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Community

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

Filing for Federal Business Funding

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

By Phil Pendergraft, President, The Molokai Dispatch

Last Friday, just after 10 a.m., The Molokai Dispatch filed its application for assistance under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act. The filing was accepted by the Bank of Hawaii and assigned a reference number. We learned some things through the application process we think might be helpful for fellow Molokai businesses.

The PPP is designed to provide assistance to small businesses, generally defined as having less than five hundred employees, in meeting payroll and other key costs through this diffi-cult time. If a business keeps its staff through the eight weeks following the loan, then the amount of the payroll costs during this period will be forgiven and the loan balance re-duced.…

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Micro Business Loan Program

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Mayor Michael Victorino announced the launch of the Micro Business Loan Program to help business owners impacted by COVID-19 on Molokai, Lanai and Maui.

The County of Maui is committing $1 million for the program, which will be administered by the Maui Chamber of Commerce, to support economic viability.

“This loan program is designed to help our smallest businesses applying for a loan online with 10 or fewer employees,” Mayor Michael Victorino said. “We are so grateful to all those who are supporting the health of our people by staying at home. Through this partnership with the Chamber of Commerce we can help them cover their finances during this difficult time.”…

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Small Business Assistance on MEDB Website

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Federal programs for small businesses on Molokai as well as step-by-step instructions on how to apply for assistance due to impacts from COVID-19 are available on Maui Economic Development Board Inc.’s (MEDB) website at medb.org.

The information and assistance is part of a joint effort between the County of Maui, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and MEDB.

“We’re trying to stay up-to-date with the federal legislation and programs so we can continue to help our local businesses,” said Leslie Wilkins, President and CEO of MEDB. “We have a dedicated team, led by Business Development Director Gerry Smith, answering questions and will be updating our website with more resources and information.…

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Library Offers Free Film Streaming

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

HSPLS News Release

Even though the Molokai Public Library is currently closed, you can still enjoy the benefits. The popular on-demand film streaming service Kanopy is now available for free until April 30 to all Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) library card holders. Library card holders can sign up to start streaming films by visiting ibrarieshawaii.kanopy.com. Films can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android or Roku.

Offering what the New York Times calls “a garden of cinematic delights,” Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films.…

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Hawaii Emergency Laulima Partnership Applications

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Applications are now being accepted for financial assistance though the Hawaii Emergency Laulima Partnership (H.E.L.P.) program. The County of Maui allocated $2 million in general funds to the program to assist families with members who have lost jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The H.E.L.P. program offers financial assistance for Maui County residents with essential needs such as food, personal hygiene, medicine, rent, mortgage, utility services, phone or internet services, car payments, and other necessities.

The program is being administered through a partnership with Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. (MEO).

“The health and well-being of our residents are our top priority,” Mayor Michael Victorino said.…

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Maui County Updating Hazard Mitigation Plan

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Molokai residents are being asked to help find solutions to problems associated with natural hazards by participating in hazard mitigation. One way is to fill out the Public Mitigation Planning Survey at surveymonkey.com/r/mitigatemaui.

The survey is part of the Maui Emergency Management Agency’s work to develop an update to the County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. It addresses threats such as wildfires, significant beach erosion and highway rockslides and now includes the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health threat.

The plan looks at how the County can lessen the impact of natural hazards such as wildfires, tropical storms and erosion on all three islands.…

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MFD Announces Promotions

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

MFD News Release

Fire Chief David Thyne and the rest of the Maui Fire Department are proud to announce the following promotions: Jorgen Ka’ohele Busby, Jeremy Javier, Maroe Smith, Modesto Jacinto Jr, Michael Mullalley, Jeffrey Robson and Michael Howe have all been promoted to Fire Captain. Michael Gormley has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
Jorgen Ka’ohele Busby joined the Maui Fire Department in 1999. He has worked as a Fire Fighter I in Ho’olehua, Molokai. Following his promotion to Fire Fighter III in 2014, he worked out of the stations in Kaunakakai and Ho’olehua. With his promotion to Captain, Busby will return to Ho’olehua.…

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Cancelled Molokai Earth Day

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

By Edwin T. Misaki, TNC Director of Molokai Programs

Aloha and I hope you are all doing well during this pandemic. Like most events that will bring together lots of people, the 2020 Molokai Earth Day has been cancelled. The theme for this year is, “‘A‘ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia, No task is too big when done together by all.” The theme honors the watershed partnerships in Hawaii and is the 20th anniversary of the formation of the East Molokai Watershed Partnership (EMoWP). It also emphasizes how anything is possible when we all work together as we are doing now during these times of the COVID-19 epidemic.…

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Island-Wide Sanitation Effort

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

Island-Wide Sanitation Effort

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Dozens of Molokai businesses got sanitized last Sunday following the news of two COVID-19 positive cases on the island. In a joint effort coordinated between Mayor Michael Victorino, Rep. Lynn DeCoite, Sen. Kalani English and the Molokai Chamber of Commerce, Honolulu company H2O Process came to Molokai to sanitize about 30 businesses, including banks, hardware stores, groceries and convenience stores across the island, from Mana’e Goods and Grindz to Ho’olehua Credit Union.

Friendly Market Center, along with Misaki’s and Kualapu’u Market, were sanitized on Friday.

“We’re just doing the best we can to facilitate as safe a community as possible,” said Rob Stephenson, president of the Molokai Chamber of Commerce.…

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We’re In This Together: Dispatch makes some changes

Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

The last month has been a roller coaster ride for our community. If there’s one thing we’ve all been reminded of, it’s that we’re in it together. We work together, we thrive together, we struggle together. The Molokai Dispatch feels those ups and downs too, and through it all, we’ll continue to bring you Molokai’s critical news each week.

As small businesses around us on island are closing, our staff is committed to continued service to keep our community informed. We’ve learned that other newspapers in Hawaii (and across the country) are having to do layoffs right now.…

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