MidWeek Column

Seal of Approval – MidWeek May 15, 2024

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Dorothy, the youthful protagonist in the 1939 classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz”, assured us repeatedly that “there’s no place like home”. Yet the very next year, vaunted author Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel that plainly stated, “You can’t go home again.” 

Well, leave it up to Kaiwi, the celebrated Hawaiian monk seal, to remind us that yes, indeed, you can (and should) go home again, as two weeks ago she gave birth to her third little one on O`ahu’s Kaimana Beach. As has become the norm, people are urged to provide ample room for mom and pup to do their thing. With monk seals an endangered species, all new births are reasons to celebrate, even from a distance.

The nursing and early training window for monk seal keiki runs up to about seven weeks, so curious onlookers may peek, but also should saunter else to sunbathe and swim for now. And as everyone knows, you never wanna get between an animal mom and her new offspring.

It is reassuring when humans take a back seat and let nature do its thing as we try (sometimes) to live in harmony with the unique creatures we’re blessed with here. Leave the nēnē geese alone, hang back from approaching sea turtles… the requests are simple and valid.

Beginning on May 1, O`ahu overnight camping sites (including Bellows Beach) were shut down for the summer to ensure/secure unobstructed sea turtle nesting sites. While sea turtles elsewhere are rarely seen during the day, things are cool (or warm) enough here so that we do see our fair share of these magnificent creatures during daylight hours, and wafting in the waves. This opportunity provides for learning, mindfulness, respect, and caring for honu adults and keiki. Hmmm… if only we could do that more often with humans…   

Add in spinner dolphins, humpback whales, Hawaiian hoary bats (ōpe‘ape‘a), crested honeycreepers (akohekohe), Hawaiian hawks (io), and even Hawaiian tree snails- and we have a good number of endangered species. Our fragile ecosystem, which most here love and helps to make Hawai`i so special, must be treated with reverence for preservation purposes. 

So, here’s to Kaiwi at Kaimana and the honu hovering along our shorelines. Here’s to flying rarities and gentle swimming giants. Here’s a quack out to the koloa maoli (Hawaiian duck). They’re all components of what makes our environs unique, special, and sacred.

Think about it…

Inter- esting – MidWeek May 8, 2024

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You gotta ask stuff to keep the mind growing and going, especially as you get older. We all know people who think they know it all. I checked… they don’t. I also checked on something that’s simply never made sense to me: why do we have “interstates” in Hawai`i, the most isolated, unconnected, populated spot on Earth? Pretty sure we’re not latched to any other state, though I’m sure I could find yet one more ludicrous “news” website that claims there’s a secret tunnel to California.

It’s a fair question to ask why our so-called interstates are not labeled as “intra-states”. I’ve wondered for years, never actually bothering to find the simple, yet logical explanation. So as the school year winds down this month, here’s a history lesson and semi-scintillating breakdown that should remove any future queries as to why Hawai`i is home to interstates.

Hawai`i was admitted as the union’s 50th state on March 18, 1959. Looking at Hawai`i (and #49 Alaska), the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) hierarchy identified possible in-state routes, utilizing “…the same criteria applied during a 1957 expansion of the Interstate System: national defense; system integration; service to industry, fishing, agriculture, mining, and forestry… and population” (U.S. Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration). So, on the basis of BPR’s 1960 report to Congress, the interstate network statute subsequently no longer required that qualifying roads be located just in the continental U.S.

Our interstates are labeled H-1, H-2, and H-3 in contrast to interstates throughout the continent that begin with the letter “I” (“Interstate”). Alaskan interstates begin with “A”, and in Puerto Rico, they start with “PR”. H-3, our latest addition, was designated in December, 1997. A 4.1-mile slab of Moanalua Freeway was upgraded in 1990 without using Interstate Construction funds, and was not called H4, but rather is known as H-201. Huh? All of our interstate roads are “built to interstate standards”, according to the Dept. of Transportation.

So, thanks to former President Eisenhower, the BPR, and Congress (back in the halcyon days when it actually tried- and succeeded- in getting stuff done…) for our paid-for road reality here with H-1, H-2, H-3 (hike), and outlier H-201. Hawaii has almost 55-miles of interstate; Alaska has 1,082 miles; Puerto Rico has 250 miles.

Getting federal funds throughout the decades probably helped us remain “the Aloha State” as opposed to the “I’ll Owe Ya State”.

Think about it…

Academy Awards – MidWeek May 1, 2024

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We often hear about our public high schools when things aren’t going well. Too many students being taught by too few teachers, chronic absenteeism, stifling heat (still…) in classrooms, test scores stagnating or going down, annual concerns raised by legislators, Board of Education members and paid staff leaving… you’ve seen the headlines.

But have you heard about the Hawai`i Academies (HA)? It’s a partnership among 27 local, public high schools on five islands that aims to “…improve educational outcomes by implementing smaller learning communities through career academies”? The HA/Dept. of Education program began with just six schools in 2008. Workshops occur regularly as schools share information to make individual programs even better.

According to the Hawai`i Academies’ 2023/24 booklet, these smaller, real-life programs help raise kids’ grades, test scores, attendance, and graduation rates. The HA programs provides focus and consistency, which helps foment personal success for energized participants. Course offerings are diverse and future-focused. For example: 

‘Aiea High offerings include Academies in Health Sciences, Business, Culinary, Education, and Hospitality. Baldwin offers Digital Design, Computer Programming, and Sustainable Hospitality. Campbell has an Academy of Energy, Natural Resources, and Business. Kapa’a provides Health, Natural Resources, and Industrial Engineering Technology. McKinley offers Building & Construction. Hilo and Waiākea have student-run credit unions- for students! In conjunction with the DOE and Hawaii Pacific Health, Waipahu just opened its Academic Health Center, the first school-based health clinic in America!

HA entity represents more than incremental progress; it’s a marketable, thriving, success story that should be regularly acknowledged and loudly celebrated. You wanna talk about “growing our own”? Well, it’s happening via HA. I’ve actually witnessed the excitement in action at Kalaheo High through its Academy of Media & Design, where kids learn, innovate, and compete successfully at annual national competitions.  

Perhaps someday we’ll see this exemplary program expand to all 65 Hawai`i public high schools through more available resources and grants, with innovators, and individual school champions leading the charge. Greater sharing of best practices will further enhance the program as it continues to evolve and flourish. Getting teens excited and engaged in developing their own successes will propel them to become tomorrow’s local innovators, change-masters, ambassadors, and leaders. 

Amid the very real issues our public high schools face, big props to the Hawai`i Academies/DOE partnership. “My Voice, My Choice, My Future” is the HA mantra. And that future’s looking bright, indeed!

Think about it…

Swimming Upstream – MidWeek April 24, 2024

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Perseverance, resiliency, persistency, adaptability. Emotions, traits, or learned skills? These concepts can represent powerful tools in one’s personal arsenal. ‘Twas Charles Darwin who said: “It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” In our lives we often come to crossroads, and while change can be quite difficult, change we must… sometimes. 

Change is good… as long as it’s good change. Simply suggesting change doesn’t make it good or correct in and of itself. Leaders or hopeful change masters need buy-in when advocating for change. They need impassioned rationale that can be embraced and/or believed in. Ah, but sometimes you gotta adapt and change on your own.

Like on March 29 in Northeast Oregon… A 40-ton trailer overturned while transporting 102,000 live salmon (who counted?!) to be released in the Imnaha River to invariably migrate to the ocean, thereby circumventing the many northern river dams in place. This man-made process has moved fish downstream for 40 years.

So here comes the amazing part of this semi-disaster. The crashed tanker slid down an embankment of Lookingglass Creek. More than 76,000 smolts (young salmon) slid or flopped down the creek embankment in desperation, making their way into the creek, and most are expected to make it down through the Grande Ronde River to the Pacific Ocean- the original goal. Incredible! Without a GPS. Members of the Nez Perce tribe, hatchery workers, and the local sheriff’s office worked together to guide those who couldn’t make it into the water on their own, and cleaned up those who perished.

A fine example of perseverance, true grit, adaptability, and instinctual survival tactics. A life-saving example that when things go haywire or don’t work out- live to fight another day. Longtime Washington Post advice columnist, Carolyn Hax, recently wrote back to a querying parent about whether or not to coddle troubled teenagers by suggesting that they need to experience adversity along the way. “They need this because every life has some element of frustration, loneliness, rejection, mistreatment, misunderstanding, raw deals, disappointment, disaster and dream-crushing. And after that comes Tuesday.” 

Philosopher Friedrich Nietsche said: “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”. 77,000 salmon found strength amid disaster. Life’s road is not an easy, smooth ride; it sometimes feels like an overturned truck. Yet overcoming adversity is an integral part of growing up, right through adulthood.

Think about it…

Animal Farce – MidWeek April 17, 2024

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I awaited my pick-up order at a well-known restaurant recently, one which serves patrons both inside and outside (with closed doors between); and what should I see just poking along, amid unfazed diners, but a chicken, a free bird. Well, she seemed to be free, as she had full range of the place, and no one seemed to care. Entertained diners even tossed scraps to the chicken.

I guess we’ve gotten so inured to the pesky presence of plucky poultry that we’ll apparently let them roam wherever they’d like. As I awaited my Thai Chicken phone order (seriously), I couldn’t help but think- someone should tie this chicken! But whatevah!

A day earlier, I was in a well-known supermarket and the person behind me in line was saying, “Sit! Sit”. Yes, of course, he was commanding a dog, a gorgeous golden retriever, friendly as they (almost) always are. We’ve had four goldens over the decades- truly, marvelous friends. But why a non-guide dog would be permitted inside yet another food establishment was beyond me. Perhaps the dog was guiding his owner to the gouda or brie; I don’t know, but at least the canine was on a leash. Alas, we’ve gone to the dogs.

As a fellow dog lover, folks I’ve wondered about are the friendly, neighborhood walkers or beachgoers who think that allowing their obedient pet free rein is just fine. Er… Hawai`i has a public property leash law, and there are valid reasons for that. When a heretofore friendly dog does something wrong (like say… bites someone or barks contentiously) we normally hear from the stunned owner that “he/she has never done that before!” Well, all it takes is once. You might consider your Fido to be a friendly sniffer, but perhaps it’s uncool when Fido’s cozying up to someone who (unbeknownst to you) has been bitten before or was once traumatized by a dog. So please, can’t we just (publicly) love ‘em and leash ‘em?

And then we have those wandering neighborhood cats, feline pets perusing our great outdoors, sometimes serenading us at 2am or digging in the dirt beneath our bedroom window at 4am. It’s a cat-astrophe… but perhaps these carousing kitties might (at least) scare off proliferating free birds clucking things up in far too many neighborhoods. Here’s to human appreciation for the sedate animal kingdom, but let’s keep ‘em under some control.

Think about it…

State of Happiness? – MidWeek April 10, 2024

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As our state legislature heads into the home stretch of the 2024 session over the next month with lots of items still to be scrutinized, tweaked, or abandoned, now might be an appropriate time to reflect back seven months ago when a WalletHub.com survey ranked the “Happiest States in the U.S.A.” (https://wallethub.com/edu/happiest-states/6959)… because decisions made this month at the Hawai`i State Capitol will invariably affect local people’s happiness levels to some degree, including their willingness to stay and play in Hawai`i, as we’ve highlighted before in relation to the emigration crisis we’re in the midst of.

In autumn, 2023, Hawai`i ranked as the nation’s second-happiest state, right behind Utah. Interesting to note (perhaps) that Utah has been the reddest state (33 straight years of Republican party rule in the governor’s office plus state House + Senate), while Hawai`i has been America’s bluest state over the past 33 years in those three legislative areas (only the eight-year Linda Lingle gubernatorial reign interrupted the blue monopoly here). Social analysts can dissect and discern if steady, one-party rule tends to enhance voter/citizen happiness, but there you have it- one very red and one very blue state lead the happiness hunt. 

Emotional & Physical Well-Being, Work Environment, and Community & Environment were the three broad categories used by the WalletHub survey takers and while the Aloha State ranked #1 in Emotional & Physical Well-Being, we only ranked #25 in Work Environment and #30 in Community & Environment.

Hawai`i (believe it or not) has the lowest, national share of Adult Depression, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable here, and that figure doesn’t include on-going concerns about teens/kids mental health post-COVID isolation. Hawai`i also ranked #49 in Adequate-Sleep Rate, as has been mentioned before, plus we’re a disappointing 45th in Volunteer rate, maybe because everyone’s working extra jobs/hours, is sleep-deprived, and/or simply doesn’t have the physical/mental bandwidth; or maybe pot luck preparation after soccer games doesn’t count here as official “volunteering”… 

The statistics go on and on, they’ve been quoted before, but there is surely a vital correlation between our collective happiness quotient and the ripple effects that come from decisions made (or not made) by locally-elected officials every year. We need more sleep, but we must also wake up, get involved, create community action hui, provide feedback, vote, and thus make our collective voices heard before the zany, annual legislative session unfolds.

Think about it… 

One Step Forward… – MidWeek April 3, 2024

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Last month, the Skyline went backwards; but it was a good thing. Apparently, the elevated transit’s sensors indicated a “stoppage” on the tracks, thus kicking in the “whoa, let’s back up” feature, as designed. Riders were quickly shifted to buses and the train kept a rollin’ within 30-minutes. Nice to see the safety features at work.

But the idea of something going backward got me thinking about what happens far too often locally. We sometimes display a “one step forward, two steps backwards” mentality when it comes to high-profile proposals or even percolating ideas. Large or small- ambitious, newsworthy projects invariably suffer a similar fate. We talk, plan, analyze, prepare, regurgitate, fret, reinterpret, finalize… and then endure a long, vacuous phase- entropy- a gradual decline, or backpedaling. “Hey, whatever happened to…?” We don’t put a period on finalizing projects; we use commas, or semi-colons, because even when it seems like it’s done, it’s not… a lot.

Where to begin? TMT, new Aloha Stadium district, O`ahu replacement refuse center, state prison, new high school in Kapolei. The Waikiki Natatorium, Koolau Stairway to Heaven, North Shore parking, revised land use laws, truly affordable housing, a bypass road to/from leeward O`ahu. Like Lucy invariably snatching the football away just as hapless Charlie Brown approaches to kick it through the uprights, seemingly set projects and plans in Hawai`i dissipate as sure as the Manoa mist gently fades away.

Moving forward on major enterprises affecting our citizenry can be complicated, requires nuance, and must always pass the smell test. But like couples who say “I do”, but then don’t, way too often here something inches toward fruition, and then tumbles into a void-  too many see too little get done too often about too much.

Do or do not, there is no try. (Yoda) Well… yes there is locally. Frequently we reach a decision on a major or long-delayed issue, and then something or someone comes along to throw a wrench into the progress/process after we heard the final whistle, or so we thought.  

Our visions require stronger glasses when it comes to housing, human service initiatives, and entrepreneurial opportunities too often bandied about. Being cautious and playing within (sometimes outdated) rules on approved, constructive projects remains an absolute. But getting beyond expectations and witnessing no action taken for years or decades is frustrating and confounding, yet accepted… even expected. Which seems self-defeating.

Think about it…

Purposeful Ponderings – MidWeek March 27, 2024

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There is apparently no truth to the rumor that when Outback Steakhouse closed its final three locations in Hawai`i (along with dozens of other locations around the U.S.) that it would change its name to Backout…

And speaking of waste, new toilets are now being conceptualized and built. With a growing, worldwide need for potable water, salvaging water mixing environmental and economic innovation is a must; especially for our island state. Finnish architect/artist Arja Rennell reminds us that “waste is not waste, it’s a resource”. Her efforts with dry composting of toilet detritus are nothing new to rural, non-septic tank, homeowners around the world, but these new toilets may be a breath of fresh air in industrialized cities and nations. CNN says that Change:Water Labs “…is patenting an evaporative material that aims to reduce the volume of waste build-up by as much as 97% in a single day”. There are also efforts afoot to separate wastewater for recycling purposes. This is surely not a load of crap, as solutions must be found…  

We hear/read a lot about leadership. But what’s often missing from these missives is the importance of “followership”. A group of unmotivated, disinterested participants is tough, though not impossible, to lead to greatness. Want proof? Look at how many famous “leaders” tell tales of the failed coaching or business debacles they’ve experienced (or led) along their way. Followership is under-rated when looking at the success of many teams/companies. Great leaders bring out the character of followers. Perhaps strong followers here can adopt a “will-do” attitude when change is mandated or essential…

Stunning, ironic, prophetic… sometimes a picture really says it all. Rod Stewart sang that “…every picture tells a story, don’t it?” True that! You can put your own caption on it, but this is surely a sign of the times, literally- fronting a defunct, Hawaii Public Housing Authority facility located off of North Beretania Street downtown; “closed to the public” indeed.

Think about it…

Leaving Home – MidWeek March 20, 2024

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Sometimes people move because they want to. Sometimes people move because they feel they have to. A Honolulu Star-Advertiser article last month articulated the now-familiar story of families leaving Hawai`i, and then went touched on the specific human side of one Maui family’s efforts to stay put… at great cost.

When just looking at figures, the human element sometimes gets lost or ignored. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 67,257 residents moved from our islands between mid-2021 and mid-2022- at the height of the pandemic. During that same period, 56,209 people moved here from other states, so our net emigration was about 11,000 people. But who left, and who moved in? Those are vital questions that need further elucidation and dissection as we witness a changing of the literal face and nature of our state population.

Eight straight years of losing population has major implications for Hawai`i’s future. If local families uproot to find salvation and stability via affordable and more readily available housing, quality jobs, and a chance to build a retirement nest egg elsewhere, what do we lose? Not simply a family or tax payer, but possibly nā keiki o ka `aina, as different residents move here and (hopefully) acculturate, at some level. 

A deeper dive into immigration/emigration figures might show that we’re losing many 25- to 45-year-olds (+ kids) and gaining many 60+ year-olds who can afford to and truly want to retire here, meaning we’ve got a morphing population base. The state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) recently posted: “There were 31 more people moving out of Hawaii to another state than moving to Hawaii from another state” every day from July, 2022 – June, 2023. 

Judge for yourself whether having fewer people reside here is a good thing, but also reflect on what this means for our state’s future, unique culture, tax base, worker pool, and ability to care for a growing kūpuna base. The social/cultural/lifestyle factors affected by the resident movement cannot be ignored and must be an integral part of housing/jobs/local style discussions. To ignore this reality is to be part of the unproductive “ainokea” or “whatevah” syndrome. 

The clock is ticking; local airport turnstiles are clicking. Legislative and business action items must progress today regarding housing, jobs, and tax issues. Perhaps we’ll finally see an other-than-just-tourism economic engine start moving… before more of our local families gets moving.

Think about it…

The ABCs of CBOs – MidWeek March 13, 2024

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Organizations that deal with crises all the time locally are facing crises not of their own making. The Hawai`i True Cost Coalition is comprised of more than 50 community-based organizations (CBOs) that annually serve over a half-million residents in Hawai`i. 

The Coalition is attempting to rectify the decades-old problem of government underfunding for government-based projects so that agencies can continue to provide support for victims of domestic abuse, housing for foster/at-risk youth and other low-income individuals/families, food distribution for those in need, elderly services, homeless outreach, mental health counselling… the list goes on and on. Pick a social problem, and odds are an agency dealing with it that that has to come up with its own funding due to government underpayment (and slow payment) for government-initiated programs.

It’s beyond unfair that local nonprofits must continue to have this financial burden placed upon them by archaic pay scales; the last few years (with COVID and the Maui wildfires) have made things even more difficult for so many agencies that so many rely on.

Full disclosure- I work at Aloha United Way, am involved with the True Cost Coalition, and thus help as a partner agency with Coalition members who are simply trying to make ends meet so that they can deliver social services so badly needed. If non-profit agencies cannot cover administrative and personnel costs to run government projects and programs, something’s gotta give… like services provided, having enough social workers available to do the work, etc. CBO-sourced grants and donations help, but the irony is that if non-profits must cut back services or close their doors, the onus to deal with social ills will invariably fall back on local government. Problems will compound, which will cost even more.

A 2022 survey of Hawai`i non-profits indicated that, in working on government contracts, 79% “always or often had to cut administrative costs”, 56% “always or often had to undercut staff salaries”, and 40% “…felt they may not be able to continue to operate in Hawai`i if government contracting challenges are not addressed”. Not good, not right.

The state has a budget crisis; that’s understood. But we’ll see disastrous, ripple effects if we experience a disappearance of or program cutbacks at efficient CBOs that help over 500,000 people locally because they are not being sufficiently funded by the very entities they contract with and who depend on them- the government.

Think about it…