Community

Ualapu’e Homestead Project Proposed

Friday, November 4th, 2022

By Jack Kiyonaga, Community Reporter 

Molokai residents on the Department of Hawaiian Home Land’s (DHHL)’s decades-long waitlist have hope in a proposed new homestead development on Molokai’s East end. However, some feel the suggested Ualapu’e Kuleana Homestead Project poses many challenges that might not be worth the wait. 

The Oct. 20 meeting at the Kilohana Rec Center was the third community meeting for the project and first since April 2022. It was an opportunity for DHHL to share results from a land and resource evaluation analysis. For Molokai residents, it was a chance to voice their mana’o on the project. 

The Kuleana Homestead Program is an “alternative to traditional DHHL homestead, whereby beneficiaries are given the opportunity to lease un-improved, off-grid homestead lots,” per the DHHL website for the project. …

Billion Dollar Budget Discussions

Friday, November 4th, 2022

By Jack Kiyonaga, Community Reporter 

For the first time, Maui County’s fiscal year budget will run over $1 billion. What does this mean for Molokai? 

For the 2023 fiscal year, which goes into effect July 1, 2022, key investments are slated for Molokai’s community and infrastructure. The Puko’o fire station, Molokai Rural Health Community Association and Molokai High School Robotics Club are highlighted as areas of specific investment. 

However, hopes for relocating the Molokai Police Station, which is currently located in an aging building in a flood zone, have yet to be realized. 

The police department has looked at a couple sites and plans to “talk with the county to see what is feasible,” according to Molokai Police Captain Jamie Winfrey.  …