Cartoon got it wrong
The political cartoon of President Donald Trump and the GOP dancing on Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s grave (Tribune-Herald, Sept. 22) made me throw up in my mouth a little. Talk about divisiveness! Oh, lordy!
Watch the video. President Trump not only showed extreme sympathy when told about RBG’s passing, the entire GOP made every effort to show respect for her and her great life. Liberals are showing more concern with a GOP power grab than of any true respect for RBG’s passing.
In U.S. history, you will find both Republicans and Democrats stalling and pushing through Supreme Court nominees at the end of an election cycle. It is explicitly written in our Constitution that seats be filled, and this was said by RBG, herself, on television! View for yourselves.
Constantly portraying Trump (essentially painting his supporters with the same brush) as evil and racist and uncaring has worn out. Fill the seat! It is constitutional and the right thing to do.
May the next nominee have as much grit and integrity as Ruth Bader Ginsberg displayed.
Allen Russell
Hilo
Reopening concerns
This letter will also be sent to Lt. Gov Josh Green and Gov. David Ige.
As an Airbnb host, we already started to receive guest requests for Oct. 15 and beyond. Given that there are still so many unanswered questions and open issues with the reopening plan, we blocked our rooms for another few months in order to keep us and Hawaii safe. I’m sure there are many others that are in the same boat.
A mainland guest takes the COVID-19 test and arrives in Hawaii but hasn’t received the test results yet. As per the rules, the visitors fall under the general quarantine regulations. Theoretically, short-term rentals are not allowed under the regular quarantine rules.
Does this still apply if the visitors haven’t received their tests and are waiting for results in their quarantine? If short-term rental is allowed:
1. Are they allowed to get a rental car to get to their accommodation? Currently, visitors without a test cannot rent a car.
2. What if their booked accommodation is not suited for quarantine until the test results arrive? How are they going to get food or cook if there is no kitchen available? Takeout service is not available in many rural locations. This puts not only the guests but also the hosts into a difficult position.
3. What if the guests only booked the accommodation for two days and then move to a new accommodation, which is quite common? If they haven’t received the negative test results, how are they supposed to move without a car and not being able to leave the room?
4. What if the test result comes back positive? How are they going to get back to the airport, other accommodations, etc?
5. What if the visitors are not adhering to the required quarantine? The host is supposed to call the police. This is different than in a hotel setting. I can see cases where this is going to be either “tolerated” by hosts, or there could be unpleasant situations
These are just a few open issues. As we know, the test results are often significantly delayed, and I wouldn’t be surprised that in many cases the results are not available until the guests are ready to leave the island. This will lead to many visitors not adhering to the rules.
Enforcement will be impossible given the larger numbers. Enforcement was already not done for the few visitors during the last months.
It would be very helpful if you could investigate this in detail. Hawaii is a tourist destination, and many people rely on it, but we need to know what the rules are.
Once the floodgates are open, and we are supposed to deal with situations on the fly, it will result in incredible chaos!
Berndt Stugger
Papaikou