Condolences on Loretta Fuddy
It was with profound shock that the lone fatality from Wednesday’s Molokai-Oahu plane crash was identified as Loretta Fuddy, 65, Hawaii’s health director.
Eight others aboard the afternoon flight survived.
Just the day before, an upbeat Fuddy had held a press conference with happy news: that Hawaii had emerged as the nation’s healthiest state, based on a range of long-held indicators.
And since taking the Health Department helm in 2011, Fuddy had been quoted widely on issues ranging from obesity, to same-sex marriage, to President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.
A sudden loss is always tragic, and is magnified when it involves a public figure such as a member of the governor’s Cabinet.
Tributes have come in from across the nation, including from Hawaii’s congressional delegation, a testament to Fuddy’s 30-plus years of dedicated service to Hawaii’s public health.
Hawaii slides in business ranking
Entrepreneurs who lament Hawaii as anti-business have fresh evidence: The state fell a spot — to 5th worst — in the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council’s 2013 policy ranking. Hawaii ranked 46th among the 50 states, down from 45th in 2012.
The list, released annually for the past 18 years, assesses states on 47 policy measures and costs affecting entrepreneurs, including tax, regulatory and government spending criteria.
South Dakota repeated as the friendliest state for small businesses. Read the full report at http://www.sbecouncil.org.