Blogging the Aloha State and Beyond
Civic hackers in Honolulu will have a chance to talk with and learn from a fellow open government advocate in California. Steve “Spike” Spiker, founder and executive director of Open Oakland, will share his story with Code for Hawaii on Wednesday and talk about his organization’s work as an official “Brigade” for Code for...
On the surface, Hawaii’s energy sector seems poised for growth. But a Thursday panel discussion will dig deeper, assessing the state’s true prospects in industries that are innovating and growing quickly. This year alone, the state set an ambitious goal to run entirely on renewable energy within 30 years, Henk Rogers made international headlines with...
HiCapacity, one of Hawaii’s first makerspaces, is hosting its first social mixer for women with “Ladies in Tech Night.” The Tuesday night meetup is being organized by HiCapacity intern and UH engineering student Jessica Grazziotin, who was featured earlier this month for her presentation at the ‘IKE Student Symposium. “It’s just...
Next week’s Wetware Wednesday mixer for software developers will introduce the local programmer community to Hawaii’s manufacturers. The HTDC says it hopes to “keep the collaborative juices flowing and meet up with another industry,” echoing last month’s “Foodware Wednesday” by renaming the August gathering “Hardware Wednesday.” Tbe upcoming meetup is cosponsored...
Bikeshare Hawaii is moving forward with its ambitious plan to launch a 1,600-bike, 183-station bikesharing system in urban Honolulu. And now the non-profit is hosting “open house” events to allow the public to check out the offerings of four bikesharing systems and help choose the best system for the island....
Smartphones are exacting revenge on cranky and crusty technologists who declared, in the ’90s, that “textspeak” signaled the death of the English language, and perhaps even the decline of western civilization. At least back then, when fliphones lacked keyboards and writing messages required convoluted button-mashing combinations like T9, you might...
Newspapers continue to struggle, but local television news audiences have grown slightly. Most people now get their news on mobile devices, but the once niche medium of podcasts has seen its audience surge. And that’s only in the last year. Journalism and the overall media industry is in constant flux, which...
Disney has given fans a colorful, musical, and celebrity-fortified preview of its upcoming animated feature, “Moana.” The film, due out next November, is steeped in Hawaiian mythology, telling the story of a young woman named Moana who sets off across the ocean and meets Maui, the demigod who is said to...
Today was my youngest son Alex’s 11th birthday, and thanks to Anne Murata of the Pacific Aviation Museum and Burt Lum and his Bytemarks Meetup Group, we were able to mark the occasion with a memorable visit to historic Ford Island in Pearl Harbor at the 8th annual “Biggest Little...
As Blue Startups continues to recruit applications for its sixth cohort, the accelerator is hosting its first ever “Founders Mixer” on Tuesday to help potential enrollees build out their teams. Founded in 2012, Blue Startups is among Hawaii’s longest running startup accelerator programs, and was named one of the country’s...
With the otoba come and gone, and the formal obon services complete, this weekend brought the annual bon dance at the Jodo Mission of Hawaii. There was a little rain tonight, but as always there was a lot of music, dancing, tasty food, and fun little games for kids. The Friday night...
This weekend brings the fourth annual ‘IKE Scholars Symposium. Like yesterday’s “Project Imua” rocket launch, the symposium is a unified grand finale of sorts for students from several different college campuses. The Saturday morning symposium will feature the work and accomplishments of more than 90 engineering students, many wrapping up summer projects...
A rocket launched from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia this morning was carrying a scientific payload designed and built by a team of community college students from Hawaii. “Project Imua” was the culmination of an ambitious and unique collaboration among four campuses across the state. When I last wrote...
Airplanes from many eras in aviation will be on display and featured in flight at the Pacific Aviation Museum’s 8th annual “Biggest Little Airshow” on historic Ford Island this weekend. From military aircraft to vintage biplanes to fighter jets, pilots will prove they have the right stuff with takeoffs and...
In the abstract, knowing that Honolulu’s rail transit line won’t be completed until 2019 makes the whole thing seem far off in the future. But with construction of the first three miles of elevated guideway now completed, the massive project looms very, very near for a lot of people. I wrote in June...
Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaii’s most celebrated surfer and athlete, is the focus of a new, original exhibit that opened today at Bishop Museum. On Thursday, the museum will host documentary film screening and a panel discussion dedicated to his legacy. Born 125 years ago this month, Kahanamoku was a beach boy...
State and federal emergency management officials yesterday signed an updated Catastrophic Hurricane Plan for Hawaii, as Hurricane Hilda churns slowly toward the islands. Emergency preparedness is a common summer theme in Hawaii, with hurricane season running from June through November every year. Less than two weeks ago, the City & County...
Route 99 Hawaii, based in Wahiawa, sells a popular line of embroidered hats that proudly declare the wearer’s local pride. From “Only in the 808” and “Aloha” to designs featuring the North Shore and Native Hawaiian motifs, the company has grown from a farmers market booth to a lifestyle brand sold in more than two dozen...
Hawaii Public Radio, for which I have served as a volunteer talk show host with Burt Lum for seven years as of this week, is trying something new tomorrow with “$5-a-Month Friday.” Public radio pledge drives have been the medium’s signature fundraising method for nearly 40 years. As public broadcasting budgets relied...
Dispelling any doubt that drones have gone mainstream, Honolulu is now home to a brick-and-mortar retail and service shop dedicated to the flying machines. Drones Plus Hawaii, located across the street from the Hawaii Convention Center (1695 Kapiolani Blvd.), is one of nine Drones Plus stores in the U.S. and...
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