April 5, 2023
Hawaiʻi's future farmers put their agricultural skills to the test at State Convention
More than 250 Future Farmers of America (FFA) members gathered on Oʻahu to participate in the annual State Convention. FFA is the largest career-oriented student organization in the country. Members set out to learn about agriculture through classroom and hands-on experiences. About 24 high schools and one intermediate school in Hawaiʻi have an FFA chapter. The number of schools with FFA has doubled in the last five years. "Agriculture, as everyone should know, is a very integral part into our lives of course. It's everywhere — into our pencils, into the clothes we wear. It's connected to everything," said Jhanella Gerardo, the FFA Hawaiʻi president of Waipahu High School.
View afull article here.
April 5, 2023
Hawaii lawmaker stresses importance of prevention, detection after battling kidney disease
During this National Kidney Month, state leaders and health advocates are raising awareness about what many call a silent epidemic. State Rep. Mark Nakashima knows that firsthand. He developed kidney disease after living with diabetes for nearly two decades. "I probably was not attentive enough to the diabetes control as I should have been," Nakashima said. His kidneys were so damaged, he had to get regular dialysis to remove the toxins from his blood. It took a toll, "I was contemplating hanging it up because yeah, I wasn't sure that I could make a good push through another session," he added. But then a New Year's miracle. "I was a match for a donor kidney, living donor, which is really serendipitous, because the chances of success are much better when you have a living donor," he explained. About a week later, he had a kidney transplant in San Francisco. "After the surgery, I felt just 100% better already. And it's only been getting better since then," he said.
View afull article here.