Hawai'i State News

The university is one of two Hawaiʻi employers and only eight universities throughout the nation that made the global news magazine’s list of “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Parents and Families.”

Healthy, viable trees, especially native species, enhance environmental health and help mitigate fire risk. However, social media posts following the wildfires seemed to fuel the notion, and the calls, that people should chop their trees down.

To honor the lives of those lost, including Americans, that began with the attacks on Israel over the weekend, Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green has ordered the United States and Hawai‘i state flags be flown at half-staff at state facilities.

The complaint alleges that the pharmacy benefit managers’ business practices have driven skyrocketing prices for brand-name prescription medications over the past decade. These practices include charging drug manufacturers “rebates,” which are payable directly to the pharmacy benefit managers, in exchange for the favorable placement of drugs on the pharmacy benefit managers’ formularies – a ranked list of prescription medications covered by insurance.

The GusNIP Improvement Act of 2023 updates the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) to help existing grantees expand participation and spending, while also giving new grantees the opportunity to establish and grow their programs.

On Monday afternoon, the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals recommended approval of an interim rule that restricts the movement of palm plants; decomposing plant material, such as compost, wood or tree chips; mulch; potting soil; and other landscaping products that may harbor CRB, from infested areas to non-infested areas.

The HUD PRO Housing grant program aims to reduce barriers to affordable housing production by helping local communities address infrastructure challenges and land use and regulatory barriers.

The banyan is not the only tree receiving attention from a group of volunteer arborists and landscapers who have banded together as the Lāhainā Treescape Restoration Project.

RAPID funding is used for proposals having a severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural disasters.

Little fire ants are considered among the world’s worst invasive species. Little fire ants are tiny ants, measuring 1/16 of an inch long, and orange in color. Little fire ants move slowly and stings tend to occur when the ants fall from trees or vegetation onto people, or when infestations become so large that the ants move into yards, homes, and businesses.

The opportunities include Landscape Scale Restoration grants, Community Wildfire Defense grants, and Wildland-Urban Interface grants. All three opportunities are funded by the US Forest Service and full details are available through the Hawaiʻi Awards and Notices Data System.

The flagship campus of the 10-campus system placed No. 57 in the U.S. and in the No. 201–250 tier worldwide. That’s out of more than 25,000 colleges and universities in the world (top 250 qualifies as the world’s top 1%).

These achievements are highlighted as part of Workforce Development Month in September, which was celebrated nationally, and which the governor proclaimed as such for the first time in Hawaiʻi.

The team successfully removed a total of 63 tons of marine debris over the course of this 4-week effort. This expedition was the Marine Debris Project’s second large-scale effort of 2023, with a previous expedition completed during the month of July. The total amount of debris collected by the Marine Debris Project in the last 90 days now stands at 106 tons.

The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization, or UHERO, launched a publicly available, interactive housing data dashboard on Sept. 26, that allows users to customize their data reports based on location, with information such as property and rental market, demographics, zoning and housing stock. UHERO designed the dashboard to inform discussions on the way forward for housing in Hawaiʻi.

Joining the crew on board was a member of the Coast Miwok Tribe of what is now known as Marin and southern Sonoma counties, as well as renowned oceanographer, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and Founder of Mission Blue, Sylvia Earle. Members of the Ramaytush Ohlone tribe of the San Francisco area stood on the beach and granted permission for the crew to make their landing and go ashore.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court will hold a special session on Sept. 25 in honor of the late Patricia Mau-Shimizu, executive director of the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association.

The Hawaiʻi and Pacific Islands Mammography Registry will launch a new questionnaire this month that aims to standardize breast health information collected at mammography clinics around Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands.

Edge Runners are evidence-based, nurse-designed models that demonstrate significant clinical, financial, community and policy outcomes with proven sustainability and replicability. Each of these programs highlights nurses’ ingenuity and collaboration in developing new methods to provide care and promote health equity.

AARP Hawai‘i and the Hawai‘i Public Health Institute created the Kūpuna Digital Resource Directory as part of a larger effort to bridge the digital divide and help more kūpuna go online.