Author Archives: Colleen Uechi

Funding for Futures in Science

Thursday, August 20th, 2015

Monsanto Fund News Release

Monsanto Hawaii Science Education Fund awards grants to public schools serving students at the intermediate, high school and college grade levels on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Molokai. Applications are now being accepted. 

Established in 2005, the Fund helps provide Hawaii public schools with programs, tools, supplies and equipment to enhance science education in the schools, and encourage today’s students to consider a future career in the sciences. To date, the program has awarded more than $195,000 to public schools throughout the state.

Grant applications are accepted and reviewed twice a year.  The next application deadline is Oct.…

Long-Awaited Victory for Veterans Center

Wednesday, August 19th, 2015

Long-Awaited Victory for Veterans Center

Military service members, by nature of the job, often fight for causes they may never live to see achieved.

The group of Molokai war veterans who first envisioned a Veterans Center on island in 2001 couldn’t have imagined the decade-long struggle of permitting delays, protests and a lawsuit that would follow. They couldn’t have known that 63 veterans, including project pioneer Larry Helm, would pass away before the building was completed.

They did, however, believe that Molokai would have a Veterans Center. Last Friday, their dream became a reality, as nearly 200 veterans, community members and elected officials closed an emotional and triumphant journey at the grand opening of Molokai’s Veterans Center.…

Improvements Slated for Cemetery, Water Tank

Wednesday, August 19th, 2015

Improvements Slated for Cemetery, Water Tank

A $1.2 million project to replace a 19,500-gallon steel water tank in Ho`olehua with a sturdier concrete tank is nearing completion. It’s a replacement that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) hopes will provide a better long-term solution for water pressure problems in the area.

Almost two decades ago, a steel tank was installed to help regulate water pressure, after some homeowners complained of weak water flow or overly powerful flow from showers and sinks, said DHHL Molokai Acting District Supervisor Halealoha Ayau.

However, the salty air took its toll on the steel, and the tank sustained damage from residents who sometimes use it for rifle target practice, said Ayau.…

Lavoie Gets Life in Prison for 2013 Murder

Wednesday, August 19th, 2015

A Molokai man who killed his girlfriend with a single gunshot in 2013 was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. Marlin Lavoie, 35, was tried and found guilty of second degree murder in June, and last Thursday, received his sentencing.

On March 20, 2013, Lavoie was looking for his girlfriend of nine years, 24-year-old Malia Kahalewai, at her friend’s apartment in Kawela Barns. The two had separated about a week earlier following domestic violence incidents.

After speaking with Kahalewai, who repeatedly asked him to leave, witnesses said Lavoie went down to his parked car, retrieved a rifle and fired a single shot at her chest.…

Community Resources for Kids with Disabilities

Friday, August 14th, 2015

LDAH News Release

Interactive entertainment, developmental learning activities provided by specialists and early childhood screenings for children ages two through five will highlight the Kid Zone at the 2015 Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii (LDAH) Traveling Mini-Conference (TMC) on Molokai.

The event will be held on Thursday, Aug. 27 at the Molokai Community Health Center from 3 to 7 p.m. and is free and open to all families.

The Molokai TMC is an opportunity for families to learn more about community resources and services available to help their children with or at risk of disabilities. Kid Zone will include age-appropriate activities and comprehensive childcare for siblings so parents of children with disabilities, students with disabilities and educators can attend informational sessions.…

Celebrate Bon Dance This Month

Friday, August 14th, 2015

Guzeiji Soto Mission News Release

Don’t miss out on an unforgettable evening of fun as the community gathers to celebrate and remember our ancestors at Guzeiji Soto Mission of Molokai’s annual Bon Dance celebration. This year’s event will be held on Aug. 29 at Hotel Lane in Kaunakakai, with guest minister Rev. Shuji Komagata and special performances by Somei Taiko.

At 5 p.m. a memorial service for departed ones will be held, and the chicken hekka dinner plate sale begins and booths will open. The Bon Dance will be from 6 to 10 p.m.

Chicken hekka tickets are on aale now for a $10 donation; call 658-0943 for tickets.…

Legal Toolkit for Small Business

Friday, August 14th, 2015

MEDB News Release

Learn more about employment and tax law for small businesses in a free workshop offered by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) next month on Molokai. Called “Legal Toolkit for Small Business: Understanding Employment and Tax Law,” this session on Tuesday, Sept. 1 is part of MEDB’s Technical Assistance Series which was created to help small businesses establish strong systems, processes, tools, and best practices to build a solid foundation for success.

The workshop offers an ideal opportunity for business owners to receive helpful advice from prominent Hawaii attorneys and an accountant, specializing in legal and financial issues facing small business owners, and that’s why business owners should find business accounting firms near me to help them with these issues.…

NextEra’s Commitment to Hawaii

Friday, August 14th, 2015

Community Contributed

Opinion by Eric Gleason, President of NextEra Energy Hawaii

Gov. David Ige’s recent comments raised important questions about our pending merger and Hawaii’s clean energy future, questions that we continue to work diligently and transparently to address. We want to make our position clear and reiterate our full and unequivocal support of the State of Hawaii’s goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. We believe our proposed partnership with Hawaiian Electric provides the best path forward to achieving what is, without question, an aggressive, yet very attainable, goal. Together, we can get there.

The renewable energy law signed by Gov.…

Changing Seasons

Friday, August 14th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, UH CTAHR County Extension Agent

We are in the midst of the Dog Days of summer, which runs July 3 to Aug. 11 and named after the star Sirius or the Dog in the constellation Orion. This is traditionally the hottest weather of the year, and I can’t argue that. Plants can sense subtle changes in day length and temperature in our changing seasons as the days get shorter, and the nights get longer. Long-day plants, such as corn and soybeans bask in the long hot days of summer, while others such as lettuce and kale prefer cooler days and nights.…

Molokai Fitness: Why you should quit drinking soda

Friday, August 14th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

Do you drink soda? If the answer is no, that’s awesome, but if you drink fruit juice, energy drinks or smoothies, there’s actually not much difference between all these. They all have almost equal levels of sugar.

If the answer is yes, then do you drink normal or diet soda? Unfortunately both are pretty much the same when it comes to the damage they do to your body.

I know, sweet, cold drinks are hard to resist, especially with the weather on Molokai like it has been recently, and it’s difficult to quit drinking them. But maybe after reading this article you will think twice before you buy or give them to your kids.…