APEC 2011 Hawaii — LIVE BLOG ARCHIVE — Nov. 9
Editor’s note: Civil Beat is live blogging APEC 24/7. This is an archive of the blog’s first day, Monday Nov. 7. Click here to read the live blog.
If police arrest logs are any indication, prostitution has all but disappeared in Honolulu.
HPD hasn’t made a single prostitution arrest for a week.
Read the full story.
Posted by on at 6:40PM HST (39 minutes ago)
A fake APEC 2011 website that has been satirizing the international summit went out of service Wednesday afternoon.
As of this posting, a message at alerted visitors that the site is “currently unavailable,” and advised the account holder — a John Sweeney out of Marina Del Rey, Calif., according to the WHOIS registry — to contact the hosting company’s customer service department.
The Twitter account associated with the website, @2011APECHawaii, appears to still be functioning. Its last Tweet was posted at around 2 p.m.
—Katherine Poythress
Posted by on at 6:08PM HST (1 hour ago)
Just last week, the Honolulu City Council passed a urging the federal government to ease visa restrictions for Chinese visitors to Hawaii.
Now, two Council members are going to do so vocally, with representatives of the federal government in town to hear it.
Tulsi Gabbard and Stanley Chang have called an 11:45 a.m. press conference for Thursday at Honolulu Hale to reiterate the request.
They said easing visa restrictions for Chinese tourists would be a boon to Hawaii as well as other states, where visitors will infuse billions of dollars into the economy.
— Michael Levine
Posted by on at 5:54PM HST (1 hour ago)
The 23-year-old local man allegedly shot to death in Waikiki on Saturday by a federal agent was drunk when he died.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office told Civil Beat minutes ago that Kollin Elderts, of Kailua, had a blood alcohol content of 0.127. The legal limit for driving in Hawaii is 0.08.
The results confirm at least some of the details shared by Elderts’ family’s attorney, Michael Green, who said Elderts had been out drinking with friends before going to McDonald’s on Kuhio Avenue.
That’s where there was reportedly an altercation with 27-year-old State Department special agent Christopher Deedy. Elderts died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.
The office says other blood tests are pending.
— Michael Levine
Posted by on at 5:06PM HST (2 hours ago)
The beachboys in Waikiki say they’ve given a few surf lessons to federal agents in town for APEC, but otherwise it’s been pretty much business as usual this week. This time of year is always slow, so they don’t blame APEC.
“It could be worse,” said Virgil Sisiam, canoe captain and surfing instructor for Hawaiian Oceans Waikiki. “The traffic is bad in other parts of town, but as long as the buses and trollies are coming by here and people are walking this way, I don’t think we’re (at) a total loss.”
He said to come back and see him Friday or Saturday, after “the big people” arrive.
“Uncle” Gil Hisatake, a 40-year beachboy, said he doesn’t have a problem with the international summit. But the scuttlebutt among beachboys is that its organizers could have planned better, he said.
“Why didn’t they use their brains and put the conference on Molokai?” he said. “If they want security and a tight grip on everything, you can’t do better than a small, quiet island like that. And it would be a shot in the arm for the economy for them, too.”
— Katherine Poythress
Posted by on at 4:47PM HST (2 hours ago)
Roughly 40 members of Falun Gong gathered at Ala Moana Beach park, demonstrating peacefully under a tree directly across the street from the bus depot at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
They chanted “Falun Dafa is good!” at pedestrians and vehicles passing by. The protesters eventually left the park, crossing the street into the mall.
More than 200 are expected to gather tomorrow and to demonstrate in Waikiki.
— John Hook
Posted by on at 4:31PM HST (2 hours ago)
Dozens of anti-Chinese government protesters huddle under a tree at Ala Moana Beach Park, chanting “Falun Dafa is good!” More to come.
Posted by on at 3:35PM HST (3 hours ago)
A handful of OccupyAPEC protesters — about five — shared political art at Princess Kaiulani Park in Waikiki Wednesday afternoon.
There were more members of the press than protesters in the lethargic lunchtime crowd, and almost as many policemen as protesters.
Co-organizer Billy Godwin (pictured below) says the Occupy Movement — Wall Street, Honolulu, Hawaii, APEC — is all about one thing: Solidarity with poor people across the planet.
“The APEC conference is for the 1 percent, this is all for the rich people,” Godwin said.
Wednesday’s peaceful gathering is a warmup to rallies later this week, he said.
— Katherine Poythress
Posted by on at 2:22PM HST (4 hours ago)
The city’s Department of Transportation Services is giving morning commuters a heads up: Some roads will be closed Thursday morning as APEC dignitaries arrive and travel to Waikiki.
The temporary closures could include the H-1 Freeway or Nimitz Highway, the city said in a .
Recommendations include “Avoid being on the road during that time,” though no time range is specified other than “Thursday morning.”
The solution: Leave as early as possible.
— Michael Levine
Posted by on at 2:03PM HST (5 hours ago)
Tom Donohue, the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said a key focus of the APEC summit will be how to better prepare and respond to natural disasters like the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Donahue, who made his remarks at a Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii luncheon at the Plaza Club, said such disasters had caused more than $500 billion in economic damage in less than a decade.
Locally, Donahue said he and the local chamber will hold a job fair at Pearl Harbor on Monday to hire military veterans.
“It’s the right thing to do, but companies also want those vets because they have a lot of skills that count,” he said.
— Chad Blair
Posted by on at 1:57PM HST (5 hours ago)
This one is for the fun-files.
APEC delegates probably won’t see any huge surf this week, but at least they can gawk at this video of Hawaii surfer Garrett McNamara cutting a 90-foot-wave in Portugal.
McNamara, a self-identified “extreme waterman,” set a new world record with the ride. He moved to Oahu’s North Shore as a child and grew up prowling Sunset and Waimea.
Have a look:
Read more at .
Posted by on at 12:07PM HST (7 hours ago)
Your commander in chief has a busy couple of days planned for his time in Honolulu. President Barack Obamawill arrive in Hawaii on Friday night.
Saturday morning, Obama will host a meeting of the nine-country , which a White House spokesman called “the most promising vehicle for achieving economic integration across the Asia-Pacific region and advancing U.S. interests.”
Later that day, he’ll attend the APEC CEO Summit. White House officials said that Obama will focus on discussions with Boeing.
On Saturday afternoon, Obama heads to a bilateral meeting with Japan. He then has a bilateral meeting with Russia President Dmitry Medvedev, followed by a bilateral meeting with China leader Hu Jintao.
That night, the president will make remarks at a dinner and “cultural program.”
On Sunday, Obama will give an introduction to an APEC job creation forum. After that, he’ll speak before the APEC Business Advisory Council.
The president will attend a “leaders’ working lunch” and participate in the traditional “family photo” of APEC dignitaries.
The White House said the president will give a press conference to “wrap up the summit” after that luncheon. Obama will hold a fundraiser in Honolulu on Monday before heading to Australia.
Posted by on at 10:45AM HST (8 hours ago)
Here’s a video of Native Hawaiian activist Laulani Teale on APEC. Teale supports the Occupy movement. Video by Sanjeev Rabanhat.
Posted by on at 10:44AM HST (8 hours ago)
Vehicles coming into town from East Honolulu this morning were backed up all the way to Aina Haina at one point, with APEC road closures making Honolulu traffic a repeat of yesterday.
Traffic coming in from the West Side was heavy, too, as people appeared to be heeding advice to avoid roads in and around Waikiki such as Ala Moana and Kapiolani boulevards.
“The East Side got it hard again, but the West Side gets hit hard every day, so anyone on the East Side should know that they only have to deal with this for one week,” said Dan Meisenzahl, the state DOT’s communications chief. “But everyone is patient. We all knew this was coming.”
The latest in road closures can be viewed on our topic page as well as the city’s special .
— Chad Blair
Posted by on at 9:32AM HST (9 hours ago)
Now here are the local snacks we’ve been waiting to see!
This photo, tweeted by the Hawaii Host Committee, shows off the complimentary local snacks they’re offered to APEC attendees at the “Hawaii Pavilion” at the Convention Center. Honolulu Cookie Co. is well represented, as is Diamond Bakery.
It’s great to see such a strong showing given the Host Committee’s rough start on the food front at the airport. They were caught serving delegates POG and Oreo’s yesterday.
Tough to say what’s more important — first impressions upon arrival or a swank booth at the Convention Center?
— Sara Lin
Posted by on at 4:05AM HST (15 hours ago)
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday released details about what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be up to in Honolulu this week.
Clinton travels to Hawaii on Wednesday, then continues on to the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
On Thursday, Clinton will offer remarks about “the America’s Pacific century” at the East-West Center. She is also scheduled to meet with “a number of foreign ministers” from the Asia-Pacific region, and will co-host the APEC Ministers Dinner with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
Kirk and Clinton will on Friday co-host a joint session with foreign trade ministers. Topics on the agenda: Disaster resiliency; open governance and economic growth.
Later that afternoon, Clinton is set to deliver remarks at the APEC CEO Summit. Expect to hear from her about how broader inclusion of women in the global economy can benefit the world.
On Saturday, Clinton is scheduled to host a meeting of Pacific Island leaders. She’ll join President Barack Obama for his bilateral meetings and for the North American Leaders Summit, the State Department said.
— Adrienne LaFrance
Posted by on at 3:59AM HST (15 hours ago)
