Author Archives: Jessica Ahles

Backyard Fishponds

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Community Contributed

By Joe Kennedy

Tilapia, guppies, mosquito fish, and patties are thriving in my pond. The pond is 44 feet long and 16 feet wide. After being in there for a year and a half, the tilapia are about one pound in weight — and surprisingly beautiful. They’re a kind of flashing gold color with dark orange spots all over their body.

Some of the guppies are flashy also — purple and violet. Several other species of tropical fish are in there also. Even more species could survive in the pond because the tilapia are not eating them.

A small kind of snail is attached to the dead logs and even to some of the aquatic mulch plants.…

Warming up With Winter Sports Continued

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Boys and Girls Basketball

Farmer basketball is back for another season, taking the new year as a shot to improve from the last. At the starting tip off, boys and girls coaches said learning from mistakes, picking up the pace and keeping heads held high along with team focus and determination is key even after the final buzzer sounds. Hiring football muga sports surfaces will contribute to providing an optimal playing ground for the team to exhibit their skills and teamwork.

Boys Basketball
Carl Adolpho Jr. is beginning his first year as head coach for the boys side, however this isn’t his first time on the court.…

Habitat for Humanity Partnering for Solar

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Habitat for Humanity Partnering for Solar

Molokai is making steps towards becoming a clean energy community as 163 homes will be receiving free photovoltaic (PV) solar units while cutting their energy bills in half. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) has granted $32,600 to Molokai’s Habitat for Humanity in support of their partnership with solar company Kala Power Inc. and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL). The deal will combine affordable housing and renewable energy solutions for low-income Native Hawaiian families living on homestead land.

“Electricity is one of the highest costs all Molokai residents and businesses have to contend with so projects to help alleviate the high costs of fuel as reflected in electrical rates is a tremendous positive for Molokai,” said Halealoha Ayau, DHHL’s acting district supervisor for Molokai, via email.…

County Talks Economic Opportunities on Molokai

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Molokai’s entrepreneurs, inventors and creative thinkers sat down with Maui County officials last Thursday to brainstorm new ways the county can improve economic development on the island. Ten representatives from the Maui County Office of Economic Development (OED) flew to Molokai for an all-day session to talk story about diverse resources available to local businesses and how staff can better serve the community.

“There are resources we have available through the county that you may not be aware of,” Jennifer Hawkins, event organizer and small business specialist at the OED’s Kuha`o Business Center, told Molokai participants. “So I just want to connect you and let you become familiar with some of our specialists…and to make sure that when you connect with them you don’t lose that connection.”…

County Seeks Input for Home Biz Bill

Monday, December 16th, 2013

The Maui County Council visited Molokai last month asking for community input for a home-based business bill currently under revision. More than 30 home business owners attended, expressing frustration that they were unaware of the bill’s existence. Council members made special arrangements to come back and talk story with the community about what the bill is about and ask what should be changed for Molokai. Yet, when Council members Don Couch and Stacey Crivello arrived for the scheduled meeting last Tuesday, only one home-based business owner attended.

“I want to hear what [laws] fit for Molokai,” said Crivello. “If one size fits all then so be it, but if it doesn’t, now is the time to tell us.”…

Reef Rules

Monday, December 16th, 2013

State Amends Law Protecting Coral Reefs

Hawaii’s coral reef ecosystems extend more than 5,000 square miles and make up 60 percent of coral reefs in the U.S., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. With today’s global human impacts damaging or threatening 70 percent of the world’s coral reef systems, losing 80 percent of coral species within the Caribbean alone, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources is thinking of new ways to better protect and restore one of Hawaii’s most culturally valued resources.

The DLNR came to Molokai earlier this month as part of a statewide public hearing process, announcing amended Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) relating to the protection of stony coral and live rock.…

HI Boaters Must Complete Boating Education

Monday, December 16th, 2013

DNLR News Release

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is reminding Hawaii boaters they now have less a year’s time to take a boating safety course approved by the National Association of Boating Law Administrators and the State of Hawaii.  Hawaii Administrative Rule 13-244-15.5 requiring operators of motorized vessels in state waters to take a safety course became effective on Nov. 10, 2012.

Enforcement of the new rule will begin on the second anniversary of the rule’s effective date, on Nov. 10, 2014. After that date in 2014, boaters will be required to show proof of successful completion of an approved boating safety course.…

County Boards and Commissions Open for Applications

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Maui County News Release

Applications are now being accepted for County of Maui boards, councils, commissions and committees. Responsibilities include hearing public testimony, reviewing policies and standards and making recommendations. On Molokai, the Molokai Planning Commission has openings and requires applicants.

Positions are appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by the County Council and have terms lasting two to five years. While no monetary compensation is provided for serving on a board or commission, the public’s participation helps provide an important government service. Anyone interested in serving on a Board or Commission may apply online at mauicounty.gov/Boards. The deadline for applications is Dec.…

Help for Sexual Assault

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Child and Family Services News Release

Are you dealing with difficulties due to current or former sex assault or abuse? Help is here. The Molokai Sexual Assault Center provides information and referrals, supportive advocacy, clinical therapy, case management, support groups and other services for youth, survivors, kupuna and children.

Call Child and Family Services at 553-5529. Our office is located at 107 Ala Malama, Room A and B in Kaunakakai. Office walk-ins are welcome. Regular business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed on holidays. Our Sex Assault hotline is open 24 hours a day.

Our hotline offers confidential advocacy support and referrals.…

Hospital Celebrates 50 Years

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Hospital Celebrates 50 Years

A lot has changed in medical services on Molokai since the mid-1900s — a time when it wasn’t unusual to go into the hospital to get your tonsils out and your doctor would have just come from delivering a baby. Hours before that, he would have removed your neighbor’s appendix.

“People used to think, ‘He’s a doctor, he’s supposed to do it all,’” Dr. Paul Stevens, the island’s oldest physician, said in a 2010 interview. Stevens first came to Molokai in 1956, and has practiced medicine here ever since.

Last Saturday, Molokai General Hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary — as well as remembered all the changes in Molokai healthcare over the years.…