Director’s Message

By: Jade Butay

Aloha HDOT ‘Ohana,

Summer is officially here—kids are out of school and days are longer.

There are a lot of benefits to summer, but we should all be aware of the June 1 start of the Central Pacific Hurricane Season.

On May 19th, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasted between two to five tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific, which is a near to below normal prediction.

If you read last month’s newsletter, Darren Cantrill provided an overview of important terms to know.

I’d like to encourage everyone to take another look at his column in May’s newsletter.

That way we all know what’s going on if, or when, the sirens and our phones start to blast emergency warnings.

I’d also like to encourage our emergency workers to review their preparedness plans and go bags (these come in handy when you’re at a base yard or in an Emergency Operating Center for 18+ hours).

But back to the benefits of summer, given the increased vaccinations in the community and the mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Governor David Ige revised the statewide mask mandate to remove the requirement for mask wearing while outdoors. Hawai’i leads the nation in COVID-19 vaccinations. We can all safely continue to relax restrictions as a result.

HDOT offices, including Ali‘i‘aimoku Hale (Punchbowl), opened up on June 1.

We are still asking those wanting to visit staff offices to make an appointment, but this is a positive step towards the new normal.

As usual, I’m signing off with a mahalo to all of you for working to keep our transportation systems operational.

I appreciate what you all do on a daily basis to move goods and people into and in Hawai’i.

Director