Maile's District 21 Blog

Principal Ray Pikelny, Waianae Elementary

Principal Ray Pikelny, who has turned Waianae Elementary into a thriving hub of learning and caring in just three years, has won the $25,000 Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership award.

The Island Insurance Foundation presents the prize annually to a principal who is “visionary, community-minded and has an entrepreneurial spirit.” It announced her selection Wednesday.

Before Pikelny arrived in 2017, Waianae Elementary had churned through three principals and six vice principals in three years — and a quarter of its teachers left the school each year.

She worked to build a positive school culture and trusting relationships among staff, students, families and community partners, according to her colleagues. The school now has a committed leadership team and teacher turnover is less than 10% annually.

“Ray Pikelny is a leader through and through,” Melanie Pokakaa, grade level chairwoman at the school, wrote in a letter of recommendation. “Through her persistence and ability to motivate and develop a deep sense of pride in others as well as a strong sense of unity, she is transforming a school in ways that some may not have believed possible.”

“Her vision focuses on instilling a love for learning and growth in all involved, ranging from students to faculty and staff to community,” Pokakaa added. “She intently listens to our concerns and suggestions, always looking for ways to address those needs without deviating from a focus on learning.”

A campus that once was deserted as soon as the final bell rang at 2:10 p.m. now buzzes with activity. Pikelny worked with educational assistants to create an after- school enrichment program that reflects student interests. It includes a media program, music, dance, art, entrepreneurship, cooking club, spring musical, sports and tutoring.

She mobilized community partners to revitalize the school’s garden, in a vivid demonstration to students that “even something once damaged can be restored with love, purpose, resilience and teamwork,” Pokakaa wrote.

Pikelny is now leading an effort to create a Thinkers Space, or Learning Center, on the campus. It will include a maker space, media center, robotics lab and library, made possible by a $100,000 donation from an alumnus of Waianae Elementary.

Sixth grader Mona Liza Rapun credited her principal with making school exciting with so many activities and changing her outlook as a student.

“The first time I met Mrs. Pikelny is when I got in trouble and went to Mrs. Pikelny’s office,” Mona recounted. “My first impression of her was that she was really kind, calm and caring.”

The principal encouraged her to take part in the school’s musical play and also a summer program where she learned about leadership.

“As a student and as a person, I have learned not to worry about what others say about me and to always try to be the best that I can be and be proud of who I am,” she wrote. “They taught me how to be a leader and to stand for what’s right. That’s how I became student council president.”

Aware of students’ needs at home, Pikelny established a food pantry on campus in partnership with Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and the Hawaii Food Bank. It became a model for other public schools, according to Sheldon Konno, vice principal of Nanakuli Elementary.

A former vice principal at Waianae High, Pikelny has hired qualified staff from the area and uses newsletters and social media to stay in touch with her community and share what’s happening at the school.

“From teachers to part-time employees, the school has now become part of the community and the community became part of the school,” Konno said.

The Masayuki Tokioka prize, which is named after the founder of Island Insurance Co., comes in two parts: a $10,000 cash award for the principal and $15,000 for a school project of her choice.

Pikelny plans to use the project money to set up a school-led credit union with “SWIM” currency that students earn for good behavior and good citizenship. It also aims to teach financial management and literacy to students and their parents. Students may redeem the currency for items or tickets to special activities designed by the Student Council or teachers.

“Principal Pikelny is a leader who is transforming Waianae Elementary into a model learning institution,” said Tyler Tokioka, president of Island Insurance Foundation. “By recognizing outstanding principals such as Ray, it is our hope that her accomplishments will inspire others in public education.”

For more, including the list of semifinalists and nominees, read the original article at the Star-Advertiser.

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The first ever Oʻahu University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges Virtual Job Fair is scheduled for Monday May 18 through Thursday, May 21. It is open to all students, faculty and staff from Honolulu Community College, Kapiʻolani Community College, Leeward Community College and Windward Community College.

Visit the Oʻahu UH Community Colleges Virtual Job Fair website for:

• A list of employers in attendance
• Access to exclusive webinars and resources, such as resume reviews, to help prepare for the fair
• Registration using your hawaii.edu email by Monday, May 18

This event is an opportunity to learn more about career paths from hiring professionals, build relationships with employers and find part-time and full-time jobs in a variety of industries that are hiring now. Featured industries include: Environmental conservation and management, healthcare, finance, public service, technology and transportation.

In preparation for the fair, technical support is being offered on Friday, May 15, on a drop-in basis 1–5 p.m. This is an opportunity to get answers to any questions about using Zoom or about the virtual booth experience. Zoom information for the virtual job fair will be provided upon registration. Other questions and answers may be on the FAQs or contact uhccjco@hawaii.edu.

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Eleni Gill, “Native Hawaiians Eligible For Rental Assistance During COVID-19 Crisis,” CB, 5/11/20.

Applicants must be on the Department of Hawaiian Homelands waitlist for housing lots.

Native Hawaiians who have lost their jobs and income due to COVID-19 may qualify for as much as six months of rental assistance under a new state program.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands program will be administered by Aloha United Way.

Applicants must be Native Hawaiian and on DHHL’s waitlist for housing. To qualify, families must have a household income that doesn’t exceed 80% of the federal median income. If approved, they’ll receive funds for a security deposit and rent for up to six months.

DHHL is preparing to offer 1,300 lots over the next five years to eligible families, according to William Aila, Jr., the chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

“We hope the relief program will keep families in a position where they’ll be ready to take those 1,300 lots when they become available,” he said at a press conference Monday.

The agency has also offered financial assistance for mortgage payments during the pandemic.

Norm Baker, interim Aloha United Way President and CEO, estimated that 2,500 households will be saved from eviction.

“Of course if the family’s income is zero, as in many of the situations that we have today, the department through Aloha United Way will cover the entire security deposit as well as rent for up to six months,” Aila said.

Applications must include two months of the most recent pay stubs, bank statements, rental and lease documents, two years of tax documents, and proof that their unemployment was caused by COVID-19.

Those interested in applying should call Aloha United Way’s 2-1-1 hotline to see if they’re eligible.

The COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program includes a total of $7 million in Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant (NHHBG) funds from the federal government.

The funds are approved under the Native Hawaiian Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) and other federal laws, Aila said.

In Hawaii, about 13% of coronavirus cases involve Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islander communities. Together, they represent 10% of the population when people of more than one race are excluded.

While Hawaii seems to have flattened the curve of the rate of COVID-19 infection, its unemployment rate has grown from 3% to more than 35% and is now considered the highest in the nation.

For the full story, go to the Civil Beat site.

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Kauai: These Small Sheds May Soon Shelter Quarantined Family Members

Residents of Department of Hawaiian Home Lands properties are eligible for the new program, which aims to alleviate overcrowding in many homes.

Kupuna Quarantine Shed

By Allan Parachini, Civil Beat, 4/5/20

EXCERPTS (read the full article here):

– The project is the latest step to help Native Hawaiians counter the crisis by the Homestead Community Development Corp., with offices here and in Honolulu. The corporation will be offering below-market-rate financing for people who want to build the quarantine structures, which will cost between $2,000 and $7,500 depending on the design. Some may be basic boxes. Others may have windows and one design even has a sliding glass door.

– Payment plans will be offered that range from $90 per month spread over two years to $183 per month when spread over 48 months. Only residents of Department of Hawaiian Home Lands properties are eligible for the loan and construction program.

– [Robin Danner, CEO of the organization] said loan decisions will not be based on credit scores. “I want to say to our homestead families this is not the time to question what you assume your credit score to be. Let us worry about that. This is not the time to deny your elders a quarantine unit because you’re afraid you won’t qualify for a loan.”

– The structures are square, with pitched roofs. They are designed to house people in the short term but could be repurposed for storage once the COVID-19 danger has passed. The sheds are about 8-feet square and small enough that they fall below the minimum size for which a building permit is required.

– The projects are intended to be do-it-yourself affairs. Loan recipients will receive a list of tools and materials they will need, as well as a manual to walk them through the construction. Danner said the development corporation hopes to work with Honsador Lumber to obtain favorable pricing for materials, which mostly consist of plywood, 2-by-4s and roofing shingles.

– [Robin Danner, CEO of the organization] said loan customers will not be required to use Homestead Community Development Corp. plans or buy materials through the organization. She said an initial $200,000 in seed capital has already been raised and that development corporation staff members will be trained in processing loan applications, which could start moving through the process on Monday.

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School violence data shows areas of persistent trouble
by Gina Mangieri
KHON2, Feb 24, 2020

The stabbings at Mililani High School on Monday happened at a campus that has a relatively low rate of both violent and disciplinary incidents. Always Investigating and dug into the data for a statewide perspective.

The Mililani incident shows that safety issues can and do happen anywhere, while campuses with continually higher rates of violence continue to struggle.

Always Investigating worked for months to get school-by-school numbers from the Department of Education about both serious violence, as well as bullying and misconduct, for every public school campus.

According to the last complete school year’s data, there were nearly 4,000 “Class a” violence incidents statewide. These are things like assault, fighting, terroristic threatening and sexual offenses.

There were an average 15 Class A offenses reported per school for 2018-19, a range of none for many schools, and as high as 201 — the equivalent of more than 1 every school day. Mililani High School is below average for Class A’s with only 8 reported last school year.

There were more than 3,100 “Class B” incidents statewide for 2018-19, things like bullying, cyberbullying, disorderly conduct and hazing. There were an average of 12 per campus, and a range of none to 161. Mililani High School reported just two of those last school year.

Nonetheless, lawmakers still have questions for the DOE.

“We will be looking at this incident closely and talking with the principal, parents and Department of Education staff to see if there is anything that could have been done to prevent this attack or incidents like this in the future,” Rep. Justin Woodson, the chairman of the state House Education Committee, told KHON2..

Taking statewide Class A and B offense numbers together, the campuses with the highest counts in 2018-19 were mostly middle schools, and Waianae Intermediate School had the highest count: 293 in just one school year, followed by Waipahu Intermediate (247), Campbell High School (235), Kalama Intermediate (198), and Keaau Middle (181).

“We definitely need to do everything we can as a state to put more resources toward Waianae Intermediate School,” said Sen. Maile Shimabukuro, who represents the Waianae area in the state Senate.

Shimabukuro says she hopes things like the new higher teacher pay in this and other hard-to-staff regions, and more onsite resources such as truancy court, a mental and physical health clinic, even schoolwide air conditioning will make a difference in temperament.

“I hope we’re going to start to see this reverse,” Shimabukuro said, “and just know that the community really is trying to come together to address the problems that are happening at the school.”

Whether schools are at the high, middle or low range of the incident count though, one need remains constant for students across Hawaii: “Making sure they have easy access to mental health care as well as education about how to handle conflict peacefully, how to deal with difficult emotions,” Shimabukuro said.

We’ll continue to follow up with the Department of Education and lawmakers on what they’re doing to curb everything from serious violence to bullying statewide. And we’ll watch the numbers for signs of progress.

Copyright 2020 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Kayla, Keani, & Kelly participated in the HAIS District Science Fair competition on 02/15/20.

Keani is an Island Pacific Academy 6th grader. Although he did not advance to the state competition, Keani had this to say: “Sadly I didn’t make it to states, but I now have an idea of what it will be like if I ever choose to go there again!”

Kelly, an Iolani junior, is going to advance to the state competition.

Kayla, an Iolani junior, is on the waitlist for the state competition.

Most of the Island Pacific Academy students who participated in the district competition.

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Lawmakers Limit Scope of Bill Banning AG’s Probe of Hawaiian Nonprofit
By Blaze Lovell, Civil Beat, 11 Feb. 2020

A key Senate panel unanimously voted Tuesday to narrow the extent to which the state Attorney General’s Office can investigate certain nonprofits.

The Hawaiian Affairs Committee amended Senate Bill 42 to prohibit AG investigations from conflicting with Native Hawaiian cultural rights protected under the state constitution.

The proposal in front of lawmakers is a reaction to the AG’s probe of KAHEA: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance. The state subpoenaed financial documents related to the nonprofit’s support of protests that have halted the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea.

The bill originally would have prohibited the AG from investigating any nonprofit that engages in acts of civil disobedience, which state lawyers raised objections to because it could essentially tie the state’s hands in investigating any nonprofit.

“Our intent is not to hinder the AG from doing its job,” said Sen. Maile Shimabukuro, chair of the Hawaiian Affairs Committee.

Shimabukuro introduced the measure by putting its contents into a blank bill last week. She amended the bill to include the narrower language involving conflicts, which was put forward by University of Hawaii law professor Ken Lawson.

In KAHEA’s case, the state is conflicted, Lawson said, because it has an interest in seeing TMT built on Mauna Kea, a mountain considered sacred by many Native Hawaiians.  Continue reading →

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Bill would eliminate special inspections for lowriders, lifted vehicles
By Lisa Kubota, HNN, February 12, 2020

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) – Many car enthusiasts hope that a proposal to get rid of a special inspection for reconstructed vehicles gets the green light from state lawmakers.

They’re tracking Senate Bill 213, which was passed by the Senate Transportation Committee last week.  Continue reading →

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Ku`uwehi Hiraishi, “DHHL to Buy $8M Property in Mōʻiliʻili from Kamehameha Schools for Housing” (HPR, 1/28/20).

UPDATED: 1/28/20, 5:33 p.m.

A new land deal in Mōʻiliʻili struck by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands could take potentially hundreds of Native Hawaiians off the homestead wait list in urban Honolulu.

The Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC) voted yesterday to buy almost $8 million in Mōʻiliʻili property from Kamehameha Schools for future housing development. The purchase could help address the growing waitlist for Hawaiian homestead lots on Oʻahu, where more than 10,000 applicants are still waiting.  Continue reading →

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Ashley Mizuo, “Oahu Grapples With Where To Place Its Next Landfill As It Confronts Its Waste Dilemma” (HPR, 7 Jan. 2020).

About 30 trucks roll down Farrington Highway on the west side of Oahu every day to dump waste at the City and County of Honolulu’s only municipal landfill, Waimanalo Gulch. Now after 30 years, the State Land Use Commission has ordered the landfill to close its doors for good by 2028.

The landfill symbolizes Oahu’s continuing struggle to reduce the waste generated by about 1 million residents and visitors on any given day. On one hand, H-Power — the waste-to-energy incinerator in Kapolei — has allowed the city to divert a significant portion of its trash. Yet the island still needs a location to dump ash from H-Power and the remaining mountain of waste that the plant canʻt process.

Now, the city must decide how it will deal with the island’s burgeoning waste in the future. This reckoning is not solely due to the approaching land use deadline and environmental pressures surrounding Waimanalo Gulch, but mounting opposition to the location of waste facilities in Leeward Oahu, where many residents say they have had enough.

Waianae Sen. Maile Shimabukuro said the land use commissonʻs order to close Waimanalo Gulch is long overdue.

“The community’s been told time and time again the landfill would in fact close. But each time the closure date comes around, the city seeks an extension,” she said. “There’s definitely a feeling of — just in general — environmental injustice for our whole coastline.”   Continue reading →

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Brittany Lyte, “How These Makaha Neighbors Saved a County Park from Crime and Weeds” (Honolulu Civil Beat, 1/28/20).

When police and social services agencies couldn’t help, this small band of neighbors took matters into their own hands. And it worked.

What happens when a treasured public gathering place becomes a hotbed of crime and vagrancy?

When it happened to Mauna Lahilahi Botanical Garden on Oahu’s Waianae Coast, a gutsy, bootstrap community group moved in, instituted a zero tolerance policy for criminal and unhealthy activity and reclaimed the county park from the brink of delinquency.

Of course, it wasn’t so easy. But when complaints to police and politicians did little to solve the problem, the park’s neighbors decided to shift their perspective.

Instead of begging for better law enforcement, they invested hundreds of hours to establish a neighborhood watch group and a monthly cleanup event series. They forged partnerships with the cops and county government, which facilitated green waste pickup and a homeless sweep.

Slowly, they squeezed out illicit activity and replaced it with wholesome recreation — fishing, hiking, swimming and picnicking.

There’s much work to be done to fully restore the park’s beauty. But a year after the neighbors took on responsibility for the park’s condition, families that had given up on the place are returning.  Continue reading →

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“DOT to close one lane near Maipalaoa Bridge on Farrington Highway after fatal car collision”
By Annalisa Burgos, Monday, 27 Jan. 2020, 6:39 PM HST

Ma’ipalaoa Bridge on Farrington Highway is one of the major lifelines for Waianae Coast residents. Considered old and dilapidated, it’s being replaced.

But the lane changes made to accommodate construction workers are being partially blamed in a fatal car collision this weekend.

Two Waianae residents — 61-year-old Richard Takayama Jr., and 40-year-old Brandie Navarro — died after a pickup truck hit a concrete barrier, veered into their lane and crashed into them head on. The driver of the truck was hospitalized in critical condition.  Continue reading →

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“State plans highway changes in Maili following double-fatal crash“
By HNN Staff, January 26, 2020 at 11:07 AM HST – Updated January 27 at 5:57 PM

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) – After a deadly collision near a Maili bridge replacement construction site, the state plans to make changes to improve the safety of drivers along Farrington Highway.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation intends to contraflow traffic in the area to eliminate a lane shift that is causing confusion for some motorists.

“We’ll always have two lanes in the peak direction, but we may only have one lane going in the opposite direction,” said Ed Sniffen, the Highways Division deputy director for the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

Continue reading →

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The University of Hawaii is advising everyone to monitor the outbreak
of the novel coronavirus, a respiratory illness first reported in
Wuhan, China in December 2019. There are now more than 2,700 cases
and 82 deaths reported in China. There have been five cases reported
in the continental United States with no deaths. There are no
reported cases in Hawaii and no direct flights from Wuhan, China to
our state.

Multiple federal and state agencies are closely monitoring the
situation. Everyone is urged to follow Center for Disease Control
(CDC) guidelines and Hawaii Department of Health (DOH)
recommendations, which are related to travel to and from China:

CDC recommendations : http://go.hawaii.edu/API

DOH guidance: http://go.hawaii.edu/AP7

DOH advises everyone to get vaccinated for influenza because there
are similar symptoms between the coronavirus and the flu. Everyone is
asked to follow standard procedures if experiencing flu like
symptoms:

• Avoid contact with others
• Do not travel while sick
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your
  hands) when coughing or sneezing
• Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available

The university will continue to provide updates, when necessary.

—

This message was sent on behalf of University of Hawaii.

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Hawaii lawmakers urge news outlets to use ‘no-notoriety’ approach
By John Burnett, Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 23 Jan. 2020

HILO — State Sen. Maile Shimabukuro of Oahu has introduced a pair of resolutions “encouraging the media, law enforcement, and information officers to adopt a no-notoriety approach to reporting on mass shooters and the perpetrators of other mass crimes.”

The nonbinding resolutions, Senate Resolution 5 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 19, both introduced Tuesday, are identical, except the concurrent resolution contains the phrase “the House of Representatives concurring.”

Co-sponsors of SCR 19 include Big Island Sens. Lorraine Inouye and Russell Ruderman, Oahu Sens. Stanley Chang, Karl Rhoads, Michelle Kidani, Sharon Moriwaki, Gil Riviere and Laura Thielen, and Maui Sen. Rosalyn Baker. All also are co-sponsors of SR 5, as are Oahu Sens. Donovan Dela Cruz, Mike Gabbard, Donna Mercado Kim and Clarence Nishihara.

The timing of the resolutions’ introduction follows Sunday’s rampage by a mentally ill man, Jerry “Jarda” Hanel, who fatally shot Honolulu police officers Tiffany Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama, then set a fire that burned several homes and likely killed Hanel and his landlady, Lois Cain.

Shimabukuro said, however, she drafted the measures prior to the Diamond Head tragedy at the request of a constituent who was upset at seeing the photo and name of a mass shooting suspect repeatedly aired in news coverage.

“He said, ‘Let’s do something to stop this.’ And I thought it was a great idea,” Shimabukuro said. “So I did a quick internet search and saw there are national movements to do a no-notoriety approach. And I think it makes a lot of sense.”

“I want to see where the conversation goes,” she added.

The resolution requests that media and law enforcement “recognize that notoriety serves as a motivating factor for suspects of mass crimes and inspires copycat crimes” and “limit the name of a suspect to once per piece as a reference point, avoid using the suspect’s name in headlines, and limit the use of the suspect’s likeness” unless necessary to apprehend the suspect.

It also urges media to “refuse to broadcast or publish self-serving statements, photos, videos, manifestos (or) social media posts” by suspects and “focus on and elevate the names and likenesses of the victims and frame messaging that shows the victims’ lives are more than the suspect’s actions.”

“I want to see the focus on the victims, and I don’t want to see any kind of glorification given to (suspects), even if it’s infamous glorification,” Shimabukuro said. “They should just say ‘the suspect,’ and don’t put his picture, don’t put his name. Don’t give him any kind of recognition — which is often what these guys are looking for.”

Ruderman said he signed on as a co-sponsor because he thinks “it’s worthy of discussion and consideration in that we don’t want to encourage copycat crimes.”

“It seems like when someone gets famous for something heinous, there’s someone else out there who wants to do the same or do it better,” Ruderman said.

Nancy Cook Lauer, a West Hawaii Today reporter and president of the Big Island Press Club, a community organization dedicated to freedom of information and the public’s right to know, called the resolutions’ motivation “understandable, even admirable,” but pointed to “news value in publishing a suspect’s name and photo.”

“Most importantly, it gives notice to the public, especially those who may have been victimized by the suspect in the past,” Cook Lauer said. “This enables them to seek redress if appropriate, or (serves) as a reminder to all society if prior acts of violence were discounted or overlooked. It helps societies identify gaps or failures in systems that could help prevent future tragedies.”

She described the resolutions’ suggested limitations on use of suspects’ names and likenesses as “alarming, in that it opens the door for government to dictate specific content of a news article.”

Jeff Portnoy, a Honolulu attorney who represents the Tribune-Herald and other media outlets, called the resolutions “just bad policy and suggests a total lack of knowledge of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

“Whether the intent is laudable, the suggestion that the government is going to recommend how the media covers an event or what it publishes is very scary in a democracy. And even a suggestion, by way of a resolution, is very troubling,” Portnoy said. “It’s attempting to dissuade the media from its responsibilities. It’s also attempting to instruct the media what it should or should not publish. And for a governmental entity to enter into these waters is very disturbing.”

Portnoy described the resolutions as “a slippery slope.”

“Are they going to now recommend that you don’t print negative information about a legislator because it may cause the legislator distress?” he said. “… I don’t think you should have the Legislature recommending what you print in your newspaper.”

Ruderman and Shimabukuro both expressed respect for the First Amendment.

“I think that here, we’re asking for a discussion of can we as a society say that we don’t want to promote this kind of thing,” Ruderman said. “I don’t think we can forbid anybody from publicizing it, but we can appeal to a news agency to get everything that’s important across without making that individual famous.”

“It’s a resolution. It’s not a law. If my measure passes, it’s just urging,” Shimabukuro added. “We’re not mandating anything.”

Inouye didn’t return a call by press time.

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According to C. L. Haliniak, Native Hawaiians are overrepresented in DOE Special Education classes.¹ Native Hawaiian (NH) students make up 26% of the public school population, but they represent 39.1% of SE students. In raw numbers, that’s 6,649 NHs in SE.

Click image to view a PDF of the publication. The section on Special Ed begins on page 6.

NHs are nearly twice as likely (14.6% vs 8.3%) to end up in SE as non-NHs. NH boys are twice as likely to be in SE than NH girls (19.2% vs 9.6%). The long-term impact for these thousands of students is poverty. “For those students in special education who are able to obtain employment after graduation, they are more likely to have entry-level jobs with lower wage earnings and limited opportunities for promotions” (6).

Hawaiian-immersion schools and programs are a response to the poor performance of NH students in public schools. The assumption is that non-NH teacher ethnicity and non-NH language/culture are key contributing factors. In the coming years, national and state statistics (e.g., NAEP, DOE, and UH stats) should be able to confirm this assumption.
__________
¹ Haliniak, C.L. (2017). A Native Hawaiian Focus on the Hawaiʻi Public School System, SY2015. (Hoʻonaʻauao (Education) Fact Sheet, Vol. 2017, No.1). Honolulu, HI: Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Research Division, Special Projects.

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HONU program — short-term mobile tent camp for homeless — is ‘wildly successful’
By William Cole
Star-Advertiser 12/28/19

Video by William Cole and Dennis Oda. Honolulu police said a mobile shelter program for homeless set up two weeks ago in Waipahu Cultural Garden Park has been very successful.

A unique city, state and police homelessness pilot program using inflatable tents at Waipahu Cultural Garden Park and offering short-term shelter 24 hours a day has been a big success in its first two weeks, the Honolulu Police Department said Friday.

The HONU (Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons) effort will move every 90 days, with two such camps expected to eventually operate simultaneously, officials said. Continue reading →

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Library of Congress Seeks Applicants for the 2020 Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program

The Library of Congress is seeking applicants for its 2020 Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program. This is a 10-week paid fellowship for undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning more about the work done at the largest library in the world.  For more information or to apply for the program, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/internships/junior-fellows-program/. The deadline to apply is Friday, Dec. 20.  

Continue reading →

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Sara Mattison, “Vehicles Having Trouble Getting Over Steep Raised Crosswalks in Waianae” (KHON2, 20 Nov. 2019). “Transportation Department officials tell us the raised crosswalks are steeper than what they wanted to build. They say they used an old topographic survey on file instead of doing a new one to get more information for that area.”

Senator Shimabukuro: “I did hear there was an accident involving a military vehicle that had slowed down because of the speed bump, and then somebody crashed into them. It’s a lesson learned, and I know that the DOT has the best intentions. I’m so glad that they did what they did because we’ve needed something drastic to happen in this community. The pedestrian fatalities are still out of control.”

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