Coronavirus Screening at Honolulu Airport; State Green Energy Check-in; Taxpayers Footing Cost for State Lawsuits; Recycling Bottle Caps; Earth Day Essay Contest
Dr. James Ireland serves as the medical director of a unit that covers paramedics and firefighters at the airport State Transportation Department. He sat down with us to talk about screening at Honolulu International Airport yesterday afternoon. Dr. Ireland applauded the federal government’s response and the systems in place since we saw the outbreak of SARS and avian flu years ago. He helps us understand the screening at the Honolulu airport.
The legislative session is in full swing and during the State of the State Governor David Ige talked about sustainability. We sat down recently with Scott Glenn, the new head of the State Energy Office. He talked about the need to engage with communities as more green projects get underway.
For today's Reality Check with our partners at Honolulu Civil Beat, reporter Blaze Lovell brings us a story about lawsuit settlements that lawmakers are being asked to fund. A bill by Senator Clarence Nishihara looks to hold state departments accountable for covering legal costs instead of seeking taxpayer funding.
Read the full story here.
This month and next, a group called the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii is spearheading an effort to draw attention to the problem of plastic bottle caps - particularly its effect on our native birds like albatrosses and petrels. It’s doing a final push to collect plastic caps here on Oahu to top off a shipping container that will eventually be transformed into fuel. Suzanne Frazer, who founded the non-profit, explain what’s involved.
Link to future events can be found here.
Spring marks a milestone for Earth Day. In advance of the celebrations planned, the State Forestry Department is asking high school students across the islands to submit an essay about sharing a cherished landscape. We talked with Maui’s Jeff Bagshaw. He is with the Forestry Division of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Click here to find out more about the essay contest and to submit your entry.
