Monster Home Planning Commission; Shearwater Seabirds At Risk; Aussie Rules Football Comes to Hawaii; French Musician: Alain Robak of Baton Rouge

Monster Home Planning Commission

  Homeowners and members of Oahu’s construction industry rallied outside Honolulu Hale Thursday morning to highlight a growing backlog of building permits. The Building Industry Association says months-long delays in the permitting process are harming local businesses and homeowners. The demonstration was meant as a show of support for City Council Bill 64, which would streamline the permitting process using lessons learned from other cities. Several of the homeowners present expressed frustration with the lengthy permitting process.

Intro Music: All of Me by Mathias Chanon Varreau

Outro Music: Love Is All by The Tallest Man On Earth

Shearwater Seabirds At Risk

It’s that time of the year when shearwater fledglings tend to run into trouble as they head out to sea. The problem is light pollution.

Staff at Sea Life park here on Oahu are gearing up to begin treating injured birds and are asking the public to be on alert. Sandra Bingham is the  Wings team leader at Sealife’s seabird Sanctuary and rehabilitation center. She talks about the work they do as part of the parks’ mission  of conservation and education

Intro Music: Coconuts by Van She

Outro Music: Fall In Love by Slum Village

Reality Check

  As always, we checked in with our online news partners over at Honolulu Civil Beat. Today Jim Simon joins us with a cats and dogs story brewing out on the west side.

Outro Music: Song For Zula by Phosphorescent

Aussie Rules Football Comes to Hawaii

  What do you get when you combine American football, rugby, soccer, and a few other sports into one? A little game called Australian Rules Football. It’s one of the most popular – and rough – sports from the Land Down Under.

But the game isn’t confined to its native land. The US Australian Football League held its national finals in Wisconsin this past week and a Hawaii resident was on the championship team. He’s part of a local club trying to bring Aussie Rules to Hawaii. HPR’s Ryan Finnerty “went for a kick” to find out more.

Outro music: Some Things Are Left Better Unsaid by Daryl Hall and John Oats

French Musician: Alain Robak of Baton Rouge

  It was a visit to a San Francisco record store in the 70’s that French Musician Alain Robak started a love affair with Hawaiian slack key music and the steel guitar.

All it took was an album cover to set him on a journey learning about Hawaiian instruments. He now teaches ukulele and plays steel guitar at a Paris studio with Halau Hula O Manoa.

We caught up with him at a French cafe this summer. Turns out he is in the islands this month to pay French music with a touch of Hawaiian at Medici’s in Manoa.

Intro Music: En Bas de Chez Moi by Irene Jacob

Outro music: Baton Rouge sample track