• Failure notice from provider:
    Connection Error:http_request_failed

  • Submission Deadlines

    Advertising

    Thursday 4pm

    November 27, 2025

    Content

    Friday 4pm

    November 28, 2025

    To print on:

    Wednesday

    December 3, 2025

  • Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Google Plus Subscribe via RSS

Community

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

More Restrictions to Come If Cases Keep Rising

Wednesday, August 5th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

With COVID-19 cases soaring in the triple digits statewide, school opening has been delayed, tight restrictions are again being placed on gatherings, and officials warn if case numbers don’t get under control soon, further drastic steps may need to be taken again to curb the virus’ spread.

Last Friday, July 31, marked the third day in a row of more than 100 cases in the state. Last weekend saw lower numbers but health officials say those lags likely represented delays in lab reporting resulting in incomplete data. July 30’s 124 cases included 32 pediatric cases in children ages 18 and under, while 18 of the 123 new cases reported for July 31 were children (individual ages not reported).…

Posted in , , , , , commentsAdd your comment

Public Works Gets New Baseyard

Wednesday, August 5th, 2020

Public Works Gets New Baseyard

By Catherine Cluett Pactol
A long-awaited, new baseyard for the Maui County Highways Division was completed and blessed last week, located in the industrial park area near Maui Electric’s power plant. The $7.7 million building includes a 2,560-square-foot administrative building, a 7,440-square-foot maintenance building, a 3,960-square-foot vehicle storage building and a new garage with pole lifts and an overhead crane from the crane hire in Perth company.
The old Highways baseyard was located in a tsunami inundation zone in Kaunakakai that frequently flooded, and workers operated out of an aging garage and container offices. The new facility is at higher elevation out of the flood zone and will serve as a safe base for Molokai Public Works staff to respond to emergencies.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

Felix John Kehano, Jr.

Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

Felix John Kehano, Jr.

Felix John Kehano, Jr. was born in the morning of March 22, 2005 in Wailuku, Maui.
He spent the first seven years of his life on Maui doing the things he loved to do. Felix loved spending time with his family, riding horses, playing soccer, camping, going to the beach and going holoholo. Felix and his family were heavily plugged into Pukalani Nazarene church while on Maui.

In 2013, Felix and his family relocated to Molokai. Felix enjoyed being a part of the Kualapu’u Robotics team, visiting the Molokai Art Center and doing arts and crafts, working on the homestead with his family, gaming with friends from school and friends afar, helping to restart the Molokai Nazarene church in Kalama’ula, creating on YouTube (dmdgamer_youtuber), hanging out in his Kualapu’u neighborhood, and playing Fortnite (maui_hammah).…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Krazy for Kolea Kontest

Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

Krazy for Kolea Kontest

By Arleone Dibben-Young

It’s time for the 23rd annual Krazy for Kolea Kontest to report the return on the kolea, Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) to Molokai. The bird is revered in Hawaiian mythology as Koleamoku, a messenger of high chiefs, and was considered to be the embodiment of the god of healing. On their northern migration, kolea may have aided ancient navigators with the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. Within a few weeks, the kolea will make a southbound transoceanic migration between breeding grounds in Alaska to wintering locales as far away as
Madagascar. Research using light level dataloggers have tracked kolea at speeds from 36 to118 miles per hour, and with an average flight between Hawaii and Alaska taking 40 hours.…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Flourish Where You’re Planted

Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

By Desirae Mendija

Flourish Where You’re Planted is a new initiative I established through my reign as Mrs. Friendly Isle 2020. The goal of this initiative is to encourage Molokai youth to make the most of their unique talents and chase their dreams no matter how far-fetched it may seem. What better way to do so than to feature past and present community members on the island of Molokai who overcame adversity or defied all odds and made a difference.

Can you think of someone who inspires you or whose story deserves recognition? Nominate a community member today! We will be working with middle through high-school aged students throughout the island to conduct community member spotlight interviews.…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Molokai Votes

Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

By Kathy Kaohu, Maui County Clerk

Aloha Molokai! Vote 2020 is upon us, and while this election season is being rocked by pandemics, hurricanes and the new system of Mail in Voting, Hawaii’s people have the resiliency to overcome any barriers this may have to casting our votes and participating in this ground-breaking election year.

This week’s message is about where we’ve been, and the potential of where we can go. Below are some Molokai specific voting statistics to better understand where we’ve been.

Let’s start by looking at the 2018 Primary numbers in comparison to 2020, beginning with registered Molokai voters by District/Precinct:

District/Precinct Registered
Voters as of 2018 Primary Election Total Active Registered Voters as of 07/17/20* Total Registered Voters as of 07/17/20*
Kilohana 13/05: 647 587 691
Kaunakakai 13/06: 1,992 1,930 2,124
Maunaloa 13/07: 379 376 423
Kualapu 13/08: 1,243 1,176 1,283
Kalaupapa 13/09: 32 28 36
Totals: 4,293 4,097 4,557

*In Hawaii, registered voters who do not participate in voting over two election cycles will not be counted as active voters.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

Douglas Brings Hurricane Warning

Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

Douglas Brings Hurricane Warning

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

The first hurricane of the season, Douglas, brought storm conditions and closures to Molokai as it passed just slightly north of the islands last Sunday.

Hurricane prep for many residents was in full swing over the weekend and by Saturday evening, Rawlins Texaco reported they had sold out of Plus grade gas as well as propane. Long lines for gas and grocery stores extended Saturday evening and into Sunday morning for gas stations.

Young Brothers cancelled their Sunday barge so the next barge this week will be Thursday. Misaki’s closed Sunday rather than holding regular store hours.…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Molokai Votes by Mail

Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Registered voters on Molokai have now received their ballots in their mailboxes, launching a new statewide system of mail-in-only voting. Previously, only one community in the state — on Molokai — had voted solely by mail.

“The year 2000 was the first election year any community went with Elections by mail, Kalaupapa was that first community to go to an all mail election system in the State of Hawaii, and resulted in showing the State that it is a doable system, and showed stats with high percentage rates of “voter turnout,” said Kathy Kaohu, County Clerk for Maui County, whose office is overseeing Elections.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

State’s COVID Cases Set 3-Day Record Highs

Wednesday, July 29th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Last week brought three consecutive days of record-high COVID-19 cases in Hawaii, as of Sunday. July 23 was the highest single-day case count since the beginning of the pandemic with 55 new cases and the 26th death in the state. The next day brought an even higher number at 60 new cases. July 25 continued the streak with 73.

“Some of the cases we’re reporting today are associated with existing clusters, known cases and household spread, but others are new, unassociated cases that indicate increasing community spread,” said State Health Director Dr. Bruce Anderson on Friday. “In contact tracing, we continue to identify cases connected with gatherings or just hanging out with close friends.…

Posted in , , , , commentsAdd your comment

First-Ever Online Robotics Class on Molokai

Thursday, June 4th, 2020

First-Ever Online Robotics Class on Molokai

By Edwin Mendija

During this challenging time of distance/online learning, a group of 10 Molokai students completed the first-ever online robotics class hosted on Molokai. The pilot program took place over the course of six weeks, where students attended class via Zoom and did assignments emailed to them. In the class, students learned about STEM, robotics, how those two subjects are related, and basic coding/programming of a virtual robot. The class directly ties into and prepares students for VEX IQ Robotics Competition — which every elementary and middle school on-island participates in.

The next offering of this course is set to take place in the months of June and July.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment