Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono

Strengthening Our Local Communities

Protecting Bellows Beach

More than 8,000 tons of trash. And no one to clean it up.

That’s what residents of Waimanalo were facing when it came to cleaning up the pier dump site at Bellows Air Force Base.

A sign reading “danger” marked the spot of the former World War II dumpsite.

Members of the community came together to raise awareness of the problem and ask the military to clean up the site. But, the military didn’t have the funds.

Congresswoman Hirono listens to the military's plans to clean up a dump site at Bellows Beach

After learning of the problem, Congresswoman Hirono went to work and secured funding so the military could excavate and remove the landfill contents. Now, the fenced site has been opened up and the Waimanalo community is free to enjoy Bellows Beach without worries of potential toxins or health risks.

"The residents turned to U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, who secured $2 million for the cleanup in August 2007.”

In Hawaii, we know how important ohana is and how many of us rely on our extended multigenerational families for help. Tutu & Me, one of PIDF’s most successful programs, helps children enter kindergarten ready to learn. It works with children and their caregivers – in many cases their tutu or grandparents. On average, keiki participating in the program make the equivalent of 17 months of developmental gains over the 9-month instruction period. 

When PIDF wanted to expand Tutu & Me to help economically disadvantaged families on the Leeward Coast, Congresswoman Hirono was there to help and secured a $500,000 investment from the Department of Health and Human Services. As a result, 97 children and 117 adults were able to participate in education programs as well as gain access to health and social services. This far exceeded PIDF’s goals of 30 children and 30 adults participating.

The three “R’s” used to be the fundamentals of a good education: reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. To succeed in today’s high-tech world, however, our keiki must have computer skills. That’s why when the Kanuikapono Public Charter School on Kauai told Congresswoman Hirono that they needed help creating a Computer Technology and Learning Resource Center, she went to work. Congresswoman Hirono convinced her colleagues that a small investment would reap great rewards at this charter school where many of the students have no access to a computer at home.

As a result, 14 computer stations were purchased and are being used by the school’s 120 students in grades K-12. In addition, the school was able to establish a multi-media program and full recording studio. Students are learning how to edit and produce short films and public service announcements. With these resources, the students are able to learn the skills they need to join a 21^st century workforce and compete for the jobs of the future.

Supporting Hawaii’s Red Cross

For more than a century, the American Red Cross has assisted communities across the islands with immediate emergency needs from local fires to disaster response.

The Red Cross does so much for the people of Hawaii, yet their facilities were in drastic need of an upgrade. Congresswoman Hirono recognized that a photovoltaic system for the Red Cross’ state headquarters could help the non-profit save money and even serve as a back-up system in case of an emergency. She helped get an investment from the federal government to enable Red Cross to purchase the system. The system, installed in 2011, now generates 45% of the non-profit’s energy—saving approximately $500,000 in electricity costs and redirecting those funds to provide more direct services to those in need.

Rural Bus Program for Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Counties

Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Counties have fast-growing public transportation systems, but the need has outpaced resources. In particular, Maui County bus ridership is one of the fastest growing in the country, with 2.3 million boardings from June 2010 to June 2011.

Rising fuel costs and increasing traffic congestion has meant that the demand for public transportation has exponentially grown on the neighbor islands. To meet this growth, these counties are in desperate need of additional buses.

That’s why Congresswoman Hirono helped secure a federal investment of $3.4 million in 2010 for the counties to purchase buses, install bus stops, and make other public transit investments. This builds upon the $780,000 federal investment in 2008 and 2009 she secured that helped Hawaii Island purchase more buses, where many people have to travel long distances from their homes in rural areas to jobs in areas popular with visitors.

Kapolei Interchange Complex

The city of Kapolei on Oahu is the fastest growing urban area in Hawaii. As many Kapolei residents know, it is also a place with extreme traffic congestion. And, this second city is expected to experience continued population growth in the coming years, which will lead to even greater traffic issues.

To provide much-needed traffic relief, Congresswoman Hirono secured $4.4 million toward construction of the Kapolei Interchange Complex to ease H-1’s traffic out of the center of Kapolei.

In November 2011, the first phase of the project was completed—opening a new eastbound exit and entrance ramp to the H-1 Freeway.