This week on Helping Hand we begin three weeks of related features covering the homeless epidemic in the Aloha State. We’re learning about IHS, the Institute For Human Services. IHS is one of the leading organizations in the effort to help the homeless in Hawai‘i, where the United States’ most severe homeless crisis per capita exists.

The Manhattan Transfer are celebrating 45 years of making music. Over the decades they've racked up an impressive pile of Grammy Awards, while bringing their unique hybrid of styles to audiences around the world.

This Saturday, bicycles are ruling the roads in Kalihi Valley. The First Annual Kalihi Ahupuaʻa Bike Ride will give riders a chance to experience the valley like never before. HPR reporter Ku’uwehi Hiraishi went for a spin.

The Governor is busy reviewing 230 bills passed by the Legislature this past session.   So far, he’s signed 48 into law including one that will help inmates.  HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports.

In 2015, an estimated 300 inmates completed their sentences and were released into the community.   Many did not have the basic documentation required for re-entry into society.  Governor David Ige signed House Bill 845 into law to correct that.

A delegation of Hawai‘i women is heading to Okinawa to link their efforts with other islanders impacted by U.S. military presence.   The International Women’s Network Against Militarism points to human and environmental costs of war and explores ways women can build more peaceful futures.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports.

Legislation to ban certain sunscreen chemicals in Hawai’i stalled in the final days of the 2017 session.  But, state lawmakers are already starting their push to pass the bills next year.  HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports.

The chemical, oxybenzone, is an active ingredient in many sunscreen products.  Evidence provided by PhD environmental researcher, Craig Downs, links oxybenzone to the killing of baby coral and eventually entire reef systems in populated areas worldwide.

One in 6 residents in Hawai’i relies on Social Security benefits.  But as HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports, many of the elderly recipients live on the borderline of poverty and homelessness and need public assistance.    

“I live on less than 10-thousand a year.”

Barbara Armentrout receives 775 dollars a month in social security disability benefits.

“And it’s hard.  People don’t realize you’re one accident away from being on work comp, not having enough credits and getting on something for the rest of your life.  And then you have to live like that and it’s hard.”

This week on Stargazer we have a few planets to look for in our evening skies plus we’ll hear about research of objects on the edge of the solar system as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.    

Momentum is building following Hōkūleʻa’s Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people turned out to welcome the canoe home from its three year around the world voyage. And that includes some who took part in that journey. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi spoke with one family whose life was changed by their experiences with Hōkūleʻa.

Two hundred forty five crewmembers participated onboard the Hōkūle‘a in the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, but many thousands more participated from land, following the voyage online.  Case in point, Vince Farrant, a recent Kamehameha School graduate, who followed the canoe’s progress and met many crewmembers through a Celestial Navigation class at Kamehameha  School.  In HPR's Noe Tanigawa's  interview, he reflects on the significance of this voyage for new generations. 

This week on Helping Hand we welcome back SPIN: Special Parent Information Network. According to their website, this parent to parent organization provides information, support and referral to parents of children and young adults with disabilities and the professionals who serve them. HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Coordinator at the SPIN Network, Susan Rocco, and Program Specialist Amanda Kaahanui.

The Hōkūle‘a's Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage began in 2013 with a sail around the Hawaiian archipelago.  Since then, the Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia, the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s voyaging canoes have been plying waters across the globe, dodging cyclones and hurricanes, pirates and sandbars to complete their global circuit.  HPR's Noe Tanigawa spoke with crew member Na'alehu Anthony about what he experienced.

A Maui community is raising awareness on how to drive along the Hana Highway.

The most expensive homes on O‘ahu are in the neighborhood of Kāhala. And the priciest ones of all are on Kāhala Avenue, a street of some changes over time. Pacific Business News editor-in-chief Kam Napier has more.

When you think of music legends, few artists embody that term like Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson, who tonight returns to the Aloha State at the Blaisdell Concert Hall with the Pet Sounds 50th anniversary world tour, his first public Hawaii appearance since 2002.

State lawmakers on a joint Legislative Housing Committee were briefed on a plan to build 2,500 public housing units in Honolulu. HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports.

The Kāneʻohe Neighborhood Board is considering a resolution about the future of the popular yet illegal Haʻikū Stairs. The U.S. Coast Guard closed the trail also known as Stairway to Heaven in 1987, but the hikers keep coming. 

The impact of illegal hiking activity on the trailhead community in Haʻikū is coming to a head, and one group believes reopening the trail is the answer. HPR News' Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

Citizens armed with smart phones are being enlisted to help State Conservation Officers enforce rules on all islands.  HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka explains.    

Managing Hawaiʻi's hiking trails is becoming an increasingly complex challenge. Recent news reports of stranded hikers and fatal hiking incidents on our trails have some questioning the effectiveness of unmanaged trail access.

Supplying enough recreation for its residents and the revolving door of tourists is an official task of the state Nā Ala Hele program. The trail and access program manages the state's hiking inventory and maintains all state-sanctioned trails across the island chain. HPR reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more.

The State is in the process of updating its Pesticide Rules for the first time since 2006.   HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports.

Around the state, the cost of housing has spiked higher and faster than wages. That has left a gap for what economists call “workforce housing” — housing that is inexpensive enough so that people who work in the area can live there on what they are paid. There’s a new workforce housing project in the works on Maui and this one involves rental units. Colleen Uechi of the Maui News has more.

For this week’s Stargazer we learn about new data from a space telescope and it's implications for theories about recent exoplanet discoveries as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with Christopher Phillips.    

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup yesterday—making it the second year in a row the team won the National Hockey League championship. Here in Hawai‘i, ice hockey may be more of a spectator sport for most, but people have been lacing up skates here for decades. And the sport depends on an unusual source for players: the military. HPR Contributing Reporter HJ Mai has more on the story.

This week on Helping Hand it’s returning guest Habitat For Humanity West Hawai‘i Island talking about their upcoming Blitz Build September 13 through 23, with a goal of building ten new houses. HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence speaks with their Executive Director Patrick Hurney.

Demand for farm land is so great in Hawai‘i, Aloun Farms is trying to speed up its sale of acres in Central Oahu. Pacific Business news editor in chief A. Kam Napier, has more.

This Sunday will be King Kamehameha Day—although the state’s official holiday will be observed on Monday.

Libraries are popping up across the country, but they’re not lending books. They’re lending tools. The HNL Tool Library is part of a nationwide movement prioritizing access to tools over ownership. Tool library director and local entrepreneur Elia Bruno is on a mission to connect often underused tools with the people who need them. HPR Reporter Ku’uwehi Hiraishi spoke with Bruno and takes us on a tour of the tool library. 

A new study will determine if oysters can improve water quality in Pearl Harbor.