COVID-19 Testing Sites for Thursday, September 10 Aloha Stadium – 95-500 Salt Lake Boulevard Waipahu District Park – 94-230 Paiwa Street Honolulu Police Department Headquarters - 801 S. Beretania Street, Lawn Area, 1st Floor Makiki District Park – 1527 Keeaumoku Street Pacheco Neighborhood Park – 1062 Waimano Home Road • Test sites open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No registration needed! • Bring your ID. • If you received a voucher for another day/time you can still come to any test site. • Minimal lines and wait times. • Visit www.doineedacovid19test.com for more information.

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chair of the Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, released the following statement on a new report titled Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System from the Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC). “The findings in this report should be a wake-up call: climate financial risks are real. They will destabilize our financial system and the whole U.S. economy if left unchecked. We need the Federal Reserve, the SEC, and our other regulatory agencies to immediately move forward with the recommendations in this report—including climate risk stress testing and mandatory public company disclosure of climate risks and emissions. I thank subcommittee chairman Bob Litterman for his hard work and Commissioner Rostin Behnam and his staff for championing this effort.” https://www.schatz.senate.gov/press-releases/schatz-statement-on-cftc-climate-risk-report

Schatz, Senators demand answers from Census Bureau on how they will ensure fair count, accurate apportionment of congressional representation in 2020 census. Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of 19 senators in calling on the Census Bureau to provide more details on how they plan to use data from the 2020 Census to apportion congressional representation. This comes after multiple attempts by President Trump to interfere with the count for political purposes, as well as the limitations on conducting the census in full during the coronavirus pandemic. “With the president’s unconstitutional memorandum excluding undocumented people from apportionment, coupled with your agency’s decision to end the 2020 Census count one month early, we also raise serious concerns about a fair and accurate distribution of congressional representation,” the senators wrote. In their letter to Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, the senators are asking for answers on the data and methodologies that the bureau will use to decide how many members of the House of Representatives each state will receive in the 118th Congress. They highlight concerns about how only certain states are sharing citizenship information and the data acquired could be inconsistent, unreliable, or incomplete—which may lead to an inaccurate distribution of congressional representation. “The resulting reapportionment report submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives by the president will be an inaccurate, arbitrary, and unconstitutional distribution of congressional seats across the country,” the senators wrote. In addition to Senator Schatz, the letter was signed by Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). The full text of the letter can be found below and is available here. Dear Director Dillingham: We write to raise concerns about the data and methodologies that the Census Bureau will use to develop apportionment counts for each of the states. With the president’s unconstitutional memorandum excluding undocumented people from apportionment, coupled with your agency’s decision to end the 2020 Census count one month early, we also raise serious concerns about a fair and accurate distribution of congressional representation—a fundamental and crucial aspect of our constitutional democracy. From the time of our founding, the Constitution established a democracy premised on the idea that all persons—no matter where they are from, regardless of whether they can vote—deserve representation in our government. To ensure representation for all, the Constitution, through both Article I, Section 2 and the Fourteenth Amendment, explicitly requires the federal government to accurately conduct an “actual Enumeration” of the people. The Fourteenth Amendment places a clear duty on the federal government to count the “whole number of persons in each State.” In other words, the federal government must count all people living in the United States, whether they are citizens or non-citizens, whether they were born in the United States or in a distant part of the world, whether they are living here in accordance with our laws or not. Furthermore, the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment considered immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, as people entitled to equal representation, insisting that the “whole immigrant population should be numbered with the people and counted as part of them.” The Supreme Court has affirmed this constitutional understanding, emphasizing that “the Framers chose to use population . . . as the basis for representation,” and that “representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote.” Following the Supreme Court’s ruling to block this administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the president issued an executive order directing Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to collect citizenship information from other governmental sources. Per this directive, the Census Bureau has amassed a collection of administrative records from various sources—some from existing agreements with federal, state, and local agencies, and others from newly established partnerships. However, the collection of citizenship information is not uniform across the country. This raises the prospect that the Census Bureau will have incomplete information as to the citizenship status of all persons residing in the country. For example, some federal agencies have agreed to share citizenship information with the Census Bureau. However, a person’s immigration status can change over time. The administrative data on a person is only as good as the moment when the agency interacts with that person. For example, a person who entered the country without documentation may have received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protection, or may have started a path to citizenship by serving in the military, or may have been granted asylum protection. Depending on when a person interacts with an agency, their status may be very different from what it is currently. At the same time, not every state is sharing citizenship data. States such as Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and South Dakota agreed to share driver's license and state identification card information. But states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Illinois denied the Census Bureau’s request to share information. Furthermore, state administrative data on citizenship can be unreliable and inaccurate. As a result, your agency will have arbitrarily collected information based on state officials who decide to share or not information about their citizens, some of which will contain citizenship information, and some will not. This arbitrary collection of citizenship information implicates the president’s unconstitutional attempt to exclude undocumented people from fair representation in the Congress. Apportionment is a geographic division of congressional seats. If only certain states are sharing citizenship information—and the data shared is itself unreliable or inaccurate—and federal data sets do not capture all persons in the country, then the data available to the Census Bureau for apportionment tabulation will be incomplete and run afoul of the Constitution. The resulting reapportionment report submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives by the president will be an inaccurate, arbitrary, and unconstitutional distribution of congressional seats across the country, based on states that either had or did not have citizenship information for selected portions of their population. An arbitrary collection of data will produce a bad output based on that data—garbage in, garbage out. In addition, the Census Act prohibits the Census Bureau from using sampling methods to determine apportionment. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Census Bureau’s proposed uses of statistical sampling to calculate the population for purposes of congressional apportionment following the 2000 decennial census. A similar effort by the agency to use statistical sampling to determine the numbers of undocumented people in each state should be rejected by the courts. These problems are further exacerbated by the agency’s decision to end self-response and non-response follow up operations a month early—from October 31 to September 30. The shortened schedule risks the accuracy of the Census Bureau’s data products, including the apportionment tabulation, and raises risks that errors will neither be found nor fixed. A federal judge recently issued a temporary restraining order to stop the Census Bureau from winding down or altering 2020 Census field operations until a September 17 hearing. Furthermore, the administration’s refusal to include statutory deadline extensions in their negotiations with congressional leaders on coronavirus relief legislation, raise questions about their commitment to addressing these concerns. To address some of these concerns, we ask that you provide answers to the following questions: In implementing Executive Order 13880, can the Census Bureau collect administrative record data uniformly and universally across the country? If so, how? What are the models and methodologies that the Census Bureau is currently developing and studying to tabulate apportionment? Does the agency have enough time to study, test, and implement these apportionment models and methodologies prior to the December 31, 2020 deadline? How will these models and methodologies comply with the Census Act’s prohibition on the use of statistical sampling for apportionment purposes? An agency document on 2020 Census operations and data processing notes that “A compressed review period creates risk for serious errors not being discovered in the data – thereby significantly decreasing data quality.” The document also notes that “serious errors discovered in the data may not be fixed — due to lack of time to research and understand the root cause or to re-run and re-review one or multiple state files.” How will the Census Bureau ensure that its apportionment tabulation does not contain significant errors? As the Census Bureau implements the president’s July 21, 2020, memorandum, how will you ensure that the apportionment tabulation is developed in a way that is not arbitrary when the agency uses administrative data collected through agreements with other federal, state, and local agencies that is not uniformly shared and may contain errors and inaccuracies? To what degree of confidence can the Census Bureau assure the public that its apportionment tabulation is not arbitrary, does not contain significant errs, and is a fair and representative distribution of congressional seats? What is the basis for the agency’s confidence, considering many of the quality assurance processes that will be side-stepped or completed hastily under the condensed timeframe? These questions raise serious concerns about one of the most fundamental constitutional activities: the apportionment of congressional representation. With the end of the 2020 Census and the apportionment deadline fast approaching, we request your written response by September 24, 2020. Thank you for your attention to our request. Sincerely,

Kamehamenui Forest Acquired for Conservation 3,433 acres of Mountain Watershed Lands Protected in Perpetuity for the People of Hawai‘i A recent land acquisition protects the Kula water aquifer, habitat for endangered species, and community-based forest restoration opportunities. These lands are now protected in perpetuity thanks to federal, state, and non-profit partners. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) purchased 3,433 acres of upland Kula property from the Shizuka Asakawa Revocable Trust in July 2020 and conveyed the property to the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) on August 31, 2020. The acquisition will provide substantial community benefits. As the property has just been acquired, it is not yet open to public use. Over the coming year, DOFAW will add the property to the Forest Reserve System and will initiate consultation with the community to develop a management plan for the area. This plan will address native forest restoration and tree planting for self-sustaining forestry operations, and endangered species recovery. The area is home to endangered Hawaiian petrels, and the restored forest is expected to improve habitat for numerous native plants and insects. Reforestation efforts will also help recharge the Makawao aquifer, securing clean drinking water for people for generations to come. In the future, the property is intended to provide new recreational opportunities for Maui residents and visitors with hiking trails, places to picnic, and places to grow and gather forest products. Federal funding from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, both funded as part of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), provided most of the funds needed. In the recently enacted Great American Outdoors Act, Congress provided permanent full and dedicated funding for the LWCF, which will support similar projects in Hawaiʻi in the future. State funding secured through legislative appropriation is providing the matching funds needed to complete the project. "Our Maui delegation worked very hard to secure state funding to help with the purchase of the 3,433-acre Kamehamenui property in upper Kula," noted Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English. "This area is beloved by many and we want to make sure that it is protected for future generations." Representative Kyle Yamashita said, “I am proud to have been part of this collaborative effort. Thanks to the efforts of DLNR, TPL, and federal funding, this spectacular property will be preserved in perpetuity for the benefit of the public.” Sources of funding for the $9,830,000 purchase: • U.S.D.A. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program - $3,830,000; • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Habitat Conservation Plan Acquisition Program - $2M; • State funding procured through legislative appropriation - $4M. More photos on our Senate Flickr Page: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmQErVtV

Senator Clarence Nishihara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs released the following statement regarding the retirement of Public Safety (DPS) Director Nolan Espinda: “Like many across the State, I too have lost faith in DPS and its leadership team’s ability to curb the spread of COVID-19 in our prison system. From the beginning, Director Espinda and the department were slow to implement proper safety protocols, such as testing for inmates and staff. Serious issues such as lack of personal protective equipment and unsafe conditions for uninfected inmates were never appropriately addressed by Director Espinda. This lack of leadership and inability to guide the department through this pandemic has put us in the difficult situation that we find ourselves in today. As chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, I welcome the opportunity to work with Governor Ige in finding someone who has the qualifications and leadership ability to guide the Department of Public Safety moving forward.”

Senator Rosalyn Baker, Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health released the following statement regarding the retirement of Department of Health (DOH) Director Bruce Anderson: “I want to thank Dr. Anderson for his many years of service in State government. Had the Legislature been in session, my committee would have held oversight hearings on the Department’s budget, contemplated cuts in services and lack of leadership exhibited during this COVID-19 crisis. The Department of Health needs a leader that has the ability to effectively guide our critical public health initiatives going forward and I’m confident that the Governor made the right decision in choosing Dr. Libby Char to lead the department at this critical juncture as its interim director. Dr. Char understands the importance of collaboration, funding of essential services, and the necessity to maintain our critical healthcare infrastructure throughout the entire state. She also has the experience needed to help hospitals, care facilities and community health centers work together to carry out the State’s COVID-19 response efforts. I look forward to working with her in the months ahead as we endeavor to address health disparities and curb the spread of COVID-19 in communities across Hawaiʻi.”

Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 calls for pre-testing pilot program for travel between neighbor island counties Members of the Hawai‘i State Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 sent a letter to Governor David Ige calling for neighbor island counties to serve as Pilot Program testing sites for exclusive travel between neighbor island counties (e.g. Maui-to-Kauai, Kauai-to-Big Island), with the possibility of including O‘ahu interstate travel once the surge in cases subsides. The letter states, “This Pilot Project is a proactive measure that could yield important outcomes for our state while also providing a process for critical interisland travel during the pandemic. As evidenced by the DOT [Hawai‘i Department of Transportation] Airport Quarantine process, these systems require time to initialize, pilot, and standardize so they can be scaled to peak capacity. The results yielded by the Pilot Program could provide valuable information that could be applied to an eventual trans-Pacific pre-test or bubble program, which would be a critical element to successfully reopening Hawaii’s economy.” The letter, sent September 3, requests a response from the Governor by today at 4 p.m. At a June 18 special committee briefing, the Hawai‘i Department of Health outlined steps that would need to be taken by travelers seeing an exemption to the 14-day quarantine, including: 1. Confirmation of a negative Nucleic Acid Amplification Test from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment lab no more than 72 hours in advance of travel; 2. Submission of electronic travel and health questionnaires; 3. A pre-departure symptom screening; 4. A post-arrival health screening; 5. Appropriate social distancing measures taken throughout the travel experience, including masks being worn; and 6. Download of an optional location tracing app. The members of the special committee are Senators Donovan Dela Cruz, Jarrett Keohokalole, Michelle Kidani, Donna Mercado Kim, Sharon Moriwaki, and Kurt Fevella.

Department of Health: Three Additional O‘ahu Deaths and 100 New Cases Three (3) O‘ahu men are the latest people to pass away from coronavirus. All three had underlying medical conditions. Two were in the 60 to 69-year-old age group and the third was in the 70 to 79-year-old age group. Their deaths increase Hawai‘i’s death toll to 91. The DOH is aware of six additional deaths associated with COVID-19 at the veterans home in Hilo. To confirm those deaths, the department is awaiting the medical records from the facility. Confirmation of all COVID-19 deaths is based on medical documentation. www.hawaiicovid19.com

John De Fries has accepted the offer to become the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s new president and CEO. The HTA Board of Directors unanimously agreed during the August 27 board meeting to make an offer to De Fries. He will start on September 16. “Hawaii’s pathway to economic recovery and enhanced community well-being will require unprecedented levels of focus, collaboration, cooperation, coordination, and unified executive leadership throughout all sectors. I am grateful to have been chosen to lead the Hawaii Tourism Authority,” De Fries said. Born and raised in Waikiki, now living in Kona on Hawaii Island, De Fries was raised by family elders steeped in Hawaiian culture. He has more than 40 years of professional experience in the tourism and resort development industries. His recent visitor industry experience includes serving as executive director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. He is also president and principal advisor for Native Sun Business Group, a business consulting and project management firm focused on Hawaii’s hospitality and real estate development industries. De Fries previously led the Department of Research and Development for the County of Hawaii, a division responsible for stimulating economic growth in sectors including tourism, agriculture and renewable energy. Prior to that, he served as president and CEO of Hokulia, a luxury residential community on Hawaii Island. De Fries serves as an advisor and board member to many organizations in the community, including the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University, the Astronaut Ellison Onizuka Memorial Committee, Bishop Museum, Hawaii Green Growth, Friends of the Future, the Keahole Center for Sustainability, and Kualoa Ranch. “Beset now by a global pandemic and economic collapse, Hawaii faces a myriad of daunting challenges – among them, the reopening of our tourism industry, at a time when immense and growing anxiety can be felt in our local communities. The radiance of hope, however, is found in the resilience and creativity of Hawaii’s leaders in both the public and private sectors – the aunties, uncles, parents, kupuna, youth, coaches, teachers, ministers, health care workers and essential workers who are diligently searching for solutions, for their communities,” De Fries said. In recent years, De Fries has been a part of rare gatherings in Hawaii that highlight opportunities for leadership in sustainable living, human rights, and embracing native intelligence. He has engaged with His Holiness the Dalai Lama; members of the Rapid Evaluation Team from Google X; Gro Harlem Brundtland, the first female prime minister of Norway; Hina Jilani, a renowned lawyer, pro-democracy campaigner, and a leading activist in Pakistan’s women’s movement; Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of Cape Town, South Africa; and New Zealand’s Sir Sidney Moko Mead, Ph.D., who created the country’s first department of Maori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. “All of us at HTA are looking forward to having John take the helm of Hawaii’s visitor industry. I was pleased to see that he has already become involved with working on ways that we can safely reopen tourism while keeping COVID-19 under control,” said HTA board chair Rick Fried. HTA received more than 300 applications for the position. Honolulu-based executive search and staffing firm Bishop & Company assisted with the process. A committee of six HTA board members and three community members reviewed the qualifications of the applicants before narrowing the list down to a group of nine finalists for interviews. The full HTA board interviewed the final two candidates on August 27 when the meeting went into executive session. De Fries is the first Native Hawaiian appointed as HTA’s president and CEO. Chris Tatum retired from his job as HTA president & CEO on August 31. Keith Regan, HTA’s chief administrative officer, is serving as interim president & CEO.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide approximately $530 million to support the U.S. seafood industry and fishermen impacted by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments. The funding will be provided through the Seafood Trade Relief Program and funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “Many nations have not played by the rules for a long time, and President Trump is the first President to stand up to them and send a clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate unfair trade practices,” said Secretary Perdue. “The Seafood Trade Relief Program ensures fishermen and other U.S. producers will not stand alone in facing unjustified retaliatory tariffs while President Trump continues working to solidify better and stronger trade deals around the globe.” Background: The Seafood Trade Relief Program funding will support the following seafood types: Atka mackerel Crab, Dungeness, King, Snow, Southern Tanner Flounder Geoduck Goosefish Herrings Lobster Pacific Cod Pacific Ocean Perch Pollock Sablefish Salmon Sole Squid Tuna Turbot Fishermen can sign-up for relief through the program from September 14, 2020 to December 14, 2020. Fishermen should apply through their local USDA Service Center. To find your local Service Center, visit www.farmers.gov/service-center-locator. The application can be found at www.farmers.gov/seafood. All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that are open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency should call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service Centers that are open for appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors are also required to wear a face covering during their appointment. Our program delivery staff will be in the office, and they will be working with our producers in the office, by phone and using online tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

Gov. David Ige announced today that Dr. Bruce Anderson and Director Nolan Espinda will be retiring in September. “Both directors have served admirably under extremely challenging conditions, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I thank them for their many years of service to the people of Hawaiʻi and wish them well as they retire and are able to spend time with their families,” said Gov. Ige. “It has been an honor and pleasure to serve as Director under Gov. Ige, with Nolan and my other fellow cabinet members. In my retirement, I look forward to doing a lot more fishing and horseback riding with my wife, Debbie,” said Anderson. Dr. Libby Char appointed Director, Dept. of Health Gov. Ige has appointed Dr. Libby Char to serve as interim director of the Dept. of Health effective Sept. 16. Dr. Anderson’s retirement is effective Sept. 15 after 35 years of experience managing health and environmental programs in Hawaiʻi, including serving as the as director of the department under two governors. Char is an emergency physician and graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi, John A. Burns School of Medicine. After completing residency training in California, she returned to Hawaiʻi to the clinical practice of emergency medicine at The Queen’s Medical Center. She provided administrative oversight for the City and County of Honolulu EMS system for many years. Dr. Char currently focuses her efforts on developing systems of care, training, protocols and emergency response utilizing best practices in the pre-hospital environment. She provides medical direction for several EMS, Fire, and Ocean Safety agencies across the state of Hawaiʻi and is the current chair of the State of Hawaiʻi EMS Advisory Committee. “Dr. Char brings experience in medicine and administration to the department during a time of great stress on the state’s healthcare system. I’m confident that she will step into the role with energy and passion for ensuring the health of Hawaiʻi’s people,” Gov. “I am honored to fill the position of Director of Health for the State of Hawaiʻi. We are in a difficult position, with a heavy burden of COVID-19 affecting the health, well-being and livelihood of so many of us. We must move forward together, through collaborative efforts, caring for each other with a shared sense of purpose. In doing so, we will regain the health of our communities and our state,” said Char. Her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. Dept. of Public Safety Dir. Espinda’s retirement is effective Oct. 1. Gov. Ige announced that Maria Cook, the deputy director for administration will b e temporarily assigned and has been granted signatory authority while Espinda is on personal leave through September. The deputy directors for law enforcement and corrections will continue in their capacities to oversee their division operations. Dir. Espinda will be available to provide advice remotely in the interim should the need arise. Gov. Ige will announce an interim appointment to lead the department in the coming weeks.

This is a COVID-19 informational update for Sunday afternoon, September 6th. As of noon today, there are fourteen (14) new cases of Coronavirus on Hawaii Island. At this date, for Hawaii Island, the Hilo Medical Center reports a total of five deaths, all are from the Yukio Okutsu Veterans Home. Our sadness, our respect, our condolences and appreciation goes out to their families. In efforts to control the spread of the Coronavirus on Hawaii Island, the following are in effect: • All beach and shoreline parks are closed effective September 4th through the 19th. The activities of exercising, fishing, food gathering, use of restroom, shower facilities and access to the ocean will continue to be allowed. • Increased testing will continue throughout the Island and in the past two weeks testing has been increased by four times. Between the dates of September 2nd and September 5th, the County of Hawaii has sponsored 2 tests in Keaau, 1 in Milolii, and 2 in Pahoa. Remember the purpose of testing is to identify positive cases as early as possible and in this way help stop the spread of the virus and to provide early treatment. Thank you for your tremendous participation in testing. • The Hawaii County Police Department will continue their enforcement of the preventative polices of face coverings, distancing, and gatherings. Know that these policies are mandated and will be enforced. If we all follow these policies this virus can be stopped. With your help, we can stop the spread of the virus to keep your family, friends, and neighbors safe. With the community’s involvement, we can keep Hawaii Safe. Thank you for listening and have a safe Labor Day Weekend. This is your Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.