The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and other neighbor island Chambers launched a new petition calling on Governor David Ige to take further action to save small business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The petition reiterates the Chamber\u2019s support for the governor and mayors\u2019 plans for a phased reopening, including the resumption of interisland travel. It calls for clear and consistent direction for reopening, clarification on the \u201cAct with Care\u201d designation, dedicated PPE supplies and contact tracers, and several other measures to help small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile Hawaii\u2019s local businesses have done their part to stop the spread of COVID-19, their cooperation has caused them deep and potentially lethal economic wounds. We applaud our state leaders for taking steps to reopen our kamaaina economy, but even as reopening progresses, small businesses remain on the brink of shutting down completely,\u201d Sherry Menor-McNamara, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii President & CEO said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The petition calls for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Clear, consistent direction and reopening guidelines that are delivered through one government voice, and a straightforward communications plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Expansion of testing and screening capability and availability across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*A definitive and immediate announcement of the reopening date for interisland travel and guidelines for an eventual full opening to visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Robust resources to operate their businesses safely, including access to personal protective equipment and dedicated contact tracers to identify and stop future infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Clarification on the \u201cAct with Care\u201d designation including: 1) An exact list of businesses that can be reopened; 2) Clarity on when bars, clubs and large venues can reopen; 3) Clarity on the stakeholders included in determining the minimum 14-day period between decision points; 4) Clear directives on liability protections for reopening businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Expedited approval for permits that are required to install safety equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Review of upcoming regulations to determine flexibility for businesses as they look to recover from the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Cut superfluous agency spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Financial assistance to businesses beyond 2-3 months to help them survive. Based on the industry, some may need assistance beyond that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menor-McNamara said, \u201cThe economic devastation has spared no business. It will persist long after a phased reopening begins. Instead of ever-changing, murky guidelines and mixed messages, Hawaii\u2019s businesses need clear and decisive guidelines and support in order to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This petition follows an April effort that led to over 1,000 supporters calling for economic assistance and other actions for businesses. The Chamber wrote to Governor Ige on\u00a0March 25<\/a>\u00a0to urge him to suspend GET and tax collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The neighbor island Chambers joining the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii in the petition include: Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, Kauai Chamber of Commerce, Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce and Molokai Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and other neighbor island Chambers launched a new petition calling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=1050%2C600&ssl=1",1050,600,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=300%2C171&ssl=1",300,171,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=640%2C366&ssl=1",640,366,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=640%2C366&ssl=1",640,366,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=1050%2C600&ssl=1",1050,600,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=1050%2C600&ssl=1",1050,600,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1",1050,600,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=870%2C570&ssl=1",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1",600,600,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1",600,600,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1",1050,600,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=780%2C500&ssl=1",780,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C585&ssl=1",1024,585,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=540%2C285&ssl=1",540,285,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?resize=375%2C250&ssl=1",375,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Hawaii - Filipino<\/a>","tag_info":"Hawaii - Filipino","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Untitled-design-2-1.jpg?fit=1050%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2500,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499\/revisions\/2500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}