I appreciate the written response by the governor's office to the letter
I helped compose urging him to open up all small business in Hawaii
that can comply with reasonable rules. I hope that he'll get to it soon.
WHEREAS every business
is essential; there is no such thing as non-essential business when it comes to
generating jobs and taxes for the state,
WHEREAS
thousands of small businesses in Hawaii, many of them family owned and
operated, are at risk of failure if the current restrictions are not lifted
soon,
WHEREAS a recent AXIOS
report indicated that 90% of the nation’s small farmers could go out of
business if restaurants are forced to operate at diminished capacity during the
height of harvest season this summer,
WHEREAS restoring the
function and capacity of our community-based businesses is an essential first
step in the long road to Hawaii’s economic recovery,
WHEREAS
we small business owners are fully capable of caring for our employees and
protecting our customers; we are confident that we can operate safely in the
best interests of the community,
WHEREAS reopening
interisland travel is critical for connecting our islands and testing
inspection systems in anticipation of the recovery of tourism later this
summer,
WHEREAS time is of the
essence to reduce the long-term economic harm being done to our state, as each
day that we continue with these restrictions deepens the pain and extends the
recovery time by an ever-increasing amount,
THEREFORE, WE CALL ON
our Governor and Mayors to reopen business within the State of Hawaii, support
the efforts of small business to restore employment to tens of thousands of
Hawaii residents, and provide the necessary monitoring and metrics to ensure
the safety of the public as our state begins the difficult process of recovery.
SUGGESTED ACTIONS AND
METRICS
- Allow all businesses in Hawaii
to open as soon as they can fully comply with state and county country
mandates regarding social distancing (including mask wearing), hygiene and
safety, without regard to their previous status as essential or
non-essential.
- Allow the Department of Health
to enact emergency rulemaking to adapt National Restaurant Association
best practices guidelines for all Hawaii food establishments. This will
allow proprietors to procure the materials and adopt the procedures
necessary to reopen safely.
- Open airports to interisland
travel with a safety plan that may include temperature scans at the
arriving gates and holding space for those found having a fever.
- Maintain Covid-19 testing and
new case reporting against a clearly articulated set of targets. Establish
metrics by which social and business restrictions may be re-imposed if
deemed necessary to ensure that Hawaii’s health care system is able to
meet the demands of this ongoing crisis.
- Create an action plan for a
private/public initiative to restore Hawaii’s small business sector, with a
goal to reopen all small businesses no later than June 1.
- Establish a task force composed
of members of Hawaii’s small business community to help advise
governmental decision-makers during the three phases of the economic
restoration process: Reopening, Recovery and Revitalization. This includes
giving voice not only to small business owners, but also the employees,
vendors and customers who rely on their continued success.
SMALL BUSINESS SIGNATORIES
·
Steve Haumschild, Managing partner of 5 Hawaii-based businesses
·
Theodore A Peck, Holu Energy and Tian Shan Renewable Energy
·
Don Mangiarelli, General Manager, Enterprise Technology
Solutions
·
Roy Skaggs, RJS Renewable Solutions, LLC
·
Elizabeth Kellam, Hawaii Association of Realtors, Honolulu Board
of Realtors
·
Maki Kuroda, President, E Noa Corporation
·
Michael Kissel, Owner of Specities Hawai’i Inc.
·
Steven Sullivan, VP at Parallel Capital Partners and board
member Kaka’ako Improvement Association
·
Natalie Iwasa, CPA, CFE
·
Laura Brown, Soundmix LLC
·
Phil Bruno, ARA Hawaii
·
Mark Storfer, VP Hilo Hattie
·
Dale Evans, CEO, Charley's Taxi
·
Suzanne Johnsen Green, Owner Plato’s Closet Honolulu
·
Forrest Shoemaker, Owner Hilton Group, Hawaii Candle & POS
Paper Supply
·
Nancy Nino, Owner, Aloha Organizers LLC
OTHER SIGNATORIES
·
Clif Purkiser, Board of Directors, Pacific Historic Parks
·
Joseph A Ferguson, IT Admin-Leeward Community Church, U.S. Coast
Guard Reservist
·
Peter Kay, Facebook moderator
·
Panos D. Prevedouros, UH Manoa
·
Byron Riddle
·
Richard M Fong
·
Miki Martins
·
Carol Ai May
·
Kendall Shimabukuro
·
Paul Orem
·
Gregg and Robin Stueber
·
Sharon Rasos
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