An evening of culinary excellence and community connection marked the launch of Hawaiʻi Community College鈥檚 inaugural E ʻImi Pono fundraiser, drawing more than 100 supporters to the Manono campus on April 18.

Held at the I Ola N艒 Ke Kino Dining Room, the event highlighted the college鈥檚 role in preparing Hawaiʻi Island鈥檚 workforce, bringing together alumni, community leaders, donors and industry partners. The evening centered on student learning and real-world training, with Hawaiʻi CC culinary students and faculty collaborating alongside featured chef Ryan Brannigan, executive chef of Hilo Benioff Medical Center.

Guests enjoyed a menu blending innovation and local flavors, including A5 Kagoshima Wagyu, fresh seafood and student-prepared dishes such as hamachi with ponzu, Korean pork lettuce wraps and lilikoi butter tarts.

“It鈥檚 an honor to be part of the very first E ʻImi Pono,” said Chef Ryan Brannigan. “Food brings people together, but what makes this event special is the impact Hawaiʻi Community College has across the island. From workforce training to career pathways, the college is shaping our community in ways many people don鈥檛 always see—and it鈥檚 meaningful to be part of that.”

The event also showcased collaboration across programs, with contributions from culinary arts, agriculture, welding, electrical installation and maintenance, and carpentry—demonstrating the college鈥檚 hands-on, interdisciplinary approach.

“E ʻImi Pono represents the spirit of Hawaiʻi Community College—collaboration, innovation and commitment to our students,” says Hawaiʻi CC Chancellor Susan S. Kazama. “We are deeply grateful for the support that helps us continue building pathways to meaningful careers and stronger communities.”

Proceeds will support scholarships, equipment and expanded training opportunities for students, helping strengthen career pathways and meet Hawaiʻi Island鈥檚 workforce needs.

Read more about the fundraiser on the .

This week鈥檚 糖心视频 News Image of the Week is from Honolulu Community College’s Shannon Fritz.

Fritz shares: Everybody chill. Students in the Honolulu CC Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Program get hands-on experience with a water-cooled chiller system after attending the Hawaii Buildings, Facilities, & Property Management Expo. Clockwise from far left: Jeremy Jennings, Professor Steven Chow, Joe Grummon, Pohaku Kaye, Awa Yerhot, D’Sean Watson, and Sage Le Akina.”

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—West; Western Maui.

More ʻ艑lelo of the Week

“Kaulana nui loa ʻo Mokuʻula i Maui Komohana i kona kapu loa. (Mokuʻula Western Maui is very famous due to its sacredness.)”

—Melelani Seiki, he haumāna ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu a me Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Maui (Honolulu Community College and 糖心视频 Maui College)

For more information on other elements of the definition and usage, go to the 糖心视频 Hilo .

The University of Hawaiʻi community gathered for a virtual keynote exploring the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) on April 27. The event drew interest across the system, hosting nearly 500 attendees online.

Microsoft’s AI Innovation Officer Michael J. Jabbour led the session, focusing on human-centered organizational transformation and the intersection of human and AI in education and healthcare.

糖心视频 President Wendy Hensel opened the webinar stating: “At the University of Hawaiʻi, we recognize the question is not whether we will embrace AI, but how we will do so. As you know, we’ve been setting up a systemwide AI initiative and conversation that we launched last year that we will scale significantly in the year ahead to educate our community on AI. As an example of this you may know we recently launched artificial intelligence for Hawaiʻi course which is a free 12-chapter interactive course accessible through the .”

A central theme of Jabbour’s presentation was the importance of maintaining human direction as AI capabilities rapidly expand. He warned that while AI can generate an infinite amount of output, humans must stay driven by actual outcomes. To foster critical thinking, especially among students, Jabbour shared how he encourages his own children to interact with AI models by instructing them to “teach me, don’t tell me,” ensuring that users maintain active agency.

“The only thing I ask you to consider, whether it’s with an AI or it’s with a human, is to think before you ask,” Jabbour said. “Because if you’re throwing ideas out there and asking the AI before you’ve thought, the AI‘s thinking now becomes your thinking and you don’t get a choice.”

Looking ahead, Jabbour noted that up to 70% of every hour worked could soon be automated, and that models are quickly matching human intelligence in specific tasks. With more than 60% of employers indicating they will not hire individuals lacking AI skills, he stated that educational institutions must adapt to avoid a big skills gap in training the up and coming workforce.

When asked how students can prepare for a workforce heavily impacted by AI, Jabbour highlighted adaptability, curiosity and human connection. He advised that the future of work will rely less on manual tasks and more on the human ability to clearly express goals and direct outcomes alongside AI.

The recording will be linked here when it’s available online.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College co-hosted , a dynamic, multi-day Earth Day celebration. Guided by the theme “Huli ka lima i lalo, ola” (hands that are turned down to do work, bring life), the event featured demonstrations, conservation efforts and speaker presentations designed to encourage the community to m膩lama ʻ膩ina (care for our land).

A centerpiece of the celebration took place on L膩 Honua (Earth Day) at 糖心视频 Hilo featuring an Earth Day Fair for K–12 students and a Conservation Career Fair for college students.

Amy Fullerton, a second-grade teacher from 笔腻丑辞补 Elementary School, emphasized the necessity of the event. “We need to teach the students about how important our earth is because it’s their future.”

Students were thrilled to engage in interactive activities outside the traditional classroom setting. From building their own water systems to learning about how camouflage helps animals in the wild to creating artwork using traditional Hawaiian materials and methods.

For 糖心视频 Hilo faculty, engaging with the keiki provided a joyful change of pace. Professor Kerri Inglis spent the morning teaching children how to make ti leaf lei. Representing Hui M膩lama Makanalua, an organization dedicated to honoring and remembering the residents of Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi, Inglis reflected on the university’s long-standing tradition to mark L膩 Honua.

“We’ve all come to really appreciate our connections, and so taking the time once a year to celebrate Earth Day is important,” said Inglis, who chairs the Social Sciences Division in the . “It’s an opportunity to express gratitude for where we are and recognize that we’re responsible not just to this island, but our Earth is an island that we need to take care of as well.”

For more, go to .

Explore tropical plants and garden collections as the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo invites the public to celebrate National Public Garden Day on Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m. to noon at the botanical garden on campus. The event is part of National Public Gardens Week, May 8—17.

The 糖心视频 Hilo Botanical Garden will offer three free guided tours highlighting various aspects of tropical gardening. Guests will learn from experts and discover what makes this garden a vital part of the local community.

• 9 a.m.—Ancient Survivors: The Secret World of Cycads: A journey through a world-class collection of prehistoric plants, focusing on the biology and conservation of the ancient Zamia genus.
• 10 a.m.—Living Galleries: The Art and Engineering of Bromeliads: An exploration of epiphytes and their unique water-trapping adaptations in rainforest environments.
• 11 a.m.—Princes of the Tropics: A Journey through the Palms: A showcase of palm diversity, from the soaring heights of Pigafetta filaris to the Licuala genus and the evolutionary story of the native Hawaiian Loulu.

Established in 1990, the 糖心视频 Hilo Botanical Garden was recognized as an accredited garden by Botanic Gardens Conservation International in December 2024.

Related story: Botanical Garden at 糖心视频 Hilo earns global recognition, January 2025

“The is dedicated to plant conservation, research and education,” said founder Don Hemmes. “Featuring an impressive collection of cycads, bromeliads and palms, the garden serves as a valuable resource for the community and contributes to global plant conservation initiatives.”

The botanical garden is open daily and free to the public. For more information, contact Robert Talbert at talbertr@hawaii.edu.

The (CLEAR) at the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu is celebrating a major milestone this year: its 50th anniversary. Established in 1976 by state law, CLEAR has spent the last five decades serving as Hawaiʻi‘s CLEARinghouse for labor education—empowering workers, unions and the general public through advocacy, training and maintaining the state’s award-winning labor history archive.

To commemorate this 50th anniversary and honor International Workers Day on May 1, CLEAR has partnered with the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (糖心视频PA), International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 142, International Brotherhood of Electrical Works (IBEW) Local 1186, and the Hawaii Employees Lifeline Program to host a special historical performance.

The one-person play, From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Dock, was written and will be performed by actor Ian Ruskin. The performance chronicles the life and times of Australian immigrant Harry Bridges, exploring his pivotal role in empowering workers through the ILWU.

“For 50 years, CLEAR has proudly served as Hawaiʻi鈥檚 CLEARinghouse for labor education,” said Dion Dizon, director of CLEAR. “When we teach labor law and history, we connect then and now to remind workers today that the rights and privileges we enjoy as a matter of law were hard fought and won—not freely given. Education with action is what empowers our unions, our teachers and the working people of our state.”

The community is invited to participate in the May 1 celebration through two events:

• Meet the Artist Gathering: 12–1 p.m. at the 糖心视频 West Oʻahu Library.
• Live Performance: 5 p.m. at IBEW 1186, 1935 Hau Street, Room 306.

Seating for the events is limited. Those interested in attending are encouraged to .

The University of Hawaiʻi is reminding individuals who may have been impacted by the cybersecurity incident announced February 27 that deadlines are approaching to enroll in 12 months of free credit monitoring and $1 million in identity theft insurance. After these deadlines, enrollment codes will no longer work.

Deadlines

• May 31, 2026: Enrollment deadline for individuals who received Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) study notification letter codes
• June 20, 2026: Enrollment deadline for individuals who received email-based Experian enrollment codes
• May 31, 2026: Closure of the call center to assist all potentially affected individuals

Kroll Call Center: (844) 443-0842

Hours: Monday to Friday, 3:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hawaiʻi Standard Time

Cybersecurity incident

The cybersecurity incident involved historical driver鈥檚 license and voter registration records (including social security numbers) used decades ago to recruit participants for epidemiological research studies. No information held by the 糖心视频 Cancer Center鈥檚 clinical trials operations, patient care or other divisions of the center was impacted.

Potentially impacted individuals

The personal information affected by the incident was located in a subset of research files stored on certain servers that support the 糖心视频 Cancer Center鈥檚 epidemiology research operations, including:

1. Two files containing names and date-of-births in combination with SSNs: the first, containing Driver鈥檚 License (DL) numbers, was collected in the year 2000 from the State Department of Transportation; the second, containing voter registration information, was collected in the year 1998 from the City & County of Honolulu. At that time, DL numbers in Hawaiʻi were typically based on SSNs, and City and County of Honolulu voter registration information also often contained SSNs.
2. Files for study participants in the long-running Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study (recruitment for participants in Hawaiʻi and Los Angeles, California from 1993 to 1996) and three other epidemiological studies of diet and cancer focusing on colorectal adenomas (recruitment for participants 1995–2007) and colon cancer (recruitment for participants 1994–2005), which also had SSNs and/or DL numbers in combination with names and date-of-births. They may also have contained questionnaires and other study information on participant health, as well as information pulled from national and state public health registries.
3. Two files that contain SSNs in combination with names collected from national and state public health registries as part of epidemiology research and study recruitment efforts. One file was closed to new names in 1999, and the other in the mid-2000s. The impacted files may also have contained research registry information about individuals鈥� health.

Letters were only mailed to MEC study participants. Other potentially affected individuals were sent email notices where valid email addresses were available. For the remaining individuals, notification was made through notices sent to major statewide media on February 27, 2026, and on the 糖心视频 Cancer Center website.

If you believe you may have been impacted and did not receive an email or a letter, please call the Kroll Call Center: (844) 443-0842, Monday to Friday, 3:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hawaiʻi Standard Time.

Individuals should also check the Spam folders in all of their email accounts. Notification emails were sent from notice@krollnotifications.com with the subject line “NOTICE OF DATA INCIDENT.” Official notification emails were sent between March 16, 2026 and March 20, 2026. Emails received outside of this date range should be considered phishing emails.

Individuals may also visit the to access support services and additional information.

Students are finding support, community and success at 鈥檚 new John Morton Welcome Center. Located in the ʻIliahi Building, the center is a dedicated hub bringing together resources and gathering space to foster connection. The opening ceremony in March drew almost 100 attendees, including students, faculty, alumni, donors and community partners.

‘The Welcome Center supports my overall well-being by offering a variety of spaces and resources for students,’ said student Kiera Kanoa-Faalafua. ‘Whether it鈥檚 finding community, connecting with others, studying or just taking time for myself, it鈥檚 all in one place. It really feels like a community where I can be supported mentally, physically and academically.’

Student Kevin Likiak added, ‘It鈥檚 a place for students before they go to their classes. It鈥檚 a good space to get introduced to the different programs that we have to support students, like the First-Year Experience and the Kapoʻoloku (Native Hawaiian student success) programs.’

Highlighting the Lunalilo Scholars

Named in honor of the late University of Hawaiʻi Vice President John Morton, the center recognizes his legacy and contributions to the 糖心视频 Community Colleges and Kapiʻolani CC.

The opening also highlighted donors Lester and Marian Kaneta鈥檚 ongoing support of the , which helps non-college bound students to transform their lives through education.

Lunalilo Scholars Program Director LaVach茅 Scanlan said the center represents a promise to students that they belong at the college and is guided by the college鈥檚 namesake Queen Kapiʻolani and the spirit of Kūlia I Ka Nuʻu (strive for the highest).

‘We want every person who walks onto this campus to feel supported, connected and part of our ʻohana as they work toward their goals,’ Scanlan said. ‘This center also represents our kuleana (responsibility) to those who came before us and to those who continue to assist our students, like the Kanetas, in not only accessing college but being successful here.’

To support the program, visit the Lunalilo Scholarship or contact Aja Grande at Aja.Grande@uhfoundation.org.