HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 4 -- Gov. David Ige, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release: Gov. David Ige has appointed Cathy Betts to serve as director of the Department of Human Services (DHS). Betts will replace Pankaj Bhanot who is stepping down as the department's director for health and family reasons on Aug. 31, 2020. Betts has served as deputy director at DHS since Oct. 2017, assisting the director and managing and overseeing operations. She previously served as executive director for th more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 8 -- Gov. David Ige, D-Hawaii, issued the following news release on Aug. 6: David Ige announced today that the inter-island travel quarantine will be reinstated, in part, on Tuesday, Aug. 11. During an afternoon news conference, the governor said that he would reinstate the quarantine for all interisland travelers, although details were still being developed. However, after further discussions with Attorney General Clare Connors, Gov. Ige has decided that he will approve more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 5 -- Hawaiian Electric issued the following news release on Aug. 4: By 2035, every passenger car, SUV, light pickup and minivan in Hawaiian Electric's fleet will be a plug-in electric, joining the growing number - today over 12,000 - of electric vehicles on Hawaii roads. Hawaiian Electric's pledge is part of a nationwide collaborative commitment to electrification of transportation by many member companies of the Edison Electric Institute, a national organization of inve more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 6 -- Hawaiian Electric issued the following news release: To improve system reliability, Hawaiian Electric will conduct quarterly aerial inspections of its major overhead transmission lines on Hawaii Island from Monday, Aug. 10, to Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. The islandwide inspections are scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. However, exact times and routes will depend on weather conditions. Inspections will be conducted in a Manuiwa Airways helicopter and require the air more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 5 -- Kaiser Permanente issued the following news release: Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center is recognized as "high performing" in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and congestive heart failure by U.S. News & World Report. High performers are based on evaluation of the more than 4,500 medical centers and designate the top 10th percentile of hospitals nationwide. "We're honored and proud to be recognized as one of the nation's best  more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 5 -- The University of Hawaii issued the following news release: The University of Hawaii and Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) are ramping up efforts to enhance health outreach in high-risk communities affected by COVID-19 with plans to train 100 individuals to become community health workers (CHW) in the next year. The UH online training program is open to Hawaii residents with fall classes scheduled to begin on August 24, 2020. The 16-credit certificate program more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 7 -- The University of Hawaii issued the following news release: The University of Hawaii (UH) has initiated plans to upgrade the wastewater system at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The investment is a central part of UH's commitment to move to zero-discharge wastewater systems on the Maunakea summit. The existing JCMT cesspool structure will be properly removed and disposed of and then replaced with a zero-discharge holding tank. Planning for upgrades to the w more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 7 -- The University of Hawaii issued the following news release: COVID-19's devastating impact on the health and welfare of Hawaii's families is the focus of a series of research papers released by the College of Social Sciences (CSS) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, in partnership with First Insurance Company of Hawaii. "I commend the researchers for their quick work to bring to light important data and analysis that would otherwise be untold," said CSS Dean Denise more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 5 -- The University of Hawaii issued the following news release: Modern-day megaherbivores (plant-eaters weighing more than 2,200 pounds) such as elephants, hippopotamuses and bison are at greater risk of extinction than other types of animals, with unknown consequences for Earth and all of its inhabitants, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Hawai'i at Manoa researcher. One million years ago, the extinction of large-bodied herbivores (plant-eaters) c more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 7 -- The University of Hawaii issued the following news release: A University of Hawaii at Manoa initiative aimed at helping people who are blind or visually impaired has earned a prestigious honor. The UniDescription project was awarded the 2020 Gold Media & Technology MUSE Award for Research & Innovation by the American Alliance of Museums. With an open-access and open-source approach, the project offers online training and the digital tools necessary to broadly creat more PR

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 7 -- The University of Hawaii issued the following news release: Windward Community College is one of only eight community colleges nationwide selected through a competitive application process to participate in College Success for Single Mothers. Funded by ECMC Foundation and led by the National College Transition Network (NCTN), the goal of the three-year project is to identify the needs of single mother students on campus and develop a plan to expand key practices and  more PR