Arts & Culture

Date nights are not the same these days, and a full summer with no blockbuster movies or theaters to cool off in was a big change for Hawai'i. Movie theaters here are allowed to be open now, but COVID-19 restrictions across the industry are having an impact. Movie theaters and film festivals are having to pivot, as the big studios contemplate what to do with their blockbusters.

Views on a changing visitor industry and Iolani Palace update; Community view from Lanai; Using state lands for the homeless in Waimanalo; Displaced from Crane Park; Hui Aloha helping the homeless; Perpetuating Hawaiian music

Funding relief for Honolulu arts and culture; Hawaii Craftsmen debut Downtown Arts Center; Honolulu Museum of Art reopens; Book and music festival tackles big issues; Addressing Hawaii's housing issues; Interview with Na Hoku Song of the Year producer

The Covid-19 pandemic may have had something to do with the City’s decision to go ahead with the new Downtown Art Center, now set to go in above the Chinatown Satellite City Hall. New owners are in at Pegge Hopper's former site, too, but no one expects it to be easy.

COVID-19 infections at O'ahu's homeless shelters are putting more pressure on Honolulu's street population. HPD enforcements continue as options for safe shelter are decreasing. Encampments in Waimanalo and Waianae are being allowed to remain, while mobile testing on the street gets increased attention.

City and service providers fight over homeless sweeps; Joyful noise from youth chorus; COVID's effect on choral societies; Healing stones in Waikiki; Celebrating coconuts

Update from the Hawaii Restaurant Association; What restaurants will look like after the COVID crisis; Inside the daily decisions of a restaurateur; ALEA Bridge helps Central Oahu homeless; Call for artists for Maui Quick Build projects

HPD's POST facility for Oahu's homeless; Kimi Howl Lee on her film Kamaaina; Art Bar; Professor talks K-Pop and politics; Maui luthier Steve Grimes

A key part of Honolulu’s homeless strategy lies in a scrubby field off Lagoon Drive at Ke’ehi Lagoon Park. That’s where the Honolulu Police Department has set up a COVID-19 isolation center where, currently, up to 100 homeless clients can maintain social distancing while they decide what their next steps might be. The city considers the project highly successful in getting people off the street.

Tomorrow, 1,500 families will eat well after the Wai’anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center’s food box giveaway. Since the Covid-19 crisis hit, the center has been working overtime to make sure keiki, kupuna, and other vulnerable members in their large community are not forgotten. Transportation, isolation, and poverty are among  the barriers faced by residents of O’ahu’s leeward coast.

Honolulu is using federal COVID-19 funds to clean up Chinatown and boost businesses that are hurting without downtown office workers. On Saturday, to help boost business, the city opened Hotel Street for pedestrians, bicyclists and dining on the sidewalk. But challenges remain for the neighborhood’s future. 

On this Independence Day holiday, we remember the different threads of history, culture, and experience that are woven together in American life. National immigration issues play out every day in Honolulu, a notoriously difficult business environment in the best of times. On Honolulu's culinary scene, a Turkish family's dream of a restaurant is coming true, in spite of the pandemic.

Covid-19 quarantine measures have sparked a massive migration online and for many people it's a vast and unfamiliar world. According to the Pew Research Center, researchers are concerned about issues from digital democracy to online dating. In Hawai'i, online issues and activity are keeping pace with the nation.

Loretta Sheehan on police reform discussion; Art as a tool for community benefit; Artist as innovator and visionary; Local theatre roundup

Food services reopen; Reactions from Chinatown; Artist Lauren Trangmar

Kaua’i, Maui and Hawai’i counties allowed restaurants to open June 1, with social distancing protocols in place, including requiring face masks until diners are seated. O’ahu eateries are reopening today and restaurant industry insiders say factors crucial to their success are not under their control.

While most Americans have been consumed with worries about family, health and livelihoods, political scientists and others have raised concerns about how America’s democracy may be changed by the global pandemic. 

Nurturing ag to fill Big Island need; Keeping kupuna fed; Sustainable ag systems; Aina Aloha Economic Futures Declaration; Updates on Hawaii arts groups; Kupuna wisdom

In March, as U.S. officials discussed the so-called "China virus," the FBI warned about an increase in anti-Asian bias as a result of Asians being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this week, a Center for Public Integrity poll showed 30% of Americans have witnessed bias incidents against Asians. As the economy struggles, experts expect these incidents to increase.

To date, only one homeless person in Hawai‘i has tested positive for the coronavirus. That person was connected to the cluster at Maui Memorial Hospital. On O‘ahu, home to 4,450 homeless individuals, service providers are seeing a lot of movement on the street during this COVID-19 shutdown.  Here's what the experts see ahead.

Some 161,000 Hawai’i residents filed for unemployment in March.  The University of Hawai‘i’s economic research arm, UHERO, projected unemployment could temporarily spike to 25 percent due to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.  In Hawai‘i, however, some companies need even more workers.

Tens of thousands of bar and restaurant employees across Hawai‘i have been laid off in the wake of COVID-19 restaurant closings. Some restaurants have trimmed staff, but managed to transition to take- out or delivery service. Hawai‘i’s food supply and distribution systems may depend on how many restaurants can be kept open.

County regulations that prohibit restaurant dining go into effect on O‘ahu and Maui today. As meal service and wait staff hit the unemployment lines, restaurants and bars that are able are switching to takeout and delivery only. 

The Covid 19 pandemic is highlighting the risks and benefits of being so physically and virtually connected across the globe. Like a virus, information has many avenues by which to travel quickly these days. Here, a communications expert discusses best practices for steering through the deluge of information you may be experiencing.

Cruise ships entering Honolulu Harbor may not be a welcome sight right now, but in the 1950s and 1960s, Boat Days were a cause for celebration. Many of the passengers aboard based their visions of Hawai‘i on the songs they heard on film and radio. In those days, visitors could choose from the Tapa Room, Chuck’s Cellar, Duke’s, and many other live music venues featuring fine singers of the day.

Chozen-ji, the Zen temple in Kalihi valley, was known as a center for Honolulu powerbrokers in the 1980’s and 90’s.  Political and business deals were reportedly hashed out around a low table, in front of calligraphy by Miyamoto Musashi.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa visited recently as they prepare for an open house and art exhibition.

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts have become a powerful launch pad for musicians, since they started in 2008. Its most popular video, of Anderson Paak, has racked up more than forty million views. Bob Boilen, host of All Songs Considered, curates the series, which has helped millions of listeners discover new artists. Now, a musician from Hawai‘i has made the cut.

Thanks to  Pow!Wow! Hawai‘i 2020, there are more than fifty new murals in Kaka‘ako, from the Children’s Discovery Center to Ward Theatres, to Mother Waldron Park. The street murals are the most visible evidence of a small business shift in the area.  Developer Christian O'Connor discusses how the huge changes in Kaka‘ako are supposed to work for Honolulu as a whole.