Hawaii
“Sailing with Phoenix,” Oregon man who quit job to sail with cat, arrives to cheering fans in Hawaii
Oliver Widger, an Oregon man who quit his job at a tire company and liquidated his retirement savings to set sail for Hawaii with his cat, Phoenix, reached his destination Saturday, welcomed by cheering fans at the end of a weekslong journey that he documented for his mass of followers on social media.
Widger, known online as “sailing_with_phoenix,” was also greeted by Hawaii Gov. Josh Green at the Waikiki Yacht Club on Oahu, acknowledged he was nervous facing the crowd, which included reporters. Widger said he was feeling “really weird” — not seasick, but, “I just feel like I have to, like, hold on to things to not fall over.”
He became an online sensation with his story, which followed a diagnosis four years ago with Klippel-Feil, a syndrome that carried a risk of paralysis and made him realize he disliked his managerial job. He quit his job with “no money, no plan” and $10,000 of debt — and the goal of buying a sailboat and sailing around the world.
Who is Sailing With Phoenix?
The 29-year-old set sail for Hawaii with Phoenix in late April, documenting their experiences for his more than 1 million followers on TikTok and 1.7 million followers on Instagram, many of whom he gained over the past week. He said he thinks his story, which made national news, resonated with people.
He said he taught himself to sail mostly via YouTube and moved from Portland to the Oregon coast. He spent months refitting the $50,000 boat he bought.
“I think a lot of people are, you know, you’re grinding at your job all day long and it doesn’t really matter how much money you make at this point, everybody’s just trying to do enough to get by and that just wears you out,” Widger said. “It’s just the world’s in a weird place, and I think people have seen that it’s possible to break out.”
Sailing with Phoenix welcome party at Waikiki Yacht Club
Gov. Green presented Widger with a proclamation after he arrived on Oahu. Fans swarmed Widger after the news conference, many holding cameras and seeking selfies.
The scariest point of the trip came when a rudder failed, Widger said. Highlights included seeing dolphins and whales and periods of calm Pacific waters. “Being in the middle of the ocean when it was completely glass in every direction was an absurd feeling,” he said.
Widger said he never truly felt alone, since he was communicating with friends by means including video conference. But he also lamented not experiencing the open waters in a way that other sailors — who didn’t have access to tools like Starlink internet satellites — have in years before.
He said he may travel next to French Polynesia. But he said he had been focused on getting to Hawaii and not on what he’d do after that. He said he also needs to make repairs to his boat.
What is Klippel-Feil syndrome?
Klippel-Feil syndrome, or KFS, is rare skeletal condition in which two or more cervical vertebrae are fused together, according to the Cleveland Clinic, which causes abnormalities in the spine.
The disorder is congenital, meaning a person is born with it. However, some people go undiagnosed until later life when symptoms worsen or first become apparent, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
“It took three years of battling fear and facing the reality that, as a result of my cervical spine condition, I’m at risk of paralysis,” Widger said. “That truth pushed me to finally choose a life worth living. I hated my job. I despised the corporate machine.”
LIHUE (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hula, memories and aloha filled the Kilohana Plantation grounds Saturday as hundreds turned out to honor the life of Jonelle Marie Leināʻala Pavao-Jardin.
She died on Oct. 4 at the age of 51 after a 15-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
“I knew my mom was such an amazing person, but she lived such a humble, humble life, so truly I didn’t know what to expect today, how many people would be here, but it’s felt so nice,” said her daughter, Jeslie Pavao.
As kumu hula for the award-winning Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leināʻala, she touched countless lives over her nearly 30 years of teaching hula.
Generations of her dancers took the stage one last time for their kumu at her celebration of life.
“She was always kind. Even when we were dancing together with Kumu Ray, she was always funny, so much fun to be around. Just her spirit. She was always light. She was always so easy to get along with,” said Keano Kaupu, longtime friend and kumu hula of Hālau Hiʻiakaināmakalehua.
The celebration not only honored her life and rich legacy of hula, and highlighted her very strong sense of faith in that got her through so many of life’s challenges.
Daughter Jeslie said, “I went back to medical school two days after my mom passed. They asked me how I’ve done it and it’s really because of my faith in God and if I didn’t have my faith, I wouldn’t be OK and that truly comes from my mom and how she raised us to just trust Ke Akua, love him and follow his journey for us.”
Musician and longtime friend Ikaika Blackburn said, “She grew up surrounded by the warmth of her close-knit family where her parents instilled in her the values of love, kindness, generosity, and resilience that she carried with her and shared with each of us throughout her life.”
“That phrase, live like Leināʻala, so true. If you think of life like that, you going be happy,” said Kumu Keano.
As Kauai mourns the loss of her physical presence, they says her spirit will live on forever through the heart of the halau, now led by her daughter, Kumu Breeze Pavao.
Kumu Leināʻala leaves behind her husband, Sean, daughters Breeze and Jeslie, and son Napali.
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Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Nurses and respiratory therapists with the Hawaii Nurses’ Association presented a petition to Hawaii Pacific Health and Kapiolani Medical Center leaders, Friday, urging them to reach a resolution with staff currently on strike.
The hospital’s technicians, housekeeping staff, dietary team members, and others had been on strike for two weeks when the nurses and respiratory therapists intervened on behalf of their co-workers.
Nurses at Kapiolani Medical Center were locked out of their jobs for 22 days after they went on strike in September.
Nurses are urging hospital leaders to “put mothers, children and babies ahead of their own financial self-interests, return to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith, and provide fair compensation for the employees represented by the Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Employees, Local 996.”
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Leaders from 213 nonprofit organizations testified at the Hawaii State Capitol Thursday, seeking emergency funding as federal spending cuts impact Hawaii’s charity and human service sector more severely than anticipated.
Lawmakers set aside $50 million in May for nonprofits affected by Trump administration spending cuts, but organizations requested more than $150 million from the fund.
“We had, you know, over $150 million in requests, you know, for $50 million pot. So I think that should just show you the need out there. A lot of community members going hungry,” said state Rep. Daniel Holt, co-chair of the emergency grants committee.
Organizations detail funding shortfalls
The West Hawaii Community Health Center requested $1.8 million “to stabilize and sustain this workforce, jobs and keep people healthy,” said CEO Richard Taaffe.
Kids Hurt Too sought $394,500. “Since the funding cuts, we have expanded our peer support, mentoring, and community activities for grieving and traumatized youth and families,” said executive director Walker Rowsey.
“We are humbly requesting $350,000 to help Hawaii’s most disadvantaged youth,” said Cathy Ogawa of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Alu Like reported a $189,403 cut in Department of Labor federal funding. “Our employment and training program, which was forced to reduce staff work hours by 20% to address the $189,403 cut in our Department of Labor federal funding,” said CEO Mervina K.M. Cash-Kaeo.
Lawmakers face difficult decisions
“We’re gonna try and prioritize, you know, needs in our community, you know, food is definitely important, you know, health care, things of those things,” Holt said.
The requests come as federal food aid remains stalled and tens of thousands of federal workers live without paychecks.
“I feel like we are getting punched in the gut multiple times, right, from all directions,” said state Rep. Lisa Marten, chair of Human Services.
Republican state Sen. Brenton Awa was asked if Trump can be blamed for the crises said partisan politics should not affect people’s needs.
“It’s sad that we live in a time where party politics has to be this divisive at the cost of people. And, you know, what we got into office for was to represent people. So when we see this, this is the kind of stuff that makes us sick,” he said.
Revenue generation under consideration
The funding shortage could prompt lawmakers to seek additional revenue from taxpayers.
“Things always have to be relooked at. When they’re on such a large scale, you know, we always could use additional revenue generation, which we’re always looking at, but that’s always tough,” Holt said.
Marten said everything should be on the table.
“We have to look at the big picture and see what can we find and what can’t we find? Because replacing all federal programs with state funds isn’t possible,” she said.
Lawmakers had reserved a day for a potential special session in late November to address federal budget cuts, but will now most likely wait until the regular session begins in January.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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