 Welcome to Think Tech on Spectrum OC16, Hawaii's weekly newscast on things that matter to tech and Hawaii. I'm Jay Fidel. And I'm Ian Davidson. In a show this time, Ian will be showcasing more of the stories our volunteer hosts are covering on the street. We'll learn about how the arts at Mark's garage is partnering for the future. We'll get a glimpse at how people feel about the indictment of our now ex-chief of police. We'll find out how a 200-year-old Russian fort on the island of Kauai is playing a role in strengthening friendships. And we'll get a check up at a Chinese pharmacist in downtown Honolulu. That's right Jay. We have a great show to share. Hanging out, creating and putting together these pieces with our volunteer hosts is so much fun. I'm super excited about this week's episode. So excited we should get right to it. Up first, Marcia and I met up with Lala at Arts at Mark's garage to talk about how partnerships with the community are helping to foster a better future. Enjoy. This is our community co-working space, kind of where we like to think that seeds are planted and pollinated, a Think Tech area. Community can use it for meetings. We use it a lot for internal use as well. And then behind or in front of me here is our probably newest and most popular feature is the Friends of the Library bookstore. So everything is donated, all the books, vinyls, literature and resold at a very inexpensive, very reasonable price. And there's gems in here. I see one I want. There you go. Good. Already. Awesome. And what's been interesting is we started the bookstore and say for our monthly first Fridays, the first month that we opened up, we had to kick the book people out. Like, all right, guys, we got to go in a place where, you know, it's first Fridays have become known maybe for drinking in the nightlife to still have the art scene live and thriving in this space and then with the literature and to see that people are craving it on a Friday night, you know, enjoying an exhibit or live music, they're pulled right to the literature. So that was really neat to see that taking place. And our foot traffic during the day has probably tripled since they've come in here. So that's really neat to see more people just getting exposed to the space itself through literature and vice versa. You mentioned partners. What are partners? So Arts and Marks Garage is a nonprofit and we thrive off of community support grants and diversified revenue streams. So one of those is our partnership agreements and ability for them to pay a monthly agreement fee and have a contracted use of the space customized for their needs. So whether it's travel to change, whether looking for a desk to be able to end to host events to friends of the library that actually take up a portion of the space and sell books to improv Hawaii that needs workshop space and monthly show performance area to the Shakespeare Festival. It's a really diverse array of partnerships, which is really interesting to manage and work with, but a lot of resources as well. So that's another area of Arts and Marks Garage and supporting space. I think that's one of the biggest needs for community in the arts and creative industries is we ask them what are the needs and one of the main things is they need space. So providing that kind of house and sacred haven for people to come and gather and be immersed in the arts is part of it. The last part of kind of how we thrive here is through our packaging of community events, private events, we're getting geared for the holidays. So why not have a holiday party in a beautiful gallery space? The money goes right back into the nonprofit community. So the dollar is stretched and doing good work to keep the neighborhood going and arts alive in the area. Can people that are not partners, can they rent a space? Absolutely. So that's kind of the other leg of how we generate financial resources through the space is offering packages for film screenings or one night off performances or brand launches, holiday parties. We've had some really interesting programs in here where like University of Hawaii came in and they rented the space and we had a Black Lives Matter speaker that came down, had a you know an hour and a half really incredibly moving talk by this leader in our community when it comes to human rights and equality come all the way to Hawaii and that we had like 300 people in the room. So there's so many ways to start utilizing space in different ways and for a nonprofit to be sustainable at the same time I think more and more we need to look at diversifying our resource streams from a traditional sense of just grant writing or donations but to broaden it and say what is our product and our service that we provide and putting a number on it to facilitate the health and wellness of the long-term goals here. So do you have a lot of tourists? Do they come or local people? What's your audience on a day-to-day basis? On a day-to-day basis I would say it's about 75-25%. More and more visitors are curious about finding authentic places to come to outside of Waikiki which is you know the sun and surf and the Mai Thais it's beautiful who doesn't want to sit on Waikiki in front of the ocean and enjoy that but they're also looking to explore a little bit further and deeper into what Hawaii really is and kind of having the local experience so coming to local restaurants or the local boutique stores and the art gallery space provides a really unique experience which I think a lot of other cities are embellishing on they're seeing the value of the creative industries for their travelers that are demanding it more and more. So I think that's only going to grow especially with the expansion of kakaako and more and more of the visitors having opportunity to come farther to the side of town. Partnerships with Travel to Change which is a alternative travel company. Tell us about Travel to Change. Where is Travel to Change? Their desk is up in front we can kind of walk over there and so Travel to Change themselves is kind of an online platform travel agency for local community members organizations companies that want to provide an experience whether it's yoga at sunset and a beach cleanup or going to learn about an ancient Hawaiian fish pond and then being able to do a hike up into the mountains to kayaking the idea is that there is a service as well as an experience provided for the visitors that are seeking that and again that's kind of the long-term marketing trend is that the millennials the new travelers of the world are seeking that type of experience where they're going to place and they're not only getting something but they're also giving back so Hawaii is abundant with that and these guys are trying to facilitate that so to have them as part of this this is another art forum travel is an art forum in many ways so being able to support that in creating physical space and having monthly events here showcasing the local artists which is supporting whether they're yoga practitioners or artists that want to provide an experience that's providing a platform for local economic stimulus as well this is really I'm excited thank you to watch the growth me too I'm honored and odd to be a part of it I really think that we are in a time where this is only going to grow and embellish and become more and more valuable ahead of the police department Honolulu police department has been indicted on corruption and racketeering and bank fraud and obstruction of justice charges it's a very sad that's all it is said it's very sad maybe they need to vet them better the police chief your ex-police chief you got any opinions about that nope nope I'm more concerned about the wife and her position in her office and the allegations against her as a trustee of minors and as a trustee in charge of a trust fund and and the family drama and possibly corrupted use of her resources so yeah I'm very concerned about that it's alleged that four premier officers from the criminal investigative unit were drawn into this conspiracy to frame the police chief's wife's uncle how do you think that happens how do you how do you how do you draw people in that have had a lifelong career in the police department to overtly break the law and participate well uh my stand from the bible there money is the root of all the evil isn't it the love of money is the root of all evil and so money is behind all the evilness that goes on under the sun we are definitely living in interesting times let's hope for a better future next up Lily Ong and I met in kawai to see how Fort Elizabeth a 200-year-old russian fort is paving the way to strengthen relationships between russian america thanks for watching think tank good morning sir could you tell us your name please my name is Dmitry Gernov i'm a minister consular in the embassy of the russian federation and i'm really happy to be here uh i think that uh we're going to have a very important event which should be not not not even could be but should be and will be conducive to strengthening of our relations what your hope what do you hope to achieve from this trip well for us the event is rather important important because uh because of the initiatives of the russians staying in the united states especially the congress of russian americans uh they are trying to bring back and to show to a wider american public the long history of relations between our two countries you can imagine that 200 years ago already in various parts of the present united states there were russian settlements it was in alaska it was in for dross in california and here in hawaii and this is very interesting that for 200 years our countries our countries and our people did learn each other uh these pages of history we must not forget because our memory has to be preserved because you cannot build future without the deep knowledge of your past and that's good that in the united states american people and fuses are trying to preserve the history as a whole yeah because the history of the united states is the history of a very complex infiltration of cultures languages people's and so on so forth so and russians were one of them you cannot imagine american culture american history without the influence of the uh people coming from the russian federation um could you tell us what are some of the goals and aspirations you see from this event well i'm hoping that we can develop a stronger bond i know we tried to do a sister city uh relationship kind of agreement because the connection here is the russian fort and this is what 200th anniversary so i'm hoping we can develop some solid relationships and really connect culturally and understand the presence of the fort um russian fort here on koa and what it means and it's about relationships right culture exchanges internships i enjoy talking about that and what are the steps to um to um growing a sister series relationship what are the process to it right so i we've been trying and so we'll continue to try go through the right process but i i would like to connect back to whoever's the mayor there i mean whatever the leadership there and begin the discussion from my office working with a county council there's a process and so i think maybe from today we can actually see each other sometimes it's not about just emailing and the tech part of which is great the relationship the eye to eye contact so hopefully we can do that today and solidify some of the process that can take for us to finally do a sister city with russia right yeah disposable needles yeah this some some short some long one yeah yeah some long one too yeah this is a long one some short depend you you you fit the long one skin when did you come to hawaii oh come away almost more 50 years more 50 years what part of china are you from canton canton yeah canton china yeah why did you come to hawaii oh some china come come come yes everybody go out yeah my my father closed the store yeah keep to government yeah and then go to hong kong come over here yeah yeah only check up this yeah i see the tongue and then see the body and then i put the medicine yeah different sick different medicine yeah this charm yeah that's it this is medicine this kind and this kind yeah yeah all all this yeah this is only for back soar yeah you get back soar yeah for this is back soar this is back soar yeah leg soar yeah this is leg soar yeah this is yeah oh for leg leg soar yeah all different medicine yeah different kind yeah also over here too yeah so this one all for back for leg soar yeah i don't like this yeah for all of our don't like this different kind oh different yeah haha yeah oh different yeah different for cough yeah yeah this is for cough yeah for catch cold cough yeah for catch cold yeah this is yeah this is small small seat slice slice it it's what it's a small seat and he sliced it it's it's almost like a water chest not kind of thing and it's sliced and dehydrated yeah oh this is a tree skin a tree skin in the tree the tree yeah the long one long one cut cut cut cut here oh yes all different kind see all different for catch cold oh this one see oh yeah this one get for silence is this is for silence yeah huh This is for signage, outside get outside, some one thing get a, get a, look like knee to cut it, yeah? Yeah, stuck, yeah. When you go picnic and they stuck on your clothes, there was the smaller version of this. So, so it could be any herbs or anything that is useful. Chinese has like 5,000 years of history of using other herbs. So it's natural and no chemicals and less side effects or no side effects, yeah. So tell me with, with this, um... A flower. That's a flower. That's a flower. To clean up the poison, yeah? To detox. To detox. To detox. To detox. To detox. To detox. To detox. To detox. To detox. To make them stung, yeah? To make them stung, yeah, big powder, yeah? Yeah. Yeah, this is stung, yeah? Stung. Yeah, stung, yeah, you put it here, yeah? You see, make powder, make small, yeah? Yeah, this is for tea, so. Soar tea. Soar tea. Soar tea. Yeah, soar tea. Soar tea. Soar tea. Soar tea. Soar tea. What does it taste like? Make tea drink. Make tea with it? Yeah, make tea, make tea drink. Make tea, make tea drink. No more tasty. Stung, that's stung. That's stung, yeah? Big tea drink, yeah? Yeah, oh, this one, yeah? This one, yeah? The cups that you put on. The cups, yeah? That's all? That's it? Yeah, you're going to see the detox, and you're going to have a red mark for a few days. But that's the place where your poison of your body is going to come out through that. Some small, yeah? Some small ones. You're going to have a hickey on there. Yeah, for adorates, for pain, yeah? For arthritis and pain. Some things, too. This is for your back. Oh, your back. Dumb, huh? Big one, yeah? That's it? That's it? Hold on a minute. This is red, you want to take it out? Wow. Chinese medicine is all about balancing your body, not, yeah, between the so-called hot and cold. Someone in need, so I suck the knee. This morning, someone in need, so I suck the knee. That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. I've spoken to Marcia since being cupped and chewing on rocks. I'm excited to report she's okay. Working with our volunteer hosts is good fun. If you're interested in being a host, want to share a story, or just want to know more about Think Tech, goi.com and feel free to contact us anytime. And now let's check out our Think Tech schedule of events going forward. Think Tech broadcasts its talk shows live on the internet from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Then we broadcast our earlier shows all night long and on the weekends. And some people listen to them all night long and on the weekends. If you missed a show or if you want to replay or share any of our shows, they're all archived on demand on ThinkTechHawaii.com and YouTube. For our audio stream, go to ThinkTechHawaii.com slash audio. And we post all our shows as podcasts on iTunes. Visit ThinkTechHawaii.com for our weekly calendar and live stream and YouTube links. Or, better yet, sign up for our email list and get our daily email advisory. Think Tech has a high-tech green screen studio at Pioneer Plaza. If you want to see it or be part of our live audience, or if you want to participate in our programs, contact shows at ThinkTechHawaii.com. If you want to pose a question or make a comment during any of our live shows, call 808-374-2014 and help us raise public awareness on ThinkTech. Go ahead, give us a thumbs up on YouTube or send us a tweet at ThinkTechHI. We'd like to know how you feel about the issues and events that affect our lives in these islands. We want to stay in touch with you and we'd like you to stay in touch with us. Let's Think Together. And now, here's this week's ThinkTech commentary. My name is Ken Rogers. I am a Canadian and as a graduate of an American university, I couldn't help but notice a provision in the Trump Tax Reform Act that increases the cost of a graduate education. Traditionally, when university students get tuition or waivers of tuition, they receive no cash and are not taxed on that tuition. I had a fellowship that paid 100% of my tuition at an elite American university. I would not have been able to go to any university had I been taxed on the value of that tuition. Those tax-free benefits represented a deeply ingrained American value-supporting education. It created enormous goodwill for students like me and made the U.S. a beacon of learning for the whole world. Under the Trump bill, however, the value of those benefits would be taxed to the student who would have to raise the money to pay the tax on them. This would have a huge effect on graduate students, especially those who don't have money to spare and many won't be able to continue in school. It favors the wealthier students and would be terribly unfair. It also represents an anti-education attitude which has emerged in the United States, one very different from what I found here, different from what you would find today in Canada and many other countries where there are generous incentives for graduate study. Trump's Tax Reform Act is a tragic step backward and a blow against graduate education. It changes the United States from a land of opportunity to a land of opportunity only for the wealthy. It will prevent disadvantaged students from attending graduate school and will deprive them of upward mobility and the American dream. Is this what the new America is coming to? It's a far cry from my time and profoundly regrettable. Mahalo, I'm Ken Rogers from Canada. We'll be right back to wrap up this week's edition of Think Tech, but first we want to thank our underwriters. For microbial oceanography research and education, collateral analytics, the Cook Foundation, the Hawaii Council of Associations of Apartment Owners, Hawaii Energy, the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Hawaiian Electric Companies, the High Tech Development Corporation, Galen Ho of BAE Systems, Integrated Security Technologies, Kamehameha Schools, Dwayne Kurisu, Calamon Lee and the Friends of Think Tech, MW Group Limited, the Schuyler Family Foundation, the Sydney Stern Memorial Trust, the Volo. Okay Ian, that wraps up this week's edition of Think Tech. Remember, you can watch Think Tech on Spectrum OC16 several times every week. Can't get enough of it, just like Ian does. For additional times, check out OC16.TV. For lots more Think Tech videos and for underwriting and sponsorship opportunities on Think Tech, visit ThinkTechHawaii.com. Be a guest or a host, a producer or an intern, and help us reach and have an impact on Hawaii. Thanks for being part of our Think Tech family and for supporting our open discussion of tech, energy, diversification and global awareness in Hawaii. And of course the ongoing search for innovation wherever we can find it. You can watch this show throughout the week and tune in next Sunday evening for our next important weekly episode. I'm Jay Fiedel. And I'm Ian Davidson. Aloha everyone.