Open Data Day is Next Saturday

The seventh annual international “Open Data Day” is coming on Saturday, March 3, 2018, and Hawaii Open Data is working with the Civil Beat Law Center and other open-minded organizations to celebrate.

“Open Data Day” is dedicated to showing the benefits of open data and encourage the adoption of open data policies in government, business and civil society. In Honolulu, open data advocates are gathering to share updates on initiatives both in Hawaii and around the world. Invited speakers include:

• Brian Black of the Civil Beat Law Center, providing a Hawaii legislative update.
• Jan Nakamoto of DBEDT, speaking about the U.S. Census.
• Arthur Buto of DBEDT, speaking about the Hawaii State GIS system.
• Christine Sakuda of Transform Hawaii Government
• Burt Lum of Hawaii Open Data, speaking about open data in Tunisia and the Open Knowledge Festival.

Organizers also hope to feature representatives from the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Campaign Spending Commission, an early local supporter of open data initiatives.

Globally, “Open Data Day” will focus on four key areas: open research data, tracking public money, open mapping, and data for equal development.

The event will be hosted by the Civil Beat Law Center in downtown Honolulu, and seating is limited to 30 people, so be sure to RSVP today.

Open Data Day

Saturday, Mar 3, 2018, 9:00 AM

Civil Beat Law Center, TOPA, Bishop Tower, Suite 1701
700 Bishop St. Honolulu, hi

4 Members Attending

• What we’ll do Let’s get together and catch up on some of the open data initiatives happening around Hawaii and beyond. I’ve invited several speakers including: Brian Black – Civil Beat Law Center, Legislative Update Jan Nakamoto – DBEDT, US Census Arthur Buto – DBEDT, State GIS Christine Sakuda – Transform Hawaii Gov Hawaii Tourism (TBD) Campaign…

Check out this Meetup →

 

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Governor pushes for increased access, transparency

Hawaii Gov. David Ige has urged all state department heads to “strengthen efforts to increase access to public information, ensure that government business is conducted as openly as possible, and enhance government accountability.”

The executive memo, issued without fanfare on Aug. 25, reiterates Gov. Ige’s push for more openness and public input, but more specifically reminds government officials of the importance and aim of the Uniform Information Practices Act, first adopted into law in 1988 and amended by the legislature most recently in 2016. Gov. Ige gives department heads seven specific directives, including posting data online, appointing an official point of contact for information requests, and minimizing request costs passed onto requesters.

These directives didn’t materialize out of thin air, of course. The memo was nearly three years in the making, spearheaded by Brian Black, Executive Director of the Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest.

Brian convened a coalition of like-minded organizations and individuals (including Hawaii Open Data) in October 2014 that were interested in advancing “a culture of public access at the state level.” Even before we knew who would be Hawaii’s next governor, work began to draft a joint letter. Finally sent to Gov. Ige in December, the letter called on the state’s chief executive to “speak out strongly in favor of government transparency.”

“We have seen rising public demand for openness and increasing public suspicion of institutions that respond to scrutiny without comment or full disclosure,” explains the letter, which puts forth three suggested priorities that “would have a profound impact on access to government information.”

• State agencies should presume that government documents are public and invoke exceptions to disclosure only if they must, not simply because they can.
• Each State agency should post contact information for the public to easily ascertain how to submit requests for records.
• Requests made in the public interest should be charged, at most, only copying costs.

Since then, Black had been checking with the Governor’s office and the office of the state Attorney General, encouraging the state to take action on the letter. It was only yesterday, however, during a meeting on another subject, that he learned that the Governor had issued the executive memorandum.

“The executive memorandum addresses the issues outlined in our letter,” Black wrote in an email to coalition members. “There certainly are things that could have been stronger, but I hope you all agree that this is a positive development.”

He notes that the letter applies only to state agencies under Gov. Ige’s administration, thus potentially excluding the University of Hawaii or Office of Hawaiian Affairs. It also doesn’t apply to county governments.

“We must remain vigilant when dealing with State agencies on public records that the agencies take these principles to heart,” he adds. “I am excited to see where this takes us.”

 

You can download the executive memorandum from the state website, and I’ve also uploaded and embedded it via SlideShare.

Implementation of the Uniform Information Practices Act from Ryan Ozawa

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Microsoft Announces ‘Project Honolulu’

Microsoft has again invoked the Aloha State for a product name, this week announcing “Project Honolulu.”

Project Honolulu is described as a “flexible, locally-deployed, browser-based management platform and tools” recommended as a “graphical management solution” for Windows Server.

In announcing the tool, Microsoft doesn’t explain how or why it chose the name. But the company does share a number of customer reviews, which are amusing to read out of context:

I use Honolulu to manage hyperconverged cluster based on Storage Spaces Direct and what a tool. Honolulu provides me metrics, alerts and ease of management from a web interface. I can now easily manage my volume and get the state of my infrastructure. Honolulu looks like really flexible and Microsoft can add features really quickly.

This isn’t their first Hawaii shoutout. Back in 2010, Microsoft announced “Project Hawaii,” which included the “MAUI Project.”

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VR Junkies Comes to Hawaii

There’s a newly opened virtual reality gaming shop at Ala Moana Center called VR Junkies Hawaii. It’s actually part of a national chain, which Opapo Fonoimoana discovered in Utah and brought back to Honolulu. We were introduced to Opapo by local software developer Evan Nagle, and interviewed him about VR and his business on Hawaii Public Radio. It was great to hear how he saw gaming as just the entry point, and that he had a broader vision for bringing VR to the masses.

Before the show, Burt Lum and I headed down to check it out in person:

 

It’s not easy to maintain a retail storefront for any product, let alone something relatively new like virtual reality. Last year, my son Alex and I checked out “Lost Inside,” which was launched by local entrepreneur Rod Nakama in Kaimuki. He closed up shop a few months later, but continues to run The T-Shirt Lab.

With the official VR Junkies Hawaii grand opening coming up in a few weeks (hopefully after adjacent mall construction), here’s hoping Opapo and his colleagues can make this work.

I took my sons back to VR Junkies yesterday, and although it was expensive, my kids certainly felt it was worth it! There is a 10 percent across-the-board discount in place now, with a rewards program and additional pricing options planned.

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Statistical Study Done For Hawaii Destination Weddings By Wedding Planner Maui'd Forever

Waikiki, HI (PRWEB) October 23, 2012

A recent Maui'd Forever study reveals destination weddings in the Hawaiian Islands hold steady in tough economic times. Their study compares weddings done in 2003 versus those done in 2012.

The number of people going to Hawaii to get married is relatively the same as it was 10 years ago. Although the quantity is the same, the amount these people spend is down dramatically. The average spend is down nearly 17%. The other important information this study shows is where these couples travel from.

They found that the majority of wedding couples still hail from the West Coast but that majority is losing ground.. The East coast and Mid-West areas have shown the greatest amount of growth.

In 2003 when the wedding planning firm Maui'd Forever began their business the average spend on a destination wedding was over $2400. In 2012 that number is under $2000 per wedding. These statistics were derived from the 300-400 weddings performed each year by Maui'd Forever.

National statistics for destination weddings include the fact that 16 percent of marriages taking place in the United States are destination weddings. That 9 out of 10 couples say weather is a key factor in selecting a destination. Their familiarity with the location also plays a key factor. Many have visited their destination wedding location in the past. Many others are escaping colder climates.

The numbers of weddings done annually for the top markets are as follows:

1.    Las Vegas (125,000)

2.    Hawaii (20,000)

3.    U.S. Virgin Islands (5,100)

4.    Jamaica (5,000)

5.    Bahamas (4,000)

6.    Mexico and Florida are next

The destination wedding market accounts for $16 billion in annual spending. The average budget for a destination wedding is $20,600. 60% of destination couples pay for the wedding themselves and they are slightly older at 33 versus the average in the USA of age 28. They are better educated and make more money as 70% have graduated college and the average household income is $110,000.

The average number of guests at a destination wedding: 48. These guests spend an average of $400 each to attend. Most of these guests are family members.

The interesting find in their study is that in Hawaii their are many fewer guests attending than the average. Although exact numbers attending each wedding were not kept, an estimate was given to each wedding and the mean average came to 14 guests per wedding. The amount being spent on their Hawaiian wedding is also much less. The average spend on a wedding in Hawaii is under $2,000 for the wedding itself.

Mark Steffan, President of one of Hawaii’s largest wedding planner firms, Maui’d Forever says, “Most of our weddings are people from the West coast of the USA and Canada although other areas are trending higher. Many of our couples are traveling alone and eloping. We credit this to a tough economy and the fact that many of the marriages are for a second or third time. These couples have done the big wedding prior and are just looking for something simple and sweet. We are also getting more and more Vow Renewal requests.”

Maui'd Forever shows that in 2003 74% of their business came from the West coast of the United States. In 2012 that number has dropped to 60%. Mr. Steffan says “The numbers have certainly increased for those coming from someplace other that the West coast. My dealings with these visitors is that they have not traveled to Hawaii before and their destination wedding is a great excuse to go somewhere new”.

SOURCES

Association of Bridal Consultants

Bridal Guide

Condé Nast Bridal Group “2009 American Wedding Study”

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine

Fairchild Bridal Infobank

About.com

National Bridal Service

National Center for Health Statistics

Travel Industry Association of America

U.S. Census Bureau

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Making Memories: Tips For Planning Your Wedding Day

It can be easily said that organizing a wedding is a challenge, filled with options and compromises. In order to make the process a little more manageable, consider these helpful pointers and ensure that your big day will be one to remember forever.

You can get a better rate on almost any venue by booking during an off period. The wedding season traditionally begins in May lasting through September. Wedding venues are more expensive during these months. If you must book a space in these months, be certain to book way ahead of time to get a reasonable deal.

When you are planning your wedding festivities, think hard about the kinds of alcoholic beverages that are going to be available, and also how much of a price tag they will carry. If there’s a bar that’s open, it can be expensive, especially the longer it’s open. Ask the venue you’ve chosen for the reception which options they have available to you, and what the cost would be for each.

If there will be toasts or speeches given at your wedding reception, ask the speakers to practice in front of you to ensure that the material is appropriate for those attending your wedding. For example, you would want to eliminate any jokes that apply to a very specific group within your guests in order to avoid anyone feeling excluded and to make sure the speech is well-received by all who attend your wedding.

Choose ethnic catering to spice things up. Your typical chicken and steak dishes are too common, so why not try some other food choices? Variety is essential to a wedding dinner to make it memorable for all the right reasons.

Never go on a strenuous weight loss diet in order to look your best. Like a fighter getting ready for a big fight, you will wind up light headed from dehydration by rushing to lose a little weight. You don’t need to faint during the ceremony. Instead, buy a dress with a corset back so you can take it in or out as necessary on the day of your vows.

If you need to look great on your wedding day but money is a bit tight, then considering renting rather than buying any diamonds used in the wedding. In this way, you will be able to wear gorgeous jewels at a nominal cost.

Makeup Artist

When you are choosing a makeup artist for your ceremony, always look at samples of their previous work. Evaluate the makeup artist’s techniques. Be sure that it is exactly what you want. You don’t want your makeup to be wrong on the day of the wedding when you can’t fix it.

Use the information in this article to help organize your wedding ceremony, rehearsal and reception. You can find that there are many opportunities and resources that can help your day go smoothly.

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