Camp He Ola Ke Keiki opens registration for Hawaiʻi youth living with diabetes
Keiki living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes can sign up for Camp He Ola Ke Keiki, a four-day overnight camp for youth ages 8 to 17, which will be from Nov. 8 to 11 at Camp Erdman in Waialua.
American Diabetes Association (ADA) Hawaii and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii are hosting the camp to give keiki with diabetes an opportunity to build confidence managing their diabetes while connecting with peers who understand many of the challenges they face.
Keiki will enjoy traditional camp activities –– a low ropes course, archery, hiking, scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, campfires and a challenge course –– while receiving 24-hour medical supervision from counselors and medical staff trained in the American Diabetes Association’s Standards of Care in Diabetes.
Campers will build confidence and independence through hands-on education in nutrition, exercise, emotional well-being, and blood glucose management.
This year, the American Diabetes Association and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii partnership is offering scholarships and travel assistance for neighbor island families.
“Camp He Ola Ke Keiki gives our keiki with diabetes something they can’t get anywhere else: time surrounded by other kids who understand what it’s like to live with diabetes,” said Naomi Manuel, executive director, American Diabetes Association of Hawaii. “With support from Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, we’re helping remove financial and geographic barriers so more keiki from across all islands can experience this opportunity.”
Financial assistance is available to families who need it, ensuring no child is turned away because of cost. Nearly half of camp families receive some level of financial assistance to help make attendance possible. Travel expenses will also be covered for keiki and a family member traveling from the neighbor islands.
“For a lot of our keiki, camp is the first time they meet another kid with diabetes,” said Dr. Melanie Shim, pediatric endocrinologist at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. “There’s something powerful about being in a place where you don’t have to explain yourself, where checking your blood sugar or wearing a pump is a part of everyday life. That sense of belonging is carried with a child for the rest of their life.”
Kaiser Permanente has supported Camp He Ola Ke Keiki since 2022, connecting eligible patients with the program through its pediatric endocrinologists, who share the opportunity with families in their care.
Registration is now open on a first-come, first-served basis. Families are encouraged to register early to secure a spot. For more information, visit the American Diabetes Association website.
State opens compost reimbursement program
The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity has opened its compost reimbursement program for fiscal year 2027.
The program is open to eligible farmers and landscaping contractors who purchase eligible compost for use in Hawaiʻi. The application period runs from Nov. 2, until May 1, 2027. Applications and requirements can be found online.
Eligible participants can get up to 50% reimbursement of the eligible cost, with a maximum of $50,000 per qualified buyer. The program is offered on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted.
Reimbursement is for eligible compost only; mulch is not allowed. Reimbursements will be made after purchase and approval of the application.
Any questions can be directed to dab.compost@hawaii.gov or at 808-973-9560.
Office of Consumer Protection announces multi-state settlement with General Motors
General Motors will pay $220 million to settle allegations that it illegally sold consumers’ private driver behavior data and location information to third parties.
According ot the settlement, General Motors sold information to including data brokers who then sold the data to insurance companies. For many consumers, this data was used by insurance companies in part to set insurance rates.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Office of Consumer Protection joined a coalition of 36 attorneys general in the case against General Motors and the state will receive $2,861,340 through the settlement.
The settlement requires General Motors to obtain affirmative, express consent from consumers before collecting or disclosing consumer driving and location data.
“Hawaiʻi consumers deserve control over their personal data. This settlement makes clear that companies will be held accountable when they collect and sell driving and location information without a customer’s knowledge or consent,” said Mana Moriarty, executive director of the Office of Consumer Protection.
From 2016 to 2024, General Motors enrolled millions of drivers in its Smart Driver program, which tracked their driving habits. The company pitched this tool for drivers to improve their own driving safety and told drivers that they would not share their data with insurers without express consent.
However, the coalition found that General Motors sold this information to data brokers under contracts that specified the data was to be used for insurance products. The data brokers sold the data to insurance companies, who could then change the driver’s premium based on their driving habits.
General Motors did not disclose to drivers that their data would be sold for this purpose.
Most customers who signed up for Smart Driver did so at the General Motors dealership when they bought their car. It was a one sign-up process for drivers to enroll in Smart Driver along with OnStar services. In many cases, dealership employees allegedly accepted terms and conditions on behalf of customers without their consent.
At the time, General Motors was heavily incentivizing dealerships to sign up as many customers for OnStar as possible. Sales employees received bonuses based in part on how many customers they signed up for General Motor’s connected vehicle services and dealerships were ranked based on their enrollment numbers.
General Motor’s own systems failed to notify drivers about whether their data was being tracked. The OnStar app mistakenly told over 370,000 drivers that they were not enrolled in Smart Driver, when they actually were enrolled and General Motors was collecting and selling their data.
The company later quietly unenrolled these 370,000+ drivers without telling them about the mistake and left their data with the data brokers and insurance companies.
The data General Motors sold was personal, identifiable, and specific. Insurers had data showing how many times a person drove their vehicle, the start and end times of each drive, how many times they braked or accelerated quickly, and whether they went faster than the speed limit.
As documented in the New York Times, insurance companies then used this information to change rates, sometimes increasing their premiums. After the Times reported on these practices, General Motors discontinued the Smart Driver program.
The settlement also requires General Motors to limit the driving data it collects from consumers and protect their personal information going forward, as part of a comprehensive data privacy program. The terms secured by the coalition are significantly stronger than any other resolution reached with General Motors for this conduct, including by mandating internal and external data protection and privacy program assessments.
The company also agreed to oversight and training requirements at its dealerships to protect consumers against being enrolled in data collection schemes without their consent.
