U.S. Agriculture Secretary on loan forgiveness for minority farmers; Hawaii Supreme Court ruling on Big Island bioenergy plant; Surveying domestic travelers; Early childhood behavioral health
U.S. Agriculture Secretary on loan forgiveness for minority farmers | American Rescue Plan Link
In less than a week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will roll out a program to forgive the debt of some 16,000 minority farmers. About 300 farmers of Pacific Islander and Asian descent are here in Hawai‘i. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke with us from Washington.
Supreme Court ruling on Big Island bioenergy plant | Full Article
The Hawaii Supreme Court has remanded the case involving a Big Island bioenergy plant back to the Public Utilities Commission. We talked to Warren Lee, head of Honua Ola--formerly known as Hu Honua--about what this could mean for the green energy project that has been delayed for two years due to legal challenges.
Reality Check with Civil Beat: Oahu's agricultural lands | Full Article
Honolulu Civil Beat’s featured story has to do with a process to protect Oahu’s best agricultural lands. But "many property owners are angry, saying they’ve been caught by surprise and that the city has blundered," reporter Stewart Yerton reported.
Surveying domestic travelers
The steady stream of travelers seems to indicate that the rebound of our visitor industry may happen sooner than expected. We reached out to Chris Kam, the head of Omnitrak--a market researching group that surveys travelers and gathers information about tourism trends.
Early childhood behavioral health | The Parent Line | Aloha United Way | Family Hui Hawaii | Nest for Families
Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close next week Monday, but the work to bring awareness to the importance of mental health, especially with our keiki, will continue. One effort that’s just getting started is the rollout of the “Integrated Infant and Early Childhood Behavioral Health Plan.” It’s a collaboration between several local government and non-government agencies, to centralize the information for services available to help parents address their child’s mental, social and emotional health. Kerrie Urosevich from Hawaii’s Early Childhood Action Strategy told us more.
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