Mayor imposes curfew, then entertains fellow bored residents

HONOLULU (AP) — When a curfew goes into effect each night for one county in Hawaii, the mayor gets bored -- and posts videos on social media.

And his constituents? They're entertained.

"Our Mayor is bettah than yours!!" one woman commented, responding to Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami's stiff but earnest version of the Renegade to the rap song "Lottery," one of the most popular dances on social media.

In other videos, posted to his personal Facebook and Instagram accounts, he creates a mask out of a T-shirt and makes ice cream.

Even before Gov. David Ige issued a statewide stay-at-home order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Kawakami set a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for his county, which includes the islands of Kauai and Niihau.

The videos, the 42-yearold mayor explains on Facebook, are meant to "break the boredom together as a community." And they seem to have succeeded.

As of Monday, a video he posted April 4 of him dancing generated more than 2,000 shares and more than 400 comments on Facebook.

"And if you're wondering why I'm out of breath and why I'm sweating," he says after his Renegade dance, "because that was like take 1,022."

Kawakami also uses his videos for some serious commentary, including demonstrating the proper way to remove disposable gloves, which he's seen left behind in shopping carts and baskets.

"And please folks throw your opala away," he says, using the Hawaiian word for trash.

"We no leave our trash for somebody else pick up," he says in Pidgin, Hawaii's creole language that he slips in and out of easily, reflecting his island roots.

He's also garnered attention by publicly calling those who defy quarantine orders "covidiots."

"I LOVE all your postings!" a woman commented on a video. "So fun, so caring, so empathetic, and a blessing to us all, even us who live on Oahu!!!"