Good evening, Hawaii. Mayor Mike Victorino lauded a new contract with Johnson Controls that he says will save Maui County taxpayers $73 million in energy costs over 20 years, and our partner, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, reports that repairs to three damaged water mains at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam will take seven to 10 days. Here are the most important stories you need to know.
Your Weather Planner
Weakening trade winds will allow fair weather and a land and sea breeze pattern to continue through Tuesday. High Surf Advisories are in effect for north and west-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai, and north-facing shores of Oahu Molokai and Maui through tomorrow morning. Expect a wetter pattern to kick in by Wednesday as a cold front stalls out over the state. Shower chances will increase over the northwestern islands as the front moves in, with wet weather around Oahu and Kauai through Friday. Drier, more stable conditions return again later this weekend as moderate trade winds return to the region.
Today's Big Stories
1. Mayor Victorino says Maui taxpayers will benefit with new contractor
Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino announced a new agreement with contractor Johnson Controls will result in energy and water efficiency cost savings of $73 million for Maui taxpayers over a 20-year period, according to a news release.
Earlier in the year, Maui County had issued a request for proposals in search of ways to reduce energy, water and fuel use countywide following a spike in oil prices in December. The county’s $29 million Phase 1 agreement with the contractor is projected to result in the $73 million savings with work projects to be done at 141 county facilities.
“This is a fiscally responsible project that saves taxpayer dollars, creates local jobs, reduces our carbon footprint, and importantly, frees up clean water that we can use for affordable housing,” said Mayor Victorino in the release. “Reducing dependence on fossil fuels means we are taking money out of an oil tanker and keeping it right here, investing in jobs for our residents.”
The project will create more than 40 jobs in engineering, project management and maintenance support.
The agreement requires Johnson Controls to guarantee energy and water efficiency savings that will be measured annually, as well as provide maintenance support. Shortfalls in projected annual savings in any given year will be covered by a shortfall check made out to the county for the difference, followed by actions to improve energy efficiency.
Benefits forecast for the Phase 1 project include a reduction of 2,293 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually; a 33% reduction of potable water consumption by Maui County; and a 6% reduction in the county’s electricity bill.
2. Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Repairs to Navy’s water mains will take 7 to 10 days, officials predict
Repairs to the Navy’s broken water mains on Oahu will take an estimated seven to 10 days, Navy leadership said, but gyms, pools and most child development centers will remain closed.
In a livestreamed virtual town hall Sunday afternoon, Capt. Mark Sohaney, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, provided the timeline to fix three water mains in the Navy’s water system that all ruptured Friday.
The main breaks, part of a water system connected to 93,000 people, have prompted a boil-water advisory, led to fluctuations in water pressure and closed a variety of facilities using the water.
The most concerning of the three main breaks is of a 36-inch main at the Waiau Hawaiian Electric power station. Public Works Officer Cmdr. Robert Kleinman, who participated with Sohaney during the virtual town hall, described the break as a crack along the entire edge of a 20-foot cast-iron pipe.
Gyms, pools and 11 of the Navy’s 12 child development centers, which together serve 5,000 children, will be closed today, Sohaney said. The Wahiawa Annex CDC will remain open, as it’s supplied by a different water system.
Affected schools other than Iroquois Point Elementary School [were] open today. DOE announced the Iroquois Point closure after Sohaney initially said all schools would be open.
3. Collect and submit ant samples during ‘Stop the Ant Month’
October is “Stop the Ant Month” in Hawaii, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources encourages residents to collect and submit ants to any of the islands’ Invasive Species Committees or the Hawaii Ant Lab for identification to detect and control the spread of invasive ants. By doing so, people participating in the statewide program have helped agencies detect Little Fire Ant infestations each year, preventing millions of dollars in impacts and costs for communities.
Hawaii has no native ants. The priority is detecting new, harmful ant species, and managing harmful species such as LFAs.
Residents can request a free ant collection kit or can make their own. Put a thin smear of peanut butter on several chopsticks and leave them out to attract the ants. Carefully collect them after about an hour, seal them in a zip-top bag and freeze overnight. The sample can be submitted to any island Invasive Species Committee or HAL for identification.
4. Hearing aids now sold over the counter, lowering cost and expanding access
Hearing aids are now available over the counter for millions of Americans with mild to moderate hearing loss, after a years-long push to adopt legislation that aimed to make the devices cheaper and more accessible.
People can now and in the coming weeks find hearing aids on shelves at stores like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Best Buy and Hy-Vee, many for less than $1,000, the White House announced Monday.
“The number of folks who are letting this go untreated is really high,” said Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, in an interview with Spectrum News. “The really high cost of hearing aids is a leading explanation for that.”
Ramamurti said the goal is to "make sure that people have more options available to them," adding that companies like Apple and Bose were now getting into the industry to make cheaper versions, too.
The Hearing Loss Association of America also offers a tip sheet for people who think they might need help hearing.
5. Biden heralds launch of student debt relief portal: ‘A game-changer for millions of Americans’
The Biden administration officially opened an easy-to-use, online portal for Americans to see if they qualify for student loan debt relief on Monday after millions of individuals successfully used a beta version during a weekend testing period.
The Department of Education on Friday rolled out the beta version of the site, and on Saturday emailed borrowers who had signed up to receive notifications about forgiveness with a link to test the online application before the official launch. All applications submitted during the testing period will be processed now that the official site is live.
President Joe Biden detailed the successful beta test on Monday afternoon, saying the site “landed and handled more than 8 million applications without a glitch or any difficulty.” The president added that over 10,000 individuals have already emailed, called or otherwise contacted the White House to thank the administration for giving them financial breathing room thanks to the debt relief.
The official portal, which went live after Biden’s address, aims to “work as smoothly as possible so that we can deliver student loan relief for millions of Americans as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” he added.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
Tuesday, October 18
- MLB Championship Series begins
- NBA season begins
- 100th anniversary of the BBC
- TV showrunner and director Chuck Lorre celebrates his 70th birthday
- Alaska Day
- What: Ghost Bus experience
- Where: Waikiki Beach Marriott | 2552 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu | 808-922-6611
- Details: The Ghost Bus makes its home base in front of the Waikiki Beach Marriott providing all the pre-Halloween terror and scary fun you want. Various times, daily. $20/person 8 years and older, $15/kamaaina and military. Reservations.
- What: Festivals of Aloha at Hana
- Where: Various venues
- Details: There is much to share and celebrate in the community of Hana as the Festivals of Aloha takes place Oct. 15-22. Activities throughout the week include fishing contest, traditional lei-making class, floral and lei contest, talent show, taro contest and much more. Visit the Festivals of Aloha website for days and times.
- What: ‘From Pele to Poli‘ahu: The Kuleana of Change’ exhibit
- Where: Volcano Art Center | Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Details: This exhibit presents 32 new original artwork by Waimea-based artist Dominic Tidmarsh. The exhibit is free, but park entrance fees apply. If you feel inspired to create after viewing the exhibit, visit the VAC website for a list of art workshops.
- What: Art Kauai 2022
- Where: Kauai Society of Artists | Kukui Grove Center, 3-2600 Kaumualii Hwy., Lihue | 808-245-2782
- Details: View more than a hundred works of art in Art Kauai 2022 presented by the Kauai Society of Artists with juror Robert Soppelsa, PhD. Gallery hours are noon-6 p.m. daily, to 7 p.m. Fridays.
For more on these and other events, see this week's HI Out & About.
In Case You Missed It
Moana, a fennec fox at the Honolulu Zoo. (Photo courtesy of City and County of Honolulu)
Family of fennec foxes joins the Honolulu Zoo
A trio of fennec foxes is now part of the Honolulu Zoo.
On April 22, the zoo was given a male fennec fox, named Aukai, and a female fennec fox, named Moana, who will breed as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan.
Moana and Aukai were saved in a large rescue mission after 300 fennec foxes were found on a farm malnourished, neglected and abused.
The foxes were quarantined for 120 days, and surprise, Moana gave birth to a baby boy fox on June 12. The newest addition to the fox family was named Vaitea.
For his safety, Vaitea is being hand-reared at a veterinary hospital until he is about 6 months old. Then he will be reunited with his parents at the Honolulu Zoo’s African savanna exhibit.