Apr 1, 2015 | Education, Stemworks
Participation at a national student convention provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and ethical users of technology, according to Maui High School teacher Clint Gima. “By exposing our students to the world outside of Maui and to other teachers and students who are passionate about digital storytelling, our students will come back even more motived to work hard and become leaders in our classes,” Gima said. He and 14 Maui High students in grades 9 to 12 are attending the Student Television Network Convention this week in San Diego, California.
Veteran attendee Giel Marie Tolentino, a Maui High junior, described the convention as an “amazing experience” that gives her and her classmates a chance to meet aspiring broadcast journalists and storytellers. They expect they’ll be applying learned skills in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Maui High’s appearance at the convention is due, in part, to a grant from the Maui Economic Development Board’s Ke Alahele Education Fund. “I believe that it is important for the community to support schools in STEM education because it gives students hands-on experiences around the community,” Tolentino said. “STEM education also helps students find out what career they want to pursue in the future.”
The annual Ke Alahele Education Fund Dinner has been set for August 29 at the Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui Resort in Wailea. “If the community is concerned about having students who are not ready for college or careers, we need to continue to advance STEM programs because in addition to the traditional prescribed learning, students need opportunities to think for themselves, interact with professionals, develop their own learning, and work on real world problems,” Gima said. “In the high school setting, especially in the STEM classroom, students learn to work together, attack real-world problems, and work on projects where there is no one correct answer.” The Student Television Network Convention features a variety of on-site contests for students and networking for STEM teachers.
Mar 25, 2015 | Small Business
A workshop on using census data on Maui and webcast on Molokai were a hit for participants, especially those who use numbers to understand what’s happening in the world of business. “The MEDB workshop was excellent and for those of us who use numbers on a regular basis for planning and reporting, this was the most comprehensive census data workshop I have ever attended,” said Jennifer Hawkins, Maui County’s small business advocate on Molokai. “After years of using census data for reporting, I learned that postal ZIP codes and census ZIP codes are not necessarily the same,” she said. “I also learned about helpful tools that will soon be released to aid in locating the data for which one is searching.”
One of these tools, the Census Business Builder, is coming soon to the U.S. Census Bureau’s website. The tool was highlighted during a Maui Economic Development Board workshop, “Using Census Bureau Demographic and Economic Data in a Business Plan,” held February 27 at MEDB’s Malcolm Center in Kihei. Andrew Hait, the Program Planning & Data User Outreach Liaison for the Bureau of the Census in Washington D.C., traveled to Maui to present the workshop. Hait provided an overview of selected, key Census Bureau demographic and economic programs, and how the information from these programs can be used by entrepreneurs and businesses in a business plan and loan application.
The workshop attended by 25 people was also made available to Molokai residents via webcast. Hawkins said it was important to give Molokai residents access to the workshop. “So many times, we have wonderful speakers come to our state and county, but never make it to Molokai,” she said. “As small business advocate, I try to provide access to as many off island resources as I can for Molokai businesses. Data provided by the Census Bureau is crucial for our businesses, whether they are writing a business plan, applying for a grant or just doing market research.”
Mar 18, 2015 | Environment, Small Business, Sustainability
A passion for the o
utdoors inspired John Bendon to create a company that helps others achieve milestones in energy efficiency and environmental design. Bendon, a 1996 Seabury Hall graduate, serves as the founding principal of Green Building Hawaii. “Ultimately, the core focus of what we do is drive value by maximizing performance,” Bendon said.
Founded in 2007, Green Building Hawaii assists commercial and residential clients and conducts training in a number of areas including energy audits, photovoltaic analyses and high performance certifications such as LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. With Green Building Hawaii’s guidance, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa became the first resort in the state and only the fourth in the world, according to Bendon, to earn a silver level certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (EBOM). It is also the first building to Maui County to receive this designation. “What’s exciting is that a lot of resorts want to follow Hyatt’s lead,” said Bendon, who’s added more resorts to his clientele list.
Maui Economic Development Board, another Green Building Hawaii client, became the first LEED EBOM certified office building on Maui. “The LEED rating system is the most recognized third party certification for environmentally conscious buildings,” Bendon explained. “I hope more organizations will follow MEDB’s commitment toward promoting renewable clean energy.” Bendon said his team worked with staff at MEDB and at the Hyatt Regency Maui for about a year and a half, reviewing policies and procedures relating to issues such as energy efficiency, waste diversion, green cleaning, and other sustainable operating policies and procedures. “The energy projects are return on investment projects. We help companies both improve the bottom line and the environment,” Bendon said.
Green Building Hawaii has seen an upswing in business. “We’re really busy these days. The awareness is growing in this field and we are starting to work with organizations that did not have these types of issues on their radar even a few years ago.” Bendon said. On his company Web site, Bendon predicts that the next big advances in green building will involve material life cycle assessments and further integration of smart home/building technologies to reduce energy use.
Mar 11, 2015 | Environment, Events, Sustainability
Experts from across the nation will present the latest trends in the electric utility industry, as well as the public policy influencing customer choices. Sessions will address issues about advancing toward grid modernization, consumer protection, and engaging customers in a fresh, new way.
Conference sessions include
- Understanding the evolving role of the customer in a broader context
- The customer of the 21st century
- Are we seeing what they’re seeing: customer perceptions on energy
- Advancing toward grid modernization – meeting customer needs
- The growth of distribution generation – good or bad for the customer?
- Community perspectives (video panel discussion)
- How can the customer become an active participant in the energy landscape
- The changing regulatory compact – the customer, the utility, the regulator
- Consumer protection – who’s looking out for the customer?
Keynote speakers include
- Eric Gleason, President, NextEra Energy Transmission, LLC
- Deborah Kimberly, Vice President, Customer Energy Solutions, Austin Energy
- Constance Lau, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.
- Alan Oshima, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Electric Company
- Luis Salaveria, Director, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, State of Hawaii
- Mark Toney, Executive Director, The Utility Reform Network (TURN)
For details on how to register and more information about the conference, visit MauiEnergyConference.com
Presented by the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and the Maui Economic Development Board.
Mar 4, 2015 | Community
A first-time event called WordCamp sold out with 175 people attending and participants giving “exceptionally positive” feedback for the two-day workshops held recently on the University of Hawaii Maui College campus. “The primary motivation for bringing WordCamp to Maui was to educate, elevate and inspire web and software development on Maui,” said Jon Brown, WordCamp Maui lead organizer. Mission accomplished, Brown said.
WordCamp Maui, which had a host of sponsors and supporters including Maui Economic Development Board, attracted a full spectrum of attendees from bloggers to photographers, online marketers to small businesses, educators and Web developers. Brown, a Maui resident and owner/partner of 9seeds LLC in Nevada, coordinated the event along with his fiancée, Elena Rego, and eight other people. Every WordCamp is unique, Brown said, and Maui’s was no different, offering business track training for WordPress and Web development professionals, and beginners lessons for those unfamiliar but interested in WordPress usage. “Putting together a nonprofit conference, entirely with volunteer organizers and speakers was a challenge,” Brown said. “Fueled solely by a love for WordPress community, the volunteers all rose to the occasion and helped deliver a great conference for Maui.”
WordCamps happen all over the world. Maui’s featured sessions on how to use WordPress more effectively, advance techniques and security issues. A talk on Facebook advertising and another on online marketing in general appeared to gain a lot of interest from the WordCamp attendees. “I think it’s a foregone conclusion how important a Web presence is,” Brown said, adding that customer interaction for businesses often begins and ends online. That’s why the information WordCamp provided on Maui drew a lot of interest. Brown said he’d like to see a WordCamp held in Hawaii every year with the next one possibly being held on Oahu. “If not, we’ll aim to organize another on Maui in 2016,” Brown said.
Participation at a national student convention provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and ethical users of technology, according to Maui High School teacher Clint Gima. “By exposing our students to the world outside of Maui and to other teachers and students who are passionate about digital storytelling, our students will come back even more motived to work hard and become leaders in our classes,” Gima said. He and 14 Maui High students in grades 9 to 12 are attending the Student Television Network Convention this week in San Diego, California.
