Nation
Water remains unsafe for thousands of people in Hawaii, months after Navy petroleum leak near Pearl Harbor
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The Hawaii Department of Health cleared one neighborhood in the Pearl Harbor area to begin drinking tap water again this week, but thousands of people in other zones in the area remain under health advisories months after water was discovered to be tainted with petroleum.
The water was contaminated from a World War II-era fuel tank farm above an aquifer, and a Nov. 20 jet fuel spill was determined to be the source of the petroleum in the water. The Navy’s water system serves about 93,000 people near Pearl Harbor.
The single neighborhood cleared this week includes 135 Army-managed homes and Red Hill Elementary School, according to Hawaii Gov. David Ige. But 18 other zones are still undergoing flushing and testing.
“We understand that many are wary, and we will continue to investigate complaints and hold the Navy accountable to provide safe drinking water,” Deputy Director of Environmental Health Kathleen Ho said in a statement Monday.
Thousands of military and family members were displaced from their homes in December and moved to hotels after a sample found petroleum at a level 350 times what is considered safe in drinking water.
Hawaii legislators have called on the Navy to defuel the storage facility, with state Reps. Kai Kahele and Ed Case announcing federal legislation to permanently shut it down last week. The military is appealing a Department of Health order to drain the fuel tanks.
“We must not forget that this disaster shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Ige said at a press conference Monday. “We are here because the Navy contaminated drinking water with fuel.”
‘A CRISIS OF ITS OWN MAKING’:Thousands of military families displaced from Hawaii military base after jet fuel contaminates drinking water
“As long as there is fuel in the Red Hill tanks, there remains imminent peril to all water drinkers,” Ho said.
The Red Hill well contains 20 large underground fuel tanks that date back to World War II. The Navy built the tanks, each as tall as a 25-story building, in two rows of 10 inside a mountain ridge three miles inland from Pearl Harbor.
State health officials said the cleared zone was declared safe after “extensive cleanup and testing” that showed trace amounts of petroleum at just one site, but “there is no contamination above the project’s screening level,” according to state toxicologist Diana Felton. They said at the press conference that a 10% geographically spaced sample of homes and buildings were tested. They said samples will continue to be tested over the next two years.
Some community members are pushing for 100% of homes to be tested, according to local news outlets.
“Anything less than 100% testing is unacceptable,” Army Maj. Amanda Feindt told Hawaii News Now. “How do you expect me to trust that the home and the water system that once poisoned my family is good without having any sort of test results?”
Wayne Tanaka, executive director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii, echoed residents’ concerns.
“They’ve heard this before – before hundreds, if not thousands, of people, including infants and children, were poisoned,” he said in an email to The Associated Press.
Thousands of people were treated for symptoms of exposure and ingestion of petroleum-contaminated water late last year, including nausea, rashes and headaches. Households and elementary schools also complained about water smelling like fuel.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
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