On the front lines

[missydog1]

There are some Facebook posts I saw this morning that are upset at the the editorial writer and in support of Billy from Valerie Poindexter and Bobby Jean Leithead Todd.

Val (post setting is Public0:
https://www.facebook.com/valerie.poindexter.5?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

Sometimes the hardest work is done by those who don't need a spotlight. Shame on those who are so quick to judge otherwise. I read the Hawaii Tribune Herald Editorials and felt disgusted by those who I consider to be "fire starters" and enjoy creating drama in a time of crisis. SHAME ON YOU. This is a time for us to pull together and not be malicious gossipers. We don't need this.

Thank you Mayor Billy Kenoi for your dedication and hard work. I found this post from Bobby Jean Leithead Todd and wanted to share it. She says:
I will probably get into trouble for saying this but I am really ticked at people saying things like "Where is Billy?", why isn't he out here, why isn't he on tv?

Billy has been working every day since before the storm hit, he has been working very long hours helping coordinate response, working with our partners, the National Guard, HIUW, the Red Cross, our volunteers. I have arrived at the EOC at 6 in the morning, the Mayor is there working! I have gone home at 11 at night, the Mayor is still working! When he is not at EOC he has been out with National Guard or our departments getting reports, assessing damage.

WHAT HE HAS NOT BEEN DOING IS LOOKING FOR PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES!

-----
Link to Bobby's post because lots of comments:
https://www.facebook.com/bobbyjean.leitheadtodd

I noticed one from Petra of Hale Moana B&B saying she has seen Billy out in Leilani Estates multiple times since the storm, so not true he has been in Hilo whole time.

Bobby Jean's Facebook has a lot of updates on it; you may want to Follow her if you are on Facebook and want news.
https://www.facebook.com/bobbyjean.leitheadtodd

It's a one stop shop for news on ice giveaway, HELCO progress, all aspects of the relief effort, and it has some nice peeks at what various officials are doing and how they are holding up, like Civil Defense chief.

[pahoated]

His job is managing the crisis center, not out giving group hugs in Puna. He probably has flown over in one of the helicopters. He is the one that has to give final authorizations for many agencies.

Seriously, if he had been out making a bunch of photo ops and public wailing of sorrow, there would be this clique here that would find a problem with that.

Certain people here, the grudges run deep and dirty. That is not aloha.

"We come in peace!" - First thing said by missionaries and extraterrestrials

[Rob Tucker]

I wasn't talking photo ops actually I was talking about informing the public of the scale and scope of efforts underway. Which he finally just did under a headline that said something like "Mayor speaks for the first time since Hurricane Iselle. It just took nearly a week.

I was pleased to learn a few things from it.

I did not previously know for example that there are 35 National Guardsmen patrolling Puna in thirteen vehicles to keep an eye on things. That was reassuring.

[missydog1]

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/26272...nce-iselle

Here is the link to the video interview by Mileka Lincoln.
It is reassuring to hear things like that.

As for making calls on when to speak, honestly I think it should be (and likely is) the job of a staff member to be monitoring the public's need on that. I don't know who Mayor Kenoi has, but for example the President doesn't spend time worrying about whether to speak; the Press Secretary does that. The reason is so the President can go about his job. One person can't juggle all this stuff at once with any kind of perspective, so much coming at him.

That person on staff should probably have pushed for a statement earlier than we got one. But, OTOH, we have Civil Defense, and it is really their job to put out statements that inform people what is going on. So it's not like information is not going out to the public. The public needs to learn to tune into Civil Defense in times of emergency.

But it's kind of like people want that parental figure to pop up and say, it's going to be OK, which I understand.

[pahoated]

The restoration of power was done at surprising speed, especially considering what had to be replaced. For a storm like that, the community spirit is really out there. A week off the grid wasn't comfortable but it wasn't that hard either. For a disaster response, the management has been very good and that is what the mayor's job is, to man the EOC until it's not a crisis anymore. It was also interesting to see the community centers become command post areas.

"We come in peace!" - First thing said by missionaries and extraterrestrials

[PauHana]

Free food & drinks at 31 st & Makuu (Ilagans HQ) in HPP.

Breakfast to 10AM Pizza for lunch . All welcome!

[kalakoa]

Free food & drinks at 31 st & Makuu

Not to have a bad attitude or anything, but do they have permits and a commercial kitchen for this activity?

If permit requirements are simply not enforced during an "emergency", then the solution is simple: declare a Permanent Emergency in Puna. Which is actually not unreasonable, given the circumstances...

[PauHana]

Pizza delivered from Pizza Hut. Bottled water and soda from an ice chest. Nothing is being sold.

"declare a Permanent Emergency in Puna. Which is actually not unreasonable, given the circumstances."[] You may be on to something.

[Peter Easterling]

Dear Kalakoa, I hope I misunderstood but are you really questioning "permits and a commercial kitchen?" I have friends who have no power, no house and no food. They really don't care if a free kitchen has permits. Do you?

[kalakoa]

They really don't care if a free kitchen has permits. Do you?

Perhaps I should have included a smiley for the humor impaired -- yet at the same time, mildly serious, for it is oft-repeated that "rules are for everyone", and preparing food for public consumption is technically subject to a raft of permits guided by the vague assertions of our lovely PCDP.

Bottom line: the centralized system of permit-license-fee-inspection does not serve our community well, and it's especially obvious in times of crisis.