December 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

Thank you for attending our Nov. 17 pau hana at Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room! We hope the event gave you a chance to mingle and unwind after a busy election season.

We’ll be planning more events next year and will announce them on our social media pages and via this newsletter.

Big mahalo to Jason Ubay (2022 treasurer) and Ashley Mizuo (2022 board member), who are stepping down from our board. We appreciate your dedication and hard work over the last several years and wish you all the best!

Team AAJA met its New York City Marathon fundraising goal of $35,000 to support the New York, Hawai‘i, D.C., Minnesota and Los Angeles chapters! Team members include Frank Bi, Jin Ding, Kimberly Yuen, Adrienne Zulueta, Sophia Cai, Kelyn Soong and Ron Nurwisah.

Member Bylines

“Native Hawaiians are still waiting for the military to remove unexploded bombs”
In this joint investigation with ProPublica, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Rob Perez digs into the slow remediation efforts that hundreds of Native Hawaiians are waiting on to finally build their homes on Hawaiian homelands. “People are getting old, people are dying,” said Mary Maxine Kahaulelio, a prominent Native Hawaiian activist who lives near the UXO zone. “This is another form of delay for Hawaiians.”

“Researchers tackle declining ʻopihi population with lab spawning”
Hawai‘i Public Radio’s Casey Harlow reports on UH Mānoa graduate students’ research to spawn and raise ‘opihi in a lab. “Angelica Valdez and Mitch Marabella say they aim to find a method to spawn more ʻopihi in the lab to later be able to release in the wild.”

“Homeward Bound: Hawai‘i Program Flies Homeless People To The Mainland”
Honolulu Civil Beat’s Casie Ordonio writes about the Institute for Human Services’ relocation program, which has served nearly 600 people experiencing homelessness on O‘ahu since 2015. “It provides another tool in the toolbox,” said Scott Morishige, Hawai‘i’s coordinator on homelessness. “The goal of homeless services providers is to connect people to a stable place, whether that’s a housing unit or a connection with their family.

“Genesis Trading Warns of Possible Bankruptcy as Post-FTX Fundraising Falters: Report”
Decrypt’s Ryan Ozawa reports on crypto industry stalwart Genesis Trading. “Genesis launched the first over-the-counter Bitcoin trading desk in 2013, going on to become one of the industry’s largest players. But in the wake of the catastrophic failure of FTX, the company was facing “abnormal withdrawal requests” and was casting about for a $1 billion bailout last week.”

“Tracking Hawai‘i Paychecks Versus Living Costs Since 1969”
Hawaii Business Magazine’s Noelle Fujii-Oride looks into wages after inflation, debt loads, where people spent their money and more. “Hawai‘i’s average annual wages, adjusted for inflation, have only increased 16% since 1969. Wages have increased more than eightfold since then, but the prices for goods and services in Honolulu have increased a lot too. In 1969, the Consumer Price Index was 39.4; in 2020, it was 286.008 – an increase of more than seven-fold.”

“World War II Is Still Killing People In The Solomon Islands”
Honolulu Civil Beat’s Thomas Heaton reports on the lack of attention being paid to the WWII-era bombs that still litter the island nation. “Explosive remnants of war have plagued the Solomon Islands since Japan, the U.S. and its allies withdrew from the fighting in the mid-1940s, after WWII, leaving a deadly legacy the developing South Pacific nation has been unable to deal with, despite its pleas for help.”

“Hawai‘i Island Is Getting New Federal Funds To Tackle Health Care Shortages. Is It Enough?”
Honolulu Civil Beat’s Anita Hofschneider reports on efforts to address the island’s health care shortage. “Health care providers say a lot more needs to be done beyond funding. Some potential solutions include bolstering existing rural health training programs for physicians and other health professionals; increasing health insurance reimbursement rates; and providing tax relief by eliminating the general excise tax on medical services.”

Local Job Openings

KHON2 is seeking a news anchor/reporter who will serve as the primary presenter of news stories and other content for all platforms. Minimum five years’ experience in news reporting or anchoring required. More information here.

Hawaii News Now is hiring for an assignment editor with sound news judgment, refined communication skills and excellent time management. This position will oversee newsgathering and plan evening news coverage across multiple platforms. More information here.

Updates from AAJA National

The Asian American Journalists Association is accepting applications for the following scholarships:

Due by January 15, 2023:
White House Correspondents’ Association Scholarship
Due by January 30, 2023:
Jimmie & Suey Fong Yee Grants
Al Young Sports Journalism Scholarship
Michael Kim Journalism Fellowship
Vincent Chin Memorial Scholarship
Mary Quon Moy Ing Memorial Scholarship
Due by February 28, 2023:
ABC News/Alexa Valiente Summer Memorial Internship
NBC News Summer Fellowship
Due by March 30, 2023:
Sam Chu Lin and Lloyd LaCuesta Broadcast News Internship Grants
William Woo Print and Online News Grant
Stanford Chen Internship Grant
Due by April 1, 2023 and October 1, 2023:

Dinah Eng Leadership Fellowship Grant

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