#uh manoa

[sportsminorityreport]

"Peek around the Corner" suggests PAC-2 expansion may be coming soon.

So for those living under a rock for the last two years, Greg Flugar's You tube channel "Peek Around the Corner" is the best source for realignment discussions today. He broke the story on USC and UCLA to the Big Ten and has been right on almost every realignment move since then.

I have tracked and written about sport conference realignment since the last days of the Southwest Conference and I can tell you his run over the last 2 years is amazing. Really unprecedented and unlikely to ever be matched again. No one else has ever figured out what positions you should talk to get the right information on realignment. Flugar's figured it out and built a network of those guys. What he is doing is next level.

He is now talking about Pac2 expansion stories being imminent, although no new school is currently committed to join yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZZFZ37Kz6g&t=1s

I would encourage Cougar and Beaver fans to check out his report. (Warning, he babbles on about other crap for the first 52 minutes.)

I have been advocating the PAC2 build a conference for quite a while. It now seems like we have a pretty good idea of the plan they chose. It is a little ham-fisted and leaves a ton of available meat uneaten (could be A LOT richer), but when I look at it I see a solid plan that could come together very quickly that a risk-averse leadership would put together.

So lets get started talking about it.

The plan

Buy out the 6 MWC schools with the greatest current media valuations using the PAC treasure trove: Boise State, Air Force Academy, San Diego State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and UNLV. All 6 schools are likely willing co-conspirators as their media payouts will go up and might actually double and they don't have to do a thing.

That immediately gets the conference to 8 schools and solves their conference problems.

Follow that by a raid of specifically the Texas schools (UTSA, N. Texas, and Rice) in the AAC as well as Tulane, Memphis, and Navy. These schools would move to a better home for the two revenue sports and would also likely see raises.

I think it is quite viable. Props to the PAC 2.

Valuation, the engine that makes this possible.

What is the value of the new Pac? Well. I think we can pretty much guess at it. The PAC1-12-2's hired media evaluators advised the conference that "FAIR MARKET VALUE" of the PAC 12-2 was about $34M per school. Then the conference asked ESPN for $50M each --- pissing off ESPN and leading the "sports leader" to lowball the conference throughout the rest of the negotiation and even pull out of a last-minute offer when Colorado left.

Apple lowballed the PAC because for most of the negotiation period, the were no serious linear providers competing. Many Pac schools were looking at $25M per school as an amount they would tolerate to stay. Apple was going to guarantee something like $23M per school, so I think logically you can say that $27-34M was the general fair market valuation of the PAC-12-2 schools.

Now 6 of those schools are making $32M or more in their new conference homes.

Now obviously the 2 schools no one wanted in the power conferences were WSU and OSU. So you'd have to expect their valuation to be something between the best conference in the non-power ranks --- the AAC (~$9-10M) --- and maybe $25M.

Neither school has really built the kind of basketball support they should have and their football attendance averages were among the worst in the PAC, so pressed I would suspect OSU may be valued at about $20M and WSU at around $13M.

Now let's talk about the MWC. It is a 10/11 conference that is paid on the non-power conference scale. If memory serves they make about $6.5M per school, so the media money pool is about $70M.

The MWC is generally 3 layers of mediocrity although the MWC has a media king --- Boise State. BSU is good in football/solid in BB and has a national fanbase due to their stellar play 10-20 years ago capturing a generation of nationwide fans.

In the first tier of mediocrity, you have schools with definite TV value. After Boise State, you have #2 San Diego State (good FB, great BB in a top 30 DMA), #3 Colorado State (solid football/BB in a top 20 DMA), #4 Fresno State (good FB with great support, mediocre basketball in a forgettable DMA), and #5 Air Force (decent FB, very, very strong national brand).

Arguably, UNLV, Utah State, New Mexico, and Nevada are the next tier. Mediocre football schools with solid basketball programs which are pretty much in a down period across the board. UNLV is liked more than it should be by media companies who still remember the Jerry Tarkanian years but their fan support just sucks.

Then you have the bottom tier. Wyoming is OK in the revenue sports but their fan support is tiny and they are the conference's 2nd team in the Denver DMA. San Jose State has a strong media market but they have some of the weakest programs in the MWC. Their fan support is not valued highly. Hawaii is a football-only member of the MWC and is undergoing a very painful stadium problem that will likely leave a far weaker program than what existed before.

I am not going to go into great detail with this. Let's start at the $70M. Now the value of the MWC schools is discounted because like the Pac-12, they lack markets and footprint population. There is a low ceiling there.

Let's say that the top 5 are collectively worth $40M of your $70M, or basically $8M each. The next tier of 4 may be currently valued at $20M or $5M each. Finally the last 2.5 schools combine to generate the last $10 M, so they maybe are worth $2-4M each to the networks.

I think these premises are reasonable enough.

Now the implications of Flugar's report is that the initial gambit for the new Pac is to add the MWC's top 5 plus UNLV. Now Assuming the networks overpay for UNLV by a million --- reasonable premise --- you are looking at adding their $46M valuation to the Pac-2's $33M.

Now in general, the PAC-2's value is obviously going to be lessened much more by playing Boise State instead of Washington, but the MWC 6 would be enhanced a little by playing Oregon State rather than Wyoming.

We are just working for a quick and dirty breakdown so we are just going to drop the total valuation of $79M to $76M for the initial 8 schools, or roughly $9.5M per school.

Now this is where it gets interesting. Assuming that ballpark is about right, that puts the new Pac essentially on a financial par with the ACC. This means that considering the PAC is no longer a financial issue. It is about "Which conference would house my revenue sports better, the AAC or the PAC?"

The answer is the PAC.

Flugar had suggested that Navy and Tulane were working in unison for some reason as the next most likely to join. Navy I get. That puts Navy and Air Force in the same conference… something they have wanted for a long time, but have been unable to convince Colorado State to move with Air Force to the AAC.

Tulane…. Hmmm… I don't see the specific connection to Navy, but I think I get why they might be ahead of Memphis and the Texas 3. Tulane profits recruiting-wise from being in a conference with access to the 3 largest DMAs in Texas. Tulane has been good in football recently. Tulane might be creeping out the door to try and pull that foursome with them and guarantee Tulane has a slot in the new PAC. That may have been guaranteed to them if they lead.

So then you have 4 central schools --- UTSA, Rice, Memphis, and North Texas which have apparently been given a pitch from the PAC-2 and are likely cautiously listening to see how the PAC8 are valued.

Now I want to be clear, if the PAC 8 values out at peer status, it is HIGHLY likely those 4 schools will move west. Now if this occurs, the new Pac will be able to do something the old PAC with it's academic snobbiness could not --- they will have paired Texas media markets with the markets of the West.

This is something that a lot of media folk had been telling the PAC would save them, but the PAC never did it. It is opening up 11 AM Eastern games. It is making the PAC directly relevant in 3 time zones and tangentially relevant all across the US.

In simple terms, adding Texas gives people on the West Coast a reason to watch Texas Football and people in Texas a reason to watch West Coast football.

I am pretty sure that will push up the per team payouts to $12-14M, which makes it worthwhile to everyone.

So is this your new PAC-14?

What would this cost OSU and WSU?

It is all laid out here.

It would seem like it is going to cost $67.5M for 6 MWC schools assuming each school pays their personal $5M+ exit fee, which should be doable given their likely raises in media payouts.

And this may end up essentially costing the PAC 2 …. possibly as little as $24.5M each for WSU and OSU.

$24.5M each? Why so cheap?

The PAC 2 was already on the hook to the MWC for $18M for scheduling alliances. It is possible that if they might not owe that if they add the 6. I don't know... and really when you are sitting on $222M in PAC money, the difference between $49M and $67M to have a good conference home is not that significant.

Should WSU and OSU pursue this?

Yes. Absolutely.

But wait!!! Now, is this worth pursuing with ACC membership possibly becoming available? Well, Flugar says that OSU and WSU are structuring this so if that if an ACC offer comes in they can just bail on the new PAC.

That sounds crazy that teams joining them would be OK with that, but if you peel back the onion it makes sense.

OSU and WSU are using their PAC windfall money to buy the best programs out of the MWC and drop them into a more lucrative home. Regardless of whether the PAC 2 are there or not, the new PAC is still going to pay those schools 50% to roughly double their current annual tv rate.

The central schools would likely reach similar conclusions. The American is kind of a haphazardly slapped-together conference, much like the CUSA that they raided was. This PAC is a much stronger home for their revenue sports even without OSU and WSU.

Will the pac2 be part of a western ACC division?

My gut is screaming no, but a lot of media people are saying "maybe" including now Flugar, a real realignment follower with strong ties. who mentioned it as a possibility. I am not going to lie. I hate that I even have to discuss it as a possibility.

The ACC has continuously snubbed West Virginia, a similar academic school with much, much more valuable program than either WSU or OSU and a much larger fan base in both revenue sports.

Is it possible that an ACC could decide after being gutted and told by ESPN that their payouts are going down say $5-20M per school, that they might decide, "Hey, you know what would make this even better? How about a fat bill for annual trips to the Pacific Northwest in all sports?"

I think WSU and OSU are wise not to count on that. If it shows up, you are building exit clauses. That's probably the right level of consideration for it.

Build a conference that works for you and don't look back. The difference in pay between what this conference would pay you and what a gutted ACC on ESPN's back side might get is a wash and the travel is much better here.

Is this a good plan?

Yes. They have extracted a very, very manageable deal out of MWC commissioner Naverez.

Are there things I would do differently?

Yes. A lot of them, but this is an EXCELLENT frame.

I hate Boise State as a potential member because they are a horrible conference mate. But..... The Leadership at the PAC 2 has done a terrific job planning this out on the MWC side and has left Boise State where they kind of have to go along with the terms and they won't have an American with equal payouts to play off for a better deal. It kind of makes them behave like a decent, honorable conference mate.

SDSU and CSU are worth spending the money to acquire.

Air Force is also worth buying out of the MWC. Think about how many Americans have served in the Air Force or have a family member in the Air Force. That is a huge fan base. And there is every reason to expect if you get Air Force you also get Navy which is also a huge fan base and that you might end up getting Army football in a few years, completing Mike Aresco's long desired trifecta.

It's Fresno State and UNLV where I have problems with this plan. I would argue for Hawaii and UNM instead, even though they are horrible football values today. I think they would cost the PAC 8 stage about $6M in total valuation putting your totals in the $8.5M range. would that skunk your ability to add AAC teams? I don't think so.

Why? Because I firmly believe that within 5 years Notre Dame will carry Stanford into the Big Ten. When that happens Cal will be the only ACC school west of Dallas. If you handle this right you could easily have the perfect home to absorb Cal. Cal would rather be in a home with Hawaii and UNM --- two state flagship schools that do research than Fresno State and UNLV.

Plus I think UNM projects FAR, FAR better in this 14-team layout than UNLV. I can see UNM leveraging Texas recruiting and dominating in basketball and becoming an annual bowl team in football. I am talking about having success like they have never had before because they have NEVER had a good conference footprint. Having that kind of BB program --- paired with Memphis in an eastern division --- interacting with the three Texas schools could jump-start basketball at your Texas schools. UNM makes sense.

I see pretty much the same UNLV as exists today, but weaker and weaker in football as they lose football ticket revenue to the Raiders. They are already an afterthought in basketball. I think that is just a bad add, but I recognize the networks would push them and pay a relative premium for them and that may be something OSU and WSU believe they would need to get the AAC schools.

Fresno State would be an admitted competitive loss. They support football like champions and I hate pooping on their addition, but you KNOW Cal is not going to want to be in the same conference as Fresno State. And their media valuation cannot be that high.

Hawaii on the other hand is a super liberal state (cal friendly), they do a ton of research, they HAD a pretty decent football fanbase, draw acceptably in basketball, and they are a gateway to recruits and students from Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. That is money in your coffers. More to the point, that is all Cal-friendly stuff. Trips to Hawaii are a recruiting tool. Given the footprint of the Western division, the costs would be bearable. A lot of Hawaiian and Samoan talent fed the old Pac-12 schools and now could be easily harvested by OSU and WSU at the cost of their "big brother" universities... Hawaii is like UNM... a forgettable school in a weak conference, an immensely strangely valuable school in a stronger conference. And specifically could help OSU and WSU in recruiting.

With money to recruit California, New Zealand, and Australia, Hawaii would be above average in football in this conference. Probably Fresno State level on the field.

But I would understand if the PAC 2 saw Hawaii as a "future add" candidate with their current stadium issues. (Build a 40K stadium state of Hawaii!). There are a lot of options with those last two spots that you can pull off spending less and getting better results.

So I would argue in general to build "pro-Cal". I anticipate when Stanford and Notre Dame bail on Cal, Cal will be working hard to get into the Big 12 but will probably have a vote problem. A Cal-friendly Pac would land them, I think, and that would push the new pac into a higher level.

I am going to stop here, but there are other things that could be done to add millions to their conference coffers annually, but great start Pac 2!!!

[pluvi0se]

i thought growing up in [THE WHITEST MAJOR CITY IN THE US] was bad enough but going to White College has me genuinely considering moving to hawai’i

[choppedcowboydinosaur]

This should be updated because we have at least 2 Raising Cane’s in Hawaii.

States that have Raising Canes.

by deltamaps

[spaceexp]

Electrons from Earth may be forming water on the Moon

Manoa HI (SPX) Sep 15, 2023 A team of researchers, led by a University of Hawai'i (UH) at Manoa planetary scientist, discovered that high energy electrons in Earth's plasma sheet are contributing to weathering processes on the Moon's surface and, importantly, the electrons may have aided the formation of water on the lunar surface. The study was published in Nature Astronomy. Understanding the concentrations and dist Full article>>

[theculturedmarxist]

This interview was conducted with a public health employee of the Hawaii State Department of Health (HIDOH), as part of the WSWS Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The worker chose to use the pseudonym Robert to protect their identity.

Evan Blake (EB): Thank you for participating in the Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, it’s a pleasure to interview you. Can you describe your background and training in public health before the pandemic?

Robert (R): My training in public health began more than 25 years ago, initially centered on women’s reproductive health. I earned a degree in Public Health. My focus soon broadened from just women’s health to everyone’s due to the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis.

Throughout my career, I collaborated with various organizations, including academic institutions and community health centers, to develop programs targeting most of the populations in the Bay Area. These initiatives encompassed health education, addiction support, and promoting healthy relationships, as well as offering HIV/AIDS and HCV [hepatitis C]testing, counseling, contact tracing, case management and patient navigation services. When I moved to Hawaii, I continued doing health education and working with those experiencing developmental disabilities, aging and chronic illnesses.

EB: What were your initial experiences when the pandemic began in early 2020? How would you characterize the initial pandemic response of DOH [Department of Health] and state officials more generally in Hawaii?

R: I noticed in December 2019, when there was talk of unusual illness in China’s news and social media. Seeing how it was being handled there made me concerned. There seemed to be more effort in hiding it than in handling it.

I waited for our government to mention it, especially on a more local level. I really thought that since, historically, the Hawaiian Kingdom has had effective quarantine and mitigation practices, that the current leadership would follow suit. My thinking was that we don’t have rabies in Hawaii, so obviously we know how to keep viruses out.

By February, I started contacting the DOH to hire me to help out any way possible. This looked like something that could easily be squashed if they rounded up all the HIV experts and put them to work. In early March, I put my disabled clients on quarantine. I bought a bunch of fabric and a serger and my family and I made hundreds of masks. Airborne transmission has always been known.

On March 4, 2020, Hawaii’s Democratic Governor David Ige declared a state of emergency in response to COVID-19, granting the state greater flexibility in responding to the crisis. This is officially when the problems with disappearing COVID funds began. On March 26, Ige issued a stay-at-home order, closing nonessential businesses and implementing strict travel restrictions.

I participated in the statewide Lt. Governor’s COVID town halls. Stay-at-home orders in March and May helped keep the numbers low. I waited for the health department to do something and cranked out masks. Schools had gone online at this point. It went pretty well for us. My kid’s school was really proactive about making sure the kids had access to what or who they needed, including computers.

My partner was labeled an essential worker because he was in construction. His boss took full advantage of this allowance and I wrote several of our state’s representatives who seemed actively concerned about COVID, about what to do in this situation.

By the end of May 2020, Dr. Mark Mugiishi, the chief executive of HMSA, brokered a deal with the UH Manoa nursing school to provide students to be trained as contact tracers. They were supposed to have seven different cohorts, but they stopped at three or four. Most of the trainees were never hired to do any work in the DOH and a majority of the graduates got letters stating thanks, but no thanks. The DOH only ever brought on a couple hundred contact tracers. That was after they got in trouble for not having enough and refusing help.

All the tracers and investigators started out being hired by agencies other than the DOH. This meant that we had no rights, but we had the same responsibilities as any other employee would have. We didn’t get hazard pay, union, or PTO, couldn’t participate in any of the benefits or mental health support and other programs they regularly provided and encouraged all employees to participate in. Most of us worked from 7 a.m. to late in the evening most nights. Most tracers and investigators were not from the locally COVID-trained cohorts.

A majority of the COVID hires weren’t brought in until much later in 2020 or in 2021. More were needed and available and instead of hiring tracers or case management, a call center was contracted to bottleneck the high volume of calls and cases.

State officials are notoriously reactive to any problem, emergency-related or not. The officials in charge of HIDOH when the pandemic was officially recognized were ill-fitted for their positions. Their responses were lackluster at best, with Sarah Park (state epidemiologist, COVID response leader) coming in to the UH Manoa COVID trainings to tell us that contact tracing was ineffective, as well as other disease mitigation techniques that we were being trained on, like routine screening.

When the contact tracing program started at the DOH, the National Guard was tasked with training us and facilitating most of the COVID mitigation efforts. This was after they had only received one day of training themselves. I met not one of them who had any health background whatsoever.

It’s been a performative disaster from the very start. Our DOH and state leadership were instrumental in encouraging the spread of COVID-19. State officials were slow to respond and, when they did, it was never an appropriate response. Hawaii usually sees at least 30,000 visitors per day from all over the world. They did everything in their power to keep that going.

EB: You mentioned that DOH employees were split up into different groups, including groups working with prisoners, homeless people, sports personnel, the wealthy, etc. Can you describe this in more detail and the class divide in the pandemic response in Hawaii?

R: DOH employees as a whole are siloed and do not collaborate or even have the slightest clue what the others are doing ever. It was difficult trying to get resources or info from within when trying to access data or connect people with other services. It was deeply embarrassing to me sometimes how incompetent everyone was.

For the pandemic efforts, the entire venture was militarized and we were beholden to chain of command operations as civilians. We were not allowed to speak to our higher-ups. Many were discouraged from speaking to anyone.

The contact tracing and case investigation were separated into several different focus groups headed by epidemiologists. These epidemiologists already had a disease focus and their loads were not lightened. They were added to. Most of them are not in fact actual trained epidemiologists. They have fallen into the position often through nepotistic means and meet bare minimum educational requirements. They had a lot of weird toxic drama that affected program function overall.

For example, if your team’s epidemiologist didn’t get along with a different team’s epidemiologist and you needed a file or lab result or info about an individual in their category, they may delay the info or just never give it to you. It was the worst addition to an already extreme high-stress situation.

The main group management often fell to the inexperienced National Guard, who were under the epidemiologists. Each group’s numbers fluctuated and usually had about 7–15 people, half National Guard, half civilian. The focuses were separated into schools, food service, military, healthcare and LT facilities, travel/VIP, Pacific Islander, severe/death, correctional facilities and homeless.

We had to wait for the daily cases to be handed to the epidemiologists. They would post new cases as they were processed into the system usually via an external call center, who received the cases mostly via the department’s only fax machine.

HIDOH hired an external call center to handle what was called first contact calls. This was actually one of the biggest obstructions to actual contact tracing or any real handling of infected patients in a timely manner.

First contact call center got the first reporting of the case. The report would come in via fax (another massive problem). That person’s name and number would be taken down and someone from the call center or the National Guard would call and ask screening questions about their health and symptoms, often with not much health training. They had three days for the individual to answer before they stopped calling and threw it out.

By the time investigators or tracers got the case, it was often 5–10 days old. We never did real contact tracing in the department. Real contact tracing would involve calling the case immediately to help them trace and notify anyone who may have been exposed. It would also involve timely and actual distribution of resources, including testing, food and money. This is not what happened.

I saw hundreds of people who were overqualified for resources denied or provided the offered resources too late. Some tracers did what could be considered “guerrilla tracing” because they had their contact info passed around for those who needed help and couldn’t get through to the health department when they needed to, or they just needed resources or their results.

A majority of people who were infected did not receive a call from the DOH or any help. They also didn’t receive guidance on quarantine or health at all. Internally, there was never training or updating on variants, pathology or how to ask sensitive questions and talk to the general public. There was a lot of secrecy and internal guidance that wasn’t health-oriented or generally useful. It was often self-congratulatory and bloviated.

This all increased the class divide as those in the service industry couldn’t afford to heal or get better and many lost and are losing their jobs. Those who were able to sealed themselves away. Admin stayed in their offices and told no one to enter, and there was an increase in work-from-home jobs for those with privilege or education, like myself.

EB: Hawaii has the highest per capita number of active US military personnel of any US state and is the state’s largest income producer, yet tourism is often claimed to be the state’s dominant industry. What were the roles of the military and the tourism industry in relation to the pandemic?

R: The military has largely handled their own COVID cases, navigation, and often not sharing when they have clusters that directly impact civilians.

The tourism industry has a finger in everything. They have been extremely instrumental in helping COVID spread. Tourism interests are largely against the people of Hawaii, who are more often harmed than helped by their existence. Tourism and business degrees are what steers most of the boards of every institution in this state. You will find significantly more business degrees than Kanaka (Hawaiian person) representing leadership in the islands. Tourism is why most of those whose birthright is the islands are homeless or not in the islands.

Both industries had large roles in facilitating spread. They pushed to keep everything open and often refused to cooperate with the HIDOH in COVID mitigation efforts.

EB: How have the federal pandemic funds approved under Trump and Biden been dispersed within Hawaii? Can you describe any corruption or negligence that you’ve seen in this regard?

R: I can pretty much only describe corruption and negligence regarding the usage of funds. The HIDOH let over 30 million dollars’ worth of badly needed COVID tests go to waste and then spent over $60,000 to destroy them. The schools never saw much of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds put to use in the schools for mitigation efforts. Countless non-profits denied resources to the community. A robot dog was purchased to test homeless people for COVID, over $1 million were spent on Thanksgiving turkeys in Maui. Oahu’s police department got a bunch of new toys.

The HIDOH never upgraded their information transmission capabilities. They depended on two fax machines for the entirety of the COVID efforts, meaning that all data and case info was transmitted through these machines, slowing down any work or real efforts.

The machines ran over the weekend and whoever was on the following Monday had literal piles of data to enter into the system for reported cases, hospital data, etc. The whole venture has been performative negligence. The funding was better and more resources were distributed while Trump was president. Biden is an absolute disgrace, considering he campaigned on getting rid of COVID.

Most of the funds that could have been used to improve the community and help mitigate COVID were used irresponsibly and have been absorbed by the state. Governor Ige went out of his way to pass legislation that approved shady usage of funds and halt transparency. Governor Green is even worse. The COVID response was just a preview for how Green is handling the Lahaina fires.

EB: Schools reopened with less and less mitigation measures each year, causing repeated waves of mass viral transmission. Can you describe this process and the public health measures you advocated for them to implement? What was the response of various officials to your efforts? How are you seeing the impacts on children, including with Long COVID?

R: The 2020 school response was much better than the following years. Students were provided Chromebooks and instruction from their teachers. It wasn’t implemented in a way that made it easy for many instructors and families, but it was the safest option that was provided.

The following year, the district (the state has only 1) offered something completely different.

In-person instruction or a program for those staying home, that required the parent or caregiver to spend 4–6 hours per day implementing. With no live teachers or real support offered from the school or Department of Education (DOE). The schools who offered it didn’t even know what it was or how it functioned. They just referred parents to the program’s website or phone number if they needed any assistance.

Often parents who required more support or Special Education (SPED) services for their children were ignored, punished, had CPS called on them, or were harassed by some school’s staff and admin.

In many of the poorest areas, where much of our service industry workforce resides, the schools didn’t even offer an alternative to in-person classes. I’m in one of these areas and I removed my child from her school after they refused to provide any support or programming besides that awful program they were offering which forced the parent to provide instruction without support. I already had a job. They called CPS on me. They would send staff to my door every week to sign unnecessary paperwork. They did this for two years. Officials didn’t care. The School’s Superintendent and the super for my area was never even available and never returned calls. I called weekly. I was working on so many cases connected to our schools the whole time, it was no question about removing my kid.

None of the public schools had their air systems improved or HEPA filters added. Some were using hand sanitizer on children’s desks in between classes when they were supposed to sanitize them properly. There wasn’t any solid guidance provided to the schools. Every time I got through to a school nurse or principal about a case, they begged for info on what to do and how to handle mitigations with all the sickness.

Sickness in children and school staff wasn’t being reported accurately because contact tracers were instructed not to connect cases in the classroom with each other. This kept the cluster report low. Many teachers were punished for mentioning their own infections and they were not allowed to notify students’ parents either. This devastated our community, since it has one of the highest counts of multigenerational households in the nation.

Josh Green, who is now Hawaii’s governor, was the head of the COVID Task Force. His main messaging has only ever been regarding vaccines. He spent a significant amount of time pointing the finger at many of our Pasifika communities in regard to their vaccine hesitancy instead of working with them to mitigate COVID in other ways.

When the 2021–22 school year started, the district was ill-prepared and kids weren’t approved for vaccines yet. The school’s superintendent, Christina Kishimoto, was completely useless at getting any mitigations in the schools at all. She ignored the entire community, including so many teachers and parents who tried to keep or make the schools, or at least education, safe and accessible to all.

Senator Brian Schatz and others who had been previously notified about in-school spread and the actual numbers present instead of the falsely low reported ones, maintained the script that children needed to learn in-person. Even after in-person learning saw children being shoved together in cafeterias all day without proper instruction due to sick staff, those in charge maintained that the children needed to be in schools. This was supposedly for their mental health and education, which had never been prioritized previously.

Hawaii has had a major deficit in adequate and accessible education, as well as mental health care providers and services, for a very long time. Additionally, we don’t have school nurses in each school like many contiguous states offer. Many of our schools share a nurse and may not have an area for children to be sick or wait for someone to get them from school.

In-school cases often fell to vice principals and other staff. By the 2022–23 school year, schools had removed any guidance that was useful. They never upgraded or improved the air systems. Many of our schools have had problems with lack of proper air conditioning for a long time before the pandemic. The pandemic just made it worse.

There was a program created at the start of the 2022–23 school year to make the DOH, DOE and CDCF work together to improve the conditions in the schools. The HIDOE refused to meet or participate in any improvements to their school’s systems, provide resources such as testing, PPE or pandemic guidance.

Our state leadership has met with many COVID experts, DOH employees and medical staff who have told them what is happening in their districts, classrooms, hospitals and the community throughout the official pandemic and even now. They all have given lip-service and often have reacted appropriately in those meetings but nothing ever comes of it.

At first, children were just getting cold-like symptoms like everyone else. Those who had existing health issues usually suffered more. Not many children’s cases were followed past the initial call. Over time, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) became a focus as the children’s symptoms didn’t always go away.

Since Omicron emerged in November 2021, kids have had an increase in seizures and a lot of problems with focus and memory. My child has had several friends die from COVID. Long COVID in kids is terrifying, and the impact is already noticeable. Mine just stated that what everyone needs to know is that it’s harder for kids to learn now. She notices so much brain damage in her peers already. Before she got COVID, it was easier for her to process information. Things take much longer now.

To be honest, I’ve rarely seen an actual full recovery. People move benchmarks and brain damage is extremely hard to self-identify. COVID is long and lasting. Nearly every infection shows damage whether it’s noticed or not. For those who don’t have immediate consequences, it’s playing the long game.

EB: How else are you seeing the ongoing impacts of the pandemic associated with COVID-19 infection, including Long COVID?

R: I noticed very early on that regardless of how mild the cases were, there were often residual issues with the person’s ability to handle and process information. The one symptom that should be tracked more than temperature is cognitive ability—confusion, disorientation, odd and unusual thoughts and behaviors. The ongoing impact of any COVID infection is a significant amount of unchecked and untracked brain damage. It’s very difficult to self-diagnose and most of our medical providers are still unaware of COVID and how it presents.

Getting infected with COVID can reduce the immune system’s ability to function. Each reinfection can reduce immune function even more, inviting opportunistic infections to eventually kill us. This is how HIV functions, but at least there is treatment for that. There’s no treatment for Long COVID and there’s even less treatment or care for those under 12 years old. The impact I see right now is immense. Children and young adults are exhibiting Alzheimer’s and dementia-like symptoms, and there are huge increases of cancer, diabetes and heart problems at the population level.

EB: What have been your experiences advocating for Long COVID patients, and what are some of your greatest concerns with the “mass disabling event” of Long COVID associated with the pandemic? What do doctors know or not know, and what do you think needs to be done to address this?

R: While documenting cases in 2020, some had symptoms that just wouldn’t resolve. A few threatened to commit suicide and were in constant and severe pain. Many of their doctors didn’t believe them. I would contact their doctors and explain what Long COVID was. I would send them studies if they requested and would tell them what labs or referrals to order for their patients.

Many doctors were receptive at first. Some would gaslight the patients, saying that they were experiencing anxiety and not their actual ongoing COVID symptoms. I made an extra effort to contact those ones because they were making the patients worse and confused. I spent hundreds of hours on social media spaces giving talks about COVID, Long COVID and what I was seeing. Other Long COVID sufferers and advocates would join.

None of this data was being collected or distributed by our DOH, regardless of how the variants mutated or the community was being impacted. Any attempts to send information up the chain of command to the top were ignored and sometimes punished.

Over time, the doctors I was working with were getting Long COVID themselves. It led to a significant reduction in care for their patients. Some would brush the issue off because they had it and they were working, which they thought meant they were fine.

Doctors need to have proper information and guidance. Without it, many people are being told COVID isn’t really a problem. They trust their doctors to know about COVID. Their doctors are unknowingly feeding them to the fire. Vaccines are only one layer of a many-layered solution, and at this point vaccines aren’t very effective at preventing infection as the virus continues to rapidly mutate and new variants continue to evolve.

In terms of public health as a whole, the CDC is looked at as the main guidance for all these institutions. They need to be putting out clear messaging about COVID being airborne, the fact that an infection commonly lasts anywhere from 14–20 days, each reinfection can reduce immune function, and COVID is a vascular disaster that can wreck any and all organs of the body. These are things that scientists have known since 2020. There is absolutely no reason Drs. Rochelle Walensky and Anthony Fauci didn’t know the correct protocols for handling this pandemic. They both have HIV backgrounds.

My greatest concern about this mass disabling event is that I live in Hawaii. Disabled people were hidden, ignored and underserved here before the pandemic. It was nearly impossible to find mental and behavioral health services and they were often insufficient at best.

When everyone keeps getting reinfected, they will not be able to function. There’s low availability for services now and it’s already getting pretty noticeable. My friends working in the hospital are reporting incredibly low staff numbers and extreme burnout. We only had nine ambulances in circulation a couple weeks ago due to callouts.

Suicides, mental hospital stays and inability to function are becoming increasingly common and we’re just getting started. Since the pandemic began, there’s been an increase in car and plane accidents, heart attacks, diabetes, cancers, previously rare disorders and sudden deaths. Currently, COVID is listed as the third leading cause for death in the US, but if data were properly collected, COVID would be number one.

I took someone to the doctor for a head wound to be stitched and the doctor didn’t even mention concussion protocol. He said strange things that hadn’t been relevant regarding COVID since 2021. He behaved odd and childlike.

This mass disabling event is largely invisible. Many cannot self-diagnose the brain damage that a significant percentage of infections cause to some degree. It changes moods, thoughts, function, and can make people confused or angry.

My biggest concern is that with mass infection and reinfection, everyone is getting their brains melted. Who will take care of anyone when no one is left healthy and functional? Who will grow our food, participate in society, or even be able to get out of bed after we’ve all had multiple infections? Who will be left?

EB: Those are critical points, and concerns that should be more widely shared. The propaganda of the corporate media and political establishment has had a real impact, and prevented masses of people from understanding the dangers of COVID-19 and Long COVID.

Changing topics somewhat, when we spoke before you said that “Lahaina is an active crime scene, just like the COVID situation here is also an active crime scene.” Can you elaborate more on this and the criminal negligence that you believe caused this catastrophic fire? What other connections do you see between this fire and the COVID-19 pandemic?

R: Just the fact that there’s such a focus from those in charge on reopening and getting back to work tells me everything I need to know. The community just experienced a life-altering trauma and instead of really taking care of them and helping them get situated and time and resources to heal, it’s full-steam ahead. Open up, get back to work, go to school. Don’t worry about how you’re going to pay that mortgage on the burn pile where you used to live.

Just like with the COVID pandemic, the Emergency Management Agency lead didn’t have experience. They didn’t sound any alarm, and clearly weren’t well versed on emergency response protocols, otherwise they would have correctly used the emergency alarm system. Instead, Herman Andaya reasoned with everyone about why he didn’t think they were necessary.

For COVID, Josh Green facilitated thousands of tourists freely and consistently infecting our community with almost no guidance other than to get vaccinated. He gaslit us for years from his whiteboard and scrubs. He got even worse after he got COVID. The brain damage is real.

Why didn’t Maui sound the emergency system that is used for emergencies including wildfires? Why didn’t HIDOH enact their public health police powers to protect the community from COVID? Why do they both consistently report false numbers? Why do they both tell the community about resources that exist, but in reality are not actually available? Why is the community being forced to bear the brunt of the outcome of both disasters alone? Why does our leadership refuse to work with the community to solve either issue?

I know how greedy and careless this government is first-hand. Especially when local people are involved. Both disasters have resulted in very high losses to our Filipino and Pasifika communities.

How are we the only state without a fire marshal? Why is there never anyone held accountable? How do all these incredibly incompetent folks keep getting replaced by more incompetence? Nepotism. It has led to incredible incompetence and I have to assume it’s why there’s no accountability or oversight anywhere or for anything.

EB: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the WSWS has advocated for the full deployment of all available public health measures to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 throughout the world. Multiple countries proved that such a Zero-COVID strategy was possible, and we now know even more about viral transmission.

We have stressed that the fundamental reason this global elimination strategy has not been implemented is due to the division of the world into rival nation-states and the refusal of the capitalist ruling elites to accept any impingement on their ability to exploit workers and generate profits. What are your thoughts on this, and do you agree that we need to fight for a global elimination strategy?

R: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has exposed the challenges associated with the division of the world into nation-states, each pursuing its own approach to pandemic management. It’s been an absolute disaster.

When the virus first hit and people began seeing consequences and acting accordingly, I thought we had a chance at stopping the virus. Then the countries with more behaved greedily. They hoarded and wasted resources in the face of the countries who couldn’t get access to resources from the global market.

We are all in this together and no one is getting off this rock alive. Working together is the only way to get rid of this virus and all the others that have been popping up in the past few years.

Unfortunately, such an approach seeks to prioritize the well-being of individuals and communities over economic interests as Cuba has done. They developed their own COVID-19 vaccines. They consistently have the lowest reported COVID cases and deaths globally. Often close to zero. Their vaccines work much better than ours have been.

This reflects true commitment to public health and an ability to leverage existing medical and scientific infrastructure to respond to the pandemic independently.

EB: Thank you for this invaluable interview and contribution to the Global Workers’ Inquest.

R: Thank you.

[tropicalfreckles]

Have you ever gone to Hawaiian International Film Festival (HIFF)? it's not all Hawaiian projects but there are a lot of them. All the film and animation students at UH Manoa have to submit films at least once as part of their course work and lots of people do it more. I used to work at the ACM Media Center where UH students get their equipment and part of my job was to catalogue all the student films that were made every year for all the classes and the ones submitted to HIFF. Ofc its meant for students but if you asked nicely they would probably let you watch at least the HIFF ones there in the office. This was like 10 years ago though so idk how much of this is still going on.

I have not, because I have never lived in Hawaii and moved around a lot. Though thank you so much for the suggestion/gen, I'll see if there is a website I can check out! That means a lot to hear, I just literally know nothing because my Hawaiian side of the family never learned about our culture too much due to reasons, and since I wasn't born and raised in Hawaii my knowledge is pretty limited and disconnected.

[welzie-art]

What's It Like To Be An Artist On Maui

What Its Like to be an Artist on Maui

Maui is a magical place where artist from all over the world come to visit and absorb the inspirational and creative energy. The Valley Isle offers everything a creative person needs to express theirselves through art. You will find every type of fine artist here on Maui from painters of all mediums, like myself, ceramics, glass, muralists, wood, traditional Hawaiian mediums, sculpture, photographers, reclaimed art, and so much more. 

I want to dive into what its like to be an artist here on Maui and why so many artists choose Maui as their place of creativity and refuge. For myself, being an artist here on Maui is a relatively new experience. I spent all of my professional art career on Oahu, Hawaii, where I went to UH Manoa, started out in the art markets and developed my career with other amazing Oahu artists. In 2010 I had my first experience showing my work here on Maui and got a little glimpse into the Maui Art world. Read more about that experience here. 

In June of 2019 we opened our first Maui art gallery at the Andaz Resort Wailea, The Welzie Art Gallery. This was a giant step for me as an artist and changed the course of my art career. After 3 months of being here on Maui, my wife and I fell in love with the slower pace and the bustling art scene. Running our gallery from Oahu just didn’t seem like the way to go. Once we found a warehouse space to create my studio, We were ready to make the move to an outer island.

Its been 4 years since making the transition to Maui and I have come to realize Maui is an amazing place to be an artist. 

Here Are My 5 Reasons Why Being an Artist on Maui is Amazing

Reason 1

 The pace of Maui is slow, which makes everything not stressful, but at the same time it is not so slow that time seems to stand still. For me, I need a little tempo to life and Maui Has the perfect balance. Its so convenient to be able to get to all the art stores, hardware stores, galleries and everything you need all within a short 20 min drive. With no traffic. The mellow pace of the island just reinforces a mellow and happy artist, which is exactly what I need to create my happy art.

Reason 2

There are so many galleries on the island with so many towns being little creative hot spots. This is great for any artist because it allows them to show their work in multiple areas close to home. 

Hana, which is out on the east side of the island is very secluded and lush, where you will find the artists who need to get away from it all and create in their own little jungle world.

Paia is the small surf town on Maui’s north shore where you will find the surfing artist from all over the world who balance their creativity with their passion for riding waves in the world class surf surrounding the area. Yogis and hippies help contribute to the art scene in Paia, giving the area a very rootsy vibe.

Wailuku is getting brighter and brighter everyday as the small town nestled around Iao valley has created Small Town Big Art, an organized effort to seeing the community grow through art installations and outreach. STBA brings artist from around the islands and around the world to show their work and inspire the local community.

South Maui, where my studio and art gallery are, seems to be quickly becoming a major arts center on the island. In Kihei near my studio you will find artist, photographers, framers and creators starting to gather. There are now over 5 art galleries in South Maui, as well as a 3rd Friday event which shows artist works. The Four Seasons has artists showing their work daily in the lobby, The Andaz Wailea has created the Artist in Residence Program where I am the resident artist (I don’t live on site) It’s safe to say South Maui is definitely becoming another strong art hub in the Maui art community.

Makawow/Upcountry

In this upcountry town you will find a handfull of galleries with a country vibe. Nestled on the slopes of Haleakala, you can look out over the island while wearing a jacket and cowboy boots. You will find beautiful landscape painters such as Jordanne Gallery and others. It's such a different vibe up on the mountain and is a great example of the diversity in culture on Maui.

Lahaina,

The art Mecca of the Hawaiian islands, The gathering place for all Hawaii artists. With so many galleries and art culture in Lahaina, its hard to say there is a more artsy town than Lahaina. As Lahaina rebuilds I think and hope that all of us Maui artists know how important it will be to make sure the art scene of Lahaina town comes back and shows more local artists than ever before.

Reason 3

Like all the Hawaiian islands Maui is absolutely beautiful. If you’re an artist that gets a recharge from nature and getting away from it all, then Maui is like a constant reset button. Jumping into the clear, warm blue waters or looking out over the edge of a massive cliff on a hike, Maui can recharge your soul every single day. For myself as a creator, the ocean has always been a big source of inspiration. A good surf, snorkel or ocean swim would always get me in the right head space to create something happy and fun in the art studio.

Reason 4

Now this may be a controversial topic but one of the reasons why Maui is great to be an artist isa because so many people come to visit Maui every year and Maui is known for its art culture. As an artist you always want more people to see your artwork, and having new people come and visit every week allows for the artist to spend more time creating artwork and less time having to travel around showing their work. It is more like a “If you build it they will come” mentality. We as Maui artist get to make what we want to make then have the ability to show it to lots of new people right on our door step.

Reason 5

Maui has so many programs embedded into the Maui community to help facilitate the Arts. For example the Maui Arts and Cultural Center that shows artwork, theater and music. The Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center in Makawow which has art programs and gallery space. Maui Open Studios which organizes Maui artist to open their studios for art collectors to visit their creative space. Small Town Big Art, which I have mentioned before that brings artists of all kinds from all over the world to help bring creativity and inspiration to the Wailuku area. Maui truly is truly an art island paradise.

There are so many reason why Maui is an amazing place to be an artist. For myself, anywhere in the Hawaiian islands is an amazing place to be an artist. Hawaii breaths energy and mana and for someone who needs some creative energy, Hawaii is the place to thrive. Any artist in Hawaii with the ability to make a living here is truly fortunate. I am so fortunate to call Maui my home and to be a part of this Maui Art Community.

Aloha,

Welzie

[fiemanrealestate]

Just re-listed and price reduced, 2 homes in Kaimuki for under $1M, priced below tax assessed value! Open house today Sunday 7/23 from 2-4pm. Come see this amazing property at an affordable price! Both homes rented out until April 1, 2024 at $4600 and tenant pays all utilities. Great tenant to take over as an investor, or might be able to ask them to leave early for an owner occupant. Live in one and rent out the other, use both for multi-generational living, or rent out both for maximum income, the possibilities are endless. Front home is a 3-bedroom 1.5-bath home with a nice outdoor patio perfect for entertaining. Back home is a two story 1-bedroom 1.5-bath home with some nice backyard space and under home storage. Both homes are separately metered for water and electricity and were recently renovated with new vinyl flooring, remodeled bathroom, fresh paint, upgraded kitchen cabinets, and more. Centrally located walking distance to many shopping and dining options at Market City, Kapahulu Ave, Waialae Ave, near UH Manoa, with easy access to freeways. Don't miss out on this rare opportunity to own a multi family home at an affordable price. First showing will be at open house this Sunday July 23rd from 2-4pm. Come take a look before it's too late!

[akamaiwealthmanagementhawaii]

UH to close Manoa campus for Stanford football game - Honolulu Star-Advertiser || #HawaiiBreakingNews Courtesy of Free Financial and Financial Risk Consultation with Akamai Wealth Management for all Hawaii Residents Whether You're Retiring or Searching for More Income Text or Call 808.464.5292

ICYMI: http://dlvr.it/Ss7GqN

[researchbuzz]

19th Century Japanese Scrolls, Kodi 20.2, Google News, More: Wednesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, July 5, 2023

NEW RESOURCES University of Hawaii: Rare 200-year-old Japanese scrolls made accessible worldwide. “Students and scholars at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa (and worldwide) can now easily access and view the fine details of rare, hand-painted Japanese scrolls, made possible by UH Mānoa Library’s new state-of-the-art digitization lab.” TWEAKS AND UPDATES How-To Geek: Kodi 20.2 Now Available With…

[freehawaii]

ALMOST 90% OF HANAUMA BAY BEACH UNDERWATER BY 2030

Hawaii News Now - May 11, 2023 Seven years from now, nearly 90% of Hanauma Bay’s sandy area could be underwater, according to a new University of Hawai`i study on sea level rise. Researchers from UH Manoa’s Hawai`i Institute of Marine Biology evaluated Hanauma Bay for five years. They predict 88% of its sandy area will be underwater by 2030 when it’s high tide. “Hawai`i is the state of all states that really needs to be most concerned and start taking action for climate change impacts,” said Ku`ulei Rodgers, researcher of the Hawai`i Institute of Marine Biology’s Coral Reef Ecology. Since reopening after a nine-month pandemic closure, Hanauma Bay is kept closed twice a week. The city has also implemented a reservation system that cuts the daily capacity to 1,400, nearly half of what it was before. Andrew Graham, graduate student of HIMB’ Coral Reef Ecology, said last year there were six days in the summer months when the highest king tides happened. In the near future, he said, those high tide days will likely cut capacity at the beach. “If they didn’t close on those days, they could reduce the number of daily visitors on those days, or people could be relocated onto the grass,” said Graham. Nathan Serota, spokesperson for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said the city continues to find a balance between preserving the area and maintaining its cultural and recreational use. They’ve begun using sea mattresses and doing restoration projects in other communities, but they’re also working on long-term solutions.

[mioacenas]

Blog #3 2/23/23

I finally got all the audio recording from all the voice actors I needed for my project. Yesterday, the cast and I were able to visit the ACM studio in person to do our recording; all except one. Apparently, one cast was missing because they mistakenly went to UH Manoa instead of UH West Oahu. Since we couldn’t wait, we decided to do the recording without them. Luckily, they were able to send me their part of the recording via Discord, so that was a relief.

Apart from that, I was currently working on the storyboard since last week. I could’ve finished earlier, but I had the case of the common cold all weekend. It really sucks getting sick when you have a leaky nose. Thankfully, with a few Vitamin C drops, peppermint essential oil, vapor rubs, and a lot a rest, I felt much better. I’m almost 75% done with the storyboard.

Now, the next phase is the real production, by working on the layouts and background art for the animation. Then, once we have all that, the other next step is rough animation.

[jadeinhonolulu]

Introduction

Hello,

My first name is Alexa Jade, but I go by Jade for short. I am currently an undergraduate student at UH Manoa majoring in English and intend on adding a minor in Filipino Studies.

I think my personality and interests as an adult are reflective of the three places I grew up: Cebu, Philippines; Waipahu, Hawaii; and San Jose, California.

I've always loved English as a subject and all its components. Historically, I wouldn't have put myself in the category of artistic but I realized that reading and writing are fueled by creativity.

I think my personality and interests as an adult are reflective of the three places I grew up: Cebu, Philippines; Waipahu, Hawaii; and San Jose, California. I feel very fortunate to have been exposed to places that have an abundance of Filipino/Filipino-American culture.

In my free time, I enjoy planning social activities, going to the beach, reading, hiking, and working out.

Thanks for stopping by!

[nayelichang]

Hawaii farmers battling depression in large numbers, UH study finds

Jan. 3—On the heels of years of stress-inducing challenges, Hawaii's farmers and ranchers are entering an uncertain 2023, and new research suggests it's taking a toll on their mental health.

On the heels of years of stress-inducing challenges, Hawaii's farmers and ranchers are entering an uncertain 2023, and new research suggests it's taking a toll on their mental health.

A recent University of Hawaii study found that among farmers age 45 and younger, nearly half, 48 %, have experienced depression, and 14 % struggled with suicidal thoughts—almost two times higher than Hawaii's general population.

The study, conducted by researchers with the University of Hawaii at Manoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, is part of wider federal program focusing on farmers' mental health across the United States.

"Hawaii is very unique and different from the mainland because we've got such a diversity, we have small farmers, vast different commodity groups in Hawaii with many different ethnic groups in many niches, " said Thao Le, who serves as chair of CTAHR's Department of Family and Consumer Sciences and project director for "Seeds of Wellbeing, " a program aimed at reducing the stigma around discussing mental health in agricultural communities.

Among the challenges visiting Hawaii's farms and ranches in recent years : droughts straining the environment, invasive species ravaging crops and COVID-19 disrupting supply chains of needed material and equipment. Also, in 2022 the war in Ukraine brought new disruptions such as a rising costs for some fertilizers and other materials.

Hawaii is included in the Western Region Agricultural Stress Assistance Program, which was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the 1980s farm crisis—amid a surge in suicides among farmworkers. In addition to funding from that program, in 2021 the state Department of Agriculture received funds through a grant from the federal Farmer Stress Assistance Program, part of which was allocated for the UH survey of 408 agricultural workers across the islands. Previously, there had not been a such survey in Hawaii.

"In Hawaii … we had no baseline about what is the mental health status of our producers, " said Le. "Is it the same or is it different than what has been shown on the mainland ? Because all the research today on the mental health of farmers has been pretty much on the mainland, we had nothing."

Le said while the survey's scope was limited and more research needs to be done, it captured a broad sampling of Hawaii's diverse agricultural community. Participants, ranging in age from 18 to 90, were about evenly split between men and women. They represented a large assortment of backgrounds and had held jobs in various parts of the industry. There are an estimated 7, 300 farmers in Hawaii, with about 2, 000 clearing at least $50, 000 in annual revenue.

Younger farmers, as well as those of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent, were more likely to report feelings of depression and suicidal ideation. But Le said that while younger farmworkers were more likely to be open about the stress they're experiencing, she suspects older Hawaii farmers and ranchers might face similar challenges that they're not willing to discuss.

"We're developing resources to help our local producers manage stress, but at the same time, mental health is so stigmatized, " she said. "People are so sick of hearing about mental health, like, who doesn't have a mental health issue these days ?"

The survey built on ongoing grassroots efforts to start conversations around mental health in Hawaii's agricultural communities. In 2019, Maui farmer Reba Lopez, 34, set up a tent at a convention that she described to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser as "a safe space for farmers to just meet and talk." A member of the board of directors of the Hawaii Farmers Union, Lopez applied for a grant from WRASAP for the union to expand those efforts.

Most farmers in Hawaii, Lopez said, "would just talk about profit, yield, soil health, plant health, but they never talked about their mental health. It's kind of taboo."

Le said studies conducted on the mainland found agricultural workers tended to report being hesitant to seek help from mental health professionals, instead turning to family members or religious figures. In that way Hawaii is similar. But Le and some farmers see an opportunity for change. Lopez has teamed up with Le and works with Seeds of Well-being through its mentor program, which trains farmers on how to talk about mental health resources and make referrals.

"What I'm excited about is capitalizing on Hawaii's culture of ohana, " said Le, "so that we can build our ag community so that everyone has the skills to be able to assess and detect if somebody is going through a mental health challenge, and know how to approach and have that conversation and what to say."

Lopez said, "It's a unique position for Hawaii, and farmers, to have people who are already in the industry coming in and making mental health not such a taboo." She added, "Creating the mentors is different from how people are dealing with it on the mainland, and I think it could really effect change here."

In the islands there's an ongoing revival of interest in Hawaii's agricultural history, with the popularity of palaka print clothing and fabric and a renewed interest in local crops and dishes. A UH survey of Hawaii residents found 83 % see agriculture as important to the state, and 56 % said they were willing to spend more on local produce. Even so, 85 % to 90 % of food in Hawaii is imported, and less than 1 % of the state budget is devoted to agricultural programs.

"We can say that people want it, " said Lopez. "But then the government doesn't listen, and they don't give half a percent of their budget to agriculture—and they're focusing on contracts and regulations that help big agriculture."

The price tag tied to farming is particularly daunting for aspiring younger farmers drawn to the allure of making a living off the land.

Land in Hawaii—either for sale or lease—is expensive, and unless a new farmer comes from a family that already has land or wealth to buy it, entry into the field can be costly as well as risky. In addition to striving for a successful growing season, farmers also need advertising know-how. For many in Hawaii, access to major stores here—let alone export options—seem out of reach. Many rely on farmers markets and roadside sales to make a living.

What's more, after months of raising crops or livestock with an uncertain payout, failure can prove to be financially ruinous.

"These issues lead into mental health issues because young people are faced with wanting to be successful and wanting to make their family proud or choose a career that makes them happy, " said Lopez, who has been farming for eight years and is married to a third-generation farmer. "They see the ideals of farming and the lifestyle that they would want, but they can't make money at it."

Additionally, the impacts of climate change weigh heavily on farmers in the islands as their future likely includes drought forecasts and increasing strain on water supplies.

"Say you got 75 inches of rain last year, and now you're only getting 70, " said Lopez. "For me, that's exactly what's happening, and I live in a wet part of Maui—Haiku—where I'm on water catchment and I'm constantly worried about my water. And if it's drought for three months straight, that's new to me, and it's just changing your whole practices."

Visit cpe bags homepage for more details.

These challenges weigh on younger farmers, and many quit within five years. Le said the phenomenon, which is not limited to Hawaii, has been referred to as the "graying of agriculture " as established farmers grow older and "age out " of the job.

Given Hawaii's heavy dependence on "big agriculture " and imported food, Lopez said, "We are basically just shooting ourselves in the foot if we can't support young people choosing this career."

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS Farmers age 45 and younger 48 %

Experienced depression 14 %

[fraryguitar]

Manoa Valley, UH Manoa (center) and Diamond Head as seen from Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa State Park. 

[lafakiwi-draws-archive]

~its all uncharted. 💫

Piece dedicated to and inspired by my second season of college marching band, and our show theme, the vastness of space (ft. the colorguard seniors/grad students)

(Pictures from the season are up on my instagram if you want to see as well!)