Chinatown

Many will be observing the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday, but Jan. 20 also marks the 125th anniversary of the Chinatown fires here on Oʻahu. The Conversation talked to Wing Tek Lum about his new book that acknowledges that time of history through poems.

A new exhibit in Chinatown spotlighting Swiss posters opens on Jan. 21. The Conversation talked to SHADE Institute Executive Director Dean Sakamoto about the new exhibit.

The state is grappling with the detection of avian flu and its potential jump from species to species. And about 125 years ago, the bubonic plague made its way into Honolulu. The Conversation talked to Karen Motosue, one of the co-founders of the Hawaiʻi Heritage Center in Chinatown.

It's been a year since The Conversation last focused on the impacts of COVID-19 in downtown Honolulu. HPR's Catherine Cruz took a tour with state leaders to check in on the improvements and changes.

Becoming an activist later in life was not on the radar of cookbook author Grace Young, but she proudly claimed that title as she talked to us from her apartment in New York City recently. Young is in Honolulu this week to work with students at the Leeward Community College Culinary Institute.

Dozens of affordable housing units are currently under construction at the historic Hocking Building in Honolulu’s Chinatown. The three-story building sits on the corner of North King Street and Nuʻuanu Avenue.

A pop-up event in Chinatown will showcase intimate portraits of people living on the streets of Honolulu’s urban core. The event is titled “Independence," and will have people from different walks of life talking story about their pictures.

About 94,000 tons of commercial food waste goes into Oʻahu’s H-POWER every year. The Oʻahu Compost Project plans to divert that waste by turning old food into compost.

Post-pandemic downtown Honolulu is turning the corner with the next frontier of redevelopment. The Avalon Group recently purchased the Davies Pacific Center, a 1970s-era building that many powerhouse law firms and businesses call home. The Conversation's Catherine Cruz spoke to President and CEO Christine Camp about the project.

The transformation of a downtown Honolulu office building into a residential tower called The Residences at Bishop Place marks a bit of a seismic shift in the land use world. It's still home to the federal bankruptcy courthouse, but the floors above are mostly apartments for rent. The Conversation's Catherine Cruz has more.