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The Conversation: Monday, June 18th, 2018

Wikimedia Commons

East Rift Zone Insurance; Lifeguard Shortage; Maui College Solar; Last Taxi Dance

Credit Wikimedia Commons
Hundreds of homes around Kapoho Bay were destroyed by lava erupting from Fissure 8. The developments were located at the edge of the USGS' highest hazard zone.

Insuring Homes in High-Risk Volcanic Zones 

Now that Kilauea Volcano has destroyed hundreds of homes in Puna, some are asking how people were able to purchase and insure, homes in such a known high-risk area. Keli’i Akina is the President and CEO of the Grassroots Institute of Hawaii, and earlier this morning we spoke about the government-backed insurance program, the Hawaii Property Insurance Association, that made many of those home purchases possible. We began by looking at the background to the 1991 measure that created the HPIA.  

CV_KeliiAkina061818.mp3
Keli'i Akina

Intro Music: I Will by Guitarra

Outro Music: Here Too Far by Beta Radio

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Credit Joint Base San Antonio

Lifeguard Shortage Shutters City Pools

Now that summer is here, a trip to your neighborhood pool might be in order. But we discovered recently that the Palolo Pool is now closed on weekends. Summer is normally a time when hours are extended. A quick check online found that Honolulu isn’t the only place cutting services because lifeguards just aren’t available. Pools across the country are wrestling with reduced hours and are stepping up efforts to recruit to fill the slots.

CRUZ_NS061818.mp3
Nathan Serota

Intro Music: Instrumental I by Noah and The WhaleImpala

Outro Music: Walk in the Park by Damu the Fudgemunk

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Credit Cory Lum

Civil Beat Reality Check

The hotel workers union is making a big pushtoward helping its members reach that dream of home ownership.  Honolulu Civil Beat Reporter Anita Hofschneider has that story in today’s Reality Check

RC_061818.mp3
Anita Hofschneider

Outro Music: Matahari by L'Imeratrice

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Credit Courtesy of the University of Hawaii
UH Maui College Physical Plant Manager Robert Burton looks at battery array.

Maui College Aims for 100% Solar Power

The first container-load of solar panels are set to arrive at the Maui College campus in Kahului later this summer. It’s part of a net-zero plandubbed a “Star Trek” deal that could put the college on the map. During a recent trip to Maui, we thought we would take a closer look at the $6.3 million-dollar solar project. It will be the very first college campus in the country to meet ALL its energy needs through photovoltaic systems and battery storage.

CRUZ_MauiSolar061818.mp3

Outro Music: Firecracker by Charlie Fink

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Credit Pacific Islanders in Communciations

Remembering Honolulu's Taxi Dance Halls

The taxi dance hall is a relic of an earlier time. It was a place where lonely men could enjoy a woman’s company for a few moments - for a small price.  In wartime, it filled that function for thousands of American GI’s who were just passing through at ports of call around the world. The short film the Last Taxi Dance is a period piece, set in Second World War era Honolulu, in which a brief and casual encounter at a taxi dance hall becomes something much more.   Brayden Yoder is its director and joined us in the HPR studio.

CV_BraydenYoder061818.mp3
Brayden Yoder

Intro Music: Ticket to ride by Alexandre Pier Federici

Outro Music: Last Taxi Dance, music from the teaser sung by Danielle Zalopany

                                                       

 

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Catherine Cruz is the host of The Conversation. Originally from Guam, she spent more than 30 years at KITV, covering beats from government to education. Contact her at ccruz@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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