Announcements

Bettering Business

Monday, May 19th, 2008

Chamber of Commerce facilitates over 200 ID cards and elects new members.

By Brandon Roberts

Sitting quietly behind Molokai businesses is the Chamber of Commerce, which works tirelessly to improve the efficiency of local industry, and save us all some money.

The Chamber’s most recent success enabled individuals to attain Transportation Workers Identification Credentials (TWIC) which allow entry to Kaunakakai wharf for those needing to pick-up or drop-off freight. The identification card will be required no later than April 15, 2009 with the actual date to be determined by the Coast Guard.

Lockheed-Martin, the private contractor hired to process the cards by the Department of Homeland Security, was asked to come to Molokai by the Chamber. The Chamber partnered with the Kahu`o Business Center, and set up a processing tent outside the center’s office.

EC Elections Canceled

Monday, May 19th, 2008

Split vote ends in by-law amendment.

The Molokai Enterprise Community (EC) Board of Directors have officially removed the yearly election process from the nonprofit’s by-laws according to a recent press release.

The vote to change the by-laws was not unanimous; however, EC Board President Stacy Crivello said the majority of board members present at the May 15 meeting supported the change.

The 10-year EC designation sunsets in December of 2008, at which time the organization also known as Ke Aupuni Lokahi, Inc. (KAL) will remain a nonprofit entity.

According to the release, KAL will continue to implement and support the EC Strategic Plan and will meet to develop a transition plan.

For more information contact Stacy Crivello, KAL Board President at 553-8188.

Guest Commentary

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Reprinted with permission by Howard Dicus. The photo inserted by Dispatch Staff.

Mr. Dicus is a seasoned expert in Hawaii business matters.


He was a reporter for the Pacific Business News for several years before joining KGMB Channel 9, where he can be seen on the "Sunrise" morning TV show airing Monday-Friday, 4:30 am-8 am.


Mr Dicus also has a weekly business show on PBS called "Everybody's Business", which can be seen on PBS Fridays at 7:30 pm.

 

A TALE OF TWO SHUTDOWNS

By Howard Dicus

Outrigger is closing a Waikiki hotel, probably for more than a year, to thoroughly renovate it. No one is being laid off.

Molokai Ranch is shutting down and laying off 120 people after seeing it might not win immediate approval to build hundreds of homes on the southwest corner of Molokai, around La’au Point.

What’s the difference between the two companies? The answer turns out not to be financial health, because there is way more wealth behind Molokai Ranch than behind Outrigger.

The difference is that Outrigger is based in Hawaii while the ultimate owner of Molokai Ranch lives in Malaysia.

I’m not saying (the Ranch owner) is some kind of evil guy, only that it’s human nature to care about what happens in your backyard and less about stuff that happens several time zones away from you.

Molokai Ranch is owned by Molokai Properties Limited, and it in turn is owned by GuocoLeisure, an international investment company based in Singapore.

GuocoLeisure’s parent company Guoco Group is traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but its ultimate holding company is Hong Leong Co. of Malaysia.

The top five executives of GuocoLeisure make $500,000 a year or more. Deputy Chairman Philip Burdon is a former New Zealand minister of commerce.

 

 

 

 

Billionaire Quek Leng Chan, Chairman GuocoLeisure.

The man at the top of this empire is Quek Leng Chan, whose net worth, according to Forbes magazine, is $2.9 billion.

Guoco Leisure describes itself as “an active investor with strategic shareholdings and active investment management aimed at extracting and maximizing shareholder value.”

It owns or operates 39 hotels in Britain, owns a resort on Fiji, and has a stake in some oil and gas holdings in Australia.

In 2007 the company made a profit of $13 million, down from $57 million in 2006. It said in its annual report that the Molokai operation would remain cash positive through 2007 through the sale of “non-strategic subdivided land” and the sale of a large agricultural parcel to Monsanto.

The parent of the parent, Hong Leong Group, is one of the largest conglomerates in Malaysia, into construction materials, furniture and newsprint. It owns one of the world’s largest semiconductor subcontract assembly operators. It is the Malaysian maker of Yamaha motorcycles.

My take on the tycoon, based on his own publicity, is that he might easily have bought Molokai Ranch and turned it over to the residents of Molokai as a charitable act if it had occurred to him or been presented to him that way. Instead it was presented as a development investment so he and the rest of the company have been focused on “extracting value.”

There was anguish over the La’au Point proposal even before the opposition to it cost (the community) 120 jobs. Opponents knew all the people who work for the Ranch — everybody knows everybody on Molokai, which has a population of only 7,000. They knew the company wasn’t happy with subsidizing its hotel, golf and ranching operations with land sales.

I’m not sure opponents thought the owners would close everything, even though they threatened to more than once, perhaps believing that no business could be so petulant.

It could. It not only announced full closure (of Ranch operations), it made a point of saying it would padlock the gates, which means it will be limiting access to La’au Point. I’ve walked out to La’au Point and the only reasonable way to get there begins with a drive over roads on Molokai Ranch property.

Outrigger, by contrast, has worked hard through the entire Beach Walk renovation to save as many jobs as possible, and has some very loyal employees as a result.

In fairness, Molokai Ranch employees were loyal, too, working gently but persuasively in the community to argue that 200 homes at La’au Point, coupled with the permanent set-aside of a very large amount of land, would be a better outcome than anything else that might happen.

They failed to persuade the community only because the compromise seemed based on a sense of the inevitability of development and the unavoidable change to way-of-life, and residents just weren’t ready to accept that.

If Quek Leng Chan lived on a beautiful island like Molokai, he might not find it easy to take, either.

 

Molokai Enterprise Community Plans to Cancel Public Elections

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Letting a little “sunshine” in on the sun-setting agency.

By Brandon Roberts

Molokai Enterprise Community (EC) will lose it’s federal funding status later this year on Dec. 24, at which time it will continue on as Ke Aupuni Lokahi (KAL). According EC interim director and president, Stacy Crivello, any remaining grant money will be lost if it is not spent by this date.

In light of the looming deadline, EC interim director and president, Stacy Crivello, is pushing the board of directors to amend the EC by-laws to allow a cancellation publicly held annual elections. Crivello said that it was not the time to bring in new board members when the EC must appropriate and spend its remaining funds.

Eugene Edward Shepherd

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

Eugene Edward Shepherd, Jr., 67, of Ocean View, Hawaii died May 12 at Hilo Medical Center. Born in Wyoming, Eugene was a retired maintenance worker at Kalaupapa Airport on Molokai. He is survived by daughter Aura (Robert Reino Wirkkula) Shepherd of Ocean View, brothers John (Joyce) Shepherd, Darro “Cub” Shepherd, and Jeff Shepherd, and sisters Melody Shepherd and Martha (Wes Stevens) Shepherd. Private services.

Theresa Lopez Motas

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

 

Theresa Lopez Motas, 92, of Maunaloa, Molokai died May 6 at Queen’s Medical Center. Born in Hana, Maui. Theresa is survived by sons, Benjamin Motas and Gil Motas; daughters, Leonora Manangan, Jean Han and Lillian Lee; sister Linda Cortez; 20 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; 19 great-great-grandchildren. Visitation 8:30-11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, at the Lanikeha Recreation Center across from the Hoolehua Fire Station. Service 11:00 a.m. Burial to follow at the Maunaloa Cemetery.


A Tasty Program for Kupuna

Friday, May 16th, 2008

Free Produce for Molokai’s Seniors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new program from Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) provides Molokai seniors with some healthy assistance.

Seniors 60 or older who qualify under federal income guidelines are eligible for $50 coupons good toward the purchase of fresh, locally grown produce at certified Maui County farmers markets.

Beginning May 22, coupons will be available at the MEO Molokai Branch office, for use between June 1 and Sept. 30.

The program provides fresh, nutritious, and locally grown products to eligible seniors, while serving as an economic stimulus by increasing consumption of freshly grown local produce, MEO Executive Director Sandy Baz said.

MEO is coordinating the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, funded with a $274,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Applicants must have an annual income of $22,126 or less, must provide proof of residency and income qualifications and have photo identification.

The state Office of Community Services sets the guidelines for types of produce that can be purchased with the coupons while MEO certifies the farmers markets and stands to accept the coupons. Markets and stands that have been certified are provided signs noting certification.

For information, call the MEO Molokai Branch Office at 553-3216. Growers wishing to have their markets certified should call Zessica Apiki at MEO.

Until We Read Again

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

 

 

 

 





Tulua and Teehani Aivao enjoy their last Read Aloud at Kualapu`u Elementary.

Read Aloud program holds last session of 2008.

By Brandon Roberts

“My kids begged me to bring them,” said Lenora Aivao. “They really look forward to this.” Aivao and her keiki Tulua (8), Teehani (7), and Taoso (18 months) attended four of the six Read Aloud programs held at Kualapu`u Elementary School. “This program has really helped - our family loves to read, and now we read a lot.”

This past Wednesday was the last of the Read Aloud series to be held at Kualapu`u and Maunaloa this year. The program will return next January to the Kilohana and Kaunakakai Elementary Schools. This was also the last session with co-founder and presenter Jed Gaines. Next year, local educator Matt Helm will head up the program.

“Anything positive, I am up for it,” Helm said of Read Aloud, “and what a great way to bring families together.” Helm came to the first session with his family, and has seen a difference in his `ohana. “Look at the statistics, this program works.”

Some families attended all six Read Aloud sessions, like Ronette Castro and her grandsons, Kukahi (10) and Kama`aina (9) Meyers. “The boys have had a lot of improvement in their reading skills, and enjoy it,” Castro said.

The enjoyment factor is tops for the Read Aloud program, which creates an atmosphere where the keiki read for pleasure. “I enjoy reading more and more, and have really gotten interested in books,” said the Meyer’s boys. Kukahi recently read ‘Tiger Rising” which is almost 200 pages long.

Ranch to Abandon Water Operations

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

County will be left responsible with servicing west end users.

By Todd Yamashita and Brandon Roberts

Molokai Ranch will let funding for West Molokai water operations run dry within four to six months, leaving Maui County responsible for operating the abandoned water system, said the new Director for Hawaii State Office of Planning Abbey Mayer during a community meeting last week.

Most of West End’s drinking water comes from the Ranch’s well 17in Kualapu`u, passing through the Molokai Irrigation System (MIS) in Ho`olehua, and on to a treatment plant in Maunaloa. According to Mayer, Molokai Ranch uses several regulated and unregulated subsidiary companies to manage this and all other Ranch water systems.

Molokai’s Own Tellers

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

`Opio travel to Mainland to share Molokai mo`olelo.

By Dispatch Staff

Seven 'O Hina I ka Malama students from Molokai High School traveled to Palm Springs, California to participate as ‘tellers' of their own Hawaiian stories at the 14th annual California Indian Storytellers Association (CISA) Festival. Halelu Sibayan, a junior at MHS, along with classmates, was able to share Molokai mo`olelo at the festival.

On May 5 students visited their Native American peers at the last "Indian Boarding School" of California, Sherman Indian High School, founded in 1901. Sherman students shared various Indian traditions of music/chant, dance, and drumming from throughout the United States.

Participation allowed students to demonstrated mastery in the content areas of language arts (oral communication), fine arts, and social studies. Students will showcase a video of both events and their travel experiences at a Molokai High School 'Ohana Night during the fall semester.

Student travel, lodging, and food were sponsored in part by a 'Aha Hui grant award from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, support from the Queen Lili'uokalani Childrens Center, and the California Indian Storytellers Association.