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PODCAST: Meet the high schooler tackling food insecurity — one fruit tree at a time

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PODCAST: Meet the high schooler tackling food insecurity — one fruit tree at a time


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Drawing inspiration from her household’s avocado tree, excessive schooler Sophie Chen determined to take issues into her personal arms to deal with meals insecurity in Hawaii.

“I knew concerning the issues surrounding meals insecurity on the island. I personally have an avocado tree in my yard. And yearly we’re all the time making an attempt to present away these contemporary avocados. I all the time thought it was an excessive amount of for us to deal with individually as a household,” Sophie mentioned.

Due to this fruitful dilemma, Sophie determined as a substitute of letting these avocados go to waste, why not donate them to these in want.

Being only a sophomore at Punahou College, Sophie just lately based the nonprofit, The Kokua Tree.

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She just lately sat down with HNN to explain the work the group is doing to bolster meals sustainability in Hawaii within the fifth episode of “Repairing Earth.”

The initiative companions with households or anybody who’s to select vegetables and fruit from their backyards. The contemporary produce is then donated to starvation aid organizations like Aloha Harvest, the Hawaii Foodbank and the Pantry.

Sophie added {that a} huge purpose why she began this program was to supply a strategy to get native produce to those that can’t all the time afford it.

“Produce is so costly within the grocery shops and even the comfort shops so if in case you have a low earnings or in the event you’re experiencing meals insecurity, you’re not going to show to supply as your supply of vitamin for the day,” she mentioned.

In line with Feeding America, 1 in 9 folks face starvation in Hawaii — with about 1 in 5 being youngsters.

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“With the meals insecurity drawback right here, it form of felt like a one plus one, so I began this complete Kokua Tree concept,” Sophie mentioned. “Plus, I believe lots of people know folks with fruit bushes on the island. Like that is simply the proper local weather to have your individual yard fruit tree.”

Enlisting the assistance of different younger of us, the group has already had 4 harvests.

Collectively they’ve gathered 850 kilos of produce, which is equal to saving round $3,000 in meals.

The group has crammed bins of fruit from folks’s backyards, together with mountain apples, bananas and avocados.(The Kokua Tree)

“Our meals waste on Hawaii is a extremely huge situation and if we tied it with meals insecurity, it’s a extremely huge disgrace that we’re throwing out round 26% of our annual meals provide per yr,” Sophie mentioned.

“So, the Kokua Tree is hopefully making an attempt to present a sustainable answer to this drawback by protecting it in Hawaii. And that method we’re supporting native, we’re slicing down on fossil gasoline combustion from all of the delivery that is available in right here, and we’re additionally protecting produce away from invasive bugs and animals.”

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At the moment, Hawaii ships in round 85% to 95% of its meals — principally from the continental US.

From the farming course of itself to transporting produce, all of this contributes to our private carbon footprint.

“Individually, you’ll be able to undoubtedly reduce down in your meals waste. When you’re letting your meals expire or in the event you’re shopping for an excessive amount of of it then it contributes to the landfills, which in fact releases methane emissions into the air. So in a minor method, that’s one strategy to do it.”

However most significantly, Sophie mentioned one of the best ways to make an influence is to get entangled.

“I believe a number of our volunteers, particularly on our final property, felt much more linked to the land in a method. And that’s a giant a part of rising up right here,” Sophie mentioned.

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“It was a extremely nice expertise and if you wish to educate your self on this drawback, one of the best ways to do it’s to get some hands-on expertise, to get your arms within the mud, choose some fruit after which donate it.”

For extra on the dialog, hearken to Episode 5 of Repairing Earth, “Paving a Path Towards Meals Sustainability in Hawaii,” on the HNN web site or wherever you get your podcasts.

When you’re concerned about serving to out with the mission, e-mail kokuatree@gmail.com. For the newest on their work, you too can comply with them on Instagram @thekokuatree.

Copyright 2022 Hawaii Information Now. All rights reserved.





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Hawaii

Secret Service agent fired for inviting lover to Obamas’ Hawaii mansion for sex in Michelle’s bathroom

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Secret Service agent fired for inviting lover to Obamas’ Hawaii mansion for sex in Michelle’s bathroom


A Secret Service agent landed into trouble in 2022 when he brought a lover to the Obamas’ beachside Hawaii home while he was tasked with protecting the former president, the law enforcement official’s ex-girlfriend claimed in a new book.

The Secret Service agent was tasked with keeping the Obama family safe, including their daughters Sasha, 23, and Malia, 26. (Reuters)

According to Koryeah Dwanyen’s Undercover Heartbreak: A Memoir of Trust and Trauma, the agent, whom she referred to as “Dale,” invited her to the Hawaii estate of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama in 2022 during their absence, reported ABC.

“No one will know,” she quoted the agent as saying. Quoting her she said he assured that if anything would go wrong then only he would get in trouble.

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Dwanyen also claimed in the book, which she self-published on October 28, that “Dale” offered to have sex in the First Lady’s bathroom, “like a mile-high club.”

US Secret Service speaks out

Anthony Guglielmi, the chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, told ABC News that an incident resembling the one in the memoir had actually occurred and that the agent in question was consequently dismissed from his job.

“On Nov. 6, 2022, a Secret Service agent involved in protective functions brought an individual who did not have authorized access into a protectee’s residence without permission,” he said.

Also Read: Secret Service’s ‘lack of critical thinking’ during Trump’s assassination attempt is concerning

“As soon as the Secret Service became aware of the incident, the agent involved was immediately suspended and after a full investigation, terminated.”

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While the protectees weren’t there when the incident happened, their activities were a grave breach of agency’s policies and protectees’ trust, Guglielmi said.

Where did Dwanyen meet the agent?

Dwanyen reportedly met the agent while she was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. He was tasked with keeping the Obama family safe, including their daughters Sasha, 23, and Malia, 26. In her tell-all, she revealed that the agent claimed that he was divorced, but she later found out he was still married.

In her telephone interview with ABC News, she stated, one of her friends warned, “You were a walking national security risk.”



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Leaks persist as work continues to replace iconic state Capitol pools

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Leaks persist as work continues to replace iconic state Capitol pools


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Last week’s downpours sent water cascading into the basement offices of the Hawaii State Capitol, and it’s not the first time.

The leaks happened because the Capitol’s iconic ponds are in the process of being replaced by $10 million sheets of glass.

The ponds have been a maintenance nightmare for 55 years, since the Capitol first opened. Now the idea that there may never be water there again is troubling to admirers of the original design, like professor William Chapman, interim dean of the University of Hawaii school of architecture.

“I think they’re an essential part of it,” Chapman said.

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The pools symbolized the ocean surrounding the islands and surrounded sometimes chaotic chambers with an oasis of calm, which Chapman says is irreplaceable.

“It creates this sort of tranquility within the space that I think a porcelain kind of finish will not do,” he said.

After concluding that the original brackish ponds were too hard to maintain and that using drinkable water would be too wasteful, the state decided to replace them.

Artist Solomon Enos is involving the public in coloring in a wave pattern that will be reproduced on heavy glass tiles. He was selected by the state Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

The public is invited to add a dot of paint to the design Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon, until Nov. 30 at the Capitol Modern museum, located at 250 S. Hotel St., across the street from the state Capitol and Iolani Palace.

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The dots of paint will be mapped so families can return to the glass promenade and find the exact dots painted years earlier.

State Director of Accounting and General Services Keith Regan said the glass feature will also require continuous maintenance, not unlike the ponds.

“This is a community heirloom,” he said. “This is something that multiple generations are going to be able to enjoy and be proud of.”

But getting there is also a challenge. Regan said the removal of old weatherproofing left the Ewa-side pool area vulnerable to rain, which poured into the basement House staff offices last week, damaging ceilings, walls and equipment, and knocking out power.

State Rep. Sean Quinlan, new House majority leader, said staffers and lawmakers arriving for work Tuesday were stunned by the damage.

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“It was kind of a shock. There was water coming down inside the building, inside the parking garage. A number of light fixtures were broken. The other side of the parking garage was pitch black, you couldn’t see a thing,” he said.

Similar weather a year ago caused much more severe leakage in the Senate side of the basement, which also was blamed on the removal of weatherproofing in the Diamond Head pool.

Regan said the contractor this year prepared better for the rain, with hoses and pumps to prevent heavy ponding over the slab, and will pay for any damage.

Meanwhile the glass pools are planned for unveiling in fall of 2026.

Quinlan said many lawmakers have mixed feelings about the change.

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“It was never a very comfortable feeling having that volume and weight of water over your head, but it’s also kind of sad, because it was a beautiful feature,” he said.



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Unidentified woman found floating face down in waters of a Hawaii Island bay

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Unidentified woman found floating face down in waters of a Hawaii Island bay


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Police on Hawaii island are investigating a possible drowning in Kealakekua Bay.

Authorities said in the morning of Sunday Nov. 10, a 29-year-old woman was found floating face down in the bay. Police said she was wearing a mask, snorkel, fins, and a wetsuit.

Bystanders were able to pull her from the water, place her on a paddle board, and immediately began CPR. A nearby boat soon picked up the woman and brought her to land.

CPR was continued until medics arrived.

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Fire personnel arrived on scene and took her to the Kona Community Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

At last check, the woman has not yet been identified. An autopsy has been scheduled.



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