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Protesters and Community Members to Return to La`au Point

Thursday, August 30th, 2007

area.”

Hikers are advised to bring their own food, water and sunscreen for the round trip walk. The hike is about 3 miles (90 minutes) each way.

La`au Point, a pristine stretch of land on the southwest corner of the island, is currently the site of a proposed 200-lot luxury subdivision. Molokai Ranch, also known as Molokai Properties Ltd, has said their development package comes with several incentives for the community including an offer to preserve nearly 55,000 acres of land in the form of a community-based land trust. The package also includes a promise to redevelop the now defunct Kaluakoi hotel.

But opponents, who include a broad range of community members, are rejecting the deal. They are questioning the legitimacy of the land trust as well as citing the islands lack of water, and Molokai Ranch’s long list of development failures.

Posted in Announcements, La`au Point

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“Wanna be Hawaiian”

Thursday, August 30th, 2007

I have a favorite picture on the living room wall of our house. It’s actually a photocopy from a magazine of a rare portrait done by Herb Kane in which he depicts Kamehameha on his death bed holding both hands out to his beloved and aged haole friend John Young. In this portrait John Young is dressed in western style clothes, however he is sitting in a uniquely Hawaiian style displaying humility and reverence to his king and dear friend. The portrait gives evidence of two warriors who have faced death and life together. The deep sense of aloha that is portrayed between these two men is impossible to ignore.

While the history of Hawaii is full of stories of the treachery of American and European Business men and of the manipulation and steeling of lands from the descendants of missionary families, history fails to recognize the many haoles and other foreigners who became a part of Hawaii, who spoke the language, and lived the culture. Some were maka‘āinana and some ‘ali‘i. This is what made Hawaiian culture so unique. The culture of this ‘āina was not exclusive. It’s arms were open wide to the stranger. Everyone was taken care of.

Posted in Letters

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Molokai Hunters to Protest Nature Conservancy at Honolulu Gun Show

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

The Molokai Hunters Association will be protesting the Nature Conservancy (N/C) on Sat. Sept. 1^st, starting at 9:30am. The protest will be at the Neal Blasdell Center during the Hawaii Historic Arms Association GREAT GUNS Gun Show.

The Molokai Hunters Association (MHA) is trying to avoid a dangerous confrontation with the private New Zealand Pro Hunt group, which N/C has hired to manage the wild life on Molokai. N/C and Pro Hunt will implement a new management plan of our forest with no community participation and input. Instead N/C has conducted numerous secret meetings.

Posted in Announcements, Political

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Governor Lingle Releases Funds for Kalaupapa Harbor Facility Repairs

Friday, August 24th, 2007

HONOLULU – Emergency repairs to the bulkhead wall at the Kalaupapa Harbor facility on Moloka‘i began earlier this month as the first phase of improvements to the harbor. Governor Linda Lingle has released $595,000 for these repairs.

The Department of Health (DOH), which oversees medical and facility operations at the Kalaupapa Settlement, found that the deterioration of the wall was accelerating and it may not survive another season of winter waves. The wall protects a historic warehouse located at the edge of the harbor.

The Kalaupapa Harbor was built in 1967 by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Forty-one DOH employees, 30 Kalaupapa residents, 42 National Park Service employees and three state Department of Transportation employees who live in Kalaupapa rely on the delivery of supplies, including gasoline, heavy equipment, motor vehicles, bulk supplies and general merchandise that are shipped twice a year to the settlement.

“Kalaupapa is not only home to 30 residents, but also serves as a place for educating residents and visitors,” said Governor Lingle. “Repairing the bulkhead wall will ensure that crucial deliveries can continue to the Kalaupapa Settlement, one of the most important cultural and historic sites in our state.”

Construction is scheduled to be completed in September 2007.

Posted in News Releases

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Molokai Mission School Kick Starts School Year

Friday, August 24th, 2007

Summer vacation is over and students will begin classes at Molokai Mission School on Monday, Aug. 20. The school has integrated some new curriculum and is planning on participating in field trips as well as volunteering for community projects. Teacher Krista Hightower is looking forward to a good school year with many happy experiences.

Molokai Mission School has also announced that there are still openings available for students in grades 1-8. The Seventh-day Adventist church family works together with the school on the “harmonious development of the physical, mental and spiritual powers” for each child. The students who are non-Seventh-day Adventist are still invited to join the school. The school’s favorable classroom size provides better personalized instruction, which cultivates high expectations and a culture of lifelong learning. For more information please call 553-4441.

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New Restrictions for Upcoming Lobster Season

Friday, August 24th, 2007

In a week, the annual lobster season will begin (September 1) triggering a stampede to catch these crustaceans. This season, fisherman should be aware of a new law which adds restrictions to taking lobster.

On May 6, 2006 Governor Linda Lingle signed into law a bill introduced by Senator Clayton Hee which prohibits the taking or killing of female spiny lobster (to also include female Samoan crab and Kona crab). Therefore, upon the opening of the lobster season on Saturday, September 1, 2007 Molokai fishermen are required to release all wahine lobsters caught in their nets. For better or worse possession of any female lobster whether dead or alive is now a violation, and hereafter anyone possessing female lobsters will be prosecuted by Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE).

There are two easy ways to distinguish between male and female lobsters. The easiest way is to examine the tips of the fifth pair of walking legs. The fifth pair of walking legs are those closet to the tail. The tips of the male lobster’s fifth walking legs are pointed. The tips of the female lobster’s fifth walking legs are split to form a claw or pincher.

Another way to distinguish between wahine and kane lobsters is to examine the “swimmerets” under the tail section. Female swimmerets are much larger than those found on male lobsters. Additionally, there is a chance that eggs may be attached under the female lobster’s swimmerets. Please see the illustrations below:

DETERMINING SEX:

Male (top): swimmerets on underside of “tail” (abdomen) each have a single leaf-like segment; end of fifth (last) pair of walking legs similar to other walking legs and not

claw-shaped.

Female (bottom): swimmerets each have two branches – in first set both are leaf-like branches, all others have one leaf-like and one rod-like branches; swimmerets usually larger than on males; end of fifth pair of walking legs claw-shaped (pincher like).

TAKING OF FEMALES PROHIBITED.

Posted in Sports

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An End of the Year Look into Molokai’s 4-H Club

Thursday, August 23rd, 2007

It has been a busy year for our 4-H participants but as usual, a year’s worth of learning, experiencing and giving back to the community. By the way a little background on what 4-H stands for: Head, Heart, Hands and Health; Head for clearer thinking, Heart for greater loyalty, Hands for larger service and Health for better living…for our community, our country and our world.

-->Reserve Champion: Kaulu Apuna

This year we have 3 seniors that graduated from Molokai High and have completed their time as a 4-Her; they will be moving on to further their education at different colleges. They are Deisha Pico, Charles Frank “CJ” Borden and Reggie Villa. The 4-H Council and Livestock Committees have presented scholarships of $250 per person once they finished their 4-H Learning Experience essay on banquet night. It was quite interesting to hear what they learned and thought about the program as a whole. Best of luck in your future endeavors and you will surely be missed!

Posted in Sports

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Molokai Landfill Editorial Cartoon

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

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Corporate vs. Indigenous Motives

Monday, August 6th, 2007

Dear Editor, Regarding the La`au point dispute there’s a lot of debate, information, misinformation, speculation, guessing, theorizing, argument, and probably some downright lies. It’s exhausting and confusing. As an experiment I tried a different approach. I tried looking at it in its most fundamental form, free of all details. I asked myself, in whose hands would I like to see Molokai’s future shaped. Would I like to see the destiny of this island decided by a group of people who are motivated by the quest for profit and who view the island as a resource to be exploited? Or, on the other hand, would I like to see it formed by those who wish to preserve its sacred and special nature, by people who regard it as a gift to be respected?

Posted in La`au Point

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