Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami; Reality Check: Hilo Veteran Home Deaths; HPR Recruiting Efforts; Urban Forestry
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami
Kauai has managed to keep its covid-19 Cases in the double digits. It’s small population makes it more manageable in some ways but it’s remoteness has made it a challenge in other ways. Mayor Derek Kawakami says the community can't let its guard down.
Reality Check: Hilo Veteran Home Deaths
On our Reality Check, our partners atHonolulu Civil Beat have a story about one of the veterans who died as a result of the cluster of covid-19 cases in a senior Hilo long term care facility. Reporter Kevin Dayton joins us today.
HPR Recruiting Efforts
It’s no secret the Honolulu Police Department’s ranks have thinned. HPD faces a near 10 percent vacancy within its ranks, and those hundreds of jobs have drawn very high interest from off Oahu’s shores. Besides the regular beat jobs the Department’s communications division has openings for those interested in the radio dispatch side. We talked to HPD recruiter Tory Tsakiris and Thalia Burns about what’s driving the mainland interest in these local jobs and how much of the recruiting effort has gone online.
Urban Forestry
Imagine a vast system of forestry connecting through Hawaii's urban sectors from Mauka to Makai. It's an ambitious goal, but it’s one that Paul Arinaga and Travis Idle are working to realize.They believe that if even a fraction of island residents take an active interest in the cultivation of endemic Hawaiian plants, the state of conservation in Hawaii would be in a much better place. They recently spoke to producer Harrison Patino about their project: "Go Native: Growing a Native Hawaiian Urban Forest"
