Jayna Omaye
Culture & Arts ReporterBorn and raised on Oʻahu, Jayna Omaye loves writing about the communities she grew up in and highlighting the challenges and successes that make Hawaiʻi so special.
Before joining Hawaiʻi Public Radio, Jayna was the ethnic and cultural affairs reporter at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. While at the newspaper, she mentored and taught high school students about journalism as part of a youth storytelling project that she spearheaded about Hawaiʻi’s Japanese American veterans.
Jayna has also worked as a reporter at the Orlando Sentinel newspaper in Florida and as a staff writer at Honolulu Magazine, where she won numerous local and national awards for her stories on arts, culture and history.
A Moanalua High School graduate, she earned her master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. When she’s not chasing a story, Jayna enjoys dancing hula and playing taiko.
She covered culture and arts for Hawaiʻi Public Radio from 2022 to early 2023.
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Wednesday marked the 80th anniversary of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a Japanese American unit that made history during World War II. HPR’s Jayna Omaye spoke to community members about the unit’s legacy on and off the battlefield and what this milestone means to them. -
A group of Hawaiʻi students and teachers are gearing up for an encore production of “Peace on Your Wings.” It follows the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died of cancer after the Hiroshima atomic bombing in 1945. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more.
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Marques Hanalei Marzan is the only person from Hawaiʻi selected as a 2023 United States Artists fellow. He's been a cultural practitioner for more than 20 years, using a variety of fibers and weaving techniques.
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The Native American Language Resource Center Act will create a program in the U.S. Department of Education. It will support these resource centers, which are tasked with revitalizing Indigenous languages and developing curriculum.
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Museum officials hope the exhibit will help educate people and highlight the conservation area's cultural and environmental significance.
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The Japanese American Confinement Sites program was set up in 2006 — providing $38 million to preserve these historic sites and their history. More funding was needed, so federal lawmakers approved another $80 million. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more.
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Meredith Artley takes over for Konrad Ng, who is leaving to spend time with family and pursue other projects. HPR's Jayna Omaye reports.
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The $1.5 million grant will help 36 Native Hawaiians become homeowners. Funds will be used to build nine homes on homestead lands over the next two years.
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While many cultural staples were brought back last year, others were still put on hold due to the pandemic. HPR's Jayna Omaye reports on the return of Night in Chinatown on Saturday, the New Year's ʻOhana Festival on Sunday, and the Honolulu Festival in March.
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Hilarie Alomar has worked at Kamehameha Schools for nearly 20 years. Alomar joins two other planning and development directors, who are responsible for different areas in the state.
