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March 25, 2021

HAWAII’S ECONOMY PROJECTED TO GROW 2.7 PERCENT IN 2021

On March 1, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) released its first quarter 2021 Statistical and Economic Report. DBEDT projects that Hawaii’s economy will experience improvement in 2021, with a projected 2.7 percent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP). This is higher than the 2.1 percent GDP growth projected in December 2020. While final estimates of economic growth have not been released yet, DBEDT estimates that Hawaii’s real GDP fell by approximately 7.9 percent in 2020, a smaller decline than the 11.7 percent contraction forecast in the previous quarter.

The improvements in the economy were attributed to the following facts and expectations:

  • Public, private, non-profit entities and individuals in Hawaii were allocated more than $10.6 billion in federal funds in 2020.

  • The second federal economic stimulus package of $900 billion provided qualified individuals with a $600 stimulus check, extended the supplemental $300 weekly unemployment benefit, and allocated additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program. Furthermore, legislation is being considered for a third stimulus package of $1.9 trillion, that includes an additional $1,400 stimulus checks for qualified people. Hawaii is expected to receive more than $7 billion federal funds in 2021

  • The Safe Travels Program brought in 496,186 visitors in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing a recovery of about 20 percent from the same period in 2019. By comparison, visitor arrivals between April and September 2020 were only 1.8 percent of the same period a year earlier.

  • Visitor industry recovery continued into 2021 with 20 percent recovery in January (average daily visitors at 5,550) and 30 percent recovery in February (average daily visitors at 8,760) as compared with the same month in 2019.

  • The total number of bankruptcy filings in Hawaii declined 8.5 percent in 2020 from 2019, and decreased 24.8 percent in Jan. 2021.

  • Initial unemployment claims during the week ending Feb. 20, 2021 was 2,891, the lowest since Mar. 21, 2020.

  • The U.S. economy is expected to recover faster in 2021 with an economic growth rate projected at 4.9 percent in the February 2021 Blue Chip Indicators, which is higher than the projection made in December 2020 for 2021 at 4.0 percent.

  • Hawaii remained the lowest per capita new COVID-19 cases in the nation as of Feb. 28, 2021 and both the national and Hawaii new cases have declined over 50 percent in the past 30 days.

  • As of Feb. 28, 2021, 17.5 percent of Hawaii’s population had been vaccinated at least with one shot, higher than the U.S. average at 15 percent.

For more information on this report, please click here.

CNMI wants US National Guard presence

Photo: AFP

Radio New Zealand, 3/10/21

The Northern Mariana Islands wants a US National Guard of its own so there would be servicemen to respond to natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2015 Typhoon Soudelor hit the CNMI hard and in 2018 Super Typhoon Yutu devastated the islands.

Governor Ralph Torres said he recently met with Major General Brian Neal of the US National Guard to discuss the request.

Torres said that he was not asking for a large National Guard presence in the CNMI, saying 20 to 30 troops would be enough.

He said he realised the importance of having a National Guard in the country during the current pandemic, as almost all the states as well as neighbouring Guam had units.

The governor said CNMI and American Samoa didn't have National Guard units and they were disenfranchised when the directive came out to activate one during the pandemic.

It is not the first time the subject has been brought up by the CNMI administration.

Almost two years ago, Torres wrote to the National Guard requesting a unit be created in the CNMI - whether it be Air National Guard or Army National Guard.

Indo-Pacific Commander tells Congress:
'Guam is a target today'

Admiral Philip S. Davidson, Commander U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is shown in the 2020 file photo. Davidson told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that Guam “is a target today.”

Anumita Kaur, Guam Pacific Daily News, 3/11/21

The commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command urged Congress this week to increase missile defense capabilities on Guam in light of "emerging threats" in the region. 

"Guam is a target today. It needs to be defended and it needs to be prepared for the threats that will come in the future, because it's clear to me that Guam is not just a place that we believe that we can fight from, as we have for many decades. We are going to have to fight for it in order to do that," said Adm. Philip Davidson during a hearing with the Senate Committee on Armed Services. "It's been evidenced by me and displayed by the Chinese in a propaganda video of their own bomber forces attacking Andersen Air force Base on Guam."

Davidson referenced a video reportedly released by the Chinese Air Force last year that appeared to show a simulated attack on Guam. The video showed a group of H-6 bombers taking off from a base, a finger pressing a button and an explosion on a runway. 

"Guam is U.S. territory. We have 170,000 U.S. citizens living on Guam. Their defense is homeland defense. We have 21,000 U.S. service men and women and (Department of Defense) employees as well, plus their families," he said. "For the past three years, I have repeatedly stated that the most important action we can take to increase the joint force's lethality is to introduce a 360-degree, persistent, air and missile defense ins

The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system currently in place to defend Guam is "is not capable of meeting the current trajectory of threats from China," according to Davidson. The Aegis Ashore system "delivers the kind of capabilities that would beat the threat that's expected here by mid-decade and will help us pace the threat in the future." 

Davidson stated that bolstering defense facilities on Guam is a priority for fiscal 2022.

"We have to demonstrate that any ambition that China might have, any threat it might put forth towards Guam would come at cost," he said. 

Davidson's Aegis Ashore proposal is part of the broader Pacific Defense Initiative expected to require an estimated $4.6 billion in defense funds in fiscal year 2022 and $27 billion over the next five years as the Pentagon makes competition with China a priority, Business Insider reported.

2020 Flashback — COVID & Schools: How American Samoa Offered Early Warning Signs About How the Pandemic Would
Upend the Education System

Source: Samoa News

The 74, 3/14/21

One year ago this month America’s education system came to a standstill, as emergency lockdown orders and skyrocketing hospitalizations led to states, cities and school districts shuttering classrooms coast to coast.

By early April, The 74 was prepping the launch of our PANDEMIC reporting initiative, where we’ve so far chronicled more than 300 updates on school closures, campus safety, virtual instruction and the push to preserve and accelerate student learning amid the public health crisis. 

Given the anniversary, we decided to take a look back through our archives, to see where we could find the earliest mentions of this new coronavirus that would change so much for America’s students. Most of our initial coverage addressed widely reported issues, such as the mounting anxiety among New York City public school parents who were considering keeping their kids home from class and remote learning growing pains being faced by families in and around the original hot spots in Washington State.

But to our surprise, the very first mention we can find at The 74 concerned events happening some 5,000 miles west in American Samoa — an early development that foreshadowed the many ways the coronavirus crisis would extend beyond classroom instruction to disrupt every other aspect of school communities.

In a February roundup summarizing the key education issues facing the states and territories participating in the Super Tuesday primaries, we learned that American Samoa was already dealing with the realities of COVID-19, and what it meant for their imported food supply and the territory’s school meal program: “Following a recent measles outbreak and rising concerns surrounding coronavirus, the availability of food for schools has emerged as a top priority for American Samoa, the U.S. territory in the South Pacific,” we wrote on Feb. 28.

“Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga said he ‘is concerned about the perceived shortages of food items on the shelves of stores, and health care issues — measles and now coronavirus — disrupting shipping schedules to the island.’”

A week later, we began tracing the spread of the virus, and the resulting school closures, across the continental U.S.  

To see the full story, please click here.

Palau to open travel bubble with Taiwan from next month

Surangel Whipps Jr (R) with Taiwan's Ambassador to Palau, Wallace Chow. Photo: RNZ Pacific/Bernadette Carreon

Radio New Zealand, 3/18/21

Palau President Surangel Whipps has announced that a travel bubble with Taiwan will officially begin on April 1.

Palau, which is one of the few nations to be Covid-free, will open its doors to tourists from Taiwan after a year of closing its borders.

Whipps told reporters that according to the US health officials visiting Palau, there is a very low risk of Taiwan travellers bringing COVID into the country.

"They shared with us today that the risk of getting a Covid case from Taiwan to Palau, based on historical data, is one in 4 million, or 1 in 40,000 flight. But the point is the risk is very low, We are doing everything to make sure that the risk is as low as possible," Whipps said.

The president says the travel bubble shows an even stronger relationship between Palau and Taiwan.

While Taiwan is not Covid-free, it has kept the pandemic under control and is often lauded for its success in curbing community transmission due to effective prevention.

Palau's close relationship with the United States has made it one of the first nations in the Pacific to get thousands of Moderna vaccine doses.

Mr Whipps says by April 17th, 62 percent of the country's adult population will have been fully vaccinated.

Taiwan's Ambassador to Palau, Wallace Chow, who joined Whipps during the press conference said the launching of the travel bubble is the result of months of discussion to ensure that it will be safe for both countries.

"We are very happy that Palau trusts Taiwan. We trust each other actually. So we open borders for each other and these will be the first one I believe in the world, have a real tourist come and go back," Ambassador Chow said.

To promote Palau as a safe destination, Whipps will be travelling with Mr Chow to Taiwan on March 28, making this the first overseas trip for the president.

Whipps is also expected to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen face to face to further boost the relationship between the two nations.

Whipps will then return to Palau on April 1 to escort the first batch of tourists from Taiwan.

The travel bubble will start with one flight that week carrying 110 passengers. The aim is to have two flights a week, Whipps said.

Median price of a single-family home on Oahu hits a new high: $920,000

File photo (Source: Hawaii News Now)

Hawaii News Now, 3/4/21

The median price of a single-family home on Oahu reached new highs in February, crossing the $900,000 threshold for the first time.

The record comes as Hawaii’s housing market continues to experience strong demand amid low supply.

Real estate firm Locations said the median price for a single-family home on Oahu was $920,000 in February. That’s 20% up from the same month last year.

Local real estate experts say buyers should not be discouraged.

“That’s just the median. That’s not the lower end,” said Hazel Unciano, a realtor with Coldwell Banker.

The median price means that half of homes go above that price and half sell for below it.

The report showed that in just two years, the median sale price on Oahu increased by more than $100,000. And demand continues to outpace supply. February saw the greatest number of home sales for the month since 2006. There was a 6% increase in single-family home sales and a 42% increase in condo sales.

“For me, it’s all local families and I think that is the case for many others,” said Judy Sobin with Judy Sobin and Associates.

Locations said part of the reason for the increase in median price is due to a high percentage of bid-ups.

Roughly 47% of single-family homes and nearly 28% of condos were sold above the asking price. This trend in bidding for homes highlights the current competitive market conditions for housing on Oahu.

The report also showed that single-family homes sold in record time, with homes being on the market for a median of 10 days, which is the lowest on record.

“Lack of homes for sale continues to be the biggest challenge to the market, putting upward pressure on home prices and fueling competition among buyers,” said Locations President and CEO Jason Lazzerini.

He said that single-family home listings are scarce, with only 403 active listings. He added that there are currently 1,425 condos for sale.

Lazzerini also said that interest rates are still near record lows, which offers prospective homebuyers greater purchasing power.

Local lawmakers are trying to strike a balance.

House Speaker Scott Saiki says they have allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to help finance affordable housing projects.

“It’s these kinds of projects that will help to make a difference,” Saiki said.

About PBDC

The Pacific Basin Development Council, established in 1980 by the governors of Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Hawaii, is a regional non-profit organization that advances economic and social development in the Pacific Islands. The organization, which is based in Hawaii, is located at the East-West Center.

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