Author Archives: Bianca Moragne

Hawaii Eye Doctors Offer Training in Myanmar and Vietnam 

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Hawaii Eye Doctors Offer Training in Myanmar and Vietnam 

HEF News Release

Hawaiian Eye Foundation (HEF) conducted an eye surgical training program in Myanmar last month, the first western eye surgical training program in decades, following the country’s recent opening to democracy. A team of nine volunteer ophthalmologists and two support staff, five of whom are from Hawaii, were led by John M. Corboy, M.D. of Molokai, President and Founder of Hawaiian Eye Foundation.

“We are really doing this for the patients of our Burmese and Vietnamese colleagues,” said Corboy, founder of the HEF nonprofit. “They are the ones who benefit from the enhanced skills we impart to their surgeons.”…

Novel Set in Ancient Hawaii

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Novel Set in Ancient Hawaii

Gem Thomas News Release

“Strong Roads: Blues and Greens and Blood”is the title of Gem Thomas’ newest novel. It was written while the author travelled throughout Molokai in 2012. His novel is a creative non-fiction work. The work was inspired by a legend in Hawaii that is centuries old. This is the first novel rooted deep in Hawaiian culture and in addition, uses a new medium to share the story.

It tells the tale of Spanish soldier, Alonso Truylos, who survives a shipwreck by washing ashore the sixteenth-century, Island of Hawaii. Eventually, the character becomes a chief and falls for a higher-classed chiefess.…

Everything Ulu

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Everything Ulu

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

Breadfruit is an important part of an agroforestry system and essential food plants in many Pacific islands. On May 17, a breadfruit workshop held at the UH Maui, Molokai Farm was attended by 46 residents and covered all aspects of ulu from history to growing to tasting.

Dr. Diane Ragone shared decades of work with ulu, starting as a graduate student at UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources studying ulu, and the last 25 years at the Pacific Tropical Botanical Gardens Breadfruit Institute on Kauai. She travelled throughout the Pacific documenting and collecting breadfruit, and with root cuttings of more than 300 varieties, she was able to propagate and grow to maturity over 170 of them established at Kahanu Gardens in Hana.…

MHS Students Receive a Community Supported Scholarship Award

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

MHS Students Receive a Community Supported Scholarship Award

The MOM Hui News Release

Congratulations to this year’s 2014-2015 Ho`ola Hou Community-Based Scholarship recipients at Molokai High School (MHS): Paul Parker, Bernadette Aragon, Xrystina Bicoy, Lahela Tamanaha, William Casil-Dudoit, Kiloaulani Ka`awa-Gonzales and Rizpah Torres-Umi.  Each student will receive an annual scholarship of $1,215 and will be awarded at the Second Annual Grassroots Benefit Concert on Saturday, July 5.

The MOM Hui established this scholarship fund to support MHS senior students who demonstrate a commitment to furthering their education and earn a college degree that focuses on protecting and restoring the health of the environment and human life.  We are very excited that several of the students will be entering the medical field including nursing, midwifery and pediatric neurosurgeon and majoring in agriculture and natural resources and ecosystem science and sustainability.…

Summer Reading and Gardening

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Interval House Molokai News Release

Celebrate Summer Reading and Gardening with Interval House Molokai and the Molokai Public Library!  Join us on Saturday morning, May 31,on the public library grounds from 9:00 a.m. through noon, to launch into fun and enriching summer activities.

Our Molokai High School AmeriCorps members have grown thousands of papaya and veggie seedlings to give away to our community to start home gardens.  Stop by and select from an assortment of papaya, green bean, mustard cabbage, parsley, lettuce, cherry tomato and mint starters, along with flowers to enhance your gardens.  We will be distributing children’s gardening books that highlight where food comes from, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, and how to start gardens in your own backyards.…

Facing Climate Change, Part I

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Emillia Noordhoek

Editor’s Note: Emillia Noordhoek, executive director of Sust`ainable Molokai, traveled to Europe to attend the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year. This is the first in a three-part series about the Panel’s conclusions and how global climate change will affect Molokai and the world.

Climate change is real. Experts predict that oceans will acidify, killing the coral reef and everything that has a shell. This will create global hunger, and be especially devastating for Molokai, where we rely heavily on subsistence fishing. Climate departure will happen sooner in tropics than any place else — as soon as 2020 — manifesting as increased storms, tsunamis and hurricanes, also causing flooding, erosion and runoff.…

Health Ed Series on Molokai

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

County of Maui News Release

The County of Maui is pleased to offer the Better Choices, Better Health (BCBH) workshop series on Molokai for six consecutive Thursdays beginning June 19.

The workshop series will be held 9:30 a.m. to noon at Kulana `Oiwi.

Better Choices, Better Health is an evidence-based educational health aging program created by Stanford University and monitored by the University of Hawaii. BCBH is designed to help people manage their chronic conditions as well as their overall health.

Participants learn how to enhance their overall health through achievable action plans for improving nutrition, exercise, relaxation, communication skills, medication management and more.…

Small Changes for Better Electric Service

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Small Changes for Better Electric Service

At Molokai’s Maui Electric Pala`au Power Plant, there’s a room filled with panels of switches, dials and screens. There, an operator who works 24/7, keeping Molokai’s lights on. There’s a constant hum inside the control room from the plant’s 13 huge diesel generators.

“We’re attuned to this noise,” said electrician Brian Tachibana. “If it changes at all, these guys will pick it up.”

Slight changes in frequency could mean a drop or surge in power, which require minute adjustments in settings by the operator.

They also watch the clocks – not so they can tell when their eight-hour shift is up, but as a way to monitor the frequency being generated.…

Panel Speaks Against Pesticides

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Agriculture in the United States uses millions of pounds of pesticides and herbicides per year. About 80,000,000 pounds of atrazine, a widely used herbicide found in many U.S. water sources, is sprayed on crops annually. At the same time, some male frogs are “feminizing” –producing eggs instead of sperm, and agricultural chemicals are the blame, according to Dr. Tyrone Hayes.

Hayes, University of California Berkeley Professor of Integrative Biology, presented a lecture to address the effects of agricultural chemicals on hormones as part of a five-island speaking tour on Molokai, May 16. Hayes was joined by food advocates Maui District Health Officer Dr.…

Ka Ipu Kukui Program Accepting Applications

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

UH Maui College OCET News Release

The Ka Ipu Kukui Fellows program recently completed its seventh year and is now seeking applicants from Molokai for the 2014-15 session. A Decisions Maui and Focus Maui Nui initiative, the program is a yearlong endeavor designed to promote and train community-identified future leaders of Maui County.

Interested applicants are welcome to talk story with Ka Ipu Kukui Fellows at the Paddler’s Inn on June 3 from 5to 8 p.m.

Since it began seven years ago, 85 fellows have completed the program, including 11 graduates who were honored during a commencement ceremony held on Wednesday, May 7, at the Kahili Golf Course in Waikapu.…