HI Now Daily (August 14, 2026)

Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose. I'm in the house today. Not only did we show up today matching, but we're bringing the energy to hide out on this a little Friday. That's right. I haven't seen you in a while, but I'm glad to see that we show up. We're still on the same page. Yeah, we are. We got it. We got this, right? We're going to have a fun show today. There's so much going on. In fact, we probably should get to it right about now, right? Yeah, we've got a lot to get to. In fact, we've got sports that's going to be coming up on K5. A lot of information about that, but also an uncertain weekend ahead and the best way to stay safe, yeah? Especially with that being said, please go ahead and download our free H&N weather app. Just scan that QR code that is on the screen right now, and you can get it on your phone or search for HNN weather in the app store. We're going to have continuing coverage actually throughout the weekend to keep you updated. So stay with Hawaii News now. for the very latest. And now, let's talk Storm Prep, kicking things off with good energy. That's a great idea, Kaino, and that's why I'm over here with Molly Schmidt of American Red Cross. This is actually the Pacific Island CEO over here, and she's going to get us... ready for the storm. We know what's approaching. There's some things that we've got to do to get prepared. You brought a lot of things today. But kick off American Red Cross, the mission. Absolutely. Thank you for having us. Aloha, everyone. Today is a really busy day. We all have been watching the storm approaching, and it's getting more intense. And so for that, the American Red Cross Hawaii chapter urges preparedness as an act of aloha. We want everybody to stay safe and be prepared. So information is key. And so in terms of being... prepared we have an American Red Cross free app that we encourage everyone to download because it's integrated not only with our shelter locations but also updated weather information awesome so make sure you download that app that's where you're going to be able to get the information but also since we have you here you've got some information and some tips for people who are getting prepared it's always great to do it as early as possible you have some tools but you also have a bag over here that has a lot of stuff in it can you walk us through what you got here Yeah, absolutely. I'm so excited to share some of these things with you. But before I do that, may I please say that, you know, every day is an act and an opportunity to do the right thing, to share Aloha with our family, with our Ohana, and to be prepared, meaning take a CPR class, water safety, all sorts of things that you can do. So in my bag that I have a go bag in my car, a go bag at home, and a go bag at the office. Now, I'm with the Red Cross, so I need to be mobile. Making a kit is easier than you think. You can use any sort of bag and it doesn't need to be anything fancy. It can be a recycled backpack from your kids from several years ago, which mine was up until just recently. So let me just share with you what I have in my bag. So my personal items, I've got my Red Cross of Hawaii hat. So I can put it on and just run and go. I've got my sneakers.

because oftentimes I'm not wearing running shoes, but I got secret sneakers and an extra pair of socks. I have toilet paper and an extra bag in case my clothes get wet and I want to put them in there. What are other fun things? I've got toiletries. I previously was a Girl Scout, so I also have a hammock in case I need to be mobile. You know, I have kids at home. And so making a kit that is reflective of you and your needs, make sure you've got that stuffy or make sure you've got medicine. If that is, you know, if you take medicine and you need those things, make sure that you have those and they're... not expired, that you have a regular supply. Food, I have a whole box of NutraGate so I can eat on the go. We encourage everyone to have food and water in their go bag for, you know, three days if possible. I know that's challenging, but, and if you're staying at home, we do encourage a two-week supply of food and water because you just don't know how stock those stores can be. And so I have a couple other things in here, a change of clothes, first aid kit. What else? I want to show you one other thing. Right in front, I have flashlight and extra batteries. I have a knife in case I need to cut something open. And then I have important documents, right? Things that I would want for my insurance policy or my homeowners or anything like that, that important documents are very key to have when you're on the go. Very, very cool. Great tips. So important documents and medications if you need them. Food and water, those are essentials and those things that you just absolutely can't live without. You mentioned having kids. So you often want to think about what they need as well. So make sure you get your bag together. It's important to stay ahead of the game here and make sure that we are as prepared as possible as we head into the weekend. So for those updates, make sure you download their app. But also, Alina Habba'I News Now, Kaino mentioned earlier. We have our weather app and Hohu Kau all through the weekend. Thank you so much, Molly, for all the information. Absolutely. Everyone stays safe. Disasters can happen at any moment, and we just need to be prepared as a community. Right on. Okay. And then now we're going to send things over to Kaino because honestly, right now is a great time to have gas, Kainoa. Absolutely. And that's why we're catching up right now with Rachel Kaya and Chris Kamm from Hawaii Gas. We're going to be talking about why having a plan is so important and what folks can start doing right now to plan. Rachel, I want to start with you. And that really is kind of step number one. recommending for people to do have a platin right be proactive not reactive Yep, absolutely. So packing a kit like the Red Cross team shared. And then also just making sure your family knows where to go, what to do in the event of an emergency. As you mentioned, gas will work if the power's out. So make sure you check your appliances, make sure they're functioning properly, checking to make sure everything is just working well. And then the last thing is for portable propane storage. Okay. Just making sure that's in a well-ventilated area. It's super shelf-stable, but it should be stored upright.

making sure it's not near any ignition sources or anything like that. Gotcha. And then as far as that kind of checking appliances, you're basically kind of looking for just overall kind of maintenance as you go into the weekend, right? Making sure everything is turning on and reacting properly, right? All right, Chris, let's go over to you. And we were talking earlier, you're recommending that people absolutely right now, you don't turn off the gas, right? That's right. Heading into the weekend. Yes, it's perfectly okay to leave your gas on. In fact, you should leave your gas on. It will still work during a power outage. If for some reason, we do need you to shut your gas off. we will let you know. Gotcha. What other safety tips and what are you encouraging the general public to do as well? I know a lot of resources are available via the website, right? Yeah. So again, I want to stress that if you have a portable gas tank or gas cylinder, I know you might be tempted to bring it out inside, out of the weather, but it's important that you leave it somewhere that it's not enclosed, that you keep it in a well-ventilated area. For more information, you can check our website, hawaiagas.com slash safety. We have a whole section just on emergency preparedness, which would come in handy for this upcoming weekend. And I'd also like to point out that we have a survey at the top of that page that we encourage everyone to take. And what's included in this survey as well, Chris, when people are participating in it? We're just looking for feedback, making sure that we're putting out the right information, answering any common questions that you may have. Even if you don't have gas, we want to make sure that we're informing the public about lots of gas-related safety. Gotcha, very important stuff, Rich. I want to go back to you as well. So we want to make a plan, double-check appliances, double-check tanks as well. What else are you recommending for people to do in addition to the website? Yeah, just make sure you don't touch anything. We'll let you know or if a public safety official lets you know to shut off the gas. Other than that, don't touch it and it'll all work just perfectly fine. Gotcha. Very important stuff, Rachel, Chris, thank you very much. And for more information and safety tips as well, cannot stress this enough. Go ahead and download the H&N weather app. Everyone at Hawaii News Now currently is working around the clock to give you the very latest information as soon as it becomes available. Stay with us, though. We have much more coming up on High Now Day. Thank you very much. Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, U.H shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us, and let's go Bose.

How's it, Allah, gang, and welcome back to Hainau Daily. As Ohana prepare for a new school year, it's a great time to discover books that celebrate Hawaii and inspire learning here at home. Joining us here today is Akehaka Hakeha. Director of Kamehameha Publishing, an award-winning author, Lurlena, McGrath, who's going to be telling us all about her new book. Welcome into the show, you too. Thanks for having us. Mahalo Newy for being here today. Okay, books, vitally important. Okay, okay. Tell us about Kameha Publishing and the resources you folks are created. Yes, so I'm Akehaka Hakea. I'm the director of our mission is simple, is to amplify Native Hawaiian perspectives. What that means is we take, what we call EIA, or the ability to breathe in our La Hui, and make that into products that we can touch, we can feel, we can read, we can learn. And so a part of that is serving our people in making sure that we have podcasts, board games, books, digital things that... Advancing Kailipawahi's mission not only in our campuses but across our community so that people can experience all of the vaivai of our ali'i for our nation. And so KPUB is that community serving arm to extend that and know that Comeham House schools is a part of our people in many different ways. And incredible, and obviously very nice to have local authors, local storytellers here at home, continue to perpetuate that legacy. Lerlin, tell us a little bit about, and I want to make sure I got the name right, Waking in a Sea of Dreams, which has got a lot of excitement, but we have two books on the table, right? Tell us about it. Okay, so the first book, Waking in a Sea of Dreams is actually a continuation of the first book, which is... between the Deep Blue Sea and Me. But it is a standalone book. So between the Deep Blue Sea and Me, I was inspired by a controversy going on in the Hawaiian community at the time about whether some sacred objects belonged in the museum or back in the Forbes Cave where they were taken from. So that became the story in the first book. And now the second book, It continues the story of the characters in the first book, but now it's about generational secrets in the family and what happens when there are secrets. never revealed. Especially here in Hawaii, often times it imitates life, right? And I wanted to ask you as well, how important is it to be able to partner with, you know, local publishing? When you think about a publisher that really acknowledges and values authentic storytelling, especially from this perspective. Oh, it's terrific. I mean, first of all, they speak Hawaiian, so they could correct, you know, on my olelo. But just a perspective. And, you know, because the editor is, the editor has really pushed me. I mean, I have to give them so much credit for, you know, for what came out of this. It was really good working with them because they really understood, you know, the material, what I was trying to do.

Yeah, exactly, which is so vitally important. And, okay, I wanted to go back to you as well, because on top of this table, we have Lurlien's books here. And then what else did you bring in for us? So the large boxes you see are called Pahana Aina Lupal. This is a science text reader. Think National Geographic meets Ollala Hawaii. Wow. So they are leveled readers that we partnered with U.H. H. H. H. H. H. H. H. H. H. H. H. H. H. M. with the design curriculum so that our Kiki can learn science in the way that... they grow up seeing every day. Our rains, our winds, our octopi, our mollusks, like all the olello things to be able to see, act, think, and speak in the ways that they are familiar with. talking about our volcanoes. So instead of relying on foreign ways of teaching science, we now have ways to teach our Kiki about themselves in products like this. Yeah, and even with utilizing the language, which is a really beautiful thing. Okay, okay, in a crazy technology world that we're living in right now, I'm a father myself. I'm got to get the iPad and the iPhones away from the kids and we're at home. But why is it so important that books continue that we give Kiki and the next generation access to this type of resource? Yeah, the short answer is when we have hurricanes and Hawaiian telecom and spectrum and no power, books are eternal. And our genealogy of Hawaiian knowledge comes from many years of Minghooppa to make this Ikepa. And in the genealogy of our new pepah, it was... pages on pages of ike and so kameha meha publishing's mission is to continue that we have the largest archive of indigenous knowledge because of the new pepah so what we're doing is continuing that just in a different kind of 21st century way but we're still doing the things kupuna did printing our Ike and making sure that our next generation has the same thing while we are gone. Incredible. That's what it's all about. Akele, Lurlian, thank you and Mahalo, Nui, for being here. And don't forget for more information as well about Kamehameh Publishing and staying up to date with what else is going to be released this year, head to hideoutdaily.com. Mahalo.

Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose. now daily. Okay, I'm excited for this because, you know, we both love to shop. We were talking about Hawaii's finest earlier because that's what we're rocking today. Checked out in Hawaii's finest right now. We're looking flat today for a little Friday. But we wanted to bring somebody special into the mix over here. We have Lacey Wilson Penna. She is going to be talking about an upcoming Makkeke that's happening and it's the best of Hawaii Makkeke but also music festival as well. Tell us a little bit about that. I mean, plenty vendors going to be there, yeah? Yes. So we're going to have our Best of Vaiti Makikekete, 26 at Neil Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, August 21st to the 23rd. We have 250 plus vendors, 30 hot food vendors cooking on site. We have live music, fashion shows, and of course, it is a free event. So bring your ohana. It's open to the public with on-site parking. That is $8. Oh, okay. You're going over there with the whole family. You're only paying $8 for parking. That's amazing. Sometimes you go to these festivals and they can cost them. lot of money for every single person that has to go through the door. And you know, ohana, we get like... Everyone's rolling deep. Yeah, yeah. Stroller, the big stroller, the double stroller. So that's going to be amazing. But I did want to ask you as well. Let's talk a little bit about the vendors and like the lineup for the music because it looks... This is going to be like one of the best concerts of the year. Yes. So, but... Before that, we do have a VIP experience. So if you're an early shopper and you like to get ready for Christmas, we have a VIP experience that you can shop at hifinus.com slash meke, where it's $70 only. You get an early access for shopping either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. And that comes with an exclusive Momona high finest bag. Oh, Momona, she said. Everything inside. So you have to choose either from four of these dishes. You get again the one hour shopping experience before open to the public. We have a VIP lounge where you can throw your Kiki or your husband's in there. Sit down and hold all the bags while you shop. Yes. You think of everything, yeah. And 150 of our vendors will have exclusive deals in sales for you to shop with. Holy moly, coi, so there's deals as well, there's food, there's going to be like 30 hot food vendors as well. But also, Puvee's finest is going to be popping up their own section as well. And there's going to be some mega deals happening under there. So we're going to have a 15,000 square foot. booth okay so this is one of our biggest booths we've ever had we have five different concepts within that booth we have a camel collection a sticker bomb polaka outdoors and what's it called sports area in these sections are gonna have different collections that have never been seen or yeah so you're gonna look forward to Lacey I'm gonna ask the question everyone at home is asking right now tell us about that jacket where's that jacket from is that one of the she's gonna be

Is that part of the Camel collection? This is going to be one of the exclusive items that you will see inside of our pop-up. But if you can't make it to our Mekeke, we do have our music festival, which is happening Saturday, August 22nd, right across at the arena. We got Haywada, Ukla the Mok, 3 Plus, Johnny Sweet, Liko Jordi, small acts. Oh my gosh, Maya music and Maoloa music. All of the hammas will be right. over here joining us. He's actually not going to be performing that weekend, but Kelly Boy Delima, he's actually going to be judging a contest over there. Is that right? At our Makeke, we will have different contests, and one of them will be a ukulele content. Oh, so they get to jam for the legend himself. I know. That's tough. It's going to bring the A game. Bring the A game. Okay, I love it. So all kind of new things that you guys have introduced this year into the mix. Oh, but having this VIP experience is pretty much where it's at, right? It is. Okay. So for the and getting that extra package. How do they do so? So visit hifinus.com slash makeke and we have all three days showcase on the website. So you can choose your day, come and shop early and we'll be there. So this is August 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. You get to shop in the exhibition hall, then you walk over to the arena. for the concert. That's going to be so good. That is a full-blown Ohana weekend. And I gotta say 30 vendors for the food alone. On site, hot sounds amazing. And then last question before we go to break, I gotta ask about why Hawaii's finest decided to put on this festival, to put on this Makkekeke, and have all the vendors come and join us. So this is going to be a huge shopping weekend. There is made in Hawaii at the convention center, but we wanted to also give more vendors opportunities to pop up and give that one-on-one experience with live customers. So we brought it to the Blaisdale, giving everybody a chance to make some money, support local, and just rise Hawaii all together as one. That is awesome. And then you can really make a day out of it. You know what I mean? Just head to town and you can make a whole entire day out of it. Lacey, Mahalo Nui, big time for being here. Stay with us. All of the information is right over there on your screen. But as we head to break, Rachel and Lisa were talking about it earlier. The legend himself is here on high now. You better bring your best when you're over there with your ukulele. Bring your best, but we're so stoked to have him here. Joining us right now, the legendary. Kelly Boy de Lima. Let's go. Oh, yeah. Ma Kekekekekeke, Ma Kekekekeke.

Let's go, gap. We're going to jump on the Marqueque train We're going to ride it till we go insane We're going to jump on the Marqueca train Let's get Come on, Lacey. We're going to jump on the market gate train. We're going to ride it till we go in. Come on, Lacey. We're still waiting for you. Going to jump on the marketa train. We're going to ride it. She made it, you guys.

Home to K5. All the games, U8 shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose. outrigger resorts and hotels. They helped kick off the season for the Rainbow Wahine soccer team. UH hosted 23rd ranked Texas Tech to open the season. Hawaii lost one nothing but showed they can hang. UH has 11 new players on the roster this year and this is the first time in seven years, Hawaii has played a nationally ranked team. All right, and this weekend's Wahine soccer game is still a goal. This is a wonderful time in the year. All the sports are picking back up, and officials have decided to move the match against Kansas State up one day due to the weather that is heading toward the islands. Now, the H&N sports team had a chance to catch up with Rainbow Wahine head soccer coach Bud Nagamine. Take a listen. I think with all of our visiting teams, they are... The number one thing for them was getting the game in. They want to keep people safe, but they don't want to lose the game. So playing on Saturday gives us our best opportunity to actually get two games in this weekend. All right. Now, don't forget, a big reminder, day two of the Outrigger soccer kickoff has been moved to Saturday, August 15th. So stay up to date. We're actually going to be broadcasting the game live. You can join us on K5 starting at noon for the pregame show on K5. And then kickoff is set for 1230. So here's a preview of what's going on behind the scenes as we get ready for the big launch.

Hey, how's it going, U8 sports fans? Well, the countdown is on. We are just a few days away from the launch of Hawaii Athletics on K5. We are so excited here at Hawaii News Now to be the official broadcast partner of University of Hawaii Athletics and bringing you all the action all year long. Now, we've been working hard over the last few months for this debut and today I'm going to take you behind the scenes as final preparations are underway. Well, one of the things you're going to notice are some familiar faces throughout the broadcast for University of Hawaii Athletics. One of the familiar faces, Mark Carpenter here. Mark, you're going to be a part of something exciting, something new that's coming. Talk to us about this new coaches show. I am beyond exciting to announce the arrival of Hawaii's team, which really is the coaches show and the storytelling platform for this entire arrangement between University of Hawaii Athletics and Hawaii News Now. As we well know. Storytelling is at the heart of what we do here at OIA News Now. And this is, and I'm really proud to announce that this is going to be an outlet. This is going to be a space and a platform to showcase the stories of these athletics programs, to talk about the coaches, to talk about the student athletes, and to really see the behind the scenes of what goes into the success of these teams. And tell us, when can people expect to... this Hawaii team. This is going to be Thursday nights starting August 27th at 6 o'clock p.m. And so, you know, it's something that's really exciting about this too, is that this is going to be a show that focuses not only on football, but all sports within University of Hawaii athletics. Yeah, looking forward to it. Thanks, Mike.

All right, we are here inside Studio B, which is going to be the home to our new pregame halftime host game show. And someone leading to charge on that is our very own Billy V, who is in the middle of rehearsals right now. We're going to quickly jump in. Billy, talk to us about the bowls. Of course, we're going to be doing pre-game, halftime, and post-game show here in the broadcast center. And so what our job to do is kind of set the stage for what's about to happen, whether it be football, basketball, volleyball, whatever the sport is going to be baseball. We're going to be kind of giving you an idea of what to expect. Who's... playing who's the hot player right now what is the coaches thinking but we're going to be talking to experts like right here so that's the main thing is that we'll be having a conversation about the game to come and after the game how it affects what's coming up next. That's right. Victoria Prince joining the team as well. She is, of course, the assistant coach with the beach team, but going to be joining us here in studio. Half an hour before game time. Half an hour before game time, make sure that you're watching on K5 where local sports live. Go bow.

With someone else who is working really hard is our very own Sienna Peloton. What are you excited about with U8 Sports on K5? There's so much that I'm excited for. This is a whole new opportunity for Hawaii News now, but also for me as well, joining you on the sideline for certain sports. It's just going to give me much more experience and hopefully tell the fans a different story while being on the sideline, what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing, just giving them that inside access. Yeah, we're looking forward to that. Now, we're getting a lot of questions, people asking how to watch. How do people tune in to get and be a part of this exciting new time for UH? Yeah, so you can watch the games on K5 and then afterwards there will be timely replays afterwards. And then on top of that, we're actually featuring a game of the week every Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. on K5 as well. That's right. And if you're looking for more UH content and more UH games, you can actually watch it on demand through the Mountain West Plus app. We're also going to be launching the Warrior Channel. It's a 24-7 streaming platform where you can get behind-the-scenes footage exclusive content. You're going to be able to find all the things there, including K-5 Classics. That's going to be a great one. Some of the more memorable matches are going to be airing there as well. So if you want more information, head over to the UH Sports section of hawaii-newsnow.com slash U8 Sports. It's going to be an exciting time for UH Athletics. We hope you'll join us.

That is awesome. A lot of sports production is happening, but I'm going to give everyone out there some behind the scenes. Tip 101. Very first tip you learn when it comes to production, you got to feed the crew. Very important. So a big mahalo to our friends over there at Domino's, Hawaii. They're actually providing the crew. with Ono grinds throughout the game. And if you haven't heard just yet, big news for Domino's Hawaii. They're launching the very first Domino. Now, it's a Detroit-style pizza with one topping plus a 20-ounce soda. This deal is going to start on August 31st. That's coming up at the end of the month. So we're giving you a heads up right now. The cost for the pizza and soda combo is great. It's just $9.99. Shout out to Domino's Hawaii, keeping the production crew. fueled up for all of the games that are to come. Rachel has been standing by right now. I think there's a surfboard behind you. What's happening over there? Oh, we are talking story about women who are leading with purpose. And joining me today with her beautiful surfboard that she created is Crystal Thornburg, Homestead. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for having me. Yes, I'm excited. Yes, talk story about what you do. I mean, I know you have many different passions. You are an alum at Hawaii School for Girls at La Pietro, but you have such an amazing career as an ocean athlete, as a storyteller, a filmmaker, and I wanted you to share a little bit about that and then what that was like for your journey. Oh, wow, thank you. Such a loaded question. I love it. I just wrapped up the... Honolulu Sur Film Festival at the Doris Duke Theatre. And that was a month-long festival. And now I'm able to share my love for La Pietra, Hawaii School for Girls, with my daughter. She's going into her first year there now. Very, very cool. You were telling me a little bit about going to school at Hawaii School for Girls at La Pietra and what it kind of taught you along the way and feeling the sense of empowerment. What have you learned from your journey that kind of led you on to surfing? I know you were saying professional surfing and then going into filmmaking. Can you talk a little bit about all of that? Yeah, I think what I learned from La Pietra is to follow your dreams. not only to take your skills that you learn in school and apply them to your own passion. So I was lucky enough to travel the world and work with different companies and environmental organizations to... Follow my dream in my heart and luckily to come back to Hawaii and work for different companies here and nonprofits to share that same goal. Awesome. And it all started from this surfboard right over here. This is something that you created back when you were going to Hawaii School for Girls. Yes, this is one of my projects in my junior year. This is 25 years old, this surfboard, and I was able to take it around the world with me to test out different waves.

and now to bring it into the studio, to share. And it's... been around the world and back. Well, 25 years, that means it's made from good quality. It's like... A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this board. There you go. Yeah, and what it did is actually very empowering because I never shaped a board before. And so I was able to use the skills that I learned in school and apply it to everyday practices still. Being able to make mistakes and be okay with it and learn from them, like... the rails a little bit hard to my liking, but it still goes and it's awesome because if I decide to shape another board, then I'll know to kind of fine tune. for the next one. Yeah. All right. And then you mentioned you have a daughter who is now going to Hawaii School for Girls at Lafayetra. Obviously, you chose the school for her because you had such an amazing time there. When you think about leadership, what does that mean to you? And I know it's different for everyone, but as you raise your daughter, how do you show her what leadership is? I think, yeah, exactly. Leadership doesn't necessarily have to be being at the front or at a podium. It can be standing next to someone advocating for something or organization. It can also be being on your own and just following your own dreams in silence and not having any attention with it. It can be so many different things, not only being center stage. And then just talking about your years at La Pietra, I wanted to ask about being in that environment. I know it's all girls, so you're surrounded by maybe like-minded individuals and you guys are all sharing your passions with each other and learning. What was that experience like for you? I loved it, honestly. I get a lot of comments saying, oh, girls, school, oh, no. Like, what about the boys? But honestly, I think that it really gave me an opportunity to raise my hand. and not to be scared of making a mistake. Because even if you got the answer wrong, I didn't feel like I had to be shy. I just was open and learning and sharing and kind of brainstorming with the other students and girls. And I feel that I'm really excited to share that opportunity with my daughter because she can really grow confidence and learn from that experience. and take that into the real world. Nice. And then if you had any advice for your younger self, your middle school years, your high school years, what would you say? I would say keep following your dreams because you don't necessarily know where the path is going to take you. You know, just put your head down and be a good person. Be strong, learn to advocate for yourself and others.

the world will take you where it's going to take you. Beautiful. I love those words. In fact, I'm going to actually share that with my daughter, who is a young girl growing up in this world. So all great tips. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. Thank you for having me. All right. Thank you. And if you have any questions about Hawaii School for Girls at Lafayette, make sure go ahead and check out their website. A lot of information. It's such a great school. We're going to take a quick break, but come on back here on Hainau Devi. Mahama. Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose. And welcome back to Hainau Daily. SunSource Power is on a mission to get everyone onto sustainable energy. And joining me now is Dustin Denise, a managing partner at SunSource Power, along with Eric Taniguchi, owner of Taniguchi and Associates. Now, we're going to talk about the real estate component in just a bit. But first, let's talk about the Solar for All campaign. Dustin, can you kick us off? Yeah, sounds good. Thank you. So I think with the increasing and skyrocketing prices of electricity, solar systems have been really, felt really unattainable, I think, to a lot of local families, especially with high costs to be able to purchase the system and you're going to be needing stellar credit or the barriers to get into that. We have put together a solar for all campaign that has eliminated a lot of those barriers, so we're able to... offer year program, a state-of-the-art program actually with fantastic panels, Tesla batteries. And it's zero money down, no money out of pocket, no financing or credit checks. You're not having to take on a huge loan of some sort or take a lot of money out of pocket to be able to invest in a system. We really created this for local families, for people here to be able to manage their expenses. And at the same time, too, we're doing something great, I think, for the environment as well. Oh, absolutely. And that's one major concern is, can we afford it? And I love that you're saying that there are options and it is affordable for people. if they're working with you, right? Exactly. Yeah, now we're talking about the real estate component. I wanted to bring you, Eric, into the mix now, for those who had the program and they have the solar with you folks, and it was put on their home, from a real estate aspect, what does that look like when the homeowners decide to sell if they have solar on their homes? The good thing with SunSource Power is Purchase Power Agreement, the agreement transfers with the property. You know, unlike if it's a lease agreement, it could cause some issues with lending, title, liens, and things like that. So it's great that they have a program that transferred with the property. Very cool. And it actually makes it really enticing for people to actually buy that specific home because there are so many different benefits when it comes to solar, right? Yeah, absolutely. If you have a...

two homes for sale side by side. You know, if you have one with the PV panels on and one without having the panels on and what's going to help you get a higher price and even sold faster, which is most owner's goals when selling. Yeah, and we're talking about like the differences between putting the two homes next to each other. A lot of different benefits, you're saving money. But for times like this where we are, there's a storm approaching, it also is a huge benefit, especially if there's those batteries involved as well. Can you speak to that, Dustin? Yeah, so right now with the current storm coming, you know, don't be afraid, don't panic, I should say. Really just don't get on your roof, you know. Yeah. But what you do want to do is just make sure all of the things around your home is secured so that it's not flying and hitting things in the event that there are high winds. You're also going to want to make sure that you're prioritizing your battery backup so that you're having a full charge on your battery in the event that Kiko's power grid. goes down and you're unable to have electricity, your battery will be full. You know, for us, we're doing for a lot of our clients who are actually taking drone footage as well too for of the panels to make sure that everything, so we can have pictures before the storm is happening so that in the event of a claim afterwards, they're going to be able to, you know, easily file a claim as well. So. If you have a you have solar panels already and you're with your you can reach out to your solar company as well too if you have a different company, but we're doing that for our clients. awesome a huge benefit with working with you folks and I know you even put the solar with them and their program and your own home right and that's why you feel very you know responsible for telling all of your clients like hey this is a good deal you got to go with them absolutely I wouldn't feel comfortable you know introducing this program to someone else if I didn't feel comfortable with him myself Right. Okay, so that means you've got to contact them, okay? Because we all need solar on our homes. It's just going to make it cheaper for us. And of course, it's just better on the environment. And thank you guys so much for sharing all the tips as well as we head into this dorm. Everybody stay safe out there and make sure you're downloading all the app so that you can make sure that you and your family are safe this weekend. You guys, thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you. We're ever going to take a break. But come on back here on Hainau Daily. Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose.

Allah and welcome back to Hainau Daily. Now to a very serious topic that oftentimes here in Hawaii hides, it hides behind the walls, it hides in plain sight, but it's something that we need to discuss here today. Hoola Nippu returns to Hainau Daily with a closer look at the data behind Hawaii sex trafficking demand problem, including new figures on training, youth outreach, and public awareness. Andrew Aguirre is here to discuss what the numbers reveal and how the we see you Hawaii campaign is measuring the impact. First of all, Andrew, thank you very much. Hoola Nippu has been in the space for a number of years protecting the Kiki of Hawaii. But let's talk a little bit about the metrics, the measurables of where we're at right now, currently with WICU, Hawaii. Absolutely. You know, Hōla Napa, we've been in the community since 2009. And in that time, we've actually trained 49,000 community professionals and 53,000 youth on the issue of sex trafficking here in Hawaii. However, the WICU campaign educationally started softly last year. We've already reached over 11,000 people trained about how to recognize buyer patterns and what CSEC and sex trafficking looks like here in Hawaii. Now with that amount of people that are trained 49,000, what does the work look like day to day? So day to day it really comes down to our small education team. Ho'a al-Napua you know we are a fierce team fierce small and mighty but each one of us has our role to play we go into schools we go into businesses community groups and we present to them the you know the basic information, definitions of what it is, but more importantly, yes, what the national numbers are, but more alarmingly what the numbers here in Hawaii actually are. And that's where we provide that really intimate touch that connects the issue that we see and hear all the time nationally to how it impacts our Kiki here locally. Andrew, let's talk about 90% currently is the number of the accusers that know, the person that in some cases is trafficking them. What does that number tell us and why proximity to this is important? Kainoa, what it tells us is grooming takes time. There's no set time frame. So 90%, 9 out of 10 know who was abusing them or trafficking them. That's because their interaction is not the first one. It's slow through text messaging, gaming, just sharing time one another at a family function, unfortunately. So by able to be having a close proximity to one another allows that... really negative relationship to actually establish and then it can turn dark and sinister where they'll be trafficked unfortunately and what role does uh do men play in terms of disrupting these patterns and behaviors that we're seeing um and not just seeing and acknowledging it but doing something. You know, men unfortunately make up the large percentage of buyers, but I think our voice is oftentimes somewhat overlooked, or we feel that we can't speak out about this because we know it impacts women and females and young ladies more. Even though it does affect young boys too, our voice is so key. We have to be willing to actually stand up and say, hey, that normalized behavior of sexualizing somebody is not okay. Being able to actually challenge what we think is normal and say, you know what, maybe there's a different way we can approach this to protect our future generations and even our adults that are experiencing this every single day.

Gotcha. Now, Andrew, I want to go back to WeCU, Hawaii as well. You mentioned over 49,000 trained here in Hawaii. Locally, what does the work look like for the rest of the year? And as we see you, Hawaii continues on. You know, we're actually, we're expanding with our multimedia campaign. We just launched it in July of 26, and we've already hit 5.7 million impressions. So we're going to be launching into our second PSA, who's going to have a very locally recognized voice. Mr. Kimo himself will be doing our voiceover. But it's to tie it back to the... people that buyers operate it's not because we don't care as a community we just don't know what to look at right they say see something say something you don't know what to look at how are you gonna say something that's why we say we see you because we see you the buyer but we also see you, the community that's willing to stand up and stand behind, these amazing survivors. How does the community continue to support Hoolunapua in its mission to keep Kiki here in Hawaii safe? Keep the conversation going. Go to we see you, Hawaii.org, learn more, see what it actually looks like. Schedule a free session with us at no cost to you. Become part of the conversation. We're afraid to talk about sexual exploitation and trafficking. The more we talk about it openly, we can normalize that conversation to protect our Kiki for... generations to come. Andrew, thank you very much. Thank you, Kanoa. Very important work that Ho'olunapua does. And again, for more information and resources about we see you, Hawaii as well, we'll have them available at Hinawdaily.com. We'll be right back. Aloha warrior fans. The news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose.

Aloha and welcome back. Don't forget, big time weekend, very, very important that you know what is going on. Download our free H&N Weather app. Scan the code on your screen right now or search for H&N weather in the app store. We're also going to have continuing coverage throughout the weekend. So stay safe with Hawaii News now. Very important. Yeah, very, very important. Stay up to date with us. And now's a good time. What I learned today is just get prepared. Make a plan. Yes, make a plan. But also set up that safety kit for you, the emergency kit that we had earlier. Molly was talking to us on what you should be putting in it. I would definitely say the food, the water, but also for those who need medications, get those medications lined up. Call your pharmacy right now. Get those refills if you need to. But very, very important to have those documents as well when it comes to medical. Yeah. Also, and changing gears as well, do not forget the very first University of Hawaii sports broadcast. Back over here on K5 will be tomorrow on Saturday. But stay safe, Hawaii. And mahalo no, for watching. See you guys on Monday. I really like this.

Aloha Warrior fans, the news is out. UH games are coming home to K5. All the games, UH shows, athlete profiles, and throwbacks to your favorites are all in one place. Hawaii News Now. Celebrate the home team with us and let's go Bose.