hpr news

Community medicine gardens may be just what the doctor ordered. Growing interest in traditional Hawaiian medicine in Waimānalo has blossomed into a community garden. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi takes us on a tour.

This week workers at Marriott hotels are on strike. Here in Hawaii that includes the Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and the Sheraton Maui. Among demands regarding compensation, the strikers are seeking guarantees about job security as the hospitality industry begins to embrace automation. 

A heated debate is taking place around the state over whether or not we should amend the state constitution. One proposal would give the state legislature the power to tax investment property to fund public education. That measure will be decided directly by voters through a ballot referendum.

The University of Hawai’i at Manoa is re-launching its Oral History Center.

 Did you know Kona farmers made it into the Guinness Book of World Record for largest  Mango, Avocado, and Jackfruit?

That’s the “rock star” status of some of some of our crops--tropical fruit expert, Ken Love, talked to us following a conference and series of meetings across the state with local fruit growers.

  The recent close calls with hurricanes and tropical storms have renewed the focus on vulnerabilities of our emergency response system.

The spotlight will be on ham operators and new training that is available this month. We sat down with Clem Jung who is trying to spread the word about an exercise for amateur operators that takes place this Saturday.

More than 50,000 immigrants in Hawaiʻi are eligible to become American citizens but have not yet applied. That’s according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency. But the current political climate may be compelling more of them to take on the costly and lengthy task of becoming a citizen. And now, HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports, they’ve got a little help.

2,700 Marriott Hotel workers went on strike this morning in Waikiki and Maui.  Unite Here Local 5 union representatives asked for a three dollar raise and hotel negotiators countered with 30 cents.

The 2018 Global Tourism Summit last week focused on attracting more affluent travelers who tend to stay longer and spend more.

They are just one shy of a basketball team. Four little monk seal pups are in the early stages of bonding. At the start of the summer, we introduced you to Sole, a little pup that was snatched up by NOAA Marine Fisheries staff who worried that the little guy was too weak to survive. Now, Sole isn't solitary.  The Marine Mammal Recovery Center’s Director Claire Simeone spoke with The Conversation when Sole had just arrived at NOAA's Big Island facility. Now she has this update on Sole and his new pals after their first week together.

In one month Hawaii voters will decide whether or not to amend the state constitution. The specific amendment under consideration would create a property tax surcharge to fund public education. It would be a significant change in how residents are taxed in this state. Currently only county governments can levy property taxes.

The Honolulu City Council voted to pass two controversial bills that would give the City additional authority to remove persons and property from public spaces like sidewalks and parks. The measures are seen by many as targeting Oahu’s urban homeless population, though, it may also help curb the vendors operating on waikiki’s sidewalks.

2018 is already one of the deadliest years for Hawaii’s pedestrians in the last decade. There have been more than 30 fatalities statewide this year, compared to 15 last year and 32 in 2016. Last weekend alone there were 3 pedestrian fatalities – two on Oahu and one on Kauai. A fourth person was hospitalized in serious condition after a separate incident in Honolulu.

UPDATE: Bills 51 and 52 passed the Honolulu City Council on a 6-3 vote. The additional requirements added by the City Council were not removed from the bills.

  The Honolulu City Council is meeting to for a final on vote on two bills submitted by Mayor Kirk Caldwell that could have a significant impact on Honolulu’s homeless policy. Bill 51 would make it illegal to obstruct a public sidewalk. Bill 52 would make it illegal to establish lodging in public spaces like parks.

It may feel like the era where robots can truly replace humans is far off, but it may be closer than you think. At the Global Tourism Summit in Honolulu this week attendees got to listen to a conversation between a human and a highly advanced artificially intelligent robot.

Artist Tommy Hite is perhaps best known for his realistic paintings of dumpsters around Honolulu.  The ubiquitous bins are often in scenic locations, and who can forget Hite’s dumpster at the end of the rainbow?  His new show features historic European portraits, localized, for example, someone’s regal hat becomes a Zippy’s chili container.  HPR's Noe Tanigawa reports, it’s all in the details.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released an environmental assessment of a major project: the replacement of a large cesspool on the Big Island that serves thousands of people in the Pahala area. 

The 2018 Global Tourism Summit opened today with a very special luncheon guest.

August was another month of growth for the state’s tourism industry, but only slightly.

Interesting cups, plates, bowl and glasses can make eating much more pleasurable.  An exhibition at the Louis Pohl Gallery in Chinatown offers art for everyday appreciation: paintings by Lauren Okano, glass by Mark Mitsuda, and ceramics by Erin Yuasa.

Bridging the 'Digital Divide' is the subject of talks this week by a visiting professor. Richard Tedlow is a business historian, an endowed professor at Harvard Law School and for the last several years has been at Apple University.

As Christine Blasey-Ford gave an emotional recounting of a teenage sexual assault and Brett Kavanaugh gave a fiery denial, law students from the University of Hawaii’s Richardson School of Law had assembled to watch the entire proceeding live.

The screening had been arranged by the law school's Associate Deans. During breaks in the hearing, Professor Linda Krieger led an ad hoc discussion of what students were watching.

  The American Institute of Architects is marking its 60th anniversary this year. More than a decade ago the Honolulu chapter began inviting the public to vote for their favorite recently completed project.

President Geoff Lewis joined us in the studio this week to talk about the competition among its members with some 37 newly completed projects. From single family homes, condos and businesses the designs were just not here in the islands but offshore too.

  Today on the Long View our Neal Milner is back to do a deeper dive on the costs of college. We’ve been exploring this issue--earlier we touched on the iPromise Schools started by athlete LeBron James. Neal Milner is a retired professor of political science and Contributing Editor of our segment The Long View.

Planning for Honolulu’s civic center, the Neal Blaisdell complex, started before Hawai‘i was even a state.  The concert hall, arena and exhibition hall were completed in 1964, when O‘ahu’s population was less than half what it is today.  Now, a major redesign is aiming for a revitalized community space that attracts global artists in their prime.   HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.

The City is reviving a proposal to build a bridge to connect McCully and Mo’ili’ili to Waikiki.

Recycling is a practice that helps the environment, but it’s also a business.  That business has become more complicated in recent months, especially for residents of Hawaii.

After 68 years of uncertainty, a father has been reunited with his sons. Army Master Sergeant Charles McDaniel Sr. went to war for the second time when his eldest son was only three years old. He never came back. But that changed last week.

The colorful paʻū riders are one of the most unique features of any parade here in the Hawaiian Islands. Draped in yards of brightly colored fabric and decked in lei, paʻū (pah-OOH) riders continue an old equestrian tradition. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more. 

This summer marked the 100th Anniversary of the first time American and Australian troops fought together on the battlefield. What began as an alliance of necessity in the trenches of Europe has evolved into a strategic partnership that spans the Indo-Pacific.