HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Imagine a world without access to any drinkable water.

That’s the premise behind a drama series being pitched to streaming platforms by a Hawaii stuntman.

In ‘Liquid Gold’, Keoni Kramer envisions what life would be like if there was a disastrous drought coupled with a government shut-off of running water.

Daily life becomes apocalyptic as community members resort to violence in order to stay hydrated and survive.

Kramer hopes the film will spur leaders to preserve water and cut back on wasteful usage.

“When people get desperate, it can get really bad… I think people need to pay way more attention to what’s going on with our water source, because we just use it, you know, we use, use, use… Water is life. And Hawaiians believed this a long time ago… What are you going to do without water?”

To raise money to film more episodes, Kramer is holding a special screening of what’s already been shot.

The premiere is September 14 at Hilo Palace Theater.

His fundraising goal is $1 million to cover production costs and pay his actors and crew members.

In addition to the screening, Kramer will hold a live choreographed stunt show with students from his stunt-acting school in Hilo.

Kramer has also created a GoFundMe account; click here to donate.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Soon fans will be filing into the stands at the Clarence TC Ching Athletics Complex as the University of Hawaii football team opens the season against Delaware State.

For those fans in attendance, there is a lot in store as far as what goes on during and before the game and UH officials are encouraging the public to come out and support the ‘Bows.

“Timmy’s telling me our talent level is up and we’ve put a lot of emphasis on trying to get people in the stadium and enhancing their experience here,” UH Athletics Director Craig Angelos told Hawaii News Now. “We hired an outbound ticket sales staff this off season and so we’re hoping to have a great crowd.”

Returning this season is the “Kickoff at the Les” concert series with Nesian 9 leading off the year. There will also be multiple food and drink venders in the stadium open two hours prior to kick.

“If you’re at a football game, you’re going to have fun at University of Hawaii football, It’s simple as that,” UH director of marketing and fan experience Eric Mathews said. “You have over 25 different choices of food trucks and different things to choose from, to enjoy the game, you have the perfect vision of the game because there’s not a bad seat in this place.”

Along with the venders, roaming drink hawkers will be in the stands during the game, but a big question among the UH faithful remains, what about tailgating?

“We’ve been working hard as a group athletics with upper campus to make this happen, the plan right now is we’re going to do our pregame Kickoff at the Les for the first four games,” Mathews said. “For homecoming, we’re going to move everything up to upper campus in the legacy path for homecoming, we’ll have a party up there , the last game of the season against New Mexico senior night, November 30th, we’ll have that up there, but we’re going to try to add tailgating.”

Until then, there’s a ton for ‘Bows fans to soak in on gamedays.

“I promise you you’re not going to walk away from a game going, I didn’t have fun,” Mathews said. “You will look at your friends, you will look at your kids, you will look at your family and go that was fun.”

Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. Hawaii time with the game available on Spectrum pay-per-view and Hawaiian Telcom.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

CNN
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The Atlantic hurricane season might be quiet for now, but the same can’t be said in the Pacific, where Tropical Storm Hone is threatening to deliver a weekend blow to Hawaii.

A tropical storm watch has been raised for Hawaii’s Big Island with the storm on track to pass close to the state this weekend. It will deliver heavy rain, strong winds, dangerous seas and fire concerns to a tinder-dry state still recovering from one of the most devastating fires in US history.

Tropical activity has been abundant in the Pacific Ocean this year, but none of the seven East Pacific named storms have come close to Hawaii. Hone, the first storm to form in the Central Pacific since 2019, will break that mold.

The storm is forecast to pass about 150 miles south of the Big Island late Saturday into Sunday morning.

Rain and wind will persist for much of the weekend after Hone’s outer rainbands begin to impact the Big Island in the earliest hours of Saturday morning.

Widespread rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches are possible on the east and southeast facing slopes of the Big Island, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Maui could see around 6 inches and Oahu could pick up 2 to 4 inches of rain into early next week, especially on the eastern sides of the island. Heavy rain could cause flash flooding and area waterways to swell.

In addition to potentially flooding rainfall, Hone will also deliver gusty winds this weekend, especially over the Big Island.

“Winds are expected to be strongest where they blow downslope from higher terrain, over headlands and through passes,” the CPHC warned Friday.

The storm’s strongest winds will likely last from late Saturday through Sunday as it makes its closest pass south of the Big Island. Tropical storm-force wind gusts – up to 73 mph – are possible.

Breezy conditions will pick up late Friday night and early Saturday over the island chain ahead of Hone’s worst conditions. This will raise fire danger over parts of the state where winds get stronger without rain to accompany them.

“Drier air and windy conditions ahead of Hone could elevate fire weather concerns across leeward areas statewide (Saturday),” the National Weather Service in Honolulu cautioned Friday.

Leeward areas generally include the western and southern coasts of each island in Hawaii’s chain.

The increased fire danger is particularly concerning given drought conditions in the state are worse this year than they were at the time of last year’s devastating wildfires. Wildfires in Maui last August left more than 100 people dead and caused $6 billion in damage.

Given Hone’s rain, fire weather conditions don’t appear to be as severe as those during last year’s fires, but if dry fuels like grasses and trees catch fire, they‘ll quickly go up in flames. Strong winds could fan those flames and rapidly spread fire to nearby locations.

Around the time of last year’s fires, about 15% of the state was experiencing at least moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. As of August 20, moderate drought or worse conditions covered 73% of Hawaii.

Hone will strengthen late Sunday into Monday and could become a hurricane briefly. At this point, the system will likely be centered 300 to 400 miles southwest of Hawaii’s islands.

After Hone moves away early next week, it may not be the only system Hawaii contends with over the next couple of weeks.

Gilma, which was a Category 3 hurricane as of Friday morning as it roared over the open Pacific, will track west over the weekend and through much of next week. The system will weaken as it approaches Hawaii, but whatever remains of it could take a swipe at the state late next week.

Interests in and around Hawaii may need to continue to monitor for tropical trouble even into early September.