October 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
Mahalo to those of you who responded to our event survey! Here are the results:
Respondents were split evenly between wanting events every other month and every quarter.
The most recommended activities respondents said AAJA Hawai‘i should host are educational workshops and another pau hana.
75% of respondents prefer that we hold our next event in November after the general election.
You can still give us feedback here: https://forms.gle/mvRGXmFhPNaWYqdd9
Do you want to connect with other AAJA Hawai‘i members? We have a channel in the AAJA Slack: # chapter-hawaii. Your AAJA membership must be up to date to access this channel.
AAJA Hawai‘i has been invited to participate in AAJA LA’s virtual Trivia Bowl 2022. The event will be held on Friday, Oct. 14, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. PT in honor of Henry Fuhrmann, a longtime AAJA and AAJA-LA leader and a former assistant managing editor at the Los Angeles Times. Let us know at hawaii@aaja.org if you want to put together a team for this event! Teams are limited to 10 players each. The signup deadline is Oct. 12.

Join the Hawaii Scholastic Journalism Association for an adviser social at McKinley High School on Oct. 15. AAJA Hawai‘i will be sponsoring the association’s Hawai‘i Journalist of the Year contest next year. Members are welcome to attend in-person or virtually. RSVP here.
Member News
Welcome/welcome back to members Craig Gima, Janice Gin, Christine Cabalo, Ryan Ozawa and Robert Perez! We’re so happy to have you join us.
Member Bylines
30 years after Iniki, memories of storm’s might remain fresh
Hawaii News Now’s Annalisa Burgos reports on the 30-year anniversary of Hurricane Iniki. “Iniki was the most powerful storm to devastate the islands in modern history, causing six deaths and more than $3 billion in damages. Kaua‘i bore the brunt of the Category 4 storm, but throughout the ordeal, residents’ resilience shone through.”
Ethereum, Bitcoin Slide Further Through The Weekend
Decrypt’s Ryan Ozawa reports on the status of two cryptocurrencies. “Ethereum is down from its pre-merge perch of $1,580 to $1,335 as of this writing, following a steep drop of 6% within hours of the merge and down 15% overall late Sunday. Bitcoin, meanwhile, fell to $19,414 on Friday, but saw a brief rally take it above $20,000 on Saturday. The boost was shortlived, however, with the largest cryptocurrency by marketcap returning to its Friday lows as the weekend drew to a close.”
Town Hall in West Oahu envisions expanded role from Honolulu Police
KITV4’s Jeremy Lee reports on a town hall at Kapolei Hale, where West Oahu residents voiced concerns about public safety. “Residents also told KITV4 more coordination between law enforcement and community organizations is called for; what’s more, oversight with programs that have put demands on officer resources, according to West Oahu resident Austin Salcedo.”
Could a Local Building Collapse Like the One in Florida?
Hawaii Business Magazine’s Noelle Fujii-Oride spoke with local building and condo experts about whether a building collapse could happen in Hawai‘i. “Experts say what happened at the Surfside condo is unlikely to happen here. But they warn condo boards: put off maintenance projects and you’ll end up paying far more.”
Honolulu’s acting planning department director says staffing is top priority
Hawai‘i Public Radio’s Casey Harlow interviews Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, the acting director of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting. “There’s a lot of good staff and people that really mean well, and want to change the perspective of DPP. And I think if we continue to move towards the modernization, and try to fix a lot of the problems that are going on — that at some point, hopefully soon, people will see that we do a lot of good things. And in time, I think people will see that.”
Job Openings
Hawai‘i Public Radio is hiring for a digital news producer to join its growing newsroom. This producer will work with colleagues to highlight HPR’s reporting and help expand the content and context of its online/digital platforms, while keeping in mind the needs and interests of our state-wide island community. More information here.
Updates from AAJA National and Other Chapters
The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is honored to award Henry Fuhrmann, long-time Los Angeles Times copy editor and AAJA member, with the 2023 AAJA Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong dedication to excellence in journalism, his leadership through humble service, his generous mentorship of future generations, and commitment to AAJA. Henry died on Sept. 14 after a sudden and brief illness. He was 65. Read more here.
The Asian American Journalists Association Pacific Islander Task Force is excited to announce the recipients of the first annual NAJA-AAJA Pacific Islander Journalism Scholarship in partnership with the Native American Journalists Association. Amee Hi‘ilawe Neves is a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa student pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism. Sera Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti is a University of the South Pacific student pursuing a degree in journalism who also works as a freelance correspondent at Islands Business. Read more here.
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