...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 kt.
* WHERE...All surrounding coastal waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 PM HST Thursday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
Kristen joined KITV4 in March 2021 after working for the past two decades as a newspaper reporter. Kristen's goal is to produce meaningful journalism that educates, enlightens and inspires to affect positive change in society.
Today the Honolulu City Council made headway on a bill that would require some businesses to step in.
Businesses such as Murphy's Bar & Grill are one step closer to being required to carry drugs to prevent opioid overdoses and save more lives on Oahu.
"And really to save lives is priceless," said Dr. Jim Ireland, head of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
A bill advanced Wednesday in the Honolulu City Council, which would require high-risk businesses such as bars and nightclubs to soon carry the drug Naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses as the city grapples with how to get a handle on the fentanyl crisis.
"I had a nephew that overdosed on a drug overdose and died," he said. "This is a very serious deal, this fentanyl. Obviously, very serious."
Still, the longtime restaurant and bar owner said another government mandate will be a burden on businesses.
"It's hard enough right now on us in the restaurant industry, without adding more additional costs and the liability," Murphy said.
Customer Jim Walters agrees.
"It sounds like the government is trying to put the illness back up on the business owner," he said. "Even though it's a real vital thing, I don't think the government should be passing down liability and responsibility to business owners."
At least one or more people are overdosing every day on opioids -- in homes, parks and businesses, according to the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
"It's only a matter of time after you stop breathing -- probably minutes -- that your heart stops," Ireland told the Honolulu City Council. "Within a few minutes after that, brain damage sets in and then it becomes irreversible."
Some club owners say businesses must step in to prevent more deaths because it's not a matter of if, but when.
"We're seeing on the mainland that the fentanyl crisis is booming, and it's slowly but surely making its way to Hawaii," said Robbie Baldwin, owner of Scarlet Honolulu. "It's good public health and it's good for business and you know we need to do what we can do to save lives."
Kristen joined KITV4 in March 2021 after working for the past two decades as a newspaper reporter. Kristen's goal is to produce meaningful journalism that educates, enlightens and inspires to affect positive change in society.
