Furlough Reaction; Ampaire Hybrid Electric Planes; Reality Check: Concerning Progress Reports for Hawaii's Students; Electoral College Process; Art Scene Debrief
Furlough Reaction
This morning the unions that represent workers for higher and lower education are awaiting word from the governor's office about the proposed furlough plan that is to take place next month. We talked this morning with Christian Fern executive director of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly. The news took not just the union but apparently even the UH president by surprise.
Ampaire Hybrid Electric Planes
Something pretty monumental happened very quietly last month. A new hybrid-electric airplane made by California-based Ampaire flew from Kahului to Hana and back again on a single charge. It’s the FIRST time such a plane has completed a demonstration flight on an actual airline flight.
Brice Nzeukou is the product manager at Ampaire. He spoke with The Conversation’s Jason Ubay about the company and what its test flight means for the aviation industry.
Reality Check: Concerning Progress Reports for Hawaii's Students
In today’s Reality Check, Honolulu Civil Beat’s education reporter Suevon Lee has been looking at student scores during this time of working remotely.
Electoral College Process
On Monday, Hawaii’s four electors will cast their vote for president based on the popular vote. You may recall that in the last election in 2016 one of the four votes went to Bernie Sanders instead of Hilary Clinton. Since that time, the Democratic party has tightened up its process. It has switched from a caucus driven process to a party run primary.
We talked to Hermina Morita, one of the four electors who are expected to vote for president elect Joe Biden and vice president elect Kamala Harris.
Art Scene Debrief
This pandemic has taken a major toll on the arts. HPR’s Noe Tanigawa has been tracking the arts and culture scene and joins us this morning.