HECO and PUC Evidentiary Hearings; Pacific Primate Sanctuary; Hawaii to Zero AIDS Cure Initiative; Pacific Harp Project
HECO and PUC Evidentiary Hearings: Shalanda Baker
Throughout the summer, statewide listening sessions took public input on the proposed merger of HECO and NextEra. Now the more formal evidentiary hearings of the Public Utilities Commission are set to begin today and will run through mid December in Honolulu. The PUC has yet to weigh in on the deal, but plenty of others throughout the state have been making and assessing arguments to help ratepayers understand what is at stake. That includes Shalanda Baker, the Faculty Advisor to the Environmental Law Program and founding director of an energy law project at Richardson Law School.
- Intro Music: Monday, Monday by The Mamas & The Papas
- Outro Music: Breathing Electricity by The Electric Sons
Pacific Primate Sanctuary: Lucy Wormser
There’s a growing understanding around the world that our human need to subjugate animals has gotten out of hand. It’s reflected in the work of the Pacific Primate Sanctuary on Maui, where monkeys who have been rescued from the illegal exotic pet trade or from research laboratories are provided with a place of refuge and healing. Lucy Wormser is volunteer President of the organization, which will host a Pizza Party for the Monkeys tomorrow afternoon (12/1) at 4:00 p.m. at Flatbread Company in Paia, Maui.
- Intro Music: King Kong by The Primates
- Outro Music: Moonchild/In Your Quiet Place by Gary Burton and Keith Jarrett
Hawaii to Zero AIDS Cure Initiative: Dr. Cecilia Shikuma
For people who have grown up with AIDS as part of the medical and social landscape, finding a cure has been the driver in decades of research. One man announced in 2008 as the first patient to be cured of the disease sparked a renewed commitment to that goal, and while management through antiretroviral therapy continues for many patients, Hawaii is now looking to become the first HIV-free state. The Hawaii to Zero AIDS Cure Initiative launches this Friday, in the week that brings us World Aids Day. Dr. Cecilia M. Shikuma is Director of the Hawaii Center for AIDS and a Professor of Medicine, as well as the Edwin C. Cadman Endowed Chair at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and she joined The Conversation via phone to talk about the new initiative.
- Intro Music: Got Django by Hot Club of Hulaville
- Outro Music: Instrumental cover of The Fighter by Liquid Audio
Pacific Harp Project: Megan Bledsoe Ward
The harp is one of those instruments whose full capabilities have yet to be explored and is too often relegated to the dreamy arpeggios most of us associate with its sound. That shimmer that it does so well can become a unique jazz voice, but it’s one that is rarely attempted. Megan Bledsoe Ward is out to change our perception of her instrument of choice with the Pacific Harp Project, her new CD, and an upcoming concert. The Pacific Harp Project will release its self-titled debut CD with a concert in HPR’s Atherton Studio on Friday (12/4) at 7:30 p.m. She’ll be accompanied by Noel Okimoto (vibraphone), Jon Hawes (bass/composer), and Allan Ward (drums/composer).
- Intro Music: Instrumental cover of The Fighter by Liquid Audio
- Outro Music: Sonatine - Marcel Tournier, arr. Megan Bledsoe Ward by Pacific Harp Project
