On Thursday’s “CNN News Central,” Hawaii State Sen. Angus McKelvey (D), whose district includes Lahaina, stated that “we need FEMA to come off that 30,000-foot cloud, to come out of Honolulu, and actually be working with the community leaders at the hub level, like we’ve been doing.” And “We’re getting the requests and the information and feedback, we’re sending it up, and we’re not getting any kind of response. When decisions are made in D.C. and elsewhere, we don’t know about it,” and “there’s been no plan to be like, okay, what are we going to do to assess, open up, and perhaps create some kind of ability for people to get in, either stand up a business or recover what they want. We don’t know that.”
McKelvey said, “My message to [President Joe Biden] is I hope in coming that he’s not going to basically — I know when the President usually arrives, it’s a huge…production, and I’m hoping that it’s not going to cause a lot of chaos in the recovery zone. But I appreciate the fact that he is coming out here to look at it. I don’t know if I’ll be invited to meet with him, but if I were, I would be like, the community here is suffering, you see it firsthand, we need federal resources. It’s better to have more resources than less, but the biggest thing we need is we need FEMA to come off that 30,000-foot cloud, to come out of Honolulu, and actually be working with the community leaders at the hub level, like we’ve been doing. Part of the frustration I’ve had is we know what’s going on on the ground. We’re getting the requests and the information and feedback, we’re sending it up, and we’re not getting any kind of response. When decisions are made in D.C. and elsewhere, we don’t know about it, and, of course, the community doesn’t know about it, because of the communications.”
He continued, “And here’s the reality: When you’re in a community, people look at you. They don’t care if you’re the state or the county, you’re government. And if you can’t provide answers and information to them, then that actually helps to create more of a resentment and distrust. If our government people can’t communicate with us and aren’t getting kept in the loop, then what about us? And so, that’s the frustrating thing for me. … That being said, there have been bright spots. We are making progress. We’re increasing the coordination among the hubs, trying to convince the counties and others that these community hubs are actually forming into community centers, a sense of community, and that we should support them and let them wind down slowly, not just cut them off completely. That’s the most important thing right now.”
McKelvey also praised his colleagues in the State Senate and Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) for their efforts. He concluded, “Think about this for a second: You’ve lost, not only your home, you’ve lost your business and your income, … you’ve lost your school, you’ve lost your daycare, you’ve lost your grocery stores, you’ve lost everything that creates what is known as a life. And now, you’re expected to rebuild it, and meanwhile, you’ve got chaos going on all around you and you still can’t get into the areas. There’s no plan. … We’ve got areas where the homes are intact, businesses are intact that could actually stand up, there’s been no plan to be like, okay, what are we going to do to assess, open up, and perhaps create some kind of ability for people to get in, either stand up a business or recover what they want. We don’t know that. … The best news I’ve heard in this broadcast…is the increased multiplier of the [search and rescue] resources, to hear that there [are] more dogs and teams out there. … It’s really imperative, because we have weather coming and we need to move, to not only be able to open up these areas, but to try to recover what we can in case evidence is lost. So, I’m really glad to hear that. So, there are bright spots, there are things moving along, but [there are hiccups], it is chaos still, only because a lack of communications is still quite a problematic thing in the area.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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