If daily headlines have left you concerned and confused, here are some excerpts and additional information from a Sept. 15 legislative briefing by Dr. Libby Char and Dr. Sarah Kemble of the state Department of Health (DOH) to answer some of your questions. (Read more)

So far, more than 216,000 people have signed up for the new state-issued digital SMART Health Card, unveiled by Governor Ige last month. “Participation is purely voluntary, but it makes it easier for patrons to present proof of vaccination at restaurants, gyms and other businesses that require it,” he said. (Read more)

We’ve all heard the bizarre tales being spread over social media about COVID-19 vaccines — from microchips being implanted to people becoming magnetic — along with other rumors. That’s why Dr. Keawe Kaholokula, as chair of Native Hawaiian Health at UH Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), worked with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs recently to publish “Mythbusting 10 Fears and Rumors about COVID Vaccination,” a list that takes a common-sense approach to vaccine hesitancy.
(Read more)

“We can create a better world. We just have to make it a priority and work for it.” That message drove the recent IUCN World Conservation Congress, Sept. 3-11, in France and underscored why global events like it are so important. We’ve heard the dire warnings before, but natural disasters over the past few months have made climate change more real than ever. (Read more) 

People helping people. If the pandemic has left you wondering whether we still care about each other, take heart. These projects show there’s still plenty of aloha in the islands and people willing to go the extra mile for others. (Read more)

Work has begun on the new 224-unit Kokua Senior Living affordable rental tower on Alakea and S. Beretania streets in downtown Honolulu. The units will be marketed to seniors 55 years and older who have annual household incomes between 30 to 60% of the area median income, with rents beginning at $634 a month. (Read more)

Governor Ige has announced the release of $601,940,684 for Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs) funded between April and August 2021. The projects range from school upgrades and broadband expansion to airport, highway and conservation improvements. (Read more)

State employees are leading by example in vaccination and compliance, according to figures released recently by the Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD). Nearly 90% of 14,000 state employees from the executive branch are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, according to the updated figures. (Read more)

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