Hawaii CC announces ‘Walking Challenge’ donation to the Food Basket
Hawai‘i Community College (Hawaii CC) is pleased to announce the donation of $2,000 to the Food Basket, Inc.
The funds were raised through Hawaii CC’s Walking Challenge, a faculty and staff initiative that began in January to promote health and wellness and raise funds for the Food Basket.
Private donors pledged to contribute to the Food Basket if faculty and staff met their goal to collectively walk 1,000 miles during a six-week period. The walkers exceeded their goal as 49 participants walked 1,977.9 miles, and the donors increased their pledge accordingly, from $1,000 to $2,000.
“We are truly touched and honored by the continued generosity of the Hawaii Community College community with this $2,000 donation,” said Food Basket executive director Kristin Frost Albrecht. “This will go immediately towards purchasing healthy, good food to help our island’s most vulnerable families who have been adversely impacted by the pandemic.”
“Hawaii Community College and the Food Basket have been strong partners for many years,” said Hawai‘i CC chancellor Rachel Solemsaas. “The organization supports our on-campus food pantry initiative that combats food insecurity among Hawai‘i CC students. The walking challenge and this donation also aligns with our 80th Anniversary celebrations as we strive to give back to the community, which has supported Hawaii Community College since 1941. We are pleased to be able to give back to the Food Basket, which has done so much for the Hawaii Island community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Sanctuary Ocean Count and Great Whale Count complete
Seventy-two trained site leaders gathered data from the shores of Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii islands during the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count and from Maui during the Great Whale Count by Pacific Whale Foundation, the second of three coordinated whale counts between the two organizations in 2021. Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, the sanctuary and Pacific Whale Foundation are running modified programs without the normal participation of volunteers. Instead, each site is monitored by trained site leaders working individually or as a couple.
This is the third year that both counts are coordinated on the same days, ensuring the data from all the main Hawaiian Islands are collected simultaneously.
Site leaders collected data from 42 sites across all the main Hawaiian Islands on Feb. 27.
On the islands of Hawaii, O‘ahu, and Kauai, Ocean Count site leaders collected data from 30 sites during 15-minute intervals between 8 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. A total of 83 whale sightings were seen during the 9-9:15 a.m. time period, the most of any time period throughout the day’s count.
Across the main Hawaiian Islands, weather conditions were not ideal whale viewing conditions with strong winds and high surf present at the majority of sites. Many sites also experienced rainy conditions periodically throughout the count. A few sites were heavily impacted by the rain and had to either cancel or end the count early. A variety of other species were also spotted during the count including honu (green sea turtles), spinner dolphins and multiple seabird species (Ex. Albatross, shearwaters, frigate birds etc.).
Remember to follow whale watching guidelines provided in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s Ocean Etiquette (https://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/visit/boating.html) and Pacific Whale Foundation’s Be Whale Aware (https://pacificwhale.org/conservation/be-whale-aware-and-dolphin-wise) programs.
Finalists named for UH Board of Regents
The Candidate Advisory Council (CAC) for the University of Hawaii Board of Regents has presented a list of candidates to Gov. David Ige to fill one Hawaii County seat for a five-year appointment, beginning July 1, subject to confirmation by the Hawaii State Senate.
The finalists for this seat are Wayne S. Higaki, Peter S. Hoffmann and Eric S. Takamura. Finalist biographies are available at www.hawaii.edu/rcac.
“The Candidate Advisory Council thanks all of the individuals who applied for these seats on the UH Board of Regents. This is an unprecedented time in the University’s history, and we are pleased to submit these highly qualified names for consideration to the governor,” said chair Brigitte Yoshino.