From the Internal Revenue Service website
There are many questions about the economic impact payments announced recently. This link will take you to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website and the IR-2020-61 press release dated March 30, 2020.
Additionally, in the release, the IRS states they will post all key information on IRS.gov/coronavirus as soon as it becomes available.
From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website
During the COVID-19 pandemic, military retail is doing all it can to keep exchanges and commissaries well stocked and clean while supporting social distancing.
Here are a few things you should know and consider about accessing military retail stores during the COVID-19 national emergency and any local installation-declared public health emergencies associated with the COVID-19 pandemic:
Thanks to Gordon Lau for emailing this article
Attached is today’s COVID-19 update issued by the Joint Information Center.
There is a large amount of speculation regarding COVID-19, please rely on OFFICIAL sources for accurate information. We added a long term post on the maroon bar above titled “COVID-19 Information.” The post includes links to the Hawaii Department of Health, the CDC and the FEMA websites.
Off the Hawaii Air National Guard Facebook page
click on photographs to enlarge
The F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin engine stealth tactical fighter aircraft, and it’s only flown by USAF Airmen. At Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, it’s operated by Hawaii Air National Guard and Active Duty Airmen from the 199th and 19th Fighter Squadrons, what we call a total-force team.
This work of art was designed with only one thing in mind – air superiority. It’s advanced flight control systems, powerful propulsion and stealth abilities allow it to complete its mission anytime and anywhere.
The stock market has recently been in a free fall. America has not experienced this level of fear since the days of the polio epidemic in the 1940s and 1950s.
During those decades, polio outbreaks in the U.S. crippled an average of more than 35,000 people yearly. Parents were frightened to let their children go outside. Travel and commerce between affected cities were restricted. Public health officials imposed quarantines on homes and towns where polio cases were found.
Sound familiar?
Now, with the coronavirus, some of those same fears are resurfacing in many ways, from health and safety to the economy, the stock market and personal finances. For many, the current crisis is serving as a wake-up call to get their estate plans in order.
The on going COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges as we adjust to stay-at-home requirements. Food distribution remains a challenge with 6 foot separation and hoarding of some items, especially for our elderly and those with mobility challenges.
Miles Moriyama, a retired Hawaiʻi Air National Guard member, is working with Y. Hata & Co. Ltd. / ChefZone / King Specialty Foods to stand up a family meal box to trunk program. These boxes will contain proteins, produce, milk, eggs, etc. so families can prepare meals for 3 to 5 days depending on family size. Prepared meal boxes will be delivered directly into identified community areas. They plan to start in the Waianae area.
The mission statement is to convey peace and calm and ensure the public can be confident that there is no need to hoard food or stand in potentially compromised lines at grocery outlets.
The program will either take orders on a website (being developed) or collect cash at distribution point.
Where they need volunteers:
– Packing boxes at either the Y. Hata facility on Sand Island or ChefZone in Airport Industrial area.
– Help at distribution points around O‘ahu.
– Help in building a ground control communications plan and labor to work it.
– Help in building a safe zone quarantine plan to ensure the facility can stay sterile.
– Help in putting together a facility security program and implantation if needed.
If you want to volunteer or have questions, please contact Miles at 808-227-3390. Please leave a message if you get his voicemail. Speak clearly and slowly, leave your name & call back phone number and he will get back to you.
Mahalo for taking the time to read this bulletin, please be safe!
April Fools’ Day—celebrated on April 1 each year—has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery. April Fools’ Day traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue in the subject of the April Fools’ Day prank. While its exact history is shrouded in mystery, the embrace of April Fools’ Day jokes by the media and major brands has ensured the unofficial holiday’s long life.
This graphic was part of Governor Ige ‘s COVID-19 briefing this afternoon. The information is as of March 29, 2020, with weekly updates on Mondays.
A earlier Retiree News post on Aloha’s closing
Type “Aloha Airlines” in the search block in the right hand column to see more Aloha Airlines related posts.
From the Consumer Reports website
geriatrics\ˌjer-ē-ˈa-triks, a branch of medicine that deals with the problems and diseases of old age and the medical care and treatment of aging people.
If you’re 65 or older, you may need more than a regular primary care physician can provide. About a third of people in this age group would be better off seeing a geriatrician—a physician who has extra training in the health problems of older adults, according to the American Geriatrics Society (AGS).
Military Retirees, Annuitants and Former Spouses:
The March 2020 Retiree Newsletter is now available online. It contains important information about the refreshed, more mobile-friendly myPay, performing a pay account checkup, verifying SBP coverage on your RAS, and helpful tools on the R&A website. We also have a downloadable PDF version of the newsletter you can share with friends.
The pūpūkahi is the State of Hawaii Department of Defense monthly newsletter. Printed versions of the pūpūkahi have been the “command information” newsletter for decades, however, it was suspended in 2009 due to budget cuts. It is now a digital e-newsletter posted quarterly.
Click here to read the Spring 2020 digital pūpūkahi
Kudos to State Public Affairs Office (MAJ (R) Jeffrey Hickman, TSgt Andrew Jackson, Krystal Kawabata) and the Hawaii Army and Air National Guard contributors for another GREAT issue.
Off the Hawaii Adjutant General’s Facebook page
Hawaii Air National Guard members from Medical Detachment 1 provided logistical support this week with personal protective equipment (PPE) and maintenance of valuable medical equipment at the Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management Coalition facilities. The PPE that the Guardsmen inventoried and prepared for pick-up, will then be distributed to multiple Hawaii medical facilities. These facilities are facing a shortage of this specialized equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The onslaught of news related to the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and the following articles are of interest to Retiree News readers.
From CDC: Are you or someone in your family feeling stressed about COVID-19? Learn tips to support you’re your family
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said Americans can expect to receive a portion of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package within three weeks, either by direct deposit or a check in the mail. Learn more
The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is warning everyone about the hazards and dangers of using non-approved drugs for COVID-19. Antimalarial drugs have been recently reported as possible treatments against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. While hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine prescription medications have been used for treatment of malaria and certain inflammatory conditions, the efficacy for COVID-19 are unproven and potentially dangerous. Continue reading
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