Hawaiʻi briefs for May 17: Spring commencement, funds released, locally-sourced foods, Stories from the Field

2,800 graduate from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa — the statewide university system’s main campus on O‘ahu — celebrated about 2,800 students during two 2026 spring commencement ceremonies Saturday morning and afternoon, May 16, at Bankoh Arena and Stan Sheriff Center, respectively, on campus.

Graduates completed undergraduate and advanced degrees, planning to move on to professional careers and graduate study now that they finished their studies at Hawaiʻi’s only Carnegie R1 research university, ranked among the nation’s leading public universities and in the top 2% worldwide.

Speakers included keynote speaker Walter Dods Jr., who also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters; student speakers Diego Haʻaheo Ortiz for the morning ceremony and Erica-Skyler Holokai for the afternoon ceremony; University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel, among other university officials and staff.

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$200K released for East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center upgrades

Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green released $200,000 in state general obligation bonds as part of a Capital Improvement Program Grant-in-Aid project to restore the East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center in downtown Hilo.

The funding will be used for planning and construction for improvements at the cultural center, which is a longstanding community space dedicated to arts, culture, education and public programming in the East Hawaiʻi community.

“The East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center has played a meaningful role in supporting local artists, preserving culture and bringing our community together for generations,” said Big Island state Sen. Lorraine Inouye, who represents Hilo in Honolulu, in an announcement about the funding. “These funds will help ensure the center can continue serving residents and visitors for years to come.”

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State formalizes expansion of partnership for locally-sourced foods in school meals

A joint memorandum of agreement between several state agencies was recently signed, formalizing a statewide partnership aimed at expanding locally-sourced foods in Hawaiʻi public school meals while at the same time strengthening Hawaiʻi’s agricultural and food systems.

Hawai‘i Department of Education continues efforts to increase local food procurement, with a goal of sourcing 30% of school meal ingredients locally by 2030. The department also will continue development of a statewide regional kitchen network to support public schools.

The agreement establishes a framework for partner agencies to coordinate expertise, infrastructure planning, workforce development and agricultural scaling efforts needed to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s local food supply chain.

“This is what shared kuleana looks like,” said Hawai’i First Lady Jaime Kanani Green in an announcement about the agreement. “Healthy meals are an investment in Hawaiʻi’s children, their ability to learn and their long-term well-being.”

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Legacy of Filipino migration to Hawaiʻi honored

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaiʻi, in partnership with Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center present “Stories from the Field: Filipino Migrant Workers in Hawaii,” a 2-week poster exhibit exploring the migration in the early 20th century and honoring May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

The exhibit — which centers on the lives of sakadas Eusebio Maglinte and Epimaco Fariola Mansueto, tracing their journeys from the Philippines to Hawaiʻi and onward to the mainland — remains open to the public for view through this week in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington.

“Throughout May, as we celebrate our communities’ historic contributions, we also reaffirm our commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all,” said Hirono in announcing the exhibit. “This exhibition is also meaningful because 2026 marks both our nation’s 250th and the 80th anniversary of the Luce-Celler Act of 1946, which granted Filipino and Indian immigrants the right to naturalize as American citizens.”