Fashion Show for the Earth

Last night’s Aveda/Betsey Johnson Fashion Show for the Earth benefiting the Hawaii Nature Center was the wildest fashion show I’ve ever been a part of.

I came out at the end with the other models wearing white dresses, big hair and massive black eyelashes. It seemed drag queen-esque or Tammy Faye Baker-like, but definitely avant guarde, flashy and fun. Our music was “Tahiti Tahiti” and we were told to shake it and dance. I was quite nervous because we modeled our outfits on the slim bar and I had heard another model almost fell down. Thankfully, there were no spills and I performed an ending cartwheel in my heels and dress on stage without tumbling. My husband, my mom and several friends and family came to watch me in my madness and I also got to see Dave Hisaka. Thanks to Smart Magazine for the photos and Guy Sibilla for the group shots.

aloha,
Mahealani
mahea@kitv.com

Cartwheels for the Earth

Mahealani will be modeling at tonight’s “Fashion Show for the Earth” by Aveda Salons. In his column in the Star-Bulletin on Sunday, John Heckathorn mentioned that fashion designer Betsey Johnson does a cartwheel on the catwalk when she attends a show in person. Johnson won’t be here, so Mahealani volunteered to do it in her place. Naturally, Dan and I pushed Mahealani into demonstrating said cartwheel on the newscast this morning.

If you have a chance, do check out the show, and not just for the cartwheels. The show at Pearl Ultralounge at 7 pm benefits the Hawaii Nature Center.

Tea Time with my mom and LOST’s Daniel Dae Kim

Here’s my mom, Helen Richardson (on the left), with some friends and actor Daniel Dae Kim from the hit ABC show LOST. They had tea at the Halekulani as a fundraiser for the American Red Cross and Daniel also got a national award from the Red Cross for his community service efforts.

According to my mom she said, “He’s short.” She also said, “He’s really good looking.” Ah yes, my dear ol’ mom got to take a photograph with a man who’s been named “Hawaii’s Hottest” by Honolulu Magazine. He also appears to be a really nice guy. I’m sure ladies at the tea had a grand time with the television star.

aloha,
Mahealani
mahea@kitv.com

Virginia Tech Reaction

Like many other media outlets, we’ve gotten our share of reaction to the video of Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui, mailed to NBC News.

Pat Gilbert e-mailed us:

You are showing a psycho to all the kids in the state. Think about what you are doing. You are showing this “news” when children are watching. Cut if off now. Show responsbility in your choices.

Many or most of the major networks have since cut back or eliminated use of the video altogether. At KITV, there is now a policy that the video will not be used on a day to day basis, unless there is a good, clear reason for using it, and that it is critical to telling a story.

Our Newscasts, On The Web

You can now see KITV 4 Island Television News This Morning here on our Web site. It’s live streaming video that will be on the Web only when we’re broadcasting, Monday through Friday between 5 am and 7 am HST. You can also see the 5, 6 and 10 pm newscasts the same way. I guess this is a good way to watch the newscast if you’re not in Hawai`i. Welcome, former residents, visitors, and others who drop in!

Happiness Is A Warm Puppy Licking Your Face

Photographer Kevin Matsumoto and I were sent to cover the “debut” of four beagle puppies born to one of the dogs in the State Department of Agriculture’s Dog Detector Corps. You may have seen these dogs at the airport, sniffing arriving luggage for unwanted fruits, plants and animals, like snakes.

It’s a puppy pilot project. The state usually has to find a good detector dog, usually from another country. The price tag per dog can run to $1,500 or more. So there was an arrangement made with a local breeder to have one of his male dogs mate with “Nari,” one of the state sniffers.

Three of the two month-old pups (Ko`i, Sparky, and the lone female Daisy) are headed to foster homes, where screened foster parents will raise them for the next two years. They’ll determine whether the little beagles have the right personality and temperament for the job. The fourth pup will go to the breeder for a career as a father. The breeder will get to name him.

And you can’t help but fall in love with them. Another reporter mentioned to me that we could say just about anything in our voice tracks for the stories we’d put together on the puppies; no one would be listening anyway, since the puppies would get all the attention. Ko`i came up to the fence of his enclosure when I approached for a close-up look. The state agriculture inspectors overseeing the puppies said I could pick him up. We seemed to bond, especially when he ended up licking my face on-camera, which I didn’t mind at all.

Call it a cushy assignment, but we get sent to floods, fires, car crashes and the like. It isn’t often we get to do a story like this one. Even Kevin stopped to hold a puppy for a while when he was done shooting video. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave, and neither was I.

The Superferry

Whether you want it to or not, it looks like the first Hawaii Superferry will be arriving in the islands next month, with service to begin in July.

I got to interview Superferry spokesman Terry O’Halloran. We talked about the issues surrounding the interisland ferry’s startup, including demands from some citizens that the ferry’s operators have to file an environmental impact statement, addressing issues such as humpback whale avoidance, and whether unwanted species could be transported from from one island to another (the coqui frogs on the Big Island being one example).
I got so much into the issues that I completely forgot that O’Halloran brought a brand new model of the Superferry, a miniature replica so detailed that it even had the new ferry’s name, Alakai. I was completely fascinated with the model before the interview, but once we got underway, I competely spaced on it. We ran out of time before we could talk about the ferry’s actual size some of the amenities that will be available aboard, including, according to O’Halloran, movies, refreshments, and something you don’t get on an airplane trip — lots of room to walk around. The model would’ve been handy for all of that, but….

Coach Nash

Bob Nash paid a visit to the newscast this morning for the first time as the head coach of the University of Hawai`i men’s basketball team. He talked with Dan about his new job, including his decision not to renew the contract of assistant coach Alika Smith. The longtime assistant and member of the famed “Fabulous Five” also discussed recruiting. You can see the video here.

Shawn’s Back! And Mahealani Has…Food?!

Mahealani is in Hilo for the Merrie Monarch Festival. And tonight, Shawn Ching returned after being on leave for a few months. So, in the spirit of the morning newscast, Mahealani had to show off some of the Big Island grinds to Shawn. But we actually got a preview. Our Merrie Monarch production crew had to send some videotapes from Hilo by air cargo to Honolulu, and along with the tapes — Big Island food from Mahaelani!

Thanks, Mahealani! And welcome back, Shawn!

Teamwork

For the first time I can ever remember, all three of us were sent to cover a story: Tuesday’s fire at the Kapiolani Manor apartment building. When a serious fire occurs, one crew is usually sufficient. However, when it became a two-alarm blaze, Mahealani went out with photographer Bert Yoshishige. Then, when a third alarm was called and ambulances were sent to the scene, I was sent out with chief photographer Bob Guanzon. Dan was there with morning photographer Kevin Matsumoto, covering the makai side of the building, where the fire actually was occurring.

Essentially, we were able to cover what was a story that was sprawled over a large area. Fire trucks were all over Makaloa St., on the mauka side. That’s where Bob and I covered victims being taken to hospitals. Mahealani was able to get the apartment owner, who admitted he had left candles burning unattended. Long story short, the three of us were able to meet up briefly from time to time to see what each of us had, and to share what each of us might need with one another. Of course, Dan and Mahea also were able to do live reports from the scene while I checked with fire officials to stay updated.

Expanding on the teamwork, we now have a strong news presence on the web, and Keoki Kerr was able to organize all the incoming information into something coherent, which Webmaster Brent Suyama then put into story form for the website.

When we got back to the newsroom, we touched base again to determine which photographers had what footage. Each of us ended up using footage from all three photographers, but it was an easy process. Not exactly a typical day at the office, but this was definitely team coverage.