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Author Archives: Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai Breakdown for 2026 County Budget

Thursday, May 1st, 2025

Molokai Breakdown for 2026 County Budget

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

The mayor’s proposed budget for Maui County in fiscal year 2026 clocks in at over $1.512 billion, up from $1.3 billion last year. For Molokai, millions of dollars have been designated for proposed projects.

The Maui County Council gathered with Molokai residents on April 11 to hear testimony and petitions regarding the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. The annual meeting is one of the only times the county council comes in force to Molokai, so many residents took the opportunity to hear overviews of county projects on island and voice their opinions.

“The purpose of having the community hearing is to hear directly from the community what the priorities are,” explained Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Molokai’s representative to the Maui County Council.…

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DOGE Hits Molokai Cultural Programs

Thursday, May 1st, 2025

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

The long arm of the nascent U. S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reached the shores of Molokai in early April. Massive funding cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) resulted in a cancellation of grants for the Hawaii Council for the Humanities, which has funded many projects on Molokai.

The cuts to the Hawaii Council for the Humanities amounted to over $1.5 million, explained executive director Aiko Yamashiro. The money would have been used for projects in 2026-2027.

“It’s definitely not good,” said Yamashiro. “We have a lot of questions and no clear answers.”…

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Action Packed MIL Weekend

Thursday, May 1st, 2025

Action Packed MIL Weekend

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

This past week, Molokai High School (MHS) competed in several Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) Division II finals. In close matches, the Farmers fell just short of the MIL crown in several sports.

For boys volleyball, the Farmers hosted the MIL tournament at home. The Farmers came out strong against Lanai on Thursday, sending the Pine Lads home early with a 3-1 victory. The boys matched up against Seabury Hall for the final. In one of their strongest performances of the season, the Farmers pushed Seabury Hall to a fifth set, but ultimately lost 3-2, finishing as runners up in the MIL tournament.…

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Lynn Karakawa Kahalewai

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

Lynn Karakawa Kahalewai

Lynn Karakawa Kahalewai, 81, of Wailuku, passed away peacefully on March 12, 2025, at Hospice Maui Hale. Born on Nov. 1, 1943, in Paia, Lynn dedicated her life to educating keiki at Kaunakakai Elementary, Kualapu’u Elementary, Waihee Elementary, Wailuku Elementary, Lihikai Elementary, and many other Maui elementary schools.

She leaves behind her sons Reynold (Davlynn) Kahalewai and Leyton (Shaila) Kahalewai; daughters Edlyn (Eddie Jr.) Carvalho, Edwyna (Kai) Tancayo; sisters Gladys O’Connor, Jennie Sniegowski, and Trudy Fujioka; 11 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, a godson Kahinau, four fur babies and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins. Lynn was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Edward Kahalewai, parents Hajime and Hisano Karakawa, and brothers Robert Karakawa and Stanley Karakawa.…

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April Golf Ace

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

April Golf Ace

Community Contributed

By Rick Schonely 

Henrietta Helm is the April Golf Ace for the Hui O Kukui Golf Club. Helm, a retired MPD Dispatch supervisor and a golf enthusiast extraordinaire, shot 42-45 for a gross total of 87. With her 22 handicap, her 65 net got her the victory. Congratulations Etta!

The Hui O Kukui Golf Club would like to thank the staff and management of iconic Ironwood Hills Golf Course for perpetuating the game of golf on Molokai.…

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DOH Awards Local Hui Medial Air Transport Award

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

Hawaii State Dept. of Health News Release

The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) has issued notices of award for the Essential Rural Medical Air Transport (ERMAT) Pilot Program to Pulama Ka Heke, a Molokai-based nonprofit healthcare hui, and to a partnership between Pulama Ka Heke and Lanai Kina‘ole, a home healthcare agency, for the island of Lanai.

The ERMAT program will support transportation to receive scheduled healthcare services not available on Molokai and Lanai. This program does not include air ambulance, in which an individual needs to receive medical care during transport.

Residents of both Molokai and Lanai often need to travel off their home island to receive essential healthcare services yet may frequently experience delays, cancellations and groundings — leaving residents stranded on other islands or missing critical medical appointments.…

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Media-Focused Career Training for Molokai Youth

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

Hokulani Children’s Theater of Molokai News Release

After two successful years of offering free performing arts education and staging eight beloved community performances, Hokulani Children’s Theatre of Molokai (CTOM) is taking a bold and exciting next step. Our mission has always been to nurture creativity, confidence, and community in our keiki—and now, we’re expanding that vision by building real-world career pathways in media and the performing arts.
Thanks to growing support and grant funding, Hokulani CTOM is launching professional media production training right here on Molokai. This shift is more than just a program change—it’s a transformation in how we prepare our youth for thriving futures in the arts.…

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‘Ainapa‘a Wrestling Team Tournament

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

‘Ainapa‘a Wrestling Team Tournament

‘Ainapa‘a Wrestling Team News Release
On behalf of the ‘Ainapa‘a Wrestling Team (AWT) ‘ohana, we would like to extend our deepest mahalo to the Molokai community for helping to create such a successful and memorable wrestling tournament experience. As the first wrestling tournament ever held at the Kaunakakai County Gym, it was a true honor to be a part of this milestone. We are proud to have showcased the sport of wrestling and contribute to its growth here on Molokai. Your support, hospitality, and aloha made all the difference, and we are filled with gratitude.
Until next time, AWT will continue to travel to Maui to compete in more Maui style wrestling tournaments, as well as participating in Hawaii Federation USA Wrestling events on Oahu.…

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Touch-a-Truck

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

Touch-a-Truck

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Kids love trucks.

“I think it’s the infatuation with trucks being so big, with the noises, the sounds” said Chanelle Beruan, general manager at Makoa Trucking.

On March 28, Makoa Trucking invited Na Kamali’i Hoaloha preschool to the inaugural Touch-a-Truck event at the Makoa baseyard near the Kaunakakai Wharf. Students in the class got to meet with Makoa truck drivers, beep the horns and check out a variety of equipment from refrigerated containers to flatbeds to forklifts.

Mostly though, the kids were just excited to see the huge machines, explained Beruan.

“Some [of the kids] were just in awe,” she said.…

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Building Holua to ‘Ride in the Footsteps of the Ancestors’

Thursday, April 24th, 2025

Building Holua to ‘Ride in the Footsteps of the Ancestors’

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai residents gathered around as cultural practitioners and educators Mahi La Pierre and ‘Iliahi Doo unfurled a long roll of brown paper covered with sketches, names and dimensions. It’s a road map to building holua — ancient Hawaiian wooden sleds.
“These days are going to be like, laugh, cry, everything, and just pouring our time and energy into these things that our kupuna rode,” La Pierre told the Molokai participants of a three-day holua workshop.
La Pierre and Doo, of Oahu, visited the island last month to share their love and knowledge of holua. It was a sport of the akua and ali’i, in which brave kane and wahine rode narrow sleds that were between 7 and 18 feet in length, down a mountain track at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.…

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