Evolution of Tradition; A New Novel Highlight’s Honolulu’s Criminal Underworld; EPA Invests in Hawaii’s Drinking Water; Hydrofoil Surfing with Kai Lenny

Looking at America, you could see basically two groups, traditionalists and modernists. And you might think there is little common ground between them. If you look in the short term, that could be quite true but contributing editor Neal Milner says it really depends on how you look at the culture war...especially if you take the long view.
Intro Music: Straight West by Kasket Club
Outro Music: So Good by Warpaint
Novel “Yakudoshi: Age of Calamity”: Chris McKinney

Stories of seedy gambling dens in Chinatown, gangsters and drug dealing don’t dominate the news the way they did back in the day, but Honolulu’s criminal underworld and its underground economy live on. It’s a milieu that’s rich in atmosphere for the novelist, and Chris McKinney uses it to full effect in his new novel Yakudoshi: Age of Calamity. It’s a story of a flawed hero who finds a kind of redemption.
Intro Music: Lost the Summer by The Jayhawks
Outro Music: Running Away by Unlucky Number
Civil Beat Reality Check: LED Lights for Honolulu

They are efficient and cost less to power. Those are the big reasons many cities, including Honolulu, are trading the warm yellow glow of high pressure sodium lights for the stark white of LEDs. But the American Medical Association says there are other considerations. Civil Beat reporter Chad Blair has the details in today’s reality check.
Intro Music: Give Me One More Chance by Tea Leaf Green
Outro Music: My Name is Trouble by Keren Ann
EPA Regional Check-In: Alexis Strauss

You may recall part of a certain infomercial that encourages visitors to just turn on the tap and drink Hawaii’s clean water. In part, our status as a state with drinkable water has been shaped by the EPA. Almost two years ago, the EPA said the Department of Health was in non-compliance for failing to use its drinking water funds in a timely manner. The Department has been working under a corrective action plan since January 2015 and more funds were released by the EPA as the state met the plan’s milestones. Today the EPA is awarding more funds for infrastructure to keep water clean and drinkable… and it’s one of the reasons acting EPA regional director Alexis Strauss is in Honolulu
Outro Music: Wait Up For You by The Belle Game
The Science of Hydrofoil Surfing: Kai Lenny

At first glance, they look as if they’re levitating above the waves; hydrofoil surfers work their boards a foot or more above the ocean’s surface, and seem to be able to ride longer and faster. It’s an example of design innovation creating a new sport, and Kai Lenny is an early adopter. Click here to watch Kai in action.
Intro Music: On The Beach by Nora En Pure
Outro Music: Soul Surfing by Kasket Club