Latest news with #JakeFitisemanu
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Wayfinding Week activities aim to connect Pacific Islanders with their seafaring roots
Pacific Islanders of yore developed elaborate navigational techniques centered on nature, and a week of activities aims to tap into that tradition to connect Pacific Islanders now in Utah with their seafaring roots. Wayfinding Week, the first event of its type in Utah, launched Friday with a presentation on an oral history project focused on Utah's Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. It continues with several events through May 30 that tap into the navigational traditions of Pacific Islander communities and apply the knowledge to modern-day life. Living 'so far inland, we often feel separated from the ocean where our ancestors, language, culture and identities came from,' said Jake Fitisemanu, now living in West Valley City but born in New Zealand and raised in Hawaii. 'A lot of this knowledge is ancient but also so relevant and practical in our modern, urban lives today.' The Samoana Integrated Learning Initiative, founded by Fitisemanu — also a member of the Utah House of Representatives — is the main organizer of Wayfinding Week. It's also sponsored by the University of Utah's Center for Pasifika Indigenous Knowledges, the Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition and other organizations. Next week, varied speakers will offer historical, metaphorical and personal presentations centered on the seafaring traditions of Pacific Islanders, though speakers will also touch on ecological matters. 'Wayfinding is a central core of Pacific Islander cultures reflected today in our languages, proverbs, customs and practices, and even how our families and community organizations are structured,' said Laneta Fitisemanu, Jacob Fitisemanu's sister and another event organizer. The ocean 'connects all of us across the Pacific, and even for those of us born and living in the diaspora, that connection still holds us together and ties us to where we come from.' Pacific Island navigational techniques 'are rooted in stars, winds, ocean currents and ancestral knowledge,' according to a press release for the event, and presenters from Hawaii, Samoa and New Zealand will offer lessons about the traditions. The keynote speaker at a presentation on Tuesday, May 27, 'Voyaging by Land and Sea: Utah Roots and Oceanic Roots,' will be Fani Bruun, captain of Gaualofa, a traditional Samoan ocean voyaging canoe. 'Drawing from her experiences voyaging across Pasifika and beyond, she explores how wayfinding teaches us to live in balance with the ocean and land, reminding us that caring for the earth is inseparable from honoring who we are,' reads a synopsis of the event. Celeste Manuia Haʻo, an educator from Hilo, Hawaii, will offer a talk on Wednesday, May 28, blending 'wayfinding, cultural revitalization and the sacred responsibilities of a taupou living in diaspora into a powerful story of return, resilience and renewal.' A taupou is a type of ceremonial hostess in Samoan culture. An event Thursday, May 29, at Clark Planetarium will feature the Samoan 'star compass' while a storytelling event is set for Friday, May 30. Traditional wayfinding went through a period of decline with the advent of western navigational technology, said Laneta Fitisemanu. But it's now going through a period of revival, in part as a means of asserting the Pacific Islander identity and reconnecting Pacific Islanders living outside the region with traditional culture. Events like Wayfinding Week 'remind them that our people were scientists, mathematicians and engineers and that they, too, can pursue these fields where we still need more representation,' she said. Organizers 'want more islander families in Utah to have similar experiences of reconnecting with the oceanic core of who we are.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Who's watching who? New bill aims to reduce red light violations with proposed pilot program
A new bill that would create a pilot program for red light cameras across the state was introduced in the House on Thursday. HB565 would created a pilot program to set up red light cameras across the state to capture the license plates of those who run red lights. Warnings would be sent out for violations and the program would be used to gather data on red light violations across the state. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Jake Fitisemanu, D-West Valley, worked with agencies across the state such as Utah Department of Transportation, public safety, the UTA Highway Patrol, to come up with this pilot program to help deter drivers in Utah from running red lights. The program would use new technologies to operate as smoothly as possible. Last year at one intersection near Fitisemanu's home in West Valley, there were four people who died as a result of red light crashes. But, he said it's not just a problem in his neighborhood, this is happening all around the state. 'We're trying to change behavior, right? We're not just out here trying to hand out tickets and punish people. So I think we found a way that we can do this in a way that becomes a deterrent. This is going to be based on evidence and data.' Fitisemanu said. The Department of Transportation would identify up to 10 high-risk intersections to install these cameras at, with the necessary signage informing the public of the camera. The pilot program would last a year and people would be issued warnings through the mail for red light violations, the warnings would not include fines or citation and would not go on someone driving record. 'The registered owner of the vehicle would receive a warning that said, Hey, your car was captured going through this intersection illegally. We're letting you know that we're monitoring this and we're studying this situation,' the sponsor said. There is an option for fines for repeat offenders, which is up to the discretion of the person who would be issuing the fine. The maximum amount for the fines would be $130. Fitisemanu added that the purpose of this program is to help gather information to help the state move forward knowing better how to reduce red light incidents. He said there are many stories of people getting injured or killed in red light incidences but being able to back up these stories with hard data will be more powerful. 'If we can back that up with actual data of how many people are running these lights every day? That times of the day are peak violation times? Where are these major violation intersections? How fast are people flying through these? That's going to give us a lot of powerful information to make good decisions, and that's what I'm most excited about this,' Fitisemanu said. The pilot program would not be fully automated. After the photo of someone running a red light is captured, it would go to a police officer to review it and then decide whether or not to send out a warning. 'That allows people to then face an accuser, right? There's an actual human eyes, a human a person with human eyes were reviewing this. It's not an automated system,' Fitisemanu said. The cameras will be taking photos of the back of the vehicle, so it will not capture the faces of people in the car, they are just focusing on the license plate. Fitisemanu said he has worked with the state privacy officer to make sure they can keep all data safe that is gathered through this program. Technology has also improved over the years, which will help this program run more smoothly and accomplish its goals without causing unnecessary problems. 'I hope eventually, the outcome is a reduction or an elimination of people getting hurt and killed because of red light crashes,' Fitisemanu said. 'That's what I would love to see.'
