Good evening, Hawaii. Today is Juneteenth, and people across the nation found different ways to honor the holiday. Here in Hawaii, eight Waiawa Correctional Facility inmates recently completed the facility’s first culinary program in two decades and following an earlier positive test, the water samples from the Kahaluu Tunnel have tested negative for E. coli bacteria. Read about the important stories you need to know.
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Light trades and a band of moisture brought some clouds and showers to windward and leeward areas today. Trades will strengthen again through midweek and remain breezy throughout the weekend. Windward areas will dry out after tomorrow.
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Today's Big Stories
1. Waiawa inmates earn culinary certificates from Kapiolani Community College
Eight inmates from the Waiawa Correctional Facility earned their culinary certifications through WCF’s first culinary program in roughly 20 years. The men completed four college-level classes taught by Kapiolani Community College Chef Instructor Lee Shinsato over six months.
Gabriel Apilando, Antonio Belen, Keith Ke-A, Kawika Krueger, Derek Liu, Randon Reyes, Pali Shin and Darius Thompson celebrated the completion of the program by preparing and serving eight dishes at a banquet for invited family and friends in June.
On the menu: lechon kawali taco salad, veggie kim bap lettuce wrap, huli chicken and lilikoi/raspberry chimichurri sauce, sous vide corned beef and kale “lu pulu,” banh mi bao, 811 focaccia sliders, lemon bars, and ube cheesecake.
“My hope is that students buy into my thoughts of how a professional kitchen should be run — respect, professionalism and to always strive for perfection. These are three soft skills that are transferable to any part of life (personal or professional),” said Kapiolani CC Chef Instructor Lee Shinsato in a news release.
“I’d like to think that they turn out better human beings that happen to have great cooking skills. In a real restaurant, you strive for repeat customers. In my classes, I don’t want repeat customers — recidivism,” said Shinsato.
2. Update: Follow-up samples from Kahaluu Tunnel test negative for E. coli
In consultation with the Hawaii Department of Health, the Board of Water Supply’s investigation into the presence of E. coli bacteria at Kahaluu Tunnel could not be confirmed, according to a BWS news release.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Ground Water Rule required five additional pre-chlorination re-samples to be collected from Kahaluu Tunnel following the initial finding, which the BWS did on June 16 before shutting down the tunnel as a precaution.
The BWS found all five re-samples were negative for the E. coli bacteria. With these results, BWS received approval from DOH to resume operations at Kahaluu Tunnel.
A routine water sample taken from the Board of Water Supply Kahaluu Tunnel on June 15 contained E. coli bacteria, according to the Board of Water Supply. However, they assure customers that the water remains safe to drink.
Robert Scott’s friend was driving his Toyota Hilux SUV when it got rear-ended at a red light in April. The friend went to the hospital, so a police officer called for a tow truck.
Scott later called the tow company, All Island Automotive Towing, to ask for the bill, but they wouldn’t tell him over the phone.
So Scott went to the company’s lot in Pearl City but was told that only his insurance provider could pay for it, and the company wouldn’t give him a receipt detailing the costs.
After half an hour of negotiating, Scott got permission to pay in cash.
That’s when he found out the bill was $1,172.
“I don’t usually get that kind of angry,” Scott said.
His insurance company said it wouldn’t reimburse him, calling the charges unreasonable.
Below the “Towing charges” ($172) and “Storage charges” ($100 for 4 days in the impound lot), lurked an additional figure beneath an unspecific “Charges”: $900.
“Why is it a thousand dollars?” Scott asked.
He’s not the only one asking that question.
Click the link above to read the full story.
4. Biden calls climate change 'existential threat to humanity,' announces millions in federal fundings
President Joe Biden announced millions in funding to help communities adapt to extreme weather and touted his administration’s efforts to fight climate change, calling it “the existential threat to humanity,” while delivering remarks in Northern California on Monday.
The president was joined by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to unveil three new climate resilience efforts: $575 million in federal funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, money to modernize power grids and a White House summit focused on climate later this year.
The funds for the first-ever Climate Resilience Regional Challenge will come from the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August of last year and will be used to aid coastal and Great Lakes communities in building infrastructure and preparing for community-led relocation in response to sever weather and a changing climate.
“We’re investing in the people and places that have been hit the hardest but who are also on the front lines of leading us forward,” Biden said on Monday.
5. Americans mark Juneteenth with parties, events and quiet reflection on the end of slavery
Americans across the country this weekend celebrated Juneteenth, marking the relatively new national holiday with cookouts, parades and other gatherings as they commemorated the end of slavery after the Civil War.
While many have treated the long holiday weekend as a reason for a party, others urged quiet reflection on America's often violent and oppressive treatment of its Black citizens. Still others have remarked at the strangeness of celebrating a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the nation while many Americans are trying to stop parts of that history from being taught in public schools.
“Is #Juneteenth the only federal holiday that some states have banned the teaching of its history and significance?” author Michelle Duster asked on Twitter, referring to measures in Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama prohibiting an Advancement Placement African American studies course or the teaching of certain concepts of race and racism.
The holiday, which was on Monday, commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued during the bloody Civil War. For generations, Black Americans have recognized Juneteenth, but it only became a federal holiday two years ago.
In Fort Worth, Texas, the woman known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth," Opal Lee, led her annual Walk for Freedom. The 96-year-old former teacher and activist is largely credited for rallying others behind a campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. This year, Lee became only the second Black person to have her portrait hung in the Senate chamber of the Texas Capitol.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
Tuesday, June 20
- President Joe Biden visits the San Francisco Bay Area
- The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards ceremony
- U.S. Supreme Court releases an order list
- 2023 MLB Draft Combine
- Status conference for suspects charged with planning to assassinate Haitian president 5 a.m. HST
- House Veterans Affairs subcommittee oversight hearing on VA financial management business transformation
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers foreign policy speech
- Vivek Ramaswamy on campaign trail in Pennsylvania
- Asa Hutchinson on campaign trail in Iowa
- GOP Presidential Candidate Sen. Tim Scott holds town hall
- What: 74th Annual Book Sale
- Where: Ward Village | 1142 Auahi St., Honolulu
- Details: The Friends of the Library of Hawaii sale returns to the former Pier 1 Imports site, through June 25. Find over 125,000 books and media in 80 different categories.
- What: Ali Wong: live
- Where: Maui Arts & Cultural Center | One Cameron Way, Kahului | 808-242-7469
- Details: Comedian, writer, actress and director Ali Wong is known for her comedy specials. She also co-wrote and starred in “Always Be My Maybe.” See her perform, 7 p.m. June 19-20. Tickets.
- What: ‘Legacies: Paniolo of Waimea’ Exhibit
- Where: Kahilu Theatre | 67-1186 Lindsey Rd., Waimea | 808-885-6868
- Details: This exhibit celebrates the landscape of Waimea; the stewards, or paniolo, who shaped and cared for the aina; and the animals who have adapted to the rugged and wild terrain. At its heart, the exhibit honors the foundation upon which the community was built while ensuring the paniolo heritage continues in the future.
- What: Kanikapila me Kawaikini
- Where: 4303 Rice St., Lihue | 808-246-0311
- Details: Help support Kawaikini New Century Public Charter School by coming out for an evening of fun, good food and performances by award-winning artists, 6-9 p.m. June 20. A 21-years-and-older event. Tickets.
For more on these and other events, see this week's HI Out & About.
In Case You Missed It
Housing for the Aloha Stadium video board at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex awaits screen panels. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
University of Hawaii prepares for installation of Aloha Stadium video board
One key aspect of expansion work at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex received a welcome timetable adjustment for the University of Hawaii.
The transfer of the Aloha Stadium 75-foot video screen is underway as board manufacturer Daktronics oversaw its disassembly in Halawa this week. Delivery of several dozen panels that comprise the video board are expected to be delivered to the Manoa campus in the coming days.
New Athletic Director Craig Angelos told Spectrum News on Friday that he’s under the impression it will be ready for the opener and that work to install it at UH will begin next week.
