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Joanne Punu fills in as sole guest on June 19, 1994 after Governor Waihee cancels at the last minute due to a scheduling conflict. Roth and Punu open the call-in hour discussing Pop 94, a community initiative Punu has helped organize to gather candidate questions from the public — the tally already approaching ten thousand submissions — ahead of Hawaii's gubernatorial and legislative races. Punu identifies the economy as Hawaii's primary challenge but frames the concern as job quality rather than unemployment: the tourism and agriculture base produces low-wage work, and graduates face few options in engineering or information industries. She argues for economic diversification and says tourism should no longer be treated as a sacred cow. Roth notes his disappointment at Waihee's absence, citing a recent controversy over a reported 41 percent rise in state-worker headcount. Callers raise education funding cuts at the University of Hawaii, the legislature's rejection of a fixed-rail transit plan, Hawaiian sovereignty, civil rights, term limits, and voter powerlessness. Punu steers each concern toward specific questions candidates should be forced to answer, and promotes the Pop 94 Community Issues Conference planned for July 9 at the East-West Center.
Transcript
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