Hawaiʻi's Eternal Flame Memorial burns once again
Army removes, reposts website documenting Japanese-American WWII soldiers
On Friday, March 28, the Department of Accounting and General Services announced the flame was temporarily out due to a blocked gas line, something they said is a rare occurrence.
Even though the blocked line did not pose a threat to the public's safety, state officials turned off the gas for the time being.
After further investigation, officials determined that the interior of the copper tubing had flaked off, causing a blockage and preventing gas flow from reaching the burner.Crews from DAGS and Hawai'i Gas Co. worked tirelessly to remove the copper tubing and replace it with a 3/4″ galvanized pipe.
'DAGS credits Hawaiʻi Gas for working quickly alongside our crew to ensure the memorial works properly to best honor the memory of the military service members the flame burns for.'
DAGS Director and Comptroller Keith Regan reminds the public that the Eternal Flame burns in remembrance of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and honors those who lost their lives defending our freedom.
Check out more news from around Hawaii
The sculpture was created by Kaua'i sculptor Bumpei Akaji, a 442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran and is part of the collection of the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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"I think the real issue is not should all kids be required to enter at a particular age," Stipek said. "The real question is how are we creating educational environments to adapt to kids differences when they want in the door." Kindergarten has changed over time. The first year of a child's academic career used to be more play-based, but now there's more of a focus on academics, said Christopher Brown, a professor of early childhood education at the University of Texas at Austin. That's largely because average reading scores have declined and there's more pressure on teachers to make sure kids are ready for assessments. "Elementary schools are worried about test scores and policymakers view it through the lens of academic achievement," he said. Even so, kindergarten teachers have told Brown that kids come into their classes with a range of foundational skills regardless of their ages. 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"Oklahoma, for instance, requires children to enroll in half-day kindergarten in the school year after they turn five (September 1 birthday cutoff), but parents are allowed to delay their child's kindergarten entry by a year at their own discretion by submitting a form," Richard V. Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, wrote in a commentary for the Brookings Institution. For parents who are questioning whether or not to delay their kid's kindergarten start date, Brown said to research what options and type of kindergarten classes their local school offers, to talk to other adults who may know what's best for the child, including a preschool teacher, and to consider those choices early. They should also consider whether or not they have the childcare resources to keep their kids out of kindergarten an extra year. "Then consider, do we think little Johnny's ready for school?" he said. "A lot of parents don't start thinking about it until their kid is four. Be informed, make a decision, and once you make it, support it." Brown said he's personally "always been an advocate that if you feel like they're ready, send them." No matter what parents choose, Brown said parents should be confident about their decision because kids can sense when their parents have doubts about their awareness of their abilities. That can take a toll on their self-esteem and academic and developmental skills. Lilintahl said she wants to avoid future learning setbacks for her daughter. The district tested her 5-year-old daughter on July 29 to determine her readiness for school, and she failed the reading portion of the test, she said. The mother said she'll continue to fight the district's decision, and has expressed her frustration with jurisdiction officials, but she's "lost a lot of trust in the school and principal." First grade isn't an option for their family. "She doesn't know how to read," Lilintahl said. Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@ Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.
