Coronavirus testing under fire

House Speaker Scott Saiki appoints members of coronavirus committee
Saiki has appointed 26 members of the Select House Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness. Saiki and Bank of Hawaii President Peter Ho will co-chair the panel, which will be tasked with developing mitigation plans to try to deal with the economic fallout from the coronavirus scare. Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. West Hawaii Today. Hawaii News Now.

Grand Princess docks in Oakland with 4 isle residents to be quarantined
Four Hawaiʻi residents were among the 3,500 people aboard the Grand Princess that docked Monday at the Port of Oakland, but state health officials did not have details on them or where they will be quarantined. Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Anxiety within cruise ship industry puts spotlight on Hawaiʻi’s ports. Hawaii News Now.

State tourism hit hard as virus reaches Hawaiʻi
The visitor industry is starting to see symptoms ranging from travel cancellations and anemic bookings to declining air seats to plummeting hotel occupancies — some as low as 10%. Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

State study finds minimum wage hikes have had little long-lasting effect on business
The study, which looked at the impacts of the 2014 minimum wage increase, shows few effects on the labor market. Most companies already pay above minimum wage and those that have had to raise pay came through it relatively unscathed. Civil Beat.

Lawmakers want to subsidize rate increases by interisland shipper Young Brothers
Hawaiʻi lawmakers are pushing through a bill to provide cash subsidies to the state’s only interisland cargo shipper in an attempt to soften the impact of the shipper’s proposal to increase its rates. But the state Department of Transportation opposes House Bill 2475, saying it unfairly benefits just one company. Civil Beat.

In trial for control of her fortune, heiress Abigail Kawananakoa takes the stand
Hawaiian royalty descendant Abigail Kawananakoa took the witness stand for the first time in the two-a-half year legal battle over her fortune. During the hearing, she took aim at her former attorney James Wright, who she accused of misappropriating her trust after she suffered a stroke-like attack. Hawaii News Now. Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

St. Patrick’s Day block party cancelled over virus concerns
Murphy’s Bar & Grill announced today it is canceling its 32nd annual St. Patrick’s Day block party over concerns of spreading the novel coronavirus. Honolulu Star-Advertiser.