Members of the House in the Host Committee CSG Aloha Shirts in Honor of efforts of CSG West Chair Marcus Oshiro.

Hilo High School Gym a Step Closer to Reality

3D Rendering of the new Hilo High School Gym as seen from Waianuenue Avenue

On April 12th, the "last and final charette" for the Hilo High School gym was held. Representatives from the state, county, American Red Cross, Alumnae, and HHS were in attendance.

The gym will be built in one phase and when completed with seat 1376 in the bleachers when open, and 880 in the closed position.  The gym will be built to meet the requirements of being a shelter as well as meeing ADA requirements.  Various green energy initatives such as solar water heating will also be included in the gym design.

Ground breaking for the gym which has been delayed for over a year is now planned for June, 2012.

Honoka'a High School Jazz Band

Honokaa Jazz Band’s “Big City Tour,” April 19-22, includes shows at the State Capitol and Royal Hawaiian Center, in honor of National Jazz Appreciation Month.


One of the young group’s first free performances will be at the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda. After opening remarks from Rep. Mark Nakashima and Sen. Malama Solomon, the band will go on at 10 a.m.
On Saturday, April 21, the 30-member band will perform at the Bishop Museum as part of the YMCA Healthy Kids Day. Later that day, they will open the Twilight Jazz at Helumoa Concert in The Royal Grove at the Royal Hawaiian Center at 7 p.m. Joining the line-up will be The Kit Ebersbach Combo and Starr Kalahiki, performing at 8 p.m.


The Honokaa Jazz Band was organized in 1988 by school musical director Gary Washburn. Since then, after almost 25 years of annual repertoire changes to accommodate the “personality” of the band as students graduate, the youth jazz band still remains the pride and joy of Honokaa High.


In 2010, the music program at Honokaa High School was selected by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM) as one of 138 schools in the United States with an outstanding music program and commitment to music education.


They are also the recipients of the prestigious 2011 Grammy Signature Schools Enterprise Award. Gary Washburn, the band director, recently received the 2011 Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Award from the National Society of High School Scholars.


In 2012, the band performed for the Edison Learning Convention in the Ilikai Hotel in Honolulu and will be featured in the June edition of the “Hana Hou” Magazine.


This year the band shows off a repertoire from a variety of music spanning from the 1940s to present including the music of Paul Simon, Michael Buble, Etta James, Ruth Brown, Brazil 66, Christina Aguilera, Maceo Parker, Aretha Franklin, as well as a special Cuban song “Mis Dos Pequenas.”
“With all of the emphasis on math and science, it is crucial to always remember that it is music and the arts that provide us with inspiration,” Nakashima said.


“Music, drama and the arts provide our students with the opportunity to exercise their creativity, act on their inspiration, and imagine the possibilities,” he added. “Teachers like Mr. Washburn provide students with the venue to explore this realm and to contribute profoundly to our quality of life.”


“I strongly encourage everyone to take time out of their busy schedules and listen to the music produced by these very talented youths,” Solomon said. “Under the direction of their band director Gary Washburn, these students have demonstrated how music education has benefited them to be successful in school and in life.”

An ensemble plays the morning show
Hawaii News Now - KFVE

The band exhibits a broad range.

The band joins Mark for a photo in front of the
Capitol at the Father Damien Statue

 

Hamakua Lions Annual Pancake Breakfast



It's all about the pancakes at a Pancake Breakfast.  The griddle crew
makes certain that the pancakes keep coming.

The secret to a great breakfast is cracking a few eggs.

The ladies from the Buddhist Women's Association stand ready
to serve the hoards of pancake eating Lions supporters.

The Lion grill crew.

Hilo Jaycees Community Easter Egg Hunt



The Hilo Jaycees sponsored the annual community
Easter Egg Hunt at Wong Stadium on Good Friday.
The Easter Bunny helps spread the eggs across the
field in anticipation of dozens of little feet.



Hundreds of children spread out across the field as the horn
signals the start of the egg frenzy.

Members of the Hilo Jaycees pause for a photograph following the
end of another successful project.

Mark and Rep. Cindy Evans are joined by Mayor Billy Kenoi and Jaqui Hoover (HIEDB) as they present a certificate to Liquid Robotics General Counsel and Vice President of Government Affairs Suneil Thomas.

Liquid Robotics®, an ocean data services provider and developer of the first wave-powered Wave Glider® marine robot, is proud to announce the PacX Challenge Wave Gliders have broken the Guinness Book World record for distance by an unmanned wave powered vehicle. Arriving in Hawaiʼi on the first leg of their 9000 nautical mile journey across the Pacific, they have traveled over 3200 nautical miles breaking the previous world distance record of 2500 nautical miles.

Wave Glider

Launched on November 17, 2011 from San Francisco Bay, the Wave Gliders have survived 8-meter (26 foot) waves in a gale force storm, defied turbulent mid-ocean currents, all while transmitting real time ocean data and staying on course to their first destination: the Big Island of Hawaiʼi. After a short check-up, the PacX Wave Gliders will embark on their final journeys to Australia and Japan. During this portion of the record breaking, scientific expedition, the first team of Wave Gliders will cross the Mariana Trench and battle the Kuroshio Current on their way to Japan. The second team will cross the equator on their way to Australia. It is anticipated the arrivals will occur in late 2012 or early 2013.

“We are proud our PacX Wave Gliders have reached their first destination and broken the world record,” said Edward Lu, Chief of Innovative Applications at Liquid Robotics. “I have no doubt new ocean discoveries, insights, and applications will emerge from the PacX data set. PacX represents a new model for providing widespread and easy access to environmental monitoring of the worldʼs oceans, one in which Liquid Robotics operates fleets of mobile, autonomous ocean robots across previously inaccessible areas of the ocean."

The PacX Challenge Wave Gliders were named to honor famous oceanographers and discoverers. One of the four, Papa Mau or “the Way Finder”, was named after the Micronesian navigator, Pius "Mau" Piailug, famous as the teacher of traditional, non- instrument way finding methods for deep-sea voyaging. True to his spirit, his namesake Wave Glider is navigating to port without instruments, due to a satellite communication disruption. Programmed to go straight to Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island, he is battling severe currents, yet staying on path using only his original coordinates and the stars!

US Senator Daniel K. Akaka Honored by State House

Big Island Reps with Senator and Mrs. Akaka

United States Senator Daniel Akaka was recognized by the House of Representatives as the recipient of the Harry S. Truman Award.  The Truman Award is the highest recognition given to a lawmaker by the National Guard Association of the United States.

The Harry S. Truman Award, authorized by the NGAUS Board of Directors in 1968, is the highest recognition conferred upon an individual by the Association.  Recipients have made sustained contributions of exceptional and far-reaching magnitude to the defense and security of the United States in a manner worthy of recognition at the national level.

For over four decades, the Truman has been a very distinctive award.  It comprises 13 pewter sculpted minutemen, representing the 13 original colonies.

The individual to be selected should have made sustained contributions of exceptional and far-reaching magnitude to the defense and security of the United States in a manner worthy of recognition at the national level.

The Truman Award is intended for the civilian and military leaders of America at the national level. Although a single deed or action may be considered as qualification for this award if it is sufficient magnitude and significance, weight should be give to sustained contributions.  Past recipients have been Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Governors and senior general officers.