This week, Mayor Rick Blangiardi joins host Brandi Higa on the One O‘ahu Podcast to talk about the public art project Wahi Pana, the recent 9-1-1 outage, and Na Alaka’i A’o Mau, the City’s student shadow initiative.
Wahi Pana
Wahi Pana (Storied Places) is a winning project of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, which supports mayors, residents, and artists in creating public art projects that address civic issues in their communities. Launching its first of three phases in February 2025, this project will feature 11 multimedia installations created by local artists and storytellers, debuting in February, May, and September across the island of O‘ahu.
“In the spirit of everything we hear and that’s been talked about with respect to a shift in our tourism business and regenerative tourism – it’s really about cultural awareness and being able to offer that – this plays right into that not just for tourists but also our local residents,” said Mayor Blangiardi. “It’s just one more way, as we move into a very fast future, of holding on to a richness of our past and making sure those stories don’t get lost, and they’ll be reflected in, both narrative and artwork.”
Join us on this huaka‘i (journey) of connection—follow Wahi Pana’s progress at wahipana.com and on social media @wahipana to be part of the story as we unveil O‘ahu’s storied places.
9-1-1 service issues
For about four hours on Sunday, Nov. 17, most cell phones were not able to access 9-1-1 for emergency calls.
“I’m going to rely on the people who have their technical expertise, understanding full well what a threat this is to public safety, to do everything they possibly can to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” added Mayor Blangiardi.
Hawaiian Telcom confirmed that equipment failure caused the 911 outage.
Na Alaka’i A’o Mau (Learning Leaders)
The Na Alaka’i A’o Mau program provides students with the opportunity to shadow top officials and gain a firsthand look at the day-to-day operations of various agencies in the City and County of Honolulu. This November, students from Castle High School spent the day with us.
“It’s always a good reminder to see that stage of life who are just so excited about what’s ahead,” replied Mayor Blangiardi.
The City offers several other opportunities for students to learn about local government, including the Po‘okela Fellows Internship Program, the Summer Student Employment Program, and serving on the Honolulu Youth Commission.
