Councilmember Pine updates critical help for businesses

Sept. 22, 2020

SBA webinars also offer critical help
Additional business relief available from the City

Good morning!

My staff and I have been working hard to provide answers, resources, referrals and hope to small businesses and individuals since we first heard about the Coronavirus arriving on our shores.

We want to let you know about helpful webinars the U.S. Small Business Administration is hosting to offer solutions and strategies to help you weather our pandemic-generated economic storm, including three FREE virtual events this week:

Business Recovery Webinar
Tue., Sept. 22, 1 p.m.

Recovering Cash Flow
Wed., Sept. 23, 4:30 p.m.

Loan Forgiveness Webinar
Thu., Sept. 24, 3 p.m.

REGISTER HERE: sbahi.eventbrite.com

Sign up for email updates on programs by and services for your business, from the SBA and its partner organizations: https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/hi/honolulu

Please feel free to share this email with others who may be looking for assistance.

MORE CITY FUNDING NOW AVAILABLE

I introduced Resolution 20-228 on September 3, to allow businesses to apply for a second round of financial help from the city’s Small Business Relief and Recovery Fund (SBRRF). Since then, the city has infused the fund with an additional $75M and amended the rules to allow businesses to apply for additional relief, here: https://www.oneoahu.org/small-business

According to the City, the additional funding will be awarded to two tiers, or levels:

Level A will allow businesses that already received a SBRRF grant to reapply for an additional reimbursable grant of up to $20,000. For example, a business that received $8,000 in the first round is eligible for as much as $12,000 in the second reimbursement. The same limitations will apply: Businesses cannot apply for costs already covered by another federally funded program such as the CARES Act, Paycheck Protection Plan, Economic Injury Disaster Loan, and others. Level A businesses are defined as receiving up to $2 million in annual revenue and applications are now available.

Level B expands eligibility to qualified businesses with $2 million to $5 million in annual revenue and increases the maximum reimbursable grant up to $50,000. Businesses can apply for Level B on OneOahu.org starting October 1.

To further help businesses, I voted yes as the Honolulu City Council adopted Resolution 20-208 on September 9. It urges the city administration to adopt the Honolulu Economic Recovery and Employment Support (HERES) Package. It supports city projects to promote job creation, economic activity and community spending; establishes a commercial landlord-tenant real property tax grant program to provide rent forgiveness and relief; and allows outdoor dining and retail activities in city parking lots, yards and landscape areas.

I sent a letter to the mayor urging him to implement the resolution right away, to help put people back to work and help our kamaaina economy inch closer toward eventual recovery.

Read Resolution 20-208, here:
http://www4.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-276694/RES20-208.pdf

We understand the mayors office is reviewing the measure and we invite you to contact his office to urge him to implement the package. Contact the mayors office via phone at 768-4141 or via an online form: http://www.honolulu.gov/mayor/contactthemayor/request-for-general-message-form.html

With Aloha,

Kym

Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One, comprising portions of Ewa Villages and Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Makakilo, Kalaeloa, Honokai Hale, Ko Olina, Nnkuli, Mili, Waianae, Mkaha, Keaau and Makua) and is chair of the City Councils Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism.

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Coby Torda interview released by Councilmember Kym Pine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 4, 2020

Coby Torda interview released by Councilmember Kym Pine
Pine hopes residents will realize the seriousness of COVID and its negative impacts, even to healthy young people

HONOLULU, HAWAII Former COVID-19 patient Coby Torda has to take oxygen with him where ever he goes, as his long road to recovery continues.

Honolulu City Councilmember Kym Pine has released an interview with the Ewa Beach resident and COVID-19 survivor, to educate residents about the seriousness of the virus and the negative impacts it can have on even healthy people. She also did the interview to relieve some of the pressure of media interview requests Coby has received. The video clearly shows the difficulties he still has, as his recovery continues.

It is so important that people understand how dangerous and devastating this virus can be, even on young, healthy, active people and even moreso for our kupuna with existing health issues, she said. This is not just the flu.

In the interview, Coby talks about the 104-degree fever he had for five days, that would not break, that resulted in his hospitalization.

His husband Scotty Staples discusses the hardship he and the rest of the family endured, of not being able to visit Coby in the hospital. I think one of the biggest misconceptions around this virus is that its like the flu, that you get it and you make a full recovery, but thats not true.

We also have this tendency to focus on the mortality rate, rather than the amount of people that have ongoing problems, long-lasting problems, Scotty said.

Upon emerging from a nearly two-month coma, Coby said, I remember waking up, I couldnt even hold my phone when I wanted to FaceTime my family.

Pine urges everyone to wear a mask, to physically distance, to wash their hands and to avoid gatherings that can result in exposure to COVID-19.

The video can be seen here: https://youtu.be/WHoDwWeCdwo

Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One, comprising portions of Ewa Villages and Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Makakilo, Kalaeloa, Honokai Hale, Ko Olina, Nnkuli, Mili, Waianae, Mkaha, Keaau and Makua) and is chair of the City Councils Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism.

Media Contact:
Erika Engle
Communications Director
erika [dot] engle honolulu [dot] gov

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Pine: Community gardens can feed more people than ever For our environment, temporary park closures will allow for healing

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Pine urges direct federal oversight of rail’s P3 contract awards Protection of taxpayer dollars is paramount

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Pine supports businesses with a new virtual town hall

Pine supports businesses with a new virtual town hall

Another Closure Imminent: How to protect your business from being shut down

Oahu bars were shut down again, for three weeks effective Friday, by order of the mayor, with approval from the governor.

What industry will be next?

Host, Honolulu City Council member and Chair of the Council Committee on Business, Economic Development and Tourism, will offer some guidance for business owners concerned about a second shut-down by government in response to rising cases of COVID-19.

The event will include expert panelists from various Hawaii industries including food and beverage; hula and other dance studios; tourism and more, with special insights into examples of success from New Zealand.

When: 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020

Topics of discussion:

What business has been like since we last spoke:

Whether you have taken additional steps to make doing business even safer for customers and employees.

Any progress you have made in getting the voice of your industry further unified.

What can we do to avoid closing?

How can we increase safety so that we can stay open?

After numerous industry-focused virtual town hall meetings addressing business during the pandemic, Councilmember Pine has seen that the most vocal industries, that come together with cohesive plans, have experienced the greatest success in reopening and rekindling their ability to generate revenue.

To register for the ZOOM event:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E8SZyTTkRWSsT2wiZKjQsA

Via Facebook Live (no registration required): https://www.facebook.com/Kymberly.Marcos.Pine/

Questions will be accepted via the chat functions on each platform.

Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One, comprising portions of Ewa Villages and Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Makakilo, Kalaeloa, Honokai Hale, Ko Olina, Nnkuli, Mili, Waianae, Mkaha, Keaau and Makua) and is chair of the City Councils Committee on Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Media Contact:

Erika Engle

Communications Director

erika [dot] engle honolulu [dot] gov

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Pine opposes bar closure order

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 30, 2020

Pine opposes bar closure order

HONOLULU, HAWAII In light of the order closing bars again for three weeks effective tomorrow, Honolulu City Councilmember Kym Pine, chair of the Councils committee on Business, Economic Development and Tourism, issued the following statement:

The reasons for closure should be based on a business ability to prove that they can operate safely for their guests and employees. Everyone should have the opportunity to show their ability to sanitize and keep people safe. That should be the basis of any closure judgement, not what type of business you have.

Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One, comprising portions of Ewa Villages and Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Makakilo, Kalaeloa, Honokai Hale, Ko Olina, Nnkuli, Mili, Waianae, Mkaha, Keaau and Makua) and is chair of the City Councils Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism.

Media Contact:

Erika Engle

Communications Director

erika [dot] engle honolulu [dot] gov

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Pine: City should lead in helping small business get federal contracts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2020

Pine: City should lead in helping small business get federal contracts Hawai‘i is behind other states

HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I — “Local businesses are losing out on lucrative contracts that could keep much-needed money in our economy,” said Honolulu City Councilmember Kym Pine, after a virtual town hall today. “By the end of this year we can ensure that more military-, federal- and commercial-contracts are awarded to Hawai‘i-based minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned and otherwise certified businesses. These contracts will help our small businesses stabilize, keep their workers employed and contribute to the economic diversification I have been working toward for years.”

Presenters included John Greene, Defense Industry Specialist from the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Dr. Dana Hauanio director of the Minority Business Development Agency’s Honolulu Business Center; Ron Jarrett, founder of Nā ‘Ōiwi Kāne, the first Native Hawaiian-Owned organization certified to do business under the SBA 8A program, as well as Jose Villa, co-founder of Villa Business Consulting, LLC.

Villa pointed out that the custodial contract for Hawai‘i’s Whole Foods Market stores is handled by an Arizona-based company. Villa says that while consulting with Disney’s Aulani Resort, he learned that there were some 350 certified Minority Business Enterprises in Puerto Rico, which is not even a U.S. state, but that Hawai‘i had only 22.

For military and government contracting certification, “there should be no expense whatsoever,” for local small businesses, said Greene, of DBEDT.

Certifications can “level the playing field” for local small businesses, said Hauanio, of the Minority Business Development Agency.

Being certified granted Nā ‘Ōiwi Kāne access to larger contracts, more staff and a better revenue source to enhance its ability to give back to the Native Hawaiian community, Jarrett said.

“We need to attract more of these dollars for our local small businesses, which in turn will keep more of those dollars in our people’s hands, to build up our economy again,” Pine said.

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/Kymberly.Marcos.Pine/videos/215477429726412/

Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One (ʻEwa, ʻEwa Beach, Kapolei, Honokai Hale, Ko ʻOlina, Nānākuli, Mā‘ili, Wai‘anae, Mākaha, Kea‘au, Mākua) and is chair of the City Council’s Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism.

Media Contact:
Erika Engle
Communications Director
erika [dot] engle honolulu [dot] gov

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Media advisory: Big Opportunities for Small Businesses

July 21, 2020

Big Opportunities for Small Businesses
Pine leads virtual town hall on military and federal contracting

WHAT: About $1 billion in military and federal contracts are available in Hawai‘i each year and a percentage is always set aside for local small businesses. Councilmember Kym Pine’s guests will talk about how local companies can strengthen their business base and recover from the pandemic by accessing this new-to-them revenue source.

WHY: To support small businesses and actively diversify the economy as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHEN: 1 p.m. Thursday, July 23

WHERE: Online, wherever you are.

HOW:

To attend the Zoom event, register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JplCWIEyTlO91HR4yJGTPA

Via Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/Kymberly.Marcos.Pine/

Federal spending in Hawai‘i totals more than $20 billion annually and more than 600 local businesses benefited from $1.3 billion of those dollars.

In 2019, of that revenue, $780 million were used for construction and engineering, providing
11,000 jobs. Some $208 million were spent on ship repair, providing 2,100 jobs. Support services provided 2,500 jobs that were supported by $117 million.

Councilmember Pine’s guests are experts in the field of military and federal contracting at the local level.

John Greene, retired after a 27-year military career, is the state’s Defense Industry Specialist for the Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism. He previously was the Director of the Hawaii Procurement Technical Assistance Center, or P-TAC, from 2013 to 2019. Its primary goal was to help all small businesses with federal contracting, which included getting them certified as 8-A; Women-Owned, HUB-Zone, and Service-Disabled-Veteran-Owned.

Ron Jarrett is the founder of the first Native Hawaiian-Owned organization certified to do business under the SBA 8a program, Nā ‘Ōiwi Kāne. Businesses he leads, generate revenue to support the nonprofit, which serves underprivileged Native Hawaiian youth across the islands. As a business owner who has attained certification, he will share his experiences in obtaining the certification and gaining contracts, as well as the positive impacts these activities have had on his businesses and the nonprofit.

Dr. Dana Hauanio is Director of the MBDA Business Center Honolulu (MBCH), located at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. She manages a team of consultants that provide technical assistance to local, minority-owned businesses and during her tenure, MBCH has assisted more than 1,000 minority-owned businesses, in providing almost $2 billion of economic activity. Her team has received the U.S. Department of Commerce’s MBDA Century Award for outstanding performance for the last eight years. Further, UH was recently award the MBDA CARES Act Project, which she will discuss.

Host: Councilmember Kym Pine

*Questions from the audience will be accepted via the chat function.

Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One (ʻEwa, ʻEwa Beach, Kapolei, Honokai Hale, Ko ʻOlina, Nānākuli, Mā‘ili, Wai‘anae, Mākaha, Kea‘au, Mākua) and is chair of the City Council’s Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism.

Media Contact:
Erika Engle
erika [dot] engle honolulu [dot] gov

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Final City Report 2020

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Pine’s new revenue source to help offset visitor impacts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 8, 2020

Pine’s new revenue source to help offset visitor impacts

HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I — A new “Keep Hawai‘i Hawai‘i Pass Program” has been approved by the Honolulu City Council. Proposed by Councilmember Kym Pine as part of a sweeping Keep Hawai‘i Hawai‘i” package of legislation, Bill 3 will become a new revenue source to help offset visitor impacts while also helping to fund basic services for kama‘aina, as well as for visitors who wind up in need of emergency City services during their stays.

“As the visitor count plummeted with COVID-19, residents were able to see first-hand, how much healthier our land, our beaches and our ocean have become,” Pine said. This new, innovative program offers kama‘aina and visitors the option of buying a pass that will give them discounts on popular attractions, while also supplementing the operating budgets for the City’s first responders, all without raising taxes. These new funds will help us take care of parks and beach parks and keep them beautiful for all to enjoy.”

This bill is part of Councilmember Pine’s successful “Keep Hawai‘i Hawai‘i” package of legislation that seeks to promote visitor awareness and on-island behaviors that are as environmentally responsible and culturally sensitive as possible, as in Ordinance 20-2, enacted in February.

Another item in this package, enacted March 5, will have the City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency to track and report annually on Oahu visitor industry sustainability efforts as a way to encourage that industry to adopt sustainable eco-tourism policies whenever possible, with the aim of reducing solid waste production, reducing water and fossil fuel use and promoting options for renewable energy and multi-modal transportation.

Bill 3: https://is.gd/SYDSYV

FD1 amendment: https://is.gd/n0BO2A

Ordinance 20-2, “Keep Hawai‘i Hawai‘i — Promise to Our Keiki Pledge”

http://www4.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-256771/ORD20-002.pdf

Ordinance 20-3, Relating to the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency

http://www4.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-257485/ORD20-003.pdf

Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One (ʻEwa, ʻEwa Beach, Kapolei, Honokai Hale, Ko ʻOlina, Nānākuli, Mā‘ili, Wai‘anae, Mākaha, Kea‘au, Mākua) and is chair of the City Council’s Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism.

Media Contact:

Erika Engle

Communications Director

erika [dot] engle <at> Honolulu [dot] gov

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