Vaccine distribution at Kaiser Permanente; Time running out for Hawaii to use federal pandemic relief funds; Kauai businesses need travelers to survive; Dodo Mortuary on grieving and death during the COVID crisis; Local publisher's new memoir program
Vaccine distribution at Kaiser Permanente
There's been lots of attention around the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine here in the Islands. Queen's Medical Center received it Monday and gave its first shot today, while Tripler Army Medical Center is scheduled to receive its first doses today. Kaiser Permanente, which has a presence across the islands, will see its first shipment tomorrow. We spoke with Andrew Giles, assistant hospital administrator, who is leading Kaiser's COVID emergency response. He shares with us the latest on the planned arrival of vaccines for Kaiser's facilities across Hawaii.
Time running out for Hawaii to use federal pandemic relief funds
Time is running out for Hawaii to make use of emergency pandemic relief funds awarded to the state by the federal government. When Congress approved the massive relief measure in March, the funds came with a catch: all the money had to be spent before January 1st, 2021. Unspent funds would be returned to the U.S. Treasury. HPR Reporter Ryan Finnerty tells us how much the state has spent and what they're doing as the deadline approaches.
Kauai businesses need travelers to survive
Kauai businesses are saying "We can't survive" without travel. With tourism effectively canceled for the 2020 holiday season, a number of Kauai resorts and businesses are closing again - some for good. Civil Beat Politics & Opinion Editor Chad Blair tells us about the economic struggles on the Garden Isle. Click here to read Brittany Lyte's story at CivilBeat.org.
Dodo Mortuary on grieving and death during the COVID crisis
The funeral industry has had to make a real adjustment during the pandemic. It's not been easy for grieving families and staff having to change their way of dealing with saying aloha to loved ones during an already stressful time. We reached out to Mitchell Dodo, Vice President of Dodo Mortuary, a Big Island family business which has been around for more than a century.
Watermark Publishing's new memoir writing program
Has someone ever told you that you should write a book about your life, but you just didn't know where to start. A new program from Honolulu-based Watermark Publishing cdan help you get your memories into a book. The guided program, called the Halia Aloha Series, prompts writers to craft short "micro-narratives," which helps authors capture a snapshot in their life and makes it easier for readers to enter a memoir. After a roughly nine-month process, writers will have a few published copies under Watermark's Legacy Isle Publishing imprint. Darien Hsu Gee is the Halia Aloha Series editor. Click here to read more about the program.
