Picture this: Members of a creative robotics team address a real-life problem in their neighborhood — drunken driving. They invent an electronic device to measure blood-alcohol content (BAC) via the steering wheel, using ceramic gas sensors to register the ethanol content emitted from the skin of the driver’s hands. The device communicates this information […]
From government payrolls to income tax, camping permits to prisoner transport, schoolteachers to search and rescue, Hawaii government permeates every puka on every island. It’s also the state’s largest employer, with 75,000 full- and part-time workers across the state. Your Medicaid card, marriage certificate and your employer’s business registration were all issued by the state.
Women gathering to talk story on Mrs. Dillingham’s cottage steps at the corner of Punahou and Arcadia probably seemed sweet, innocent enough. It’s likely the men hardly noticed them. The year was 1900 and the Black Plague was wreaking havoc in the trader-rich Chinatown area, with military-enforced quarantines and eventually, a purposely set fire that
Hawaii’s archipelago hosts complex watersheds, environmental diversity and vital forest ecosystems in this most remote spot on the planet. Caring for the Aina — preserving its cultural, environmental and economic significance — is daunting, but it starts with laulima, many hands coming together for the sake of the islands’ future. No one knows that better
You know the ritual: Kids ask what’s for dinner, parents check the refrigerator, a conversation ensues about what sounds good, and with an agreement reached, all hands work to get it on the table. Now imagine that same ritual happening in school cafeterias around the state. Sounds crazy, right? Between USDA standards, DOE requirements, recipes
Kauai native Ray Yoshida’s legacy spans from the Aloha State to the Windy City and to art galleries and collectors around the world. When he left Kauai as a young man to pursue his dreams of artistry and creative expression at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago, it’s unlikely his friends and family knew the
Should you queue up for this year’s Honolulu Marathon in the pre-dawn hours, hydrated, well rested and ready to run, don’t be shocked if someone ambles in late, maybe a little disheveled with a bow tie slung around his neck, and takes his place amid the runners. Chances are he’s not had enough sleep and
During the 46 years Donita Garcia smoked cigarettes, both of her parents died early from tobacco-related illnesses, a younger brother had triple bypass surgery and her sister pulled an oxygen tank to manage COPD. Donita herself carried two different inhalers and couldn’t walk very far or manage even a slight hill. “I couldn’t breathe. This
Honey Chandler tied the rope to a muddy table that had become wedged under her neighbor’s lanai. Her horse, Hokupaa, stood patiently waiting as she tied the other end to his saddle. Honey mounted Hokupaa, and together they dragged the table out, and then to the road. “A lot of places were so muddy that
The story goes that Duane Kurisu saw the land that would become Kahauiki Village — a plantation style community now housing 30 previously homeless families — from an airplane on approach to Honolulu. Like many stories, that’s only partly true. Kurisu wasn’t looking to build a homeless village. He needed a spot to relocate a
When Thanksgiving leftovers are put away, many of our thoughts shift toward holiday to-buy lists. There are massive daylong sales events on the heels of Thanksgiving. Black Friday and Cyber Monday evoke feelings of excitement, budget savviness and pride in “tackling the shopping list.” But one special day is set aside—a day that keeps the
Imagine the future, perhaps 100 years from now. What do you see? A faster commute to work via flying cars? Plasma 3-D holograms for conference calls? How about a nonprofit organization tapping the latest technologies to help Hawaii’s most vulnerable citizens gain access to health care, food and housing? In the 1920’s, a local woman
