Veterans Day; Armistice Day; Natatorium EIS; Union/Strike update: Big Island Coffee Farmers; HOLO Card
Veterans Day
The war to end all wars. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Bells toiled out throughout the country this weekend to remember the Armistice.
Governor David Ige gave thekeynote speech marking Hawaii’s participation in World War I. 101 Hawaii residents died in action. During this time that we remember the valor and sacrifice of our veterans, we’re also reflecting on one particular local veteran of World War II. Hawaii’s Bill Paty died at age 97.
Intro Music: Coconut by Van She
Natatorium EIS
The crumbling Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium was the backdrop for the Armistice and Veterans Day ceremonies this weekend.
The public is being asked to once again weigh in on the fate of the structure.
A draft Environmental Impact Statement has just been released.
Preservationists are hailing the EIS as it provides an alternate to demolition and full restoration which would be costly.
Intro Music: Giggle by 6ix Toys
Outro Music: Down Frenchmen St. by The Filthy Six
Union/Strike update
Today marks the 5th week of the Marriott hotel workersstrikehere in Hawaii. That makes this the longest strike in the local hotel industry in almost 5 decades.
A North Carolina couple on who came to Hawaii on their honeymoon recently filed a class action lawsuit against Marriott and the hotel owner Kyo-Ya. They allege that they were charged the full price for their stay at the Royal Hawaiian- despite the limited guest services available.
We wanted to explore how the walkout is affecting customers and other local businesses. Eugene Kam is a photographer who works a lot of weddings. He told us that many couples have had to make last minute adjustments to accommodate the strike.
Outro Music: Living Off by Funk Off
Big Island Coffee Farmers
Elsewhere in business news - Hawaii’s signature crop is having a rough harvest. A year filled with natural disasters has taken its toll and coffee yields areway down in some of the state’s most prominent coffee growing regions. Many farmers are blaming the heavy volcanic activity at Kilauea earlier this summer. Hawaii Public Radio’s Ryan Finnerty tells us more.
Outro music: Coffee Lover by Boubou
HOLO Card
Are you ready to HOLO? We’ve been hearing about it and now it's here -- the Holo Card is ready to go and the City and HARTare looking for a thousand people to test it out. The city and HART are looking for bus riders willing to test out the new smart transportation card-- the HOLO card. The pilot program will roll out officially on December first but officials need testers to help them with feedback on the new system. We talked to Whitney Birch the program’s HOLO Card Fare Collection Manager, about the program whose website went live last week.
Outro music: Daiquiri by Mako Road
