A Miracle Finish
Kona man pushes through injuries and illness to become an Ironman triathlete
Lifestyle: Kona Coast Magazine
Award-winning writer for Kona Coast City Lifestyle Magazine. Stories feature a person or organization in the Kona community on the Big Island of Hawaii. Winner of the 2024 Article of the Year Award, where my story, Keeping The Past Alive, was chosen among all City Lifestyle publications nationwide.
Keeping The Past Alive
This award-winning article tells the story of a Kona man sharing his knowledge of Hawaiian fishnet making to keep the culture alive for the next generation.
A Big Thanks To Tianna Morimoto
A feature/bio in Kona Coast Magazine after winning the Article of the Year Award at the City Lifestyle conference
Beyond The Crown
The Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Competition helps young women gain life skills and serve their community.
Culture and Community
Leināʻala Kekūhaupiʻo-Fruean is a woman who knows her purpose in life. The mother of three wears many hats as a cultural leader in the Kona community. Yet, what keeps her going through the busy weeks, multiple jobs, and hours of service is knowing that she is fulfilling her destiny: to make West Hawaiʻi a better place.
21st Annual Pat's Run in Tempe
I provided digital coverage for the 21st annual Pat's Run in Tempe, Arizona. The run pays tribute to Pat Tillman and raises money for the Pat Tillman Foundation which helps provide scholarships for service members, veterans and their families. I captured exciting moments to compose a web story with photo and video elements. I also created two reels for the Arizona's Family Instagram account that got a combined total of over 37,500 plays and 1,500 likes.
Web Story On the 21st Annual Pat's Run
Pat's Run Recap Reel
Behind The Scenes Pat's Run Coverage Reel
Photos from Pat's Run 2025 Digital Coverage
Food: Taste of Arizona
My Taste of Arizona articles for Arizona's Family 3TV/CBS5. Taste of Arizona is a segment that highlights a Phoenix-area restaurant or food business. I traveled to the restaurant and used camera and audio equipment to conduct an interview as wel las take photos and videos for broadcast, website and social media publication.
Family-owned restaurant serves tasty, homemade BBQ in Cave Creek
Take a trip to Cave Creek, and you may smell freshly smoked meat at the entrance of the western town. The aroma will soon lead you to Cryin’ Coyote Barbeque, a family-owned restaurant serving tasty BBQ sandwiches, ribs, sauces, and desserts.
Happy Honu Shave Ice brings refreshing, Hawaii-inspired dessert to Peoria
Are you looking for a way to cool down in the summer heat? Happy Honu Shave Ice located in Peoria, is bringing Hawaii-style shave ice and ice cream from Hawaii to the Valley.
Central Phoenix restaurant offers food, flavors and culture of the Philippines
A new restaurant in central Phoenix will make you feel like you have stepped into the Philippines. Tambayan Filipino Food opened last year near 15th Avenue and Camelback Road. The restaurant offers an array of authentic homemade Filipino food, desserts, snacks, and drinks that you can find on the streets of the Philippines.
‘Eat Pizza. Save Puppies:’ Phoenix restaurant serves delicious food for a good cause
”Eat Pizza. Save Puppies.” That’s the mantra at Pizza To the Rescue in central Phoenix. The restaurant, located near 24th Street and Indian School Road, opened in serves delicious Italian food for a good cause.
Arizona Restaurant Week offers culinary experiences for great prices
One of the most delicious times of the year is back! The 2025 Spring Arizona Restaurant Week kicked off on Friday with over 200 restaurants serving special-priced prix-fixe meals! The Arizona Restaurant Association organizes this delicious event twice a year, allowing Arizonans to enjoy a culinary experience across the state!
Goodyear dessert shop puts cool twist on a classic breakfast
A West Valley dessert shop is putting a cool twist on a classic and crunchy breakfast! Cereal Killerz Kitchen opened four years ago in Goodyear near McDowell and Litchfield roads. The shop’s walls are lined with over 100 cereal boxes in popular and rare flavors. Customers can get their favorite cereal drilled into ice cream for a delicious dessert or milkshake.
Arizona owl-themed cafe offers vegan-friendly meals, vintage items for sale
Dozens of owls and vintage decorations adorn cafes in Flagstaff and Phoenix, where customers can order delicious breakfast and lunch like “owlrageous” omelets, hot or cold “owlwiches” or “owlzona” burgers. The Toasted Owl Cafe opened in downtown Flagstaff on the original Route 66 in 2013 after being too busy for their first small location.
Colorful soft-serve and coffee available at trendy central Phoenix ice cream shop
Step through the door of Onyx Ice Cream in central Phoenix, and you’ll see it is not your typical ice cream shop. The walls are lined with neon lights, and 80s-style music can be heard, with song lyrics on the floor. The atmosphere is meant to feel like a lounge, a place to hang out while enjoying homemade, colorful ice cream cones and coffee made with quality ingredients.
Where to find food deals and heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day in Phoenix area
It’s that time of year to express your love, and one way to do so is with food! Whether you’re spending this time with someone special or hanging out with friends, several Valley restaurants are offering deals and heart-shaped pizzas this Valentine’s Day.
Family brings Chicago-style popcorn with variety of flavors to Arizona
January 19 is National Popcorn Day, and one family-owned business is putting a deliciou s twist on a popular snack and sharing it with the Valley.Maddie B’s Chicago Style Popcorn is located in downtown Phoenix near 7th and Roosevelt streets. Michael and Bianca Dodd started Maddie B’s Chicago Style Popcorn in 2021 during the pandemic.
Scottsdale bakery and tea room offers English tea experience with delicious desserts
A tea room in Scottsdale will make you feel like you’ve taken a trip to England. The floral decorations, light music, hot tea and delicious food served on real vintage dishes create the perfect ambiance for a relaxing afternoon with friends and family. Lilibet’s Bakery and English Tea Room is located near Scottsdale and Indian Bend roads.
Pacific Rim brings flavors of Hawaii, aloha spirit to Mesa
Step into Pacific Rim & Bento in Mesa, and you are immediately greeted with a warm smile, aloha, and a menu that will make any former Hawaii resident feel at home. The restaurant, located near Southern Avenue and Dobson Road, brings flavors of the pacific to its food...
French-inspired chocolates, handmade desserts available at Fountain Hills chocolate shop
A Fountain Hills couple has been serving handmade French-inspired chocolates in their community for the past two decades at their shop, Chocofin Chocolatier, which first opened in Fountain Hills in 2001.
Mesa Chinese restaurant serves handmade bao, dumplings and noodles
Happy Bao opened six years ago at the Mekong Plaza in Mesa near Main Street and Dobson Road. The family-owned restaurant serves tasty handmade bao, dumplings, noodles, and traditional Chinese cuisine.
Woman follows passion to open tattoo cafe in Peoria
808 Social Tattoo Cafe in Peoria offers a new way to get tattooed while enjoying delicious coffee drinks and food in a comfortable environment. A single glass wall separates both sides, making it easy for customers to walk between the tattoo shop and the cafe.
Family-owned Italian restaurant offers Phoenix’s longest pizza
Pizza A Metro opened 16 years ago near 23rd Avenue and Thomas Road. The small, family-owned restaurant is home to Phoenix's longest pizza, that is 39 inches long.
Mochidot Donuts brings Japanese-inspired dessert to central Phoenix
A family-owned and Asian-owned dessert shop is bringing sweet and chewy, Japanese-inspired treats to central Phoenix. Mochidot Donuts offers delicious mochi donuts with a texture that’s different from a typical donut you’d find in a local bakery.
Eye-catching Gilbert food business serves flavorful burritos, elote and soft serve
Take a drive through downtown Gilbert, and you may notice a giant gopher with lit-up eyes and a hat on the side of the road. This eye-catching building is not a decoration; it’s Topo, a food business that serves delicious Mexican American food like burritos, elote and soft serve.
Scottsdale ice cream shop offers handmade ice cream with all-natural ingredients
Temperatures are still warm in the Valley, and if you’re looking to cool down, Skoop in Scottsdale ice cream shop offers handmade organic ice cream using all-natural ingredients.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Coverage
One of my goals for 2025 was to create content and provide coverage Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month in May. As someone who belongs to this community, I felt it was important to represent it and highlight some AAPI-owned businesses and organizations doing great things to share their culture with the Phoenix area.
From January to May, I balanced by day-to-day work as a digital content producer while also researching and communicating with AAPI owned businesses to book as weekly segments for Arizona's Family's 3 p.m. newscast for the month of May. This involved going outside of my day to day tasks and work with different departments like TV and art to make these segments come alive. I booked Oaty Bear, the Valley's first AAPI-owned dog boutique, Tamāli’i Polynesian Entertainment, Mochidot Donuts and Pacific Rim and Bento.
I also did a digital project on Mesa's Asian District, highlighting how it came to be, murals that celebrate the different cultures and what it means for Asian business owners in the area to be part of this community.
I am so proud of the work I've done and hope everyone watching and reading were able to learn something new about AAPI businesses in the Valley, as well as feel inspired by the community that's here.
If you'd like to learn more, all of my stories can be found on this webpage: www.AZFamily.com/AAPIMONTH
AAPI Month Stories
Explore my web stories and TV segments for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Pacific Rim celebrates 1 year of sharing food, flavor and aloha with Arizona
A Mesa restaurant celebrated one year of sharing delicious Hawaiian food, flavors of the Pacific and the aloha spirit with Arizona. Blaise and Kanani Aki opened Pacific Rim & Bento in 2024 near Dobson Road and Southern Avenue. The Aki’s have been married for 31 years. They grew up in Hawaii and wanted to share the dishes they enjoyed on the islands and their Hawaiian culture with Arizona.
Dessert shop marks two years of sharing mochi donuts with central Phoenix
A central Phoenix dessert shop continues to share its Japanese-inspired donuts in creative flavors with the Valley! Mochidot Donuts recently celebrated two years on March 25, and their desserts are almost too pretty to eat. The Asian-owned and family-owned business can be found in central Phoenix near 7th Street and Camelback Road.
Polynesian dance school shares culture, music of the Pacific with Arizona
An East Valley Polynesian dance school is sharing the culture and music of the Pacific with Arizona. Tamāli’i Polynesian Entertainment opened in 2015 in Mesa by Dion and Gabrielle Ott. Tamāli’i is Samoan for “high chief” or “royalty,” and the dance school aims to serve the Pacific Island community and perpetuate the culture and diversity of Polynesia with their audiences.
First AAPI-owned dog boutique opens in Tempe with Asian-inspired products for pups
Looking for cute accessories for your pup? The first Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned dog boutique is open in Tempe. Oaty Bear offers Asian-inspired products to keep your dog stylish and happy.
‘A point of pride:’ Asian District Mesa AZ offers food, shopping from different cultures
Take a drive along Dobson Road between Main Street and Broadway Road, and you will see dozens of Asian businesses and restaurants, along with a couple of colorful red, green, and blue signs that say, “Mesa Asian District.” This strip of road is the heart of the district in west Mesa. It includes many Asian cultures that visitors can learn about or even feel at home in.
Murals tell stories, represent cultures of Mesa’s Asian District
Five stunning murals featuring vibrant colors, animals, flowers, and mythical creatures pay tribute to Asian cultures around the Asian District Mesa AZ. Shela Yu is from Mesa and has painted murals for the last five years. Her mural, the Jewel of Balance, is on the south side of the Mekong Plaza building. The mural shows a colorful dragon in Arizona’s desert landscape while paying homage to her Chinese culture.
Small businesses share cultures, make connections in Mesa’s Asian District
Dozens of businesses, including restaurants, dessert shops and stores, fill the Asian District Mesa AZ. The area has grown in recent years, attracting visitors of all ethnicities from around Arizona. Arizona’s Family spoke with two small businesses in the Asian District Mesa AZ about their experience in the area and what it means for them to be part of this community.