Episode 48: Open Communication and a free hula show in Waikīkī

This week, Mayor Rick Blangiardi joins host Brandi Higa on the One O’ahu Podcast to discuss open communication to restore public trust in local government, a free hula show in Waikīkī, and film production on O‘ahu.

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Open Communication

A New Year’s incident involving an attempted murder suspect raised questions once again about improvements to communication between the City and County of Honolulu, specifically the Honolulu Police Department (HPD), and the public.

“It’s unacceptable to me in a very big way because it negates a lot of the effort we’re making and trying to rebuild trust and confidence in our team,” explained Mayor Blangiardi on this week’s episode of the One O’ahu Podcast. He goes on to say, “They (HPD) don’t get to be a separate country. They don’t get to make up their own rules… I don’t know how else to say it. it’s an unacceptable situation.”

A free hula show in Waikīkī

On Jan. 18, 2024, Mayor Blangiardi and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) announced that a new hula show will debut at the Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell. The Kilohana Hula Show, presented by CNHA, will be a modern twist on the iconic Kodak Hula Show, that was held for six decades before ending in 2002.

“Quite honestly, I’m very proud that the City can help bring this back,” explained Mayor Blangiardi. “The Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell is a really special venue. It shouldn’t be dormant most of the time with only selected things that happen there on occasion. We should be celebrating those grounds and allowing people to share in that.”

The new show launches on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.

Ready, Set, Action!

As we look for more ways to diversify our economy beyond tourism, film production continues to come up often and the creation of a film studio on O’ahu.

“I want to take a really strong position on this,” said Mayor Blangiardi. He goes on to say, “I actually believe for Hawai‘i we could be doing one billion dollars a year. And this is not really a diversification as much as it is building on existing assets for taking maybe more advantage of potential we have.”

In 2022, Hawaii’s film industry generated a record $480 million in revenue.