 and welcome to Think Tech Hawaii on Spectrum OC 16, I'm Ian Davidson. Many of you may know that Think Tech operates a high tech green screen studio right in the heart of downtown Honolulu. At this studio, we provide an avenue for people like you and me to make talk shows, commentaries, and much more. On this week's episode, we'll be showcasing some of the work that our volunteer hosts are doing to help us reach the community. First up, eyes on Hawaii host Carol Cox heads out to Fort Street Mall to talk to you about proposed measures to curb Hawaii's growing feral cat problem. I'm down here at Fort Street Mall, Think Tech Hawaii, and we're just asking people along the way about these proposed rules that the governor is considering allowing the DOE bar, the Department of Boating and Recreation, DLNR to actually shoot cats or kill them in any manner that they desire. That seems extremely inhumane and immoral. Are you a cat owner or a pet owner? Pet owner, not cat, I have a dog. But yeah, this is the concern is that they want to sign this bill, want the governor to sign this bill and be able to just shoot, poison, trap, euthanize anything. Oh, that just, it sounds completely awful. Wow, I can't believe that they would propose such a thing. A reason, I mean, aren't there stuff where you can get animals off the streets and put them in like a project, yeah, shelters. And then if no one wants them, then do what we've been doing for years by putting them to sleep if nobody wants to adopt them or take care of them. So you would vote on the side of? It's inhumane in a certain way. It's like, if you don't want us shooting people on the streets, why are you gonna go and shoot a living thing? It also, I mean, I guess we hunt also like deer or whatever, but, I mean, it's kind of wrong. Well, I think they should issue permits to the hunters or whatever. Issue permits to the hunters. And then. Not do the random killing. Not just randomly kill them. Yeah, yeah. Okay. And then. And not let the animals rot. Rot and then. I think that's part of the controversy. No, I don't think they should just be able to go free range hunting cats. I think there's a better alternative. What would you suggest to them to do? I don't know what they do now, but I don't know if there's any kind of group or coalition that goes around and cages them or someone who would, like the human side of you, you can call them. I don't agree with that. I have three cats myself and they were all, they're all feral. I got them fixed through Popoki and there's ways to get them fixed. Where you don't have to spend, yeah, poydogs and Popoki. And they fixed my cats and they're happy cats now. So, I mean, they're still living, they're still living animals that we have to take care of. And I don't agree in shooting them to get rid of them, but I think we have to take care of the problem of them multiplying by taking them to those nonprofit organizations like poydog and Popoki and everybody do their part to take care of the matter that way. Well, I think there needs to be humanity with it. So, they need to be, I'm not in favor of just shooting animals. I definitely wouldn't promote shooting them. There are, of course, other ways to prevent, as you say, neutering them, catching them in wilds. I've caught a few litters myself and turned them in. Just to kind of help promote, but there's a lot of other methods that we can look at, I think, in terms of reducing the population. So, your suggestions to the governor do not sign it and consider other humane methods? Is that could be safe to say? Yes, absolutely. We're just getting some opinions and comments from various people and we're gonna close with this. Please give consideration to being humane in the addressment of the population of cats in the boat harbors and anywhere else. If you have cats or have dogs, please treat them humanely as well as if you find that you can't keep them any longer, do the right thing, turn them into the humane society or find another home for them. But don't, please don't, just leave them because with the new rules being proposed, if they are signed, then they will meet a faith that is inhumane, be killed if they find themselves in the docks or the harbors, they will be killed by the State Department of Boating and Recreation or its agents or its representatives. Did you know that Think Tech has a YouTube page where you can find all our daily shows on demand where you can leave a comment? You were Margie Smith says, I really wanted to hear the guest senator Stanley Chang, instead I was hearing the hosts go on and on. I suggest brushing up on your interviewing skills. Thanks for the suggestion Margie. Please keep in mind that all of our hosts are volunteer to flip their own guests and come into the studio on their own time. Each show is a work in progress. Thanks again for your suggestion. I'll be sure to pass it on, have a great day. Aloha and reply. Let's see what Electro Wizard has to say. Hey, this was a great way of updating us on the Cassini mission details. It is hard to imagine what people like Cassini and Galileo would have thought about a boat floating through space to view these far flung worlds. Thanks for the comment Electro Wizard. It really is amazing how far we've come and how much farther we can still go. Thanks for watching Aloha and reply. Well, that was fun. Be sure to subscribe or like a video. Tell a friend or just tune in on thinktechhawaii.com. Given the fact that we get out so many products from mainland and around the world, the fact that local produce actually does cost a little bit more. Does that present a problem to you at all or? Like being a college student price is always a thing we consider, but I do get the good feeling of a buying local, minimizing leakage, trying to keep money here in Hawaii. And just the fact that if you buy a local, you don't produce as much carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases. And it's your little way of contributing to the good costs. Where do you seek your food? Is it farmers markets or do you go to specialized stores? How do you find the products? Back home in Sweden, I try to go to small shops that only do vegetables and try to get meat that are produced locally just to keep the greenhouses down. Do you think there's enough restaurants that serve local food or should there be more? I think we're not really 50-50, but we're getting close to it. And I think it's a big trend that there's more local being considered in because that's what we want more now as the customer. And just that cause is very important for all restaurant owners and hotels to just keep it local, to keep their customers happy. You know, there's been an emphasis from the state and the city about trying to make sure that Hawaii is self-sustaining. And the importance of having and preserving agricultural land, particularly in times of disaster, yet we see housing developments kind of spring up all over the place. And just wondering if you had any thoughts about that. It's a mixed feeling because tourism is the biggest industry in Hawaii, so we need more development in certain areas. But keeping the North Shore and those small communities as they are is very important too because that will bring out the people out there as it is. We don't need to build big cities or larger communities than they already are out there or on the other islands because that's their uniqueness. That's what's gonna bring the people out there. The first comments will be going to Honolulu and Waikiki, but third, fourth comers, they want to see something else. So they will go and seek, take their trip up to North Shore, stay there instead of being Waikiki. And making sure that we keep it very local and agricultural neutral is the biggest thing we can do and keep the Hawaii safe. Up next, navigating the journey host, Marcia Joyner heads over to the state capital to speak with Representative Lynn Dikoi about issues concerning our Ohana on the island of Molokai. I'm Marcia Joyner and today we are at the capital with Representative Lynn Dikoi from Molokai. And as you know, Molokai is a special little island way, way, way, 39 miles away from Sandy Beach. And it is, I think, still real Hawaii, old Hawaii. And so, last true Hawaiian island. And there has been in the news, this issue of Hawaiian airline cutting back on flights to and from Molokai. And last year, the ferry was gone. So what does that mean to the people that live on Molokai? Have they really been isolated so far? Are they stranded? So we're here today to talk about what is going on with Molokai and what can we do? Well, one is we can talk with Hawaiian Airlines and we've had a lot of our constituents call in, mostly in regards to ADA compliance because many of our kupuna need the ramp to get onto the airlines to come over to Honolulu and Maui for doctors. So we've asked him to write in to Hawaiian Airlines. We've had a meeting with Hawaiian Airlines two nights ago on the island was well attended about 80 people and they were grave concerns for the next 90 days of discontinuation for the Maui to Honolulu and Molokai to Maui flight as well as the midday Molokai to Honolulu flight. So once, tell me from the beginning, what is it with Hawaiian airline? What is it that they said they were going to do? So basically, because they have a lack of fleet, they are required by FAA to take that plane out for service and maintenance, which is going to take about 90 days. So it's not forever, it's for this. It's for the 90 day period from September 15th to December 15th. Oh, Christmas time, shopping time. Shopping time, canoe race time. They were gracious enough to accommodate Molokai for the canoe races and put in three extra flights. Now, I have been to Molokai on the little planes, but what about the ADA? What about how do you get wheelchairs and things on those flights? We can't. So that's why the pressure to have Hawaiian continue their flights to and from Molokai. Those planes are nine-seaters and they cannot accommodate wheelchair accessibility or ADA for people with Walker and cannot make it up to the steps. I was on one flight and they weighed everybody to make sure that we fit. Yes. And that's usually the case, you know, at any balance, weight is a heavy concern. Our other concern is if a passenger is over 300 pounds, they cannot get on that flight also. So we're pretty strapped because our morning flights from Molokai to Honolulu are normally full and by moving a midday flight out from Molokai to Honolulu, you now look at people that are on the midday flight trying to get on the morning flight, of which it'll take a lot of planning. People that are gonna go to doctors, it's really hard because in some case when a person has a heart attack or stroke, they're then referred back to a heart doctor and those doctors are here in Oahu or Maui and it's a huge inconvenience, especially if you're a caregiver trying to take off work, now you're asking for two seats and it's a 48-seater. Again, two weight and balance will be huge factors on who will take priority on those flights. Nat, you have a clinic, health clinic. What about a hospital or other medical facilities? Well, we have Queen's Hospital. So Molokai General is a partner with Queen's Hospital which accommodates a lot of our patients, checkups, heart surgeries, everything from chemotherapy and cancer. So, the clinics will do the minor things but anything after stroke and stuff is air-vac'd out. Cost-wise, it's huge, unless you have holly life-flight insurance or AMR. Now, there's other things going on, especially except the airline, but what about the sale of Molokai Ranch? What is that going to do to the island? Well, actually Molokai Ranch has always been on the market for sale. I guess now it's come back in. I haven't had a conversation with Molokai Ranch yet, but we're hoping that if Molokai Ranch is sold, that they come back to the community and have these meetings with the community to see what is liking of what their proposal is. Development is a huge deal for Molokai as they want to remain the last Hawaiian island and keep culture, preserve its way of life, but at the same time trying to understand how do we keep our kids home with jobs, economic development, and figuring out if there's enough water. And that's a big problem, water. The fresh water, you mean? Yes, potable drinking water. Do you not get enough rain? No, we don't. Every year we're in drought restrictions and it's played a huge part on whether or not we're cutting back what is due to potable drinking water or agricultural water. If you were to put in a new farming, a new agriculture venture, then water would be an issue. Well, right now we haven't had, we're looking pretty good on ag water. It's just a matter of how long the summer and drought lasts, but people have been very good on conserving, on taking new precautions and measures on, instead of overhead irrigating, going to drip line and doing water conservation measures. Now, back to the children. We were there last year and for the Martin Luther King Peace Poem Project. And there were 57 winners in Hawaiian that they were fluent in Hawaiian. Their English wasn't well, okay. But that was amazing. The numbers of people on your island that speak Hawaiian, and that is fabulous. You know, it's huge. Punanaleo thrives on Moloka'i. The immersion program also thrives with the support of, you know, legislature in supporting Hawaiian language. You know, the children speak fluent in a time when our generation was growing up. We wouldn't have the privilege really of being educated on Hawaiian language, but as MCC does provide for Hawaiian language, most of the parents have gone back and within Punanaleo it's a requirement that the parents come in and learn the language to interact with the children. There was one kid, he was reading his poem in Hawaiian, but he couldn't handle reading it in English. He was darling. And, you know, that's a challenge that they face. But for many of the parents here who wants to keep the culture and the education and Hawaiian language alive, it's strong and thriving. So what else is going on on Moloka'i? Well, we want to see more on the education line of MCC in offering a higher degrees. They do have in higher education. A lot of our parents have gone back to school. We like to see that continue and enrollment to start to increase. Of course, healthcare is a big issue. Making sure Kupuna that are on fixed income have other options of basically surviving. Cost of living, highest, electric and gas. You know, we struggle for the jobs is to maintain those jobs and keep people living on Moloka'i that want to continue to live there. Now, what about the sweet potatoes? Is that still a big industry? For us, it's still a big industry. My family, as myself a third generation sweet potato farm, our family still thrives and my dad still works with us raising Moloka'i purple sweet potatoes. So it's been a wonderful, as they would call a job and something that you got to like to continue to continue to farm. Do we have many tourists? We, not as much as people would like to see, but enough as they come onto Moloka'i, they're educated about the lifestyle, about who we are, about learning respect for one another and welcoming people with open arms and realizing that there's places you can and cannot go. But the tourists that come are very welcoming and they respect the people and the culture there. Well, I promised that we wouldn't keep you long. Your staff said you had lots of meetings, but thank you so much for spending this time with us and we will be back. A podcast listener. If so, did you know that you can find Think Tech Hawaii on Stitcher and on Apple Podcasts? It's really easy to listen to all of your favorite shows. Just pull out your cell phone, open the app, type in the search bar, Think Tech Hawaii. And there you are. You're listening to us. Hi, this is Mal with Crazy Kitchen and I watch Think Tech on Spectrum OC60. Welcome back to Think Tech on Spectrum OC16. I'm Ian Davidson. On this week's episode, we're showcasing the ways that our volunteer hosts are helping us reach the community. Last but not least, Raya Salter found herself downtown interviewing Mayor Kurt Caldwell about accessory dwelling units. We are live at the state capitol for Think Tech Hawaii with the mayor of our fair city and some other folks talking about the accessory dwelling unit example that is here that can really has a potential to change people's lives and make dense in the affordable housing issues here. So Mayor, please, please tell us what's going on here and what's your involvement. Well, Raya, it's great to be down here with you today. I mean, it's a beautiful afternoon on a Friday and you have volunteers coming out standing with us or Duncan, Meenak and Jeff R.C. You know, talk people in our town who build a lot of quality projects and they're down here volunteering their time. But for me, accessory dwelling units are about providing affordable housing in a market that's not being met. This is a 400 square foot unit, more or less. Easy to put up. You could provide one of these on your property. The city of Honolulu has allowed this. There's about 120,000 lots on this island that could have an ADU along as their sewer capacity and parking. But that means you have another unit that you can rent that's affordable rental to generate income that could help pay your mortgage in the home that you live in. It's a win-win for everyone. And we're just really excited the Apple Seed project and Habilitat has stepped forward to do one of these here on the capital grown. Thank you so much, Mayor. That is so exciting. I couldn't agree with you more. Please, sir, tell us your name. I'm Jeff R.C. with the McDonough Group. Well, what is your involvement with this project? Can you tell us a bit about what's going on here? Do I can tell you a little bit. I just got here myself, but our company tries to get involved in the community. We do real estate development and we try to give back where we can. And this is a great project that we heard about through Hawaii Apple Seed and Habitat for Humanity. They're putting up this ADU. So a bunch of our people were here working yesterday and we just got here today to help out and work with these great contractors that are volunteering their time as well to put this thing up as a great example of a way to build a nice, affordable living and very nice area unit. Thank you. I couldn't agree more. I think it's so exciting. It's always great to see folks and volunteering in the Habitat shirts. Sir, could you please tell us your name and your affiliation and what you think about this project? Duncan McNaughton. I just arrived. I don't even have my outfit on yet. That's okay. So I think what the mayor said or what Jeff said covers the project and the McNaughton group is excited to be a part of anything like this that helps out the affordable new feature. And we look forward to being hopefully an asset to our effort here. What do you think these type of units can mean for Hawaii? It obviously would provide housing for a community that really needs it, but these houses are designed to go on individual lots that belong to other people and they rent them out. And this allows more housing for the public in general actually and affordable housing as well. Do you think, mayor, do you think there's gonna be a market for these? I definitely think so. In fact, we've now approved through permitting process, about 160 of them. There's another 800 that are being reviewed right now. I think we're just seeing the beginning of a ramp up. People need housing and this is a way to do it without government really putting a lot of effort other than expediting permitting and waiving fees. The rest comes from the private sector and from groups like this that volunteer and step up. I'm hoping that it's the beginning of a trend that will start to address our affordable housing challenges. Thank you so much, mayor. I guess just a couple more questions. I know you just got here, but what might something, a unit like this, what might it look like inside and what are some of the ways that, can someone sort of live comfortable in a small unit? Well, first I wanna compliment the mayor on this effort to get this program going because it's a great example of a public-private partnership and many times it does require both the private sector and the public sector to come together and accomplish something like this. So more of this and there's some other areas we could do it too with higher density but this is a great example of the community coming together to do something really special. So inside, again, I just got here, I'm not too familiar with it but I did go in and walk around it and there is a trend right now. If you look at Cacaco and all the condos, people are downsizing and they've lived, they've learned that they can live in a much smaller area and you spend a lot more time at the local Starbucks or coffee, bean and tea and you just relax on the street and socialize out there. You sleep, maybe you eat in here and you don't need a lot of space but you go inside there, there's a bathroom, there's a shower, there's room for a bed, there's room for a desk, you got a kitchen and that's more than enough. It's a nice, comfortable place to live. Fantastic and sort of when you do get your shirt on, what are you, how are you gonna be pitching in today? Whatever they tell me to do. Anything that stands out, he'll pound it down. Well, thank you so much gentlemen and thank you so much mayor. What a fantastic project and oh, let me ask mayor, can folks, when is this gonna be done? Can people come down and check this out? Yeah, I think it's gonna be done tomorrow, right? They're rushing to try to get in. They're going in fast and I encourage people to come down. People drive by, it's easy to find parking in the later afternoon and they should come in and look at it. It is something that may work on their property and as Jeff mentioned, sometimes you get older, you may not need the big house, you could move into the accessory dwelling unit and rent your house out to a family with children. Win-win for both. I couldn't agree more that that'll be the last word. Thank you so much mayor, thank you so much gentlemen for your time today. Very cool, Raya. Affordable housing is definitely an issue that affects the saw. Coming up on future episodes of Think Tech, we'll take a look at some of the conservation efforts going on at Sea Life Park, take a look at the curb out crisis happening on Powahee Street and much more. Grateful thanks to our underwriters. The Annie Sinclair Knudsen Memorial Fund, the Atherton Family Foundation, the Bernice and Conrad Von Ham Fund, Castle and Cook, Hawaii. The Center for Microbial Oceanography, Research and Education, Collateral Analytics, the Cook Foundation, the Hawaii Community Foundation, the Hawaii Council of Associations of Apartment Owners, Hawaii Energy, the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, the Hawaii Institute for Geophysics and Planetology, Hawaiian Electric Companies, Gailin Ho of BAE Systems, Kamehameha Schools, Integrated Security Technologies, Carol Mun Lee and the Friends of Think Tech, the Omediar Ohana Fund, the Shidler Family Foundation, the Sydney Stern Memorial Trust, Yuriko J. Sugimura. Thanks also to our viewers like you. Well, that's it for this week's episode. Be sure to tune in every Sunday for much more of what you've come to love. I'm Ian Davidson. See you next week. Aloha.