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Community

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

Molokai Hosts State Paddling Championships

Thursday, August 15th, 2024

This year’s Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (HCRA) state championships were held at Ke’ehi Lagoon on Oahu, Aug. 3, and hosted by the Molokai Canoe Racing Association.

“We would like to send out a huge, heartfelt mahalo to members of both associations that put in endless hours of work to get us here today,” said the Molokai Canoe Racing Association in a statement.

Molokai crews from both Molokai Canoe Club and Wa’akapaemua competed in a wide range of races. The top finishers on the day for Molokai came in the Women’s 70 and up category, where Wa’akapaemua came in third place. Overall, Lanikai took home their fifth straight HCRA state championship.…

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Primary Election Results

Thursday, August 15th, 2024

Saturday, Aug. 10 was primary election day in Hawaii. Residents mailed in and dropped off their ballots to select candidates for each party to represent them in November’s general election. Overall, voter turnout statewide was poor, at just 32 percent. For Molokai, that number was even lower, as just 28 percent of Molokai’s registered voters participated.

In the race for District 7 State Senator, current senator Lynn DeCoite ran unopposed in the Democratic Party, and will face Republican challenger Gabby Macaraeg in the general election.

Current state representative Mahina Poepoe handily defeated challenger Linda Clark by almost 40 percent in the race for the Democratic nomination for the District 13 State Representative seat.…

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Bon Dance Celebrates Heritage, Ancestors

Thursday, August 15th, 2024

Bon Dance Celebrates Heritage, Ancestors

Molokai celebrated its annual Obon Festival in memorable fashion last Saturday, Aug. 10. Many Molokai families clad in yukata, kimono and happi coats descended on the Guzeiji Soto Mission in Kaunakakai for a night of spirited remembrance.

Obon Festival, or Bon, is a Japanese holiday honoring the return of deceased ancestors, which goes back over 100 years in Hawaii. Molokai’s Soto Mission was founded in 1927 and is one of only nine Soto Missions statewide.

After Buddhist services at Kapa’akea Cemetery and the temple, participants gathered in the Soto Mission’s courtyard for the much-anticipated Bon dance. Centered around the yagura, or stage, and beset to music, chanting and taiko drums, the goal of dance is to imagine yourself moving with your ancestors, explained Rev.…

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Molokai Singer Wins Big at Na Hoku Hanohano Awards

Thursday, August 15th, 2024

Molokai Singer Wins Big at Na Hoku Hanohano Awards

Molokai singer Raiatea Helm took home seven victories at the annual Na Hoku Hanohano awards last week, including Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and Hawaiian Language Performance.

Helm’s album, her seventh studio project, is called “A Legacy of Hawaiian String and Song, Volume One” and focuses on more traditional aspects of Hawaiian music.

“This was quite a surprise,” said Helm about the plentitude of awards. “I’m so grateful for the support from my peers.”

For Helm, Hawaiian music, history and identity all are interwoven. This newest album “really highlights a chapter of [Hawaiian] history that I never really knew about,” she said.…

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One Year Later, Molokai Remembers the Maui Fires

Thursday, August 15th, 2024

One Year Later, Molokai Remembers the Maui Fires

Aug. 8 marked one year since the devastating Maui wildfires which destroyed Lahaina, killing 102 people and displacing over 12,000. Molokai was one of the first communities to respond to the disaster, which was the deadliest wildfire in the United States in over 100 years, immediately sending boats laden with supplies. Lahaina and Molokai have been linked communities for generations, with many Molokai community members having families, jobs or even having attended high school in Lahaina. Now, a year later, Molokai residents continue to support the Lahaina community.

The Molokai-based nonprofit Ho’aka Mana has been providing crisis counselors through the Malu I Ka Ulu program to those affected by the fires.…

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Call for Artists

Thursday, August 8th, 2024

Hawaii Craftsmen News Release

A reminder that the registration period for the Hawaii Craftsmen 58th consecutive
annual Statewide Exhibition is upon us! This is an open call to artists residing in Hawaii
for artworks in the categories of clay, fiber, glass, wood, metal, stone, and mixed
media. This exhibition will be juried by Suzanne Isken, former executive director of Craft
Contemporary in Los Angeles. Entries must be registered online at
HawaiiCraftsmen.org between Aug. 1 and Sept. 2.
This statewide exhibition has been held annually since 1967 and features traditional and
contemporary craft from artists across the state of Hawaii. Hawaii Craftsmen’s 2024
juror Suzanne Isken, served as Executive Director of Craft Contemporary in Los
Angeles from 2011 through 2023.…

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Weather Stations Installed in High-Risk Fire Areas

Thursday, August 8th, 2024

Hawaiian Electric News Release

Hawaiian Electric has installed two weather stations on Molokai to provide key information about wind, temperature and humidity to help the company better predict and respond to fire weather conditions.

The project includes the installation of 52 weather stations across Molokai, Maui, Oahu and Hawaii Island. The weather stations, mounted on Hawaiian Electric utility poles, will provide meteorological data that will help the company to decide whether to activate and deactivate a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS. Under the PSPS program, launched July 1, Hawaiian Electric may preemptively shut off power in areas that are at high risk of wildfires during periods of forecasted high winds and dry conditions.…

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Homeowner Assistance Fund expands to $21M

Thursday, August 8th, 2024

Maui County News Release

Even more Molokai homeowners may be eligible for mortgage or other qualified housing expense assistance through the Maui County Homeowner Assistance Fund Program. Homeowners on Maui, Molokai and Lanai who were affected negatively by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for assistance and other resources to help avoid foreclosure.

Eligible homeowners may receive up to $60,000 in assistance through the program’s contracted service provider, Catholic Charities Hawaii (CCH).

The program started in May with an initial allocation of $7 million and recently received an additional $14 million. The additional funding will allow the program to serve between 240 and 570 more homeowners who experienced a financial hardship associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.…

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The Molokai Dispatch Wins 5 Awards

Thursday, August 8th, 2024

The Molokai Dispatch News Release

The Molokai Dispatch is honored to have won five Excellence in Journalism awards for its news coverage in 2023. The awards are held annually by the Society of Professional Journalism (SPJ) Hawaii Chapter and presented in newspaper, TV, radio and magazine categories. This year was the first time that the SPJ has combined all newspapers into the same category, rather than separating weekly and daily papers. Winners for 2023 were announced at an awards dinner last week in Honolulu.
Marissa Motas, the Molokai Dispatch’s graphic designer, was awarded second and third place in the News Page Design category for all newspapers statewide for her layouts of “Makahiki Worth the Wait” and “2023 Year in Review: January – June.”…

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Invasive Species Fishing Tournament

Thursday, August 8th, 2024

Invasive Species Fishing Tournament

The American Fisheries Society (AFS), in partnership with MyCatch by Angler’s Atlas, is hosting a Hawaii invasive species fishing tournament from Aug. 1 to Sept. 14. This is a free event with adult and youth categories and semi-monthly and grand prizes totaling $5,000. Anglers can fish anywhere in Hawaii using any method and are not required to disclose their locations, so your secret spots stay secret.

This tournament specifically targets four non-native species: Roi (Peacock Grouper), Ta’ape (Bluestripe Snapper), To’au (Blacktail Snapper), and Tilapia. Each species will have its own prizes in four categories: longest fish, shortest fish, hidden length, and keiki draws.…

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