September 2022 Newsletter

Welcome to AAJA Hawai‘i’s monthly newsletter! Here, you’ll find chapter updates, upcoming events, member bylines and more.

If you have a story or career update you want to share with our AAJA family, let us know at hawaii@aaja.org!

Chapter Updates

We raised nearly $830 at our Aug. 17 pau hana and fundraiser at Honolulu Beerworks! You helped member Kim Yuen reach her New York City Marathon fundraising goal of $5,000 two months early! We are still accepting donations through Oct. 31: https://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/kimberly-yuen.

Overall, Kim and the rest of Team AAJA have raised more than $17,000 for the Asian American Journalists Association. Their goal is to raise $35,000 by the end of October.

Mahalo to Diane Lee and Ryan Ozawa for the photos! Check out Ryan’s Flickr or Facebook for additional photos.

Help AAJA Hawai‘i Plan its Next Event!

The AAJA Hawai‘i board wants to hold another event this fall and needs your feedback. What type of event should we hold? Should we hold it in October or November?

Please fill out our short survey here.

Member News

Congratulations to our current and former AAJA Hawai‘i members who won awards from the Hawai‘i Society of Professional Journalists on Aug. 17!

• Heidi Chang, “Museum Exhibition Explores The History Of Surfing In Hawaii,” NPR: 1st place feature reporting, radio
• Casey Harlow, ‘It’s been a long haul’: UH welcomes back football fans after nearly 2 years.” Hawai‘i Public Radio: 3rd place feature reporting, radio
• Noelle Fujii-Oride, “How Honolulu’s Rail Got to $12.45 Billion and 11 Years Late,” Hawaii Business Magazine: 1st place public service reporting, all media; 1st place business reporting, magazines; 2nd place government reporting, all media; 2nd place informational graphic, all media
• Anita Hofschneider, “Red Hill,” Honolulu Civil Beat: 3rd place investigative reporting, all media
• Ku‘u Kauanoe, “Land Filled” and “Westside Students Learn About Waianae Coast And Themselves,” Honolulu Civil Beat: 3rd place explanatory journalism, all media; 2nd and 3rd place best multimedia presentation, internet
• Brigette Namata, “Hawaii’s Unsolved Murders,” KHON2: 2nd place series reporting, television
• Mahealani Richardson, “Haleiwa families: Major flooding could’ve been prevented, if someone had listened to them,” Hawaii News Now: 1st place news photography/videography, all media
• Krista Rados, “Campus Construction,” UH: 3rd place graphics, student
• April Estrellon, “How The Red Hill Fuel System Has Threatened Oahu’s Drinking Water For Decades,” Honolulu Civil Beat: 1st place science reporting, all media
• Cassie Ordonio, “Emergency Calls Are Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels On Oahu. Here’s How EMS Is Coping,” “Asian Americans in Hawaii Grieve Attack in Atlanta,” “Who is Nick Ochs?” “Dole Street Debate,” “Hawaii Sunshine Law,” Honolulu Civil Beat and UH: 1st place online feature reporting, internet; 1st place student spot news in any media, student; 3rd place student investigative reporting in any media, student; 2nd place student video news, student; 2nd place graphics, student
• Ryan Ozawa, “Hawaii Bulletin”: 2nd place best 1-person features site/blog, internet

Member Bylines

“Requiem for a Hawaii Jazz King: Remembering Gabe Baltazar”

 

Heidi Chang of Jazziz Magazine wrote about Gabe Baltazar, a pioneering Asian American jazz artist (1929-2022). “When Gabe Baltazar Jr., the most influential jazz artist in the history of Hawai‘i, died on June 12, it marked the end of an era.”

 

“‘Home for Sale’ Sometimes Means Renters are Displaced”

Hawaii Business Magazine’s Noelle Fujii-Oride writes about a dark side of Hawai‘i’s hot housing market: When renters are displaced because of sales or renovations by their landlords. “Many tenants, lawmakers, housing advocates and nonprofit workers worry about the impacts on displaced renters, especially as prices for housing and other essentials increase and few new rentals are being built. They say these renovations and sales are further gentrifying local communities and exacerbating the divide between who can and cannot afford to live in Hawai‘i.”

 

“New charter school aims to meet ‘multigenerational’ need on Kaua‘i’s North Shore”

Hawai‘i Public Radio’s Casey Harlow reports on the newly approved Namahana School in Kīlauea. “The support of the Kauaʻi North Shore Community Foundation helped Namahana overcome major hurdles, such as seed funding and site location. The school’s location was donated to the foundation by Bill and Joan Porter for education purposes. The school has a 99-year renewable lease.”

 

“Pacific Islanders Have a Harder Time Getting Kidney Transplants Than Other Patients”

Honolulu Civil Beat’s Anita Hofschneider reports on how Pacific Islanders, who have higher rates of kidney failure, don’t get kidney transplants as often. “Pacific Islanders suffered from kidney failure at a rate four times higher than their rate of getting kidney transplants. In comparison, white patients nationally made up more than half of new end-stage renal disease patients in 2019. But the number of kidney transplants for these patients was 20% higher than would be expected from their kidney failure rate.”

 

“Honolulu City Council considering increasing shoreline setbacks”

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Ashley Mizuo reports on a proposal that would increase the general shoreline setback distance for structures and development from 40 feet to between 60 and 130 feet. “Bill 41 would increase the base shoreline setback to 60 feet and establish a formula which takes into account the beach erosion at each specific property. So the new minimum shoreline setback would be calculated by taking the minimum 60 feet and adding 70 times the erosion rate at each property. However, that amount would not be more than 130 feet.”

 

Other Announcements

KITV4 is accepting applications for its Robert Kekaula Fellowship, a one-year program to train future broadcast journalists. The RK Fellow will work in the KITV4 News Department to learn how to produce compelling stories for the local audience. This is a paid, part-time fellowship (20 hours/week at $15/hour). Deadline to apply is Sept. 20. Apply here.

 

Need to Renew Your Membership? Want to Become an AAJA Member?

AAJA has nearly 2,000 members across the U.S. and Asia. The cost for a professional membership is $65/year; for students, the cost is $25/year. AAJA also has memberships for former journalists, retirees and media organizations. An annual membership includes:

Membership rate tickets and early access to AAJA networking events and workshops
Membership rate registration to AAJA’s national convention and N3Con in Asia
Access to career and fellowship opportunities via AAJA’s Career Center, private social media channels, your Chapter, and Affinity Groups
Access to our upcoming member opportunities page with a listing of training opportunities, fellowships, grants and more
Early access to AAJA updates, scholarships and exclusive member opportunities via bi-monthly e-newsletter
Entry fee waiver for AAJA’s national journalism awards contest
Recognition on AAJA.org of special achievements or career moves
Click the QR code or go to https://www.aaja.org/become-a-member/new-member-registration to register or renew your existing membership.

 

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