt into action as soon as they heard the powerful earthquake had thundered under the ocean off Chile.

“I’m so proud of everybody,” Kenoi said. “Everybody kept their cool. The police, fire department, public works, parks, all our agencies did an incredible job. They conducted all their duties early and got it done to make sure no-one got injured or lost their property.”

A plane at the Civil Air Patrol Lyman Field Composite Squadron being prepared for the tsunami warning mission Saturday before daybreak.

The mayor also praised the Red Cross and Civil Air Patrol for their cooperation and readiness to assist.

“Some people might have a sense that this was a lot of time and effort and it wasn’t really worth it,” he said, “but it was worth every hour.”

Still, Kenoi said it was a tense night knowing that a tsunami was storming across the Pacific Ocean toward Hawaii for 10 hours.

“My stomach is still in knots. This was not a practice run,” he said. “We were prepared. You didn’t see anybody panic; you didn’t see anybody pointing fingers.”

At 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, when the state was put under a tsunami watch, Kenoi signed the emergency declaration that fully activated the Emergency Operations Center.

At that point, he said, officials decided to hold off on sounding the tsunami sirens. The first siren went off at 6 a.m., giving residents, hotel staff and business owners at least five hours for more than 20,000 residents and visitors to evacuate the island’s shorelines.

11:22 a.m. Emergency vehicles from downtown Hilo's Central Fire Station and spectator's cars parked out of inundation zone at Homelani Cemetery, Ponahawai Street. Photography courtesy of William Ing/Hawaii Tribune-Herald

By 10:30 a.m., the police had locked down the inundation zones around the island and were vacating the area themselves. The areas are absolutely no-go zones, Kenoi said, to protect residents and to prevent looting.

“There were no reports of people not being cooperative,” he said. “For the most part, our island residents got prepared early and stayed off the streets, got to high ground and stayed with friends, family and relatives.”

Starting shortly after midnight and continuing into the dawn hour, residents shopped for essentials and cars queued up at gas stations.

All beach parks were closed and will remain closed through Sunday. Ditto for county transfer stations. Almost all scheduled events were cancelled or postponed.

The Department of Water Supply shut down water systems in Kapoho, Pohoili, Vacationland, Kalapana, Keaukaha, Downtown Hilo, Hilo Bayfront, Puako, Kawaihae, Alii Drive and South Point Road.

The emergency shut down was a preventative measure, aimed at protecting the entire county water system in the event it was compromised somewhere along the shoreline. Service was restored shortly after the all-clear.

Hilo International Airport also was closed. That was to facilitate evacuation of Keaukaha, an oceanfront subdivision that abuts the runway.

Boats and ships moved out of the island’s three harbors and into open water. Owners of two boats in Hilo Harbor were not found, and those boats remained in the harbor.

Across the island, 17 evacuation centers were opened, including 15 staffed by Parks Department workers and two staffed by the Department of Education. Had residents and hotel guests needed to be housed overnight, the Red Cross was ready to step in and convert the evacuation centers to shelters.

McDonald’s restaurants in Hilo and Kona donated hundreds of burgers to the county workers at the evacuation centers.

The county’s entire bus fleet was mobilized to ensure everyone had transportation.

County police, public works and parks crews have conducted several tsunami drills within the last year and reacted quickly and efficiently, Kenoi said.

“We’ve been very lucky for a very long time,” he said. “And I think we need to realize that we’re not always gonna be so lucky. You don’t want your first responders to get complacent at all.”

Of the county’s 72 tsunami sirens, four or five did not function which is not uncommon due to routine maintenance schedules.

“We feel very good about our preparedness,” Kenoi said. “We feel very fortunate that our residents know what to do and stay calm.”

In the end, Kenoi said, the county received no reports of injury or property damage.

Kenoi’s Flyover

A Blackhawk helicopter flies over Hilo with Mayor Billy Kenoi aboard.

Kenoi spent 90 minutes flying over Hilo’s shoreline and said he saw six or seven surges that sucked out 30 feet of coastline.

“We saw an incredible amount of surges,” he said. “We were on edge the whole time up there. You’re up there thinking ‘what’s coming?’ It’s the uncertainty.”

Kenoi said he was prepared to see the ocean sucked out, only to rush back into shore. However, he was alarmed to see the ocean pull out, exposing Coconut Island in Hilo Bay and emptying Wailoa River.

“We were thinking ‘Oh-oh, this is it,’” he said.

Eventually, the highest wave in Hilo was estimated at about 3 feet, although surges continued to roll in and out of the bay through the afternoon.

Kawaihae recorded only a slight increase and by the time the tsunami reached Kauai, it measured about one foot.

Statewide, the PTWC reported the highest wave at 3.2 feet at Kahului, Maui.

Ghost town

Meanwhile, streets and sidewalks all over Hilo were almost completely devoid of people. Businesses and restaurants were shuttered, roads barricaded and parks silent.

At Prince Kuhio Plaza, a handful of shops were open, although mall visitors – mostly hotels guests riding out the mandatory evacuation – gathered in the food court trading stories of the day and listening to radio updates.

McDonald’s manager Craig Okui said most people were taking it in stride.

“Something like this, it can’t be helped. Anytime it’s a tsunami, it’s serious,” he said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry, for sure. Nobody can outrun a wave.”

Okui said he was grateful the county was prepared.

“We have a very well-run Civil Defense department. I’m glad they are on our side,” he said. “All the preparation in the world does help if you can come out of something like this unscathed.”

What people had to say

Gov. Linda Lingle also signed an emergency proclamation for the state, until the tsunami watch was lifted.

“We were extremely fortunate and thank goodness our state came through this without any reported incidents,” Lingle said. “Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives and those injured in yesterday’s earthquake in Chile.”

Shortly after 8 a.m. at Mauna Kea State Park in the middle of the island, Frits Paerels, of New York City, and John Miller, of Ann Arbor, Mich., were studying a map of the Big Island.

The astronomers were on their way back from a business trip to Japan.

Their hotel on the Kohala Coast was evacuated, so they decided to do some site seeing.

“We’ve been watching it since about midnight,” Paerels said. “That’s the strange thing about disasters like this. You have plenty of warning, but it’s a creeping one. This could be huge, I think.”

Paerels said his wife was on her way from New York to join him.

“She’s due to arrive in Los Angeles in an hour. She’s going to be surprised,” he said. “She’s going to go ‘Oh, geez, I hope he’s smart enough to get up out of the way.’ But she knows I am.”

Further along Highway 190, just outside Hilo town, William Stockmaster Jr. and his sister Holly Kinney were parked on the shoulder.

They admitted they were worried about their grandfather and their family business, although their parents and children were safely inland.

“We’re just kind of contemplating how big it will be. They made it pretty clear that we’re in for something today,” Stockmaster said. “It’s exciting, but really scary too.”

Stockmaster works with his father at an appliance refurbishing company in the tsunami evacuation zone.

“That’s our bread and butter,” he said. “Everything is buttoned up as tight as it can be, but the ocean is really, really powerful and we just don’t know.”

Kinney said she was concerned for friends and family, but most worried about her grandfather, who refused to leave his sea-level property.

“He’s worried that people will get in there, so he won’t leave for nothing,” Stockmaster said.

The brother and sister had considered staying at her downtown apartment, but decided to head out of town to a spot where they could be safe and still see the ocean.

“It’s kind of scary,” Kinney said. “It’s not everyday you get to see something like this close up. Hopefully, not too close up.”

After the 2 p.m. press conference at the Emergency Operations Center, Mayor Billy Kenoi was headed home.

“I’m going to hug my kids and kiss my wife,” he said. “Then I’m going to take a long nap.”

A tsunami energy map showing the power displacement from the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile. Map via the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

Director of Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Charles McCreery ready to cancel watch for Hawaii.
“We’re not seeing anything alarming. The wave was not any bigger than we expected. In fact, it might have been a little smaller,” McCreery said. “We’re all in agreement out here, we can end this thing for Hawaii.”

Mayor Billy Kenoi, who spent 90 minutes in a helicopter flying over Hilo’s shoreline, said he saw six or seven surges that sucked out 30 feet of coastline.
“We saw an incredible amount of surges,” he said.

Kenoi said the county had received no reports of injury or property damage and remained “cautiously optimistic” that the major danger seems to have passed by the state.

“My stomach is still in knots. This was not a practice run,” he said. “Everybody kept their cool. The police, fire department, public works, parks, all our agencies did an incredible job. They conducted all their duties early and got it done to make sure no-one lost their lives or got injured or lost their property.”

The county’s 72 sirens began sounding the alert at 6 a.m., some five and one-half hours after Mayor Billy Kenoi signed an emergency declaration for the Big Island.

Tsunami were expected at 11:04 a.m. The mood remains calm in the county’s Civil Defense Agency headquarters in Hilo, as county officials watch six giant screens.

Hilo International Airport was closed to facilitate evacuation of an adjacent neighborhood, said mayor’s executive assistant Kevin Dayton.

Resorts, hotels, businesses and homes in the inundation zones were locked up tight several hours before the tsunami was expected.

About 30 minutes before the tsunami was expected, police and first responders moved away from shoreline areas, Dayton said.

All beaches were closed and all community events were cancelled, Dayton said.

Boats and ships moved out of the island’s three harbors and into open water. Owners of two boats in Hilo Harbor were not found, and those boats remain in the harbor.

County police, public works and parks crews have conducted several tsunami drills within the last year and reacted quickly and efficiently, Mayor Billy Kenoi said.

“We feel very good about our preparedness,” Kenoi said. “We feel fortunate our residents know what to do and stay calm. It’s important they follow instructions.”

Across the county, 17 evacuation centers were opened. In the event residents can not return to their homes, the Red Cross will be called in and the centers will be converted into shelters, Dayton said.

The Hawaii National Guard has generators and emergency equipment ready in case they are needed.

Kenoi went up on a National Guard helicopter just before the tsunami was expected, to survey any damage.

The Department of Water Supply cut water to roughly 5,000 customers within the tsunami zone as a preventative measure.

–

GOVERNOR LINGLE SIGNS

TSUNAMI EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has signed an emergency disaster proclamation two hours before a tsunami generated by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile is expected to affect the State of Hawaii.
The proclamation, which includes the entire State, provides for the “expenditure of State monies as appropriated for the speedy and efficient protection and relief of the damages, loses and suffering resulting from the threatened disaster.”
Governor Lingle said signing the emergency disaster proclamation now will improve the State’s ability to respond quickly to any potential damage caused by the tsunami. Estimated first wave arrival time is 11:05 a.m. in Hilo. The tsunami is expected to affect all shores of all Hawaiian Islands and may last for several hours.
The disaster emergency relief period for the proclamation begins today, February 27, 2010, and continues until the Governor determines an appropriate time for termination.

MEDIA RELEASE

The county has finalized a new contract with Kamaaina Pumping Inc. to have the firm resume cleaning drywells and culverts islandwide.

The company’s bid price per unit for the new contract is approximately half the price Kamaaina Pumping was paid to do the same work last year. That means the county has an opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of dollars on the new contract because it requires Kamaaina Pumping to do the same work for about half the price.

The county paid Kamaaina Pumping a total of $1,029,440 last year.

Three companies bid to perform the drywell cleaning under the new contract. Kamaaina Pumping submitted the lowest bid, with the next lowest bidder submitting a per-unit bid that was 71 percent higher than the Kamaaina Pumping proposal.

The award of this contract was delayed last year after a company interested in competing for the drywell contract complained that the bid specifications had been written in a way that gave an unfair advantage to Kamaaina Pumping.

After a review of the bid specifications in question, the county in May 2009 declined to open the bids that had been submitted, and instead opted to revise the bid specifications and re-start the bidding process.

The new drywell contract covers the period from Jan. 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010. The County has the option to extend the new agreement from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.

Mayor Billy Kenoi said the county is committed to a fair and open procurement process, and is considering other approaches to accomplish drywell and culvert cleaning.

“The Legislative Auditor recommended in a recent report that the Department of Public Works consider using county employees to handle drywell and culvert cleaning, and we will take a careful look at that option,” Kenoi said. “If it is feasible to handle this work in house, and if it will save the taxpayers money, then the county will shift this work to county employees.”

Gov. Linda Lingle issued the following statement on former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi, who died Feb. 3 in Honolulu at the age of 89:

“Our state has lost a true leader and an outstanding public servant who worked tirelessly to make life better for the people.

When it came to getting things done, Former Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi did whatever it took – finding innovative, sometimes unconventional, often controversial solutions. He cared less about pleasing the political establishment and more about helping the people he represented.

Mayor Fasi never waivered from his commitment to helping the every day person, and always showed great empathy for their daily struggles. He was someone citizens could relate to and turn to for straight answers, even if they may not have always agreed with him.

He was a man of vision who never shied from taking bold actions, and his legacy is seen throughout the City and County of Honolulu today.

We are grateful for Frank Fasi’s years of service, and extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Joyce and their entire family.”

—

Mayor Billy Kenoi issued the following statement:

“Mayor Frank Fasi was one of the great personalities in Hawai’i politics, a political giant, and he will be missed. His will and determination to advance his agenda made him a force to be reckoned with during each and every year of his long political career, whether he was serving in the Territorial Legislature, on the City Council, or governing as Honolulu’s mayor.

“To walk through downtown Honolulu is to walk past many of the achievements of Frank Fasi’s remarkable career. Whether he was building Honolulu’s world-class bus service or leaving his imprint on the public spaces of the city, Frank Fasi ‘got the job done.’ ”

—

Lt. Gov. James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. issued the following statement:

“Frank Fasi was a giant in Hawaii politics, and his passing will be felt throughout our state.

His impact can be seen by his many public works projects and strong community programs that continue to this day.

I had the pleasure of working for Mayor Fasi early in my career as a city attorney, and he was a man of action who inspired others to do their very best.

Vivian and I extend our deepest sympathy to Joyce and all of the Fasi family, as well as his many friends and supporters across our state.”

—

Note: In honor of former Mayor Fasi, Lingle will order the lowering of the Hawaii State Flag on the day of his interment, once the family has finalized funeral arrangements.

MEDIA RELEASE

Drug-Free Hawaii Awareness Month (DFHAM) 2010 will kick off with an official proclamation ceremony, “Live Aloha, Live Drug-Free.” hosted by Mayor Billy Kenoi, at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 5 at the County Building, 25 Aupuni street in Hilo.

“DFHAM allows schools, service organizations, counties, and government agencies opportunities to sponsor activities and events that educate the general public about the negative effects of substance abuse on our youth, families, and communities and what we can do to address the issue,” says Alan Shinn, executive director for the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii.

Formed in 1987 out of a spirit of business and community concern, CDFH has become a highly regarded leader in the substance abuse prevention field in Hawaii.

Other speakers will include Kaleo Evans, director of Friday Night Live, a program that builds partnerships for positive and healthy youth development which engages youth as active leaders and resources in their own communities, and Joel Cohen, director of The Hamakua Youth Foundation a program which focuses on prevention of risky behavior, isolation, drug and alcohol use by engaging youth in environmental stewardship, providing Hawaiian culture and arts education, developing youth leadership, and connecting youth and their families with local social service agencies.

County Council Member Guy Enriques of Ka’u who was head coach at Konawaena, Ka‘u and Kamehameha Hawaii high schools will also have share a positive message. An inspiring and engaging speaker, Enriques is entering his 23rd year as the owner/director of one of the largest team volleyball camps in the country.

MEDIA RELEASE

Mayor Billy Kenoi is supporting a request to withdraw the administration’s proposal to regulate the use of public County water spigots on Friday’s County Council agenda.

The administration submitted Bill 189 to prevent abuse of the free water provided by the County at 15 public spigots located around the island.

The County provides the water for personal, non-commercial use. Residents are encouraged to limit their use to 50 gallons per person per day for personal, non-commercial use, but currently no restrictions apply to the intended use or amount of water that an individual may take from the spigots.

The County has received reports of people taking amounts far in excess of 50 gallons and using the free water for agricultural and commercial purposes. The County pays for the water that is provided free at the spigots.

Bill 189 was intended to prevent abuse of the free public water in fairness to all residents of the County. But concerns raised in a Jan. 14, 2010 letter from 6th District Councilman Guy Enriques prompted Kenoi to support the request that the Bill be postponed for further review.

Enriques asked Council Chairman J Yoshimoto on Jan. 14, 2010 to postpone discussion of the Bill on the Council’s Friday, Jan. 22 agenda, based on “heavy public response after the presentation at the Finance Committee on Jan. 5, 2010, (which) brought forward many questions about the rights, costs and accessibility of water.”

“Furthermore,” Enriques wrote, “Bill 189 comes at an inappropriate time with the current drought coupled with the economic downturn dramatically increasing the spigot use in every district.”

Kenoi responded to Enriques in a letter delivered Thursday, Jan. 21.

“Having heard from your constituents in Council District 6, who are the largest consumers of water from public spigots in the County, I respect your concerns,” Kenoi wrote.

Kenoi concurred with Enriques’ request, “provided that (Enriques) convene a task force involving residents, stakeholders and the Hawaii County Civil Defense to explore a fair and equitable management solution for our County spigots.

“I appreciate Councilman Enriques’ understanding of his district’s residents and their concerns and accept his offer to convene a task force to look into the complex issues regarding the spigots before we move forward with this proposal,” Kenoi said. “We should give our residents a better opportunity to present alternative ideas and solutions with the intent that a new bill will be submitted for the Council’s consideration following further review of the important issues involved.”

MEDIA RELEASE

Following is the full text of Mayor Billy Kenoi’s speech Wednesday, Jan. 7 to the Legislature’s two finance committees in Honolulu:

Aloha, Senator Kim, Representative Oshiro and distinguished members of the House Finance Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you to outline our priorities on issues important to the County of Hawaii in 2010.

Despite the difficult fiscal situation in which we all find ourselves this year, we can accomplish much if we continue to pursue our objectives in a spirit of partnership and unity. Our constituents expect us to make a careful, thoughtful assessment of our situation, and to move forward together to make the difficult choices that these challenging times require.  I look forward to working closely and collaboratively with all members of the House and Senate to achieve our goals.

All of the counties are coping with continuing reductions in property tax collections, the steep decline in the transient accommodations tax, and increases in fixed costs such as debt service and employee health insurance premiums.

In the County of Hawaii, we have worked to carefully reduce government spending through cuts in discretionary spending in all departments and a reduction in County employment through attrition. We have undertaken a program of limited furloughs, and announced our plans for more widespread furloughs of public workers in the year ahead.

We have had to make difficult decisions to balance our budget while doing all we can to shield those services that benefit the most disadvantaged among us, such as our free, island-wide bus service.

We also worked closely with U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and our Congressional delegation to aggressively pursue funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We expect the federal stimulus will inject more than $100 million into the County of Hawaii economy for badly needed infrastructure and social service projects, and will be of great benefit to our struggling construction industry.

My administration is also doing its part to “prime the pump” with accelerated County construction spending, and we hope the State will continue to support our efforts in this regard. The County at this moment has contracted for $106.2 million for new or ongoing construction, money that is in the works but has not yet been spent, and we will push county construction projects out as rapidly as possible.

Some of the County projects that are planned or ongoing include the West Hawaii Civic Center for $56 million; the Makalei Fire Station in North Kona for $9 million; and the ongoing $28 million contract for workforce housing in Waikoloa.

We see some encouraging economic signs that demonstrate the brighter future ahead, and we have pursued initiatives to assist our main economic engine, which is the visitor industry. In particular we have worked to boost direct-flight airlift to the County of Hawaii, and Alaska Airlines has added or is planning new routes from Oakland and San Jose to Kona that will add 56,000 additional seats per year to the capacity serving our County.

To help us navigate this difficult economic environment, we are once again asking for the Legislature’s assistance with programs to support our youth, and to launch some projects that can be quickly implemented to create jobs and help our local economy.

PRIORITY PROJECTS

* Safe Haven After School Program, $600,000

Our island lacks positive educational and recreational activities for our youth in the after school and evening hours, and our families and youth are under increasing stress during this challenging economic period. Our schools can be a positive place for our kids beyond the traditional school day, and the state Department of Education has expressed willingness to partner with the County to establish safe, structured and supervised after-school learning environments for our youth as a pilot program. We ask for your support for the Safe Haven After School Program because it would offer our youth alternatives to gangs and drugs, and would improve our communities’ health and safety.

* Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, $1.6 million

This initiative by the Hawaii County Prosecutor proposes to provide a single point of entry for intake, assessment and case management of delinquent and at-risk youth. Start-up funding is requested for a pilot site in Pahoa to serve about 40 youth per month over the next two years. Today our police officers often have no good options when dealing with arrested juveniles who need supervision, but cannot go home, and who do not need secure custody. Existing programs may not accept youth who are disruptive or are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but effectively intervening and providing services to these at-risk youth can keep them from graduating into the adult correctional system. This program will save the State money in the long run.

* Empowering County Ethics Enforcement

We also ask for the Legislature’s assistance in amending certain sections of State law that have made it difficult or impossible for Board of Ethics at the City and County levels to impose administrative fines. Empowering these boards to impose fines for ethical violations will boost public confidence in City and County government, and is a common-sense initiative that has been endorsed by the Hawaii County Council, the Hawai’i County Board of Ethics and other public and private organizations across our state.

HEALTH CARE

* Kona Community Hospital Emergency Room (Hawaii Health Systems Corporation), $10 million

The Kona Community Hospital Emergency Room was built to accommodate 10,000 patient visits per year, and is now seeing more than 18,000 visits per year. The emergency department needs to be expanded and modernized to improve patient access, flow and privacy to provide for a better working environment for staff, and the County supports HHSC’s efforts to make this essential improvement.

HIGHER EDUCATION

We continue to seek your support for the efforts of the University of Hawai’i at Hilo and our community college system to grow as part of a larger strategy to use higher education as an economic engine. In 2008, UH Hilo alone accounted for $150.3 million in direct expenditures, and the university is now the second largest employer in East Hawaii.

We ask for your support as we seek to position UHH for continued growth, and once again urge the Legislature to champion State plans for the long-awaited permanent community college site in West Hawaii.

* Kapiolani Street Extension, $6.8 million

This project will lay the groundwork for a new era of growth with UH Hilo by providing a connector road that will open up nearly 55 acres on land in urban Hilo for development of badly needed student housing. The single largest impediment to growth for UH Hilo is a lack of housing for out-of-state and local students, and yet the university owns land next to campus where this housing can be built. The Kapiolani Street extension will provide access to these lands while also providing a new two-lane transportation corridor that will ease traffic congestion.

* University-Area Water Infrastructure Improvements, $4 million

The long-term growth of UH Hilo also depends on access to adequate water supply for facilities and for fire protection needs. The Department of Water Supply warns the University that future development of facilities such as student housing, astronomy projects in the University Research Park and the Hawaiian Language College cannot proceed until the water infrastructure is upgraded. This project will provide a well, pump and transmission lines mauka of the University to serve both the campus and new development in the surrounding community.

DRINKING WATER

* North Kona Well, $1.3 million

The County also supports efforts by the Department of Water Supply to improve the quality and reliability of the North Kona water system by constructing a new well. This is part of a much larger effort to shift from low-level water sources to higher elevation sources, and to this end the Department of Water Supply has already allocated nearly $30 million for water system improvements in the region. There is additional urgency today because affordable housing developments — one of the greatest needs of the State and Kona – are planned within the immediate region of this project. The existing water system is barely able to meet the current water demand.

* Ahualoa-Honokaa Transmission Line, $5 million

The County supports the Department of Water Supply’s efforts to improve the Hamakua water system, including the Ahualoa production well and one million gallon reservoir now under construction with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This additional $5 million request would fund a 19,000-foot transmission waterline to supply drinking water from this new well to the Honokaa area. This project is central to improving the reliability of the existing water system that services the Ahualoa, Honokaa, Haina, Paauhau and Pohakea areas of Hamakua.  The existing systems serving the area are at or near their production capacities.

PUBLIC SAFETY

* 700MHz Public Safety Radio System Conversion

The County of Hawaii continues to search for the resources to comply with the unfunded Federal Communications Commission mandate to convert our countywide radio system to the 700 MHz range. We are working with private partners to try to secure ARRA funding for the broadband component of the new system, have completed preliminary design work for the voice system and have identified county funds to advance the project to final design. However, funding construction for conversion of an island-wide public safety system within the 4,028-square-mile County of Hawaii is a challenge, and the problem is becoming urgent. The FCC has mandated that the manufacture of parts for the existing radio system be discontinued after 2011, meaning the existing radio system will become obsolete.

TRANSPORTATION

* Mid-Level Road (Ane Keohokalole Highway), Kona, Phase III Design, $2 million

The county is seeking funds to initiate planning for the third phase of the Ane Keohokalole Highway, the final three-mile stretch of a planned six-mile arterial from Palani Road in Kailua-Kona to Kalaoa, mauka of Kona International Airport.

Hawaii County plans to break ground in late March on the first phase of the highway, a two-mile $30 million project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will connect Palani Road with Kealakehe Parkway. This work will also include rough grading along Phase Two of the highway, a one-mile portion from Kealakehe Parkway to Hina-Lani Street in Kalaoa.

The new arterial will stimulate the construction of thousands of homes (Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, affordable and market), commercial development, healthcare and recreational facilities. Also known as the Mid-Level Road, this project will relieve congestion on the crowded Queen Kaahumanu Highway.

Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to working with all of our distinguished state legislators as we navigate the challenging and uncertain economic environment that lies ahead. Mahalo for your support and your commitment to our community.

Aloha,

William P. Kenoi

Mayor, County of Hawaii