HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Most every high school class has that one natural athlete where everything seemingly comes so easy.

At Mid-Pacific Institute, Destiny Look fits that description and this weekend, she’s closing in on a state championship in the 300-meter hurdles — a sport she only started two years ago on the fly.

“We kind of did it as a joke at first and then I was like, I kind of want to do this in a meet,” Look said. “I guess it kind of came natural. I did gymnastics as a kid, too, and I have these boards in my house I kind of walk over, so it was kind of just hurdle form already — walk over, bring your leg over, so I already had it in my brain.”

The problem is at that time MPI didn’t have a full-time hurdling coach or program, but longtime track coach Rick Hendrix trained himself up and could see right away, Look had it down.

“In the 100 hurdles, you three step in between every hurdle,” Hendrix said. “By the first week, she was doing it and just three-stepping. Most girls it’s either four or five step, but to be really good at it, you three step.”

Since then, Look has bolted off the blocks winning multiple ILH championships in the 300m and 100 hurdles, the long jump, and a school record in high jump.

“She has the speed and she has the endurance of a long-distance runner, which is a great combination,” Hendrix said. “You don’t see that too much.”

And track isn’t her only love as she’s excelled in soccer, cross country and basketball.

This past season, she tried out for the Owls varsity volleyball team, made the cut, and in her first year in the sport, won a state championship.

“I didn’t start, I wouldn’t play as much,” Look said. “I put in that work at practice and I showed them, I can play. Then I started building up, play a little more, help the team, it was just a fun experience overall.”

This weekend’s state tournament is only one event on a packed calendar..

Next month, she heads to Oregon for the prestigious Nike outdoor national tournament and then it’s off to Texas for the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics.

Her hope is to eventually land at a division 1 university with the goal of competing at the Olympics in the heptathlon.

“I usually just think I gotta go full out and it’s just me against the clock,” Look said. “Just always trying to cut down on those times and get a good time for a PR or something.’’

Given her knack for multi-tasking, she’ll be just fine.

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Hawaii residents are disappointed that the Aloha State’s lawmakers ended the legislative session without advancing a bill to strengthen the independence of the state’s Water Commission.

The bill’s demise comes at a critical time. The Hawaii Supreme Court recently determined that Attorney General Anne Lopez and the state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) made baseless allegations against a judge’s decision regarding East Maui streams.

Meanwhile, a citizens group known as the Red Hill Community Representative Initiative (CRI) has been advocating for the legislation since significant water contamination affected roughly 93,000 residents in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in 2021. 

Marti Townsend, a resident and chair of the CRI, denounced the legislature for failing to advance the bill. 

“From the … decades-long foot-dragging in implementing legally required stream protections in East Maui, to the bald-faced lies about a lack of water for firefighting on Maui,” Townsend said. “Powerful special interests have pulled political strings to override the public interest for far too long,”

More: Hawaii legislature wraps up session – here’s what passed and what didn’t

Maui

On August 8, 2023, Lahaina, a historic town on Maui Island, fell victim to the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history. The blaze ravaged the community, reducing it to ashes, claiming the lives of over 100 individuals and displacing over 5,000 residents. 

Last month, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the Attorney General and BLNR attempted to exploit the aftermath of the Lahaina fire by submitting false accusations regarding a judge’s decision for East Maui streams.  

The court determined that their submitted statements, aimed at increasing stream water diversion by Alexander & Baldwin, a former plantation now a real estate investment trust, were so evidently lacking in merit that they suggested bad faith.

“It seems that the BLNR tried to leverage the most horrific event in state history to advance its own interests,” according to the court’s decision. 

Despite the submission of over 500 pages of written testimony in favor of the bill, Lopez and DLNR chair Dawn Chang stood as the sole voices who opposed it.

More: Hawaii is the first state to pass a Gaza ceasefire resolution. Here’s what happens next

Red Hill 

In November 2021, a water contamination incident struck the facility catering to approximately 93,000 residents in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

In response to numerous reports of illnesses among local families who consumed the tainted water, the Pentagon announced plans in March 2022 to close Red Hill permanently.

Despite these actions, concerns persist among residents about water quality. Many continue to report symptoms akin to those experienced during the 2021 contamination, including rashes, headaches, heartburn, and fatigue.

A former Navy veteran, Lacey Quintero, told USA Today that they believe the Navy is aware that the Red Hill water is still contaminated and is misleading the public by claiming it is safe to drink.

What would the bill have done?

At its core, this bill aimed to minimize political interference in resource management decisions. It proposed empowering the Hawaiʻi Commission on Water Resource Management with the authority to select its own attorney and Chairperson, roles currently under gubernatorial control. 

Additionally, it sought to protect Commission staff from arbitrary disciplinary actions, a concern brought to light by the departure of a former water deputy following the Maui wildfires. 

The bill would have also established dedicated commission staff and a special fund to manage federal funding allocated for the cleanup of the Red Hill contamination. 

Just before the sessions ended, State House and Senate Conferences agreed to defer the bill. In an interview with Spectrum News, Sen. Lorraine Inouye (D), chair of the Senate Committee on Water and Land, expressed her frustration.

“I am greatly disappointed in the outcome on (the bill) despite agreement between both legislative bodies that this bill is urgently needed and very important—not just for Red Hill but also for Lahaina,” Inouye said.

Jeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at JYurow@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter @JeremyYurow

A Michigan woman has launched a lawsuit against multiple Hawaii authorities after her husband of 38 years died while snorkeling. 

Patti Johnson is suing the Fairmont Kea Lani resort, Hawaiian Tourism Authority and Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau after her husband Ray Johnson’s death was ruled a ‘drowning’ in the autopsy report. 

She believes that Ray’s death, which happened in front of her, did not resemble a ‘traditional’ drowning in any sense and was actually due to ROPE – Rapid Onset Pulmonary Edema – that may have been exacerbated by their recent flight.

‘There’s barely a minute in my life that goes by that I don’t think about him,’ she told ABC News. 

Dr. Meilan Han, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Michigan, explained: ‘What long-haul flights do is it has an effect on your lungs. 

‘Soon they started yelling, call 911! That’s when I ran to the beach. And I ran — I got onto the beach. They were pulling him out. His head snapped back and I believe at that point he was gone,’ Patti recalled.

‘After three days, you are back to normal, but if you snorkel after that long flight, there is a substantial increased risk of death.’

In her lawsuit, Patti alleges that all three of the defendants had failed to educate the public about the potential dangers of ROPE.

‘I don’t want other people to go through what we have gone through and to lose a family member to – lose your husband in this way. 

‘It’s just heartbreaking and it’s avoidable, and so just, you know, just to please be aware of this. Make people aware,’ she told the outlet. 

Patti said that minutes before he died, Ray was snorkeling with friends around Wailea Beach, which fronts the resort, when she stopped in her tracks and realized that something was not right.

After a few seconds, she noticed that other snorkelers helping Ray as he was trying to keep his head above water and heading to shore. 

‘Soon they started yelling, call 911! That’s when I ran to the beach. And I ran – I got onto the beach. They were pulling him out. His head snapped back, and I believe at that point, he was gone,’ Patti recalled. 

She also told NewsNation’s Morning in America that there was a medical conference at the resort and many doctors as well as nurses responded to their cry for help but nothing could be done.  

Ray was snorkeling with friends around Wailea Beach (pictured) when the incident happened

Patti believes that her husband suffered from ROPE – Rapid onset pulmonary edema which caused his death

The coroner later ruled Ray’s death as drowning, but Patti refuses to believe so. 

‘I was watching him come in, how could he be drowning? According to her friends who were snorkeling with him, Ray was talking and also diving down under the water. 

‘At one point, he came up and said, “You gotta help me, I’m having trouble breathing,” and that’s when he decided to head back to shore. I don’t think when people are drowning in a conditional manner, you’re going to be conversing,’ she said. 

Instead, Patti believes that her husband suffered from ROPE.

The couple were staying Fairmont Kea Lani in February. The resort has not yet commented on the lawsuit

In her lawsuit, Patti alleges that all three of the defendants had failed to educate the public about the potential dangers of ROPE

According to Yale Medicine, ROPE is a condition in which fluid accumulates in the lungs, making it hard to breathe. 

Mostly, the buildup of fluid is caused by a pressure imbalance in the heart but other causes can also send excess fluid to the lungs. 

Symptoms include difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, wheezing, shallow breathing. 

Jay Stuemke, the family attorney, confirmed that Ray was an experienced snorkeler and believes that the couple’s long flight contributed to his death. 

The Hawaiian Tourism Authority, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and Fairmont Kea Lani have not yet commented on the lawsuit.