The General Election is on Tuesday, November 8 and everyone, especially students, are encouraged to cast their ballot and get their voice heard!

“We have seen a time of great polarization in our country, with some groups attempting to suppress the voices of others. This is a critical opportunity for citizens, particularly younger voters, to stand up for what they believe in, participate in the democratic process and exercise their fundamental right,” UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Director Colin Moore said.

“It is both cliched and true: voting really matters, and not merely about high profile national issues and candidates,” said Avi Soifer, professor and former dean. “Whether it be climate change, racism, women’s rights, economic burdens, or freedom of expression, current controversies are very often resolved at the local and state level. And civil rights activists as well as people in the military did die to preserve your right to vote.”

UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Law Professor Andrea Freeman added, “Over the last year we have seen political moves that dramatically affect us all, from banning books, criminalizing critical education and gender affirmation, and allowing more guns in the streets to taking away our freedom to make decisions about our bodies. It is essential to vote to make our voices heard and enable reform. There is power in voting!”

Voting reminders

Registered voters should have received a ballot in the mail. You may return your ballot by mail or at a designated drop box within your county. Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

Voter service centers are also available up until Election Day. Services include accessible in person voting and same day registration.

Visit the for a list of ballot drop boxes and voter service centers.

If you have not received your ballot, you are urged to call your county elections division for assistance.

Related story: UH Hilo students produce PSA on importance of voting

• Â鶹´«Ã½ County: (808) 961-8277
• Maui County: (808) 270-7749
• Kauaʻi County: (808) 241-4800
• City and County of Honolulu: (808) 768-3800

. For more information on the General Election, visit the .

Since World War II, American cities have been built for cars, with garages and pavement dominating the landscape. Economist Donald Shoup has spent his career arguing that it doesn’t have to be this way.

In a live online event hosted by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ , Shoup will explain how simple fixes to parking policies, such as charging fair market prices for on-street parking and removing off-street parking requirements, can reduce housing costs, bolster public transportation, decrease carbon output, advance social justice, and generally make cities more enjoyable places to live and work.

Shoup, who grew up in Â鶹´«Ã½, is a distinguished research professor in the department of urban planning at UCLA. He is also a world-renowned authority on transportation, public finance and land economics and authored The High Cost of Free Parking and the follow-up collaboration, Parking and the City.

“Shoup is the leading expert on how parking policy affects the functioning of a city,” said UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ College of Social Sciences Dean Denise Konan. “His insights are relevant as we shape ±á²¹·É²¹¾±ʻ¾±â€™s transportation policies, and we will benefit from this conversation with a distinguished scholar who is recognized as a pioneer in his field.”

From national issues to the Â鶹´«Ã½ experience, Shoup will be interviewed by Makena Coffman, director of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (ISR) and professor of urban and regional planning. Kathleen Rooney, director of transportation policy and programs at Ulupono Initiative, will also provide insights based on the organization’s 2020 report on The Costs of Parking in Â鶹´«Ã½â€”the state’s first comprehensive cost inventory that shows the often hidden impact to cost of living, specifically for housing and goods. The event will also feature Katia Balassiano from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.

The livestream conversation, “The High Cost of Free Parking,” will be held on Wednesday, August 18, at noon.

The event is open to the public. ()

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series is a joint venture of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Community Foundation, Kamehameha Schools and UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. Lead sponsors of the event include the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission; Ulupono Initiative; and the . Co-sponsors include the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ , , ISR, and the .

For more information, visit the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ website or email btss@hawaii.edu.

This event is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

A majority of Â鶹´«Ã½ residents prefer limiting the number of visitors to the islands and support charging entry fees for visitors at parks or other “hot spots” during peak times. These are some of the results from a new survey about the visitor industry conducted by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s .

• Read the entire report.

Other findings include residents supporting the state regulating tourism more than other businesses, using rental car surcharges to pay for addressing tourism impacts and creating a “permanent tourism advisory council system” to include resident and industry stakeholders.

“This is an important topic for our state right now as the tourism industry re-emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Colin Moore, director of the Public Policy Center. “I hope these results will lead to thoughtful conversations about how we can restructure tourism governance.”

A total of 700 Â鶹´«Ã½ residents completed the survey, which was administered online from April 16 to May 3, 2021. The Public Policy Center is housed in the .

Size of Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s tourism market

Fifty-two percent of the respondents prefer limiting the number of visitors, with even stronger support among neighbor island and Native Hawaiian residents. Residents also prefer to see tourists charged and/or required to make advance reservations at parks or other “hot spots,” with 78% strongly favoring or somewhat favoring charging visitors an entry fee to use them during peak times.

Government actions

A strong consensus of residents feel the state should play a role in managing the tourism industry. Residents by a 2-to-1 margin said the state should control or regulate tourism more than other businesses. Support for regulating vacation rentals outside resort areas was almost 75%. A majority (52%) opposed allowing casino gambling in the state.

Tourism and COVID-19

Fifty-one percent of respondents rated the state’s performance to limit COVID-19 threats from travel as “fairly bad” and another 6% just “bad.” A plurality of 45% want both vaccination and testing requirements for travelers to and from Â鶹´«Ã½ and 67% want the quarantine requirements the same for all counties.

Given a choice on whether the state should focus on tourism recovery or economic diversification this year, residents want the state to focus on both equally (49%), but those choosing just one went strongly with diversification (37%) over tourism recovery (10%).

Values and principles

Respondents were most supportive of a visitor industry that improves rather than depletes natural and cultural resources (46% selection as “most important” in list); markets to respectful visitors (43%); and assures jobs that provide a living wage (43%). Also on the list were generating the most possible tax dollars (22%); growing tourist dollars rather than tourist numbers (21%); and avoiding actions that negatively affect Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s image (19%).

Destination management

Many residents support using rental car surcharges to pay to address tourism impacts and favor green fees, which are visitor taxes specifically for natural resource protection. Results also showed that residents have diverse opinions about the Â鶹´«Ã½ Tourism Authority (HTA). A plurality of 35% would both keep the HTA and also increase its authority in destination management. A “permanent tourism advisory council system” including both resident and industry stakeholders won more than 2-to-1 approval among those with clear opinions (34% yes, 15% no), but a plurality of 45% said, “depends how it’s done.”

This work is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Â鶹´«Ã½ residents have long struggled with housing availability and affordability. Median home prices in the islands have climbed beyond middle-class reach with many local households paying an unsustainable portion of their income to housing.

In an effort to present solutions, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ will feature a live online forum with Stanford Graduate School of Business economist Rebecca Diamond, (UHERO) Executive Director Carl Bonham, UH (PPC) Director Colin Moore and Â鶹´«Ã½ State Rep. Nadine Nakamura.

The livestream conversation, How to renovate housing policy in a way that really works, will be held on Tuesday, May 11 at 8 a.m. The forum will tackle effective strategies, economic research of similar markets, and critical steps to consider during the post-COVID economy.

Diamond, an associate professor of economics at Stanford has published extensive research on rent control, affordable housing development, income redistribution and the effects of foreclosure.

“Rebecca Diamond is an original and creative thinker, one of the most brilliant economists working on housing,” said Philip Garboden, Hawaii Community Reinvestment Corporation Professor in affordable housing at UH’s (DURP). “Her insights on new research can help craft effective remedies that will work here.”

“Housing affordability and availability is one of the most serious challenges we face in Â鶹´«Ã½,” noted Denise Konan, dean of the and professor of . “It’s critical that we advance solutions best supported by evidence, so we’re pleased to be hosting this event to help sort through the best ideas for Â鶹´«Ã½.”

The livestream event is open to the public. (.)

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series is a joint venture of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹, Â鶹´«Ã½ Community Foundation and Kamehameha Schools. Event sponsors include the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ College of Social Sciences, Scholars Strategy Network, UHERO, UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Department of Economics, UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ DURP and UH PPC.

This series is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goal of Excellence in Research: Advancing the Research and Creative Work Enterprise (PDF), one of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Â鶹´«Ã½ (PDF), updated in December 2020.

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ is the target of a “fake news” article making rounds on social media, and UH experts say there are many lessons to learn.

The article, which was first posted in 2015 and recently went viral, claims that UH astrophysicists discovered Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a meteorite found in the Nevada desert in 2010. THC is a chemical found in marijuana. The article includes false quotes by a made up astrophysicist who never worked at UH.

After the story was shared thousands of times on social media, USA Today reached out to UH to confirm if the astrophysicist actually worked at the university, and .

Growing problem of ‘fake news’

Associate Professor Colin Moore, UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ director and chair in the , said the proliferation of “fake news” carries two major problems.

“The first and most dangerous is that it reduces trust in all information sources, which can lead people to consume less news overall,” Moore said. “This leads to the second problem. As people are less willing to consume news from a wide variety of sources, they may only pay attention to sources that confirm their preexisting beliefs, which contributes to further political polarization.”

School of Communications Assistant Professor Julien Gorbach published an article in American Journalism in 2018 called “.” In it, he recalls how the term “fake news” gained traction during the 2016 presidential election. Gorbach, however, said that “fake news” has been around for several decades, with different motivations behind creating these stories.

“There’s fake stories or false stories that are done for fun or satirical reasons. There’s often a strong motivation for profit—if you can introduce the right kind of ‘fake news’ story, it goes viral. Even before the internet, it can still go viral—you just have everybody rushing to the newsstands,” Gorbach said. “There’s stuff that’s done for profit that’s deliberately deceptive and then there are other agendas including political agendas or ideological agendas.”

Responsibility of filtering out false stories

Moore said that while technology companies such as Facebook bear much of the responsibility when it comes to filtering out “fake news,” readers also have a responsibility of deciphering credible information.

What the internet did was put the responsibility of doing that gatekeeping on every individual consumer.
—Julien Gorbach, UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ assistant professor

“There are ways to automate this process and flag stories that are known to be false. Crowdsourcing the detection of fake stories can also help. Ultimately, more and more companies and educational institutions will need to devote resources to finding and removing these stories,” Moore said. “People should not be shy about calling out fake news on their social media feeds. We also need to find more ways to support real journalism. One of the best ways to defeat fake news is to build bigger audiences for high-quality news outlets.”

Gorbach added, “With stories like this, what a lot of them do highlight is the idea that with the internet, the gatekeepers went away. Before the internet, most people got their information through newspapers, books or through the broadcast networks so there were all of these gatekeepers of editors, book publishers and broadcast producers who would filter out what they thought was legitimate information. What the internet did was put the responsibility of doing that gatekeeping on every individual consumer.”

News literacy at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹

Gorbach teaches JOUR 150: Journalism and Society at UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹, which focuses on news literacy.

“It’s very challenging because as the technology advances and as our politics has become increasingly divisive and toxic, the tactics for disinformation are advancing faster than our ability to teach how to dismantle them,” Gorbach said.

Gorbach said the faculty emphasize two methods for checking facts. The first is a checklist of criteria that news consumers can use to evaluate sources within a given story. These criteria are abbreviated by the acronym “IM VAIN.“ The questions include: are the sources in the story independent? multiple? verified? authoritative? informed? and named? The second is “reading laterally,” which is described by Moore.

“The easiest way to avoid this is by cross-checking your sources,” Moore said. “If there are no other credible news sites reporting a similar story, then you should be skeptical. Readers can also investigate the news outlet and author. It’s important to know who’s funding the news website and what other articles the author has written. Even the layout of the news website can provide clues. If it’s full of sensationalist headlines, grammatical errors, and generic images, then I would be very cautious.”

This work is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

More than half of Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s restaurants will be forced to permanently close by April 2021, if tourism does not significantly increase, according to a survey by the , which is housed in the at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹. In addition, 87% of those restaurateurs believe that if their restaurant fails, they will not be able to secure financing to start over.

The report explained, “If these assessments come to pass, not only will a vibrant portion of our state’s culture be silenced, but those members of our community with the skill and experience to resurrect the restaurant industry in a post-COVID environment will be locked out of doing so due to lack of ability to gain capital to restart.”

Results also indicated a strong perception statewide that government contact tracing has been ineffective, with less than 4% of restaurants seeing tangible results of the contact tracing efforts they have been directed to undertake. Also, a majority of restaurateurs have expressed “little” to “no” confidence in government decision making in regards to COVID-19. Restaurant owners and managers, however, are not opposed to taking additional safety procedures if these would lead to a loosening of restrictions. The survey received 184 responses with slightly more than 50% of respondents operating restaurants solely on Oʻahu.

This is the Public Policy Center’s third report on Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s restaurant industry during COVID-19, which is aimed to stimulate discussions and inspire a renewed partnership between the restaurant industry and government officials.

.

While 54% of respondents in Â鶹´«Ã½ expect the COVID-19 pandemic to become worse in the next several months, only 44% plan to get a vaccine when it becomes available. That’s according to a new University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ report, based on a post-election November 2020 survey, which featured 616 respondents statewide.

The report revealed that 37% are still unsure if they will get the vaccine and the number of residents who said they will definitely get the vaccine has declined by 7% since the center’s August 2020 survey. Men were more likely to say that they would definitely get the vaccine (54%) compared to women (34%); 56% of households with incomes over $150,000 said they will get a vaccine, while 28% of Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s poorest households plan to receive one; and Republicans were more likely to report that they will not get the vaccine (26%) than Democrats (7%).

“It’s interesting that it’s actually declined since we asked the same question in August and I wasn’t expecting to see that,” said Colin Moore, Public Policy Center director and associate professor. “I suspect some of this has to do with a general sense of uncertainty in their confidence in the government right now.”

Moore added, “This survey went into the field right after the presidential election and that’s my guess is that the decline in the number of people willing to take the vaccine—and a relatively low number to begin with, 44%, lower than I would have expected—I think that really is a response to a lack of trust in the regulatory process right now that it will be safe. I really hope those numbers improve over the next few months.”

COVID-19 financial effects

A majority of respondents (60%) agree that the pandemic has impacted the poor more than other groups and 47% said they feel it has increased inequality in the state. Fifty-four percent reported that they have a high level of concern with personal finances, and want to learn more about how people are adapting to economic pressures related to COVID-19, 17% have considered returning to school for training and education.

“A pretty sizable percentage of people seem like they have thought about returning to school for training,” Moore said. “Seventeen percent is pretty big since this was a general population survey—not necessarily young people—so clearly this has caused a lot of people to think seriously about coming back to school.”

Mask-wearing compliance

Gov. David Ige issued a on November 16 requiring everyone to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth while in public. Some exceptions include when an individual is outdoors and at least six feet of physical distancing is maintained, and while eating or drinking.

While a high majority of respondents reported wearing a face mask all or most of the time while outside in a public space (81%) and when visiting a store or business (98%), numbers dropped when reporting wearing masks almost always when visiting friends (57%) and almost always wearing masks when visiting family (43%).

Views on tourism relaunch

After the state launched its COVID-19 pre-travel testing program on October 15, a majority (62%) of survey respondents indicated that they do not want tourists coming to visit right now. However, the percentage has dropped by 20 points since the Public Policy Center’s June and August 2020 surveys.

Moore noted that some of this appears to be driven by a lack of trust in the state and travel industry. Results showed that a majority of residents (54%) do not trust either the state or travel industry to re-open tourism in a way that gives Â鶹´«Ã½ residents the best practical level of safety from the coronavirus.

Target audience

The survey results are intended to assist policymakers by informing how well they are communicating with the public, addressing the issues residents are most concerned with and perceptions of their overall performance.

“That’s really our goal is to be a link between what average people are worried about and how they think the state is performing and to link that to policymakers to make their voices heard,” Moore said.

. The Public Policy Center is housed in Â鶹´«Ã½²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s .

Four University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa experts covering the areas of law, social science and political science, will discuss “The Legal Impacts of Election 2020” in a public Zoom forum on November 18, 4–5:15 p.m. Participants can . The password will be emailed to individuals after they register for the event.

This is the second panel discussion organized by the UH Mānoa involving the impact of the 2020 election. The first was held before the election to discuss implications of what was at stake and the legal issues possibly impacted. This panel will explore actions in the wake of the election, including President Trump’s position with respect to the outcome.

The four panelists include: UH law school Professors Linda Krieger and Mari Matsuda; Professor Kathleen Sands from the ; and Associate Professor Colin Moore, director of the .

The panel will be moderated by UH law school’s Assistant Professor Troy Andrade, director of the .

A statewide survey by the University of HawaiÊ»i in the College of Social Sciences yielded surprising results from Â鶹´«Ã½ residents regarding the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. covered how residents viewed the state’s COVID-19 response, frequency of mask use, social gatherings, adherence to health guidelines, health and life impacts of COVID-19, willingness to take the vaccine when one becomes available, financial concerns, tourism and more.

“I was particularly surprised that only 51% of residents planned to get a COVID-19 vaccination,” said Professor Colin Moore, director of the UH Public Policy Center. “This illustrates people’s anxieties about the vaccine process, that it could be rushed or affected by the election.”

Despite concerns over the safety of a future vaccine, 85% of respondents were concerned about long-term effects on health, a concern that was felt more by lower income residents compared with higher income residents.

Another concerning area was how respondents chose to wear face masks or other coverings. While 99% reported wearing some type of face covering while visiting a store or business, only 29% percent wore masks all or most of the time while visiting family members and 39% when visiting friends.

“People are really good about wearing masks in public places and certainly stores, but they seem to let their guard down when they’re with friends and family,” said Moore. “I think the state needs to communicate that these rules don’t just apply when you are visiting a store, they also apply when you’re visiting your family, and that’s a tough thing.”

The survey showed that residents are critical of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On a scale of 1–10 with one being “terrible” and 10 being “excellent,” almost half the respondents rated the state’s response to the pandemic a low 1–4 in four areas: responding to coronavirus, informing residents about issues facing the community, being open and transparent to the public and keeping us safe.

Also unsurprisingly, 82% of respondents did not want tourists arriving in their communities at this time.

The statewide survey was administered August 21–31 with a total of 634 respondents.

at the UH Public Policy Center website.

Â鶹´«Ã½ residents have long struggled with the elevated cost of housing and high rates of homelessness. The devastating economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is now pressing more households to the edge. To help explore connections between poverty and housing policy, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist Matthew Desmond, a Princeton University professor.

The livestream interview, Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s Coming Covid Eviction Crisis and How to Stop It on July 28 at 9 a.m. will highlight what can be done to prevent a surge of evictions.

“Â鶹´«Ã½ is about to enter a time of unprecedented hardship for poor and low-income families. The state Legislature has done more than anyone could have hoped to help preserve housing stability, allocating $85 million in rental assistance. But that money has to be spent by January 1. Desmond’s talk will present an opportunity for us to learn what else can be done to help families stay in their homes next month, next year, and for years to come,” said Philip Garboden, Â鶹´«Ã½ Community Reinvestment Corporation professor in affordable housing, and assistant professor in UHERO and the in the .

Garboden and UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ Public Policy Center Director Colin Moore will also be featured in the livestream. “Â鶹´«Ã½‘s most vulnerable residents are facing an unprecedented housing crisis. We’re fortunate to have Desmond, one of the world’s top scholars on housing insecurity and eviction, join us to discuss how we can assure that all people in Â鶹´«Ã½ have a safe and affordable place to live,” said Moore.

The livestream event is open to the public.

• Related UH News story: Super Bowl champ/activist shares quest against racism, June 18, 2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the has also hosted virtual forums that showcase the issues surrounding Black Lives Matter. On June 17, author, humanitarian and NFL Super Bowl champion Michael Bennett was a featured panelist in Reclaiming Humanity: Racism, Violence, Resistance, Love moderated by Associate Professor Robert Perkinson.

For more on future events register on the website.

—By Moanikeʻala Nabarro