Tsunamis have killed more people in Hawaii than any other form of natural disaster, yet basic tsunami education — from signs of an approaching one to what to do when it comes — is severely lacking in the Islands. Located in downtown Hilo on the Island of Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Museum was initially founded 30 years ago to fill that void — a hub for education and awareness that contends “no one should die due to a tsunami.” The museum is filled with photos and videos of tsunamis that have hit Hawaii and other parts of the Pacific, along with a large archive of firsthand interviews with survivors.
Hawaii
Hawaii-based ‘Magnum P.I.’ back on the case Sunday
He’s fought crime syndicates, worldwide killers and a fair proportion of artful criminals. And now, personal eye Thomas Magnum has overcome the demise knell of community cancellation.
On Sunday, “Magnum P.I.,” which is about and shot in Hawaii, returns for a fifth season with back-to-back episodes, 9 months after it was abruptly canceled by CBS.
The crime drama stars Jay Hernandez in a reboot of the function made well-known by Tom Selleck within the Nineteen Eighties. It carried out properly within the scores on Friday nights, however CBS pulled the plug in Could after it did not agree on licensing charges with the studio.
“We have been all shocked, however we’ve been on this enterprise,” stated actress Amy Hill, who performs Kumu, a Hawaiian cultural skilled, in an interview with Spectrum Information. The sequence additionally stars Zachary Knighton (Rick), Stephen Hill (T.C.), and Tim Kang (Det. Katsumoto).
Now, the procedural has a brand new house at NBC – and a brand new lease on life.
NBC introduced final summer season it had picked up the sequence for 20 episodes – and presumably extra if it performs properly within the scores. The present strikes to Sunday nights on NBC, with new episodes accessible on the Peacock streaming service the following day.
“Magnum P.I. involves us with a passionate fanbase already in place that we intend to nourish,” Susan Rovner, chairman of leisure content material at NBCUniversal, stated in a press launch.
NBC has put lots of muscle behind advertising the present with advertisements, social media takeovers and forged interviews. The present’s principal characters, Magnum and Juliet Higgins (portrayed by British actress Perdita Weeks), are gracing the quilt of the present concern of TV Information Journal.
“It’s a rebirth, however on the similar token, there have been lots of people, I feel, who didn’t even actually realize it existed,” Hill stated.
“As a result of once we got here on to start with, we have been just like the stepsister of ‘Hawaii 5-0,’ and all of the vitality was placed on ‘Hawaii 5-0.’ Then that received canceled, and so they put a bit bit extra vitality into us. However then ‘NCIS: Hawai’i’ got here on board, and it was like, oh, by no means thoughts, and so they put all their eggs in that,” Hill added.
Fan outcry
The shock renewal got here largely after an enormous fan outcry over the cancellation. In a present of help, viewers all over the world pitched in to pay for a billboard in New York’s Instances Sq. to attempt to save the sequence.
“They simply actually went to bat for us,” Hill stated. “And I’ve by no means skilled something like that. It was actually heartwarming to say that individuals actually cared about this present.”
Producers have teased some modifications are in retailer for Magnum and Higgins this season. The 2 characters have battled sexual pressure because the starting of the sequence, and on the finish of final season, they lastly gave in to their emotions with a passionate kiss. Promos for the brand new sequence promise a a lot steamier, “sexier” relationship.
“We have lived in these characters for therefore lengthy that we really feel like we all know them intimately—and we do—and generally we get stuff, scenes or moments the place it is like, ‘Huh, I did not suppose it was going to be like that, however alright, let’s do it! Let’s go on this route!’” Hernandez advised TV Information.
Hawaiian setting
Past the character dynamics, one side that resonates with followers is its escapism, transporting viewers every week to Hawaii’s lush, tropical island paradise. The Hawaiian locale can also be vital to the forged and crew.
Hill moved to Hawaii full-time throughout the third season, and most of the forged members keep houses and vehicles on Oahu.
“I imagine that each one of us discover that residing right here has introduced us nearer to our personal non secular selves,” she stated.
The present is a boon to the native financial system, using greater than 180 native island residents within the crews, together with make-up artists, costume designers, stuntpersons and extras.
Finally, Hill hopes that viewers comply with “Magnum” to its new house, so the present can proceed for a few years to return.
“There’s so many tales to inform and so many issues to discover on this island and in relationships, and we do take pleasure in one another’s firm,” she stated.
Hawaii
Hawaii museum lays off entire staff, at risk of closing for good
Now, it’s at risk of closing its doors for good.
Earlier this month, the Pacific Tsunami Museum laid off all 10 of its employees and suspended operations. Former staff are now volunteering their time to keep the doors open on a reduced schedule.
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“We have several problems,” Walter Dudley told SFGATE. Dudley co-founded the museum with tsunami survivor Jeanne Johnston in 1994 to educate residents and visitors about the natural disaster and to serve as a living memorial to those who lost their lives.
The museum’s 100-year-old historic building, which was donated to the organization in 1997, is expensive to maintain. “The AC died and cost us way outside our budget,” Dudley said. “The roof sprung a leak and we used our entire supplemental budget to fix that and clear up mold because, you know, Hilo is on the rainy side.”
Dudley doesn’t want to see the museum close completely. “Sadly, that’s one possibility,” he said. “I mean, we all hope that doesn’t happen, but unless we get some, you know, some serious help for the issues that we do have, that’s the worst-case scenario.”
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The museum needs monetary donations to fix up the building and to pay the staff so that it can reopen. “As the years go by, a lot of survivors who were many of our biggest supporters have passed away,” Dudley continued. “They’re no longer around, and that actually makes our mission all that much important because people tend to forget that tsunamis are a true and present danger in Hawaii.”
The last deadly Hawaii tsunami was in 1975, when an earthquake off the coast of the Island of Hawaii generated large waves within seconds that killed two people. In 1960, a tsunami resulting from a 9.5 Chilean earthquake killed 61 people in Hilo.
The deadliest tsunami to hit Hawaii in modern history was on April 1, 1946, when a magnitude 8.6 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska triggered a tsunami with waves reaching heights of 55 feet. At least 159 people were killed throughout the Hawaiian island chain. The greatest loss of life was in Hilo, where an estimated 96 people died.
Because there are spans of years between major tsunami events, education is important to remind people of Hawaii’s tsunami history and risks — and to take them seriously.
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“There’s an apathy around knowing and believing it will happen again. And it will happen again. It absolutely will,” Cindi Preller, director of the Pacific Tsunami Museum, told SFGATE. “The earth’s tectonics don’t change. It’s just unpredictable, it’s unknowable. And for the local tsunami, it can arrive in just a few minutes, so it’s really, really, really important that people know nature’s warning signs as well as the official warning signs.”
Preller, who is now working as a volunteer alongside her staff, said visitor numbers were fine but building repairs have set them back. “If we were going to really restore this building, that would cost millions,” she said.
Through it all, Preller remains focused on the mission of the museum. She wants to revitalize the space and would like to see a new generation come in and help rebuild and do new things with the exhibits.
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“We need to strategically plan and create,” she said. “We just need to really revitalize and shake things up and create a plan so that we never ever have to shutter again.”
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Hawaii
Hawaii nonprofits brace for less federal funding
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii nonprofits that provide critical social safety nets are facing economic hardship of their own.
President-elect Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is expected to slash federal appropriations, government contracts and grant awards, and heavily impact social services across the state.
Melissa Pavlicek, Hawaii True Cost Coalition, explained, “The community-based organizations that are providing key government services are already struggling to provide those services. Some of their contract prices have not increased in over 10 years. The cost to provide those services is significantly greater. The transportation costs, rent, employees, food, everything has gone up. And to serve the community costs more. So we’re looking to our state policy leaders to help ensure those services are continued.”
To mitigate the potential fallout or disruption of services, nonprofit leaders are working to fill the gaps with the help of lawmakers, private donors, philanthropy, corporate foundations and residents themselves.
Suzanne Skjold, Aloha United Way COO, said, “Whether that’s helping your neighbor, maybe donating to a charity that is losing a program, even getting involved politically, locally, you know, voting matters. Being involved in our legislature matters.”
“The slack really has to be picked up by the state and county governments as well as the private sector,” warned U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, “and so these are gonna be tough times and I’m telling everybody, hey, let’s, not sugarcoat this. We have to be prepared for the unexpected.”
Another concern is legislation that some believe if passed could be used to target progressive nonprofits opposed by the Trump administration.
For now, community advocates are urged to keep calm.
Case said, “The first thing I would advise everybody is not to freak out. That we have been through changes in administration before. That these are core federal programs that within Congress, even a divided and polarized Congress, many, many people from both parties support these programs.”
“We want to make sure Hawaii doesn’t become the kind of place where we lead in a way that’s hateful to others,” Skjold said.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Visitors warned after toddler nearly runs off 400-foot cliff near Hawaii volcano
The National Park Service is warning parents to keep their children close after a toddler ran toward the edge of a 400-foot-tall cliff at Hawaii National Park on Christmas.
The young boy was at the park with his family to view the eruption of the Kilauea volcano. They were in a closed area at Kilauea Overlook when he wandered away from his family before the “near miss.” His mother, screaming, managed to grab him just about a foot away from a fatal fall.
“Park rangers remind visitors to stay on trail, stay out of closed areas and to keep their children close, especially when watching Kīlauea from viewpoints along Crater Rim Trail. Those who ignore the warnings, walk past closure signs, lose track of loved ones, and sneak into closed areas to get a closer look do so at great risk,” the agency warned.
Rangers noted that dangers escalate during volcanic eruptions, as people flock to view the spectacle of lava flowing out of the Earth’s crust. The Park Service urged drivers to slow, and watch out for pedestrians, Hawaiian geese, and switch to low beams when other cars and pedestrians are present.
The eruption, which started on December 23, is now in its second pause, according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. But, it could still restart at any time.
Furthermore, emissions of toxic gas remain high, including particulate matter called tephra. Billions of minuscule pieces of tephra, which include all fragments of rock ejected into the air by an erupting volcano, can be carried on winds for thousands of miles and can cause respiratory issues. Volcanoes also produce dangerous gases, like carbon dioxide and hydrogen chloride.
Tephra has blanketed the closed portion of Crater Rim Drive downwind of the lava.
“The hazards that coincide with an eruption are dangerous, and we have safety measures in place including closed areas, barriers, closure signs, and traffic management,” Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh said in a statement.
“Your safety is our utmost concern, but we rely on everyone to recreate responsibility. National parks showcase nature’s splendor but they are not playgrounds,” she said.
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