Update on Hawaii's vaccine rollout; Reality Check with Civil Beat: Military and family members 16 and up eligible for vaccines; Real estate expert on sky-high home prices; Next steps for flood victims; Former emergency administrator on dam safety
Update on Hawaii's vaccine rollout
Hotel workers are among the latest group that will be allowed to sign up to get vaccines. They are part of group 1C that include essential workers not previously covered as well as those seniors age 65 and older, and other high risk people with chronic diseases. Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of Healthcare Association of Hawaii, cautioned it may take awhile to get to everyone who wants a vaccine because it still depends on the supply.
Reality Check with Civil Beat: Military and family members 16 and up now eligible for vaccines
The U.S. military has lowered the age of eligibility to 16 for the COVID-19 vaccine in Hawaii, making most troops and their dependents eligible to get a shot. Civil Beat reporter Kevin Knodell tells us more about the rollout in Hawaii. Click here to read his story at CivilBeat.org.
Real estate expert on sky-high home prices
The average sales price for a home on Kauai was $1M for the second month in a row. On Oahu, that price was $800,000. Pretty heady stuff if you're hoping to achieve the American dream of home ownership and can't afford it. We talked to Mike Sklarz, president of Collateral Analytics, about the real estate snapshot here and across the country.
Next steps for flood victims
Heavy rains across the state this week caused severe flooding in parts of Maui, Oahu and Kauai. The surging waters took out bridges, caused landslides and sent hundreds of gallons of water and mud surging through several homes, prompting Gov. Ige to declare a state of emergency. Whenever natural disasters strike, many are left to clean up what's left, and many questions about what to do next arise. The Conversation's Russell Subiono spoke with Carol Tyau-Beam, the state coordinator for the National Flood Insurance Program, which overseen by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. If you've been impacted by the recent flooding in our islands, visit waihalana.hawaii.gov. The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Insurance Division is also able to answer flood damage and coverage questions, and can be reached at insinv@dcca.hawaii.gov and (808) 586-2790.
Former emergency administrator on dam safety
The emergency flood threat evacuations on Maui and Oahu's North Shore and the damage to Kauai's Kuhio Highway after a massive landslide certainly raised our alert level this past week. We got to wondering about the stability of our dams across the state. We reach out to Ed Teixeira. As former vice director of the state cividl defense department nown known as the Hawaii Emergency Management Agnecy, he visited many of the dams here on Oahu and the Neighbor Islands.
