Press Releases

March 31, 2024

THINKTECH HAWAII ANNOUNCES PRODUCTION CUT BACK AND NEW LEGACY ARCHIVE PROGRAM

ThinkTech Hawaii has announced that it will no longer produce new video programs on a regular basis starting May 1. This decision is based primarily on ThinkTech’s inability to raise funds sufficient to carry on its production schedule as before. As a nonprofit, it has received financial support from local corporate and individual underwriters, small donors and local grants. Program hosts, guests, directors and senior staff work on a volunteer basis.

Jay Fidell, CEO, states, “We regret the necessity of taking this step, especially as our country is engaged in the most divisive election since the Civil War. We should all be following that, along with so many other troubling national and global issues, but given the difficulties of nonprofit fundraising these days, we find that we will nevertheless have to cut back and leave it to other media to further address those issues.”

ThinkTech started on Hawaii Public Radio almost 25 years ago, and has transitioned through many iterations, including live studio broadcasts and most recently virtual programming and streaming, with 30 talk shows every week. Our free internet platform for civic engagement by citizen journalists has covered a myriad of subjects to achieve our mission of raising public awareness in Hawaii and beyond.

Although ThinkTech will cut back on its studio, staff and production operations, it will continue its YouTube channel and website and will accept and post content on an ad hoc basis on and after May 30. We will no longer engage in regular fundraising, but will accept donations to help cover the costs of the transition and the development of our Legacy Archive program, which will provide long term public access to our large collection of content, including many thousands of videos of continuing interest to the community.

ThinkTech Hawaii is a Hawaii nonprofit digital media company originally organized in 2001. It has provided a platform for civic engagement by volunteer citizen journalist hosts and their guests on issues of interest to viewers in Hawaii and elsewhere. Over the past several years, ThinkTech has produced and streamed 30 live talk shows every week. See thinktechhawaii.com and youtube.com/thinktechhawaii.

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PRESS RELEASE

Honolulu, December 13, 2023

ThinkTech Hawaii Announces 2023 Awards

ThinkTech Hawaii presented its 2023 awards at its Annual Awards Ceremony on December 7th.

HONOLULU – ThinkTech Hawaii presented its 2023 awards at its Annual Awards Ceremony on Thursday, December 7 at the Bishop Museum Atherton Halau.

An Oli Aloha was presented by Keli’i Akina.

A keynote address was presented by Keith Vieira, Hawaii’s leading hospitality consultant, helping us understand the state of the hospitality industry in Hawaii, and its prospects going forward.

ThinkTech Community Service Awards were presented to Vicky Cayetano, Seymour Kazimirski, and the Hawaii Restaurant Association.

ThinkTech Family Awards were presented to “Hawaii Together” hosted by Keli`i Akina and Joe Kent as Show of the Year, to Kathleen Lee, Host of the Year for her show “Connecting Hawaii Business,” to Tom Yamachika, as Cohost of the Year for his show “Talking Tax,” and to Bob Toyofuku and Pacific Law Institute as ThinkTech Underwriter of the Year.

This year, ThinkTech also presented Distinguished Guest awards to Neal Barnard; Wesley Boykin; Lee Sichter; Connie Hall; Miyuki Ishiguro; Gary Yabuta; Frederic Ruppert; Tina Patterson; Vernellia Randall; and Kristina Hiukka. These Distinguished Guests were selected by popular vote.

The sponsors for the program were Wayne Potluck and Clay Iwamura Pulice and Nervwell. The proceedings will be uploaded to youtube.com/thinktechhawaii and streamed on thinktechhawaii.com later this week, so tune in and see it there.

ThinkTech Hawaii is a Hawaii nonprofit digital media company organized in 2001. It provides a platform for civic engagement by citizen journalist hosts and their guests on issues and events of interest to viewers in Hawaii and beyond. See thinktechhawaii.com and youtube.com/thinktechhawaii.

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PRESS RELEASE

Honolulu, December 9, 2022

ThinkTech Hawaii Announces 2022 Awards

ThinkTech Hawaii presented its 2022 awards at its Annual Awards Ceremony on December 8th.

An Oli Aloha was presented by Keli’i Akina.

A keynote address was presented by Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum, President of the East-West Center.

Community Service Awards were presented to CompuGirls Hawaii in Kona, Executive Director Whitney Aragaki, Project Expedite Justice in Kona, Executive Director Cynthia Tai, and to Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald of the Hawaii State Supreme Court (accepted for the Chief Justice by Former Gov. John Waihee).

ThinkTech Family Awards were presented to “A Nation of Immigrants” hosted by Chang Wang as Show of the Year, and to Christine Lynders, host of “Physical Therapy for a Better Life” and Chuck Crumpton, host of “The Rule of Law in the New Abnormal” and “It’s Time for Responsible Change,” as Hosts of the Year (all shows can be found on youtube.com/thinktechhawaii), and to Mike Sklarz as ThinkTech Underwriter of the Year.

This year, ThinkTech also presented Distinguished Guest awards to Alan Brennert, Anthony Chrisco, Theresa Wee, Colin Moore, Khendum Gyabak, David Larson, J.K. Lin, Cyber Bunny and Brandon Lorezco. These Distinguished Guests were selected by popular vote.

The sponsor for the program was Clay Chapman Iwamura Police and Nervwell. The program was presented and streamed from the Pacific Guardian Center Conference Center, with thanks to Brian Moore and his staff at the Center.

ThinkTech Hawaii:

ThinkTech Hawaii is a Hawaii nonprofit digital media company organized in 2001. It provides a platform for civic engagement by volunteer citizen journalist hosts and their guests on issues and events of interest to viewers in Hawaii and beyond. ThinkTech produces and streams 30 live talk shows every week. See thinktechhawaii.com and youtube.com/thinktechhawaii.

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PRESS RELEASE

Monday, June 27, 2022

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jay Fidell, CEO
ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc.
1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Telephone: 808-780-9254
Email: jay@fidell.com

WHO’S RUNNING FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR; EVALUATING THE MAJOR CANDIDATES

HONOLULU – Meet the major candidates for Lieutenant Governor. ThinkTech Hawaii’s upcoming free community webinar on these candidates and the challenging policy issues they will face at 10:00 am Hawaii time July 1, 2022. Register at thinktechhawaii.com or https://bit.ly/Register-LG2022.

Six panelists will examine a burning issue for each continent, how that issue relates to prospects for functional democracy, and what we can learn from them.

ThinkTech is experienced in running virtual programs, with attendees from anywhere. In addition, this format gives viewers an opportunity to ask questions live to the candidates.

Moderator
Louise Ing, Esq. – partner in Dentons law firm and frequent moderator in ThinkTech community webinars.

Panel

Keith Amemiya
Ikaika Anderson
Sylvia Luke
Sherry Menor-McNamara

Here is a link to the flyer that is being circulated for this program
https://bit.ly/LG2022-Flyer

Here is a link to the bio sheet for the various participants in the program
https://bit.ly/LG2022-Bios

These candidates will be running against each other in the Democratic primary on August 13, 2022. Learn more to make an informed decision for the candidate of your choice. It matters to everyone. Voters will receive their ballots in the mail for this primary election by July 26, 2022.

ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Hawaii nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, now celebrating 21 years, and is dedicated to raising public awareness through civic engagement by citizen journalist hosts on digital media platforms. ThinkTech has produced over 12,000 talk shows and short movies, and streams 30 new live talk shows every week covering a variety of subjects of interest to the Hawaii community. See thinktechhawaii.com.

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PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jay Fidell
ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc.
1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Telephone: 808-780-9254
Email: jay@fidell.com

BEYOND UKRAINE, BURNING GLOBAL ISSUES

HONOLULU – Make no mistake; the world is burning! ThinkTech Hawaii’s upcoming free webinar on some of the burning issues in six continents around the world is scheduled for 10:00 am Hawaii time April 1, 2022. Register at thinktechhawaii.com or https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xCe8s-6yQA2ntWMmixKGqQ

Six panelists will examine a burning issue for each continent, how that issue relates to prospects for functional democracy, and what we can learn from them.

The underlying theme will be Democracy in our time, whether Xi’s version is really better, how it works in India, what happens with or without it in the Middle East and East Africa, how it is playing out in Eastern Europe, and how a promising infrastructure initiative in Colombia could be a model for other countries in Latin America.

Moderator
Pamela Spratlen – retired U.S. Ambassador, has served as ambassador and consular official in various posts around the world.

Panel

CHINA – Carl Baker, Senior Advisor, Pacific Forum
INDIA – Roopmati Khandekar, Executive Director, Global Relations Forum
MIDDLE EAST – Elsa Jarkhedian, Consultant, Project Expedite Justice
EAST AFRICA – Gilbert Nuwagira, Economist in Kampala, Uganda
EASTERN EUROPE – Carl Ackerman, Social Studies Faculty, Punahou School
LATIN AMERICA – Juan Pablo Tello, Business Attorney in Bogota, Colombia

Here is a link to the flyer that is being circulated for this program.
https://bit.ly/BGI-2022-Flyer

Here is a link to the bio sheet for the various participants in the program.
https://bit.ly/BGI-2022-Bios

The program is sponsored by Project Expedite Justice, https://www.projectexpeditejustice.org

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PRESS RELEASE

Friday, January 7, 2022

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Kimberlee Bassford
Telephone: 808-393-1094
Email: makingwavesfilms@yahoo.com

SCIENTISTS DISCUSS THE CONVERGENCE OF PANDEMICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

HONOLULU – While the State of Hawai’i deals with the latest wave of COVID-19 cases brought on by the omicron variant, there’s a far bigger untold story—the link between pandemics and climate change.

The intersection of these two existential threats will be explored in the upcoming webinar “Evolving Crisis: The Escalating Threat of COVID and Climate Change.” The virtual panel takes place Friday, Jan. 14 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Zoom. It is hosted by ThinkTech Hawai’i with funding from the VoLo Foundation and features the following scientists:

Chip Fletcher, Ph.D., Interim Dean, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Chair, Honolulu Climate Change Commission
Camilo Mora, Ph.D., Professor of Data Analytics, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Jim Thomson, Ph.D., Principal Oceanographer, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington
Angelicque White, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Oceanography, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Kenneth Howe, Journalist, Moderator

The event is open and free to the public. Register to attend here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DXCsTFCLSLSCudwAnRnsFQ

The panel builds upon ThinkTech Hawai’i’s recent documentary film Spiraling Crisis: The Alarming Convergence of Climate Change and Pandemics – A Postcard from the Future, which featured Zoom interviews of eight scientists and officials in Hawai’i and on the mainland. It is an official selection of the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, which takes place February 24-March 6, 2022 in Golden, Colorado.

ThinkTech Hawai’i, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Hawaii nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, now celebrating 20 years, and is dedicated to raising public awareness through civic engagement by citizen journalist hosts on digital media platforms. ThinkTech has produced over 12,000 talk shows and short movies, and streams 30 new live talk shows every week covering a variety of subjects of interest to the Hawai’i community. See thinktechhawaii.com.

VoLo Foundation is a family foundation founded by David Vogel and Thais Vogel to educate the public to create a sustainable and secure planet for future generations. It believes that developing and sharing knowledge through facts and data accelerates positive global change. Through original research and analysis, and in collaboration with philanthropic and academic partners, the Foundation aims to enrich the lives of individuals, strengthen communities, and educate future generations. See VoLoFoundation.org.

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PRESS RELEASE

Saturday, December 11, 2021

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jay Fidell
ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc.
1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Telephone: 808-780-9254
Email: jmf@thinktechhawaii.com

THINKTECH HAWAII ANNOUNCES SEVEN AWARDS

ThinkTech Hawaii recently presented its 2021 Community Service Awards and ThinkTech Family Awards at its Annual Holiday Party and Awards Program.

Community Service Awards were presented to the Hawaii Agriculture Foundation (HAF), Pacific Asian Management Institute at the Shidler College of Business (PAMI) and Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii (VLSH).

ThinkTech Family Awards were presented to “Looking to the East” hosted by Steve Zurcher as Show of the Year, and to Katharine Nohr, host of “The Wide World of Esports” and Mark Shklov, host of “Law Across the Sea,” as Hosts of the Year, and to Galen Ho of Immersive Worlds LLC as ThinkTech Underwriter of the Year.

Looking to the East is streamed on thinktechhawaii.com every other Monday at 1:00 pm. Law Across the Sea is streamed on thinktechhawaii.com on alternate Mondays at 1:00 pm. The Wide World of Esports is streamed on thinktechhawaii.com every other Wednesday at 12 noon. All of these shows can also be found on youtube.com/thinktechhawaii.

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PRESS RELEASE

Saturday, December 11, 2021

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jay Fidell
ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc.
1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Telephone: 808-780-9254
Email: jmf@thinktechhawaii.com

THINKTECH HAWAII SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDES FALL FUND DRIVE

ThinkTech Hawaii recently concluded its 2021 Fall Fund Drive “ThinkTech Gives Thanks.” With the support of many individuals and organizations, ThinkTech raised $27,000, exceeding its stated goal of $20,000, during this fund drive. Donations will be used to support its studio operations and the production costs of its livestream and encore programming in 2022.

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PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, December 10, 2020

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jay Fidell
ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc.
1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Telephone: 808-780-9254
Email: jmf@thinktechhawaii.com

THINKTECH HAWAII PRESENTS ANNUAL AWARDS

ThinkTech Hawaii presented seven awards at its virtual 2020 Annual Holiday Party and Awards Ceremony on December 10th.

Community Service awards were presented to Project Vision Hawaii (accepted by Darrah Kauhane) NAMI Hawaii (accepted by Kumi Hayashi), and the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Queen’s Medical Center (accepted by Dr. Scott Gallacher).

ThinkTech Awards were also presented to the series Humane(e) Architecture as Show of the Year (accepted by co-hosts Martin Despang and DeSoto Brown), to Tim Apicella (host of Rediscovering America) and Wendy Loh (host of Taking Your Health Back) as Outstanding Hosts of the Year, and to the Sidney Stern Memorial Trust (accepted by Saundi Schwartz) as Underwriter of the Year.

Rick Blangiardi, Mayor-elect of the City and County of Honolulu, presented keynote remarks on his election, the selection of his team, and his plans for the City.

The ceremony was recorded and is available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/2ssGmGmVMFA and Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/489706431

ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Hawaii nonprofit digital media corporation founded in 2001 and dedicated to providing a platform for civic engagement for tech, energy, diversification and global awareness in Hawaii.

During 2020, ThinkTech moved to an entirely remote broadcast platform while continuing to stream more than 30 live talk shows a week on thinktechhawaii.com, Vimeo.com and Facebook.com. It also posts its shows on YouTube.com, Twitter.com and Instagram.com, and broadcasts many of them on Olelo 54.

See thinktechhawaii.com.

Mahalo.

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PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, August 26, 2021

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Jay Fidell
ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc.
1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Telephone: 808-780-9254
Email: jay@fidell.com

BROADCAST OF A NEW DOCUMENTARY FILM
“SPIRALING CRISIS: THE ALARMING CONVERGENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND PANDEMICS”

The intersection of these two existential threats is the story told in the new documentary “Spiraling Crisis: the Alarming Convergence of Climate Change and Pandemics — A Postcard from the Future.” This is ThinkTech’s first documentary film, and was produced with funding from VoLo Foundation (see below), many volunteer hours, and footage from Zoom interviews of eight scientists and officials in Hawaii and on the mainland. The film was researched and written by journalist Ken Howe and narrated by our ThinkTech talk show host Tim Apicella.

Each of these threats is an enormous problem by itself. And, although they may seem independent of each other, in fact they are very closely linked by many of the same human causes and consequences – a warming planet, increasing natural disasters, deforestation, factory farming and the ever-closer connection between disease-bearing spillover vectors and humans. In some ways, it doesn’t matter if this virus was leaked from a laboratory. Its true origins – like SARS, HIV/AIDs, MERS and other pandemics – are in the wild, let loose by our destruction of the planet.

This one-hour documentary will premiere for public broadcast on Olelo Community Media Channel 54 starting at 8:00 am on August 29, 2021 and playing again at 2:30 pm on August 30, 2021, at 9:00 am on September 3, 2021 and at 10:00 pm on September 4, 2021.

ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Hawaii nonprofit corporation founded in 2001, now celebrating 20 years, and is dedicated to raising public awareness through civic engagement by citizen journalist hosts on digital media platforms. ThinkTech has produced over 12,000 talk shows and short movies, and streams 30 new live talk shows every week covering a variety of subjects of interest to the Hawaii community. See thinktechhawaii.com.

Thanks for your interest. We hope you will take a look at the film.

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PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, December 5, 2019

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Jay Fidell
Telephone:  808-780-9254
Email:  jmf@thinktechhawaii.com

ThinkTech Hawaii, Inc.
900 Fort Street Mall, Suite 888
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

THINKTECH HAWAII PRESENTS ANNUAL AWARDS, ANNOUNCES THINKTECH 3.0

ThinkTech Hawaii presented six awards at its 2019 Annual Holiday Party and Awards Ceremony at the Laniakea YWCA on December 4.

Community Service awards were presented to Chip Fletcher, Associate Dean and Professor, School of Ocean and Earth Science at UH Manoa, for his work on climate change and his contributions to making Hawaii more sustainable; Robert Pennybacker, Director of Learning Initiatives at PBS Hawaii. for his work on developing the HIKI NO series and his contributions to the education of our kids on digital storytelling; and Mark Recktenwald, Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, for his work on the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission and on raising public confidence in the administration of justice in our state.

ThinkTech Broadcasting Awards were also presented to Yukari Kunisue as Host of the Year, for her work on the “Konnichiwa Hawaii” Japanese-English talk show on ThinkTech; to “Condo Insider” as Show of the Year, created by attorney Jane Sugimura and real estate professional Richard Emery, for its contributions to public awareness on condominium management and operation; and to Hawaiian Electric Company as Underwriter of the Year, for its long-term support and participation in our ThinkTech programming.

Clare Connors, Attorney General of the State of Hawaii presented keynote remarks on the variety of issues she has faced during her first 12 months in office.

ThinkTech also announced plans for its transition to a new model of broadcasting, that is, ThinkTech 3.0, on January 6th. It will be relocating to a more compact studio space in a larger suite of offices at the Finance Factors Building at 1164 Bishop Street.

The new studio will include a television-type background production system, remote video technology, and higher speed broadband provided by ServPac. These changes will allow a more efficient and less costly operation in which ThinkTech plans to expand its streaming schedule to include a broader array of talk show hosts and guests.

ThinkTech streams more than 30 live talk shows a week on thinktechhawaii.com, Dacast.com and Facebook.com. It posts them on youTube.com and iTunes and broadcasts the most popular ones on Olelo 54. See thinktechhawaii.com.

Mahalo.

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