Is Hawai‘i a dangerous destination? Some national media outlets think so. The Huffington Post declared “too many tourists are dying in Hawai‘i,” and a Bay Area NBC station included Hawai‘i when it promised “Dangerous Destinations Revealed.

Short-term vacation rental companies like Airbnb are changing the tourism industry – and quite possibly your neighborhood. Opponents of this phenomenon say illegal or “underground” vacation rentals drive up housing prices and change the character of neighborhoods. Airbnb proponents say it has stabilized Hawai‘i’s housing market.

Harry Tsuchidana’s love of art would carry him far in life, but it would hardly be a straight path. His tenacity would take him far beyond his childhood in Waipahu, to the Marines, Washington, D.C. and eventually, New York City. Now 84 years old and a successful abstract artist, Harry still creates with the same urgency and passion that fueled him early on.

The film Kū Kanaka/Stand Tall told Kanalu Young’s remarkable story about a courageous journey – emerging from personal tragedy to find a new meaning and passion for life. Some of us make that journey and find our way despite a childhood of unimaginable neglect.

TOP STORY: Students from Wai‘anae High School in West O‘ahu tackle the controversy surrounding commercial dolphin tours. On August 23, 2016, NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) published a regulation prohibiting tour boats from being within 50 yards of a spinner dolphin, including swimming with them.

TOP STORY:   Students from Kapa‘a Middle School on Kaua‘i tell the story of Kinichi Ishikawa, a 98-year-old, 442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran who has been a farmer since the age of fourteen. Now nearing the century mark, Mr. Ishikawa farms taro at Waikoko Farms on Kaua‘i eight hours a day, rain or shine.

For the past several years, the problems of O‘ahu’s Emergency Medical Services have been widely reported: EMT sick-outs due to 14 and 16 hour days with no relief in sight; and an aging fleet of ambulances needing constant repair. Each day, there are more than a million residents, visitors and military personnel on O‘ahu.

TOP STORY   Students from Aliamanu Middle School on O‘ahu tell the story of Jimmy Lee, an eighty-six year old O‘ahu resident who witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor when he was an eleven-year-old boy. Images of the planes and the bombing are etched in Lee’s memory.

Rat lungworm, a parasite that causes a type of meningitis, has been behind at least 15 reported cases of the rare disease so far this year in Hawai‘i. By comparison, 11 cases were reported last year.

TOP STORY:   Students from Kapolei High School on O‘ahu present a story on the Hawai‘i-themed artwork engraved on the columns of O‘ahu’s rail project. The column art was designed by local architect Daniel Kanekuni and, according to HART spokesperson Bill Brennan, adds a sense of place and local identity to the rail project.