Hawaii’s Instaweek: Marathon Madness, Tragedy Off Molokai Ripples Across State

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This week the big news was the tragic and sudden death of state Department of Health Director Loretta Fuddy, who died in a plane crash off the coast of Molokai.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie put it best when he said there’s no one in the state not affected by her death.

“When something like this happens, you realize how completely dependent you were, how you almost took for granted that everything was going to be just fine because Loretta was in charge after all,” Abercrombie said at a briefing for reporters on Thursday. “So you didn’t have to think about it. You know it was going to be done.”

It’s a tough story, but one that dominated state and even national news when anti-Obama factions — the so-called birthers who continue to argue that President Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. — suggested Fuddy’s death was part of some big conspiracy since she was the one who released Obama’s birth certificate and declared it valid.

The Honolulu Marathon was also a major event on Oahu last weekend. Civil Beat’s Nick Grube looked at the business implications of the marathon and its dependence on Japanese tourists.

The marathon also caught the attention of our new Asia-Pacific columnist, Bill Dorman, news director at Hawaii Public Radio. His inaugural “Asia Matters” column looked at Hawaii’s economic relationship with Japan and Japan’s interest in Hawaii.

The Civil Beat community was active on a number of other issues this past week, too. And if you haven’t yet done so, check out some of the Community Voices, written by readers, that were published this week. Several sparked dozens of comments and a lively discussion of important issues including the regulation of GMOs, the future for Native Hawaiians and a potential increase in the minimum wage.

Sunday, Dec. 8

This week got off to a racing start with the . Despite heightened security, more than 30,000 residents and visitors participated in the race.

And it wasn’t just Japanese who joined the Honolulu Marathon. New York City-bred DJ Neil Armstrong flew all the way to Honolulu to participate.

“Did I have fun? Not at all,” the Adidas-sponsored DJ said. “I can barely walk. But I accomplished the one major goal I had set out to do at the beginning of 2013. So it was worth the time sweat and pain. When I got injured I was told not to run more then a mile so for me this is something major.”

Monday, Dec. 9

It was a busy day for Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Monday. He launched his first real foray into social media with his Twitter town hall. Even H. Doug Matsuoka, a critic of the current city administration, had to admit it went well although he was taken aback by the amount of staff handling the thing.

Neighborhood Commission Office Executive Secretary Nicole Velasco, a digital native millennial type, worked off of her phone, while every other Cabinet member slouched at their desk. Eventually she was assigned a seat anyway.

Across the country, Abercrombie and GOP political legend Newt Gingrich regarding Obamacare and the Hawaii Health Connector on CNN’s “Crossfire” show. But they were chummy enough to snap a photo for Instagram.

Not quite the that unfortunately stole much of the attention away from Nelson Mandela’s memorial service.

Tuesday, Dec. 10

The Hawaii Health Connector was late starting up due to software glitches that former Executive Director Coral Andrews .

Then Andrews .

On Tuesday, officials announced that the Connector has only .

Lawmakers grilled Connector officials on the progress, and considered what the future holds for it. Reporter Anita Hofschneider wrote about lawmakers’ concerns about transparency and sustainability at the beleaguered nonprofit.

Thanks to an Internet post, we caught a rare glimpse inside the agency’s office, with acting Executive Director Tom Matsuda, most recently the former Affordable Care Act implementation manager for Abercrombie.

Wednesday, Dec. 11

On the same day Hawaii was , the woman charged with keeping the state healthy died. Loretta Fuddy was 65 and the exact cause of her death has not been determined.

The following Instagram photos were taken by a U.S. Coast Guard crewman involved in the rescue of the nine aboard the Makani Kai plane.

“Picture is not great, but you can see two smoke signals in water where an airplane crash was,” he writes.

Thursday, Dec. 12

The shock of Fuddy’s death reverberated throughout the rest of the week. Members of her family came forward to thank the public and emergency rescue officials who saved the other eight people involved in the crash.

Several employees at the state health department gathered at the press conference with Abercrombie and Fuddy’s family. Many of them were tearful, holding each other and taking time to look at her photo.

For most of her career, Fuddy was unknown to most people outside state government. But in April 2011, she made national news when as part of the controversy over where Obama was born, she released his Hawaii birth certificate.

As news of her death spread beyond Hawaii, some on that particular fringe took it upon themselves to revive the birther debate, as outlined in this .

But that didn’t stop the infamous — some would even say reviled — Westboro Baptist Church from linking her death to anti-gay messaging on Twitter. The non-affiliated Baptist church group is widely considered a .

Friday, Dec. 13

Did that last post leave a bad taste in your mouth? Then here’s some delightfully nerdy Christmas cheer, courtesy of Dr. Fuddy’s alma mater, Sacred Hearts Academy and their math club.

The annual Honolulu City Lights also debuted this past week. More information about the city-powered Christmas display can be found .

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