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Community

General news which affects the Molokai community in one way or another.

A Year on Molokai

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

As a 74-year-old I treasure the memories of past lives, one of which was a lifetime spent on Molokai in one year. It was 1982 and I had lost my job in Washington state due to an economic downturn. I traveled to Koloa on Kauai and after working and living there for a month, I recalled a friend-of-a-friend had a charter sailboat business on Molokai and said he would take me out, so I took the next plane to the Molokai airport. I remember it was difficult to find a ride to Kaunakakai so thankfully most of my walk was downhill.…

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Search for Gianina Reid

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

By Kimberlyn Scott

My name is Kimberlyn Scott and I advocate for families of the missing since my own pregnant daughter, Charli Scott, went missing seven and half years ago on Maui. It was the community of Maui that searched for Charli and found what was needed to get some answers.

I now am writing to the Molokai community on behalf of the family of Gianina Reid. Gianina has been missing from Molokai since June 24 under disturbing circumstances. Gianina has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder which influences her ability to make rational decisions and impacts her social behavior. Gianina was seen by three witnesses just before she abandoned her vehicle and all her personal belongings in the parking lot of Kalaupapa Lookout.…

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Halawa Surfing

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

Halawa Surfing

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Surfers of all ages caught some late summer swell in Halawa Valley. Pictured here, Dickie Stone rides the whitewash on Aug. 22. …

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Search Planned for Missing Woman

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

A woman who disappeared on Molokai more than two months ago is still missing, and this weekend, Molokai volunteers will gather to search for her.

Gianina Reid, a 25-year-old woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder, abandoned her car and disappeared in the area of the Kalaupapa lookout with no belongings and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Kimberlyn Scott, a Maui resident whose pregnant daughter Charli Scott went missing on Maui seven years ago, now helps organize searches for families whose loved ones are missing. She will be using her experience to help coordinate Molokai residents in a planned search effort Sept.…

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Molokai Death Marks First for COVID

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

Molokai Death Marks First for COVID

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Each year for Valentine’s Day, Pilipo Solatorio of Halawa Valley would write a love letter to his wife, Dianna, in The Molokai Dispatch for their wedding anniversary. Married 58 years, Dianna passed away two weeks ago at Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu after contracting COVID-19. Now, her family is begging the community to take the virus seriously.

“It was devastating. To hear him cry, and for him to look at you and ask, ‘Can I just kiss her one last time?’ and it was hard for me to tell him ‘you can’t, you know, you can’t touch her.’…

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Molokai Drugs Offers Free COVID Testing

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Free COVID-19 testing is now available at Molokai Drugs. With testing now a requirement for non-vaccinated state and county employees and Molokai cases continuing to spike, having greater accessibility to testing is important.

Molokai residents need to pre-register at precentcovidhi.com, as walk-in testing is not available.

“We are offering testing only four days per week (Tuesday through Friday),” Kimberly Svetin shared on social media. “Our supplies are limited so we ask that you cancel if you are sick or cannot make it in for your timeslot.”
Molokai Drugs as a free testing site is being offered through a partnership between Hawaii State Department of Health, National Kidney Foundation, FEMA and Molokai Drugs, Inc.,…

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Fishpond Restoration Workdays

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By Maile Naehu

Spend a day with us in Mana’e with Hui o Kuapa! We are hosting four Community Workdays for the restoration of ʻOhalahala fishpond at Kumimi Beach located after the 20 mile marker, East Molokai. 

Our dates are Saturday, Sept. 4 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 17 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 14 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Lunch and water will be provided. Please bring a water bottle, towel, work and protective gear such as hat, long sleeved rash guard or shirt, longer shorts or leggings, reef shoes or tabis and/or an old pair of shoes, work gloves (we will have some in limited supply), and a light breathable mask. Limited…

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Vaccine Mandate Concerns Voiced

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

A few dozen residents took to sign-holding in Kaunakakai last week to air concerns about recent vaccine mandates imposed on state and county employees, which also includes Dept. of Education teachers, as well as students wanting to participate in school athletics.

The island and state are in the midst of the largest spike in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, causing dire concern to health officials and leading to many workplace vaccine mandates in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. And though strongly urged by many community leaders and officials, getting vaccinated in still a personal choice, and some residents are standing up for the freedom to choose.…

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Residents Sought for Broadband Mapping Project

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

ʻAuamo Collaborative News Release

ʻAuamo Collaborative is hiring short-term data collectors to serve on a community outreach team for its Rural Broadband Mapping Project aimed at discovering broadband capabilities in the rural areas of Molokai, as well as Hawaii Island, Maui, Lanai and Kauai. Team members will be deployed in these regions to monitor quality of Internet coverage, ability to access broadband services, and gauge broadband utility.

“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed poor or non-existent broadband service in Hawaii’s rural areas and we need a better understanding of what connectivity exists in our communities,” said Brad Bennett, founder of ʻAuamo Collaborative. “The lack of access affects a families’ ability to obtain educational opportunities, telehealth services, and government assistance, made even more acute by pandemic restrictions that hinder people’s access to in-person services.”…

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Congressman Kahele Visits Molokai

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

Congressman Kahele Visits Molokai

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Congressman Kaiali’i Kahele spent four days Molokai last week to get a better understand of the challenges and strengths of the community, as the last stop in a district-wide tour. He spoke with sustainability leaders and fishpond restorers, large-scale farmers and backyard gardeners, as well as staff at a variety healthcare organizations on island.
U.S. Rep. Kahele took office on Jan. 3 of this year, representing the second Congressional district, which covers the whole state.

“My first six to nine months in office [I wanted to] get a chance to go to all the different islands to really start to hear what are the community’s concerns and how can my voice at the federal level help answer some of those things,” he said during his Molokai visit, which spanned Monday to Thursday last week.…

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