Community

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

County Passes Ferry Resolution

Wednesday, April 15th, 2015

While the Maui County Council has yet to decide exactly what type of assistance to extend to Molokai’s floundering ferry system, councilmembers are nearly unanimous in their support of the ferry’s operations.

At their April 7 meeting, councilmembers passed a resolution urging Mayor Alan Arakawa to seek a subsidy for the ferry, which the Lahaina Cruise Company (LCC) reports has lost both riders and funds over the past year.

Councilmember Stacy Crivello introduced the resolution, which asked the mayor to propose an amendment to the fiscal year 2015 budget to appropriate $500,000 to the ferry. The money would come from the county’s Economic Development Revolving Fund (EDRF), which, according to the resolution, currently has an estimated balance of $1 million.…

Keeping an Eye Out for Keiki  

Wednesday, April 15th, 2015

Keeping an Eye Out for Keiki   

As Child Abuse Prevention Month began at the Molokai Public Library last week, groups of kids wandered around the lawn with shiny blue pinwheels, chatting and smiling with friends and family. For organizers of the event, it was the kind of childhood they hoped to promote for all island keiki.

About 50 community members gathered at the library to plant pinwheels and flags to raise awareness and promote prevention of child abuse and neglect.

“It’s always fun to be a child,” said Anella Saito-Takabayashi, who works with Catholic Charities Hawaii and the Ho`oikaika Partnership, a coalition of 40 child abuse prevention agencies in Maui County.…

Be Part of the Plan

Sunday, April 12th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Steve Chaikin, Chair, Molokai CPAC

Over the next six months, the Molokai Community Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) will be meeting to recommend revisions to update the Molokai Community Plan. The Plan will then be reviewed by the Molokai Planning Commission and approved by the County Council.  When the process is complete, this plan will provide direction for future growth of our island and identify key actions for county agencies to implement over the next twenty years.  The Maui County Planning Department has a new division specifically tasked with implementing community plans.

All of our meetings are open to the public.…

County Explores Avenues for Ferry Aid

Friday, April 10th, 2015

The Maui County Council is taking the first steps toward addressing the struggling Molokai ferry, which has seen decreases in riders and funds within the past year.

Councilmember Stacy Helm Crivello, who represents Molokai on the nine-person council, introduced a resolution last week urging Mayor Alan Arakawa to seek significant financial support for the Lahaina Cruise Company (LCC), which runs the ferry service between Maui and Molokai.

The resolution requested that the mayor to propose an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget that would appropriate $500,000 to the ferry. The money would come from the county’s Economic Development Revolving Fund (EDRF), which, according to the resolution, currently has an estimated balance of $1 million.…

Ukulele Ohana Molokai Returns

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Fullheart Productions News Release

This coming Memorial Day weekend, May 22-26, the sounds of the happiest instrument on earth will once again fill the lodge at Pu`u O Hoku Ranch as the Ukulele Ohana Molokai workshop and its teacher Lono, return for the fourth year in a row.

The theme this year will be Mele O`o or powerful music.  Participants will be coming from around the world to learn the deep roots of Old Style Hawaiian music with Lono on their ukuleles, and to experience the vibrant community of Molokai. When asked what inspires him to write and teach Lono says, “The line between the past and the present, through our ancestors, prepares us for the future.…

Veterans Corner

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Community Contribute

By Jesse Church

Aloha all my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events. The new Choice Card program has left bad taste in the mouths of many veterans, and they are extremely angered by the situation. The program was supposed to get veterans to see doctors outside the VA. It was designed for veterans in remote areas or facing long wait times to give them a chance to see care providers, but the program is not working as advertised.

Since the VA started mailing out the cards in late October, about half a million veterans have inquired about the program but only around 30,000 have been able to receive private care appointments through the program.…

Workshop for Small Business Owners

Friday, April 10th, 2015

KBC News Release

We, as small business owners, are going to have some of “those days.” What keeps many small business people from succeeding? What are some doubts and limiting beliefs people starting out in business may face?  How “smart” do we have to be to really succeed?

To answer these questions ONABEN — Our Native American Business Network — in partnership with Kuha`o Business Center and MEO Business Development Center will offer a Small Business Workshop for Molokai Business Owners and Entrepreneurs on Tuesday, April 14 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the OHA/DHHL Conference Room at Kulana `Oiwi building D. …

Free Dental Services at Kualapu`u School

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Kualapu`u School News Release

Ho`o Mino`aka means “to create smile,” and the Ho`o Mino`aka Program is coming to Kualapu`u Public Conversion Charter School.  Through a partnership with the Molokai Community Health Center, Na Pu`uwai, UH John A Burns School of Medicine Department of Native Hawaiian Health, and the DentaQuest Foundation, all Kualapu`u School students will be able to have free preventive oral health care.

Treatment includes a dental exam, brushing education, protective sealant, fluoride varnish, and therapeutic fillings (no drillings).  A dentist, dental hygienist, and dental assistant will be on campus during the week of April 13-17. If you need more complex procedures like a full mouth restoration, you may visit a private dental office.…

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

It was time for my evening walk and Bailey accompanied me as is his custom. We walked past the Care Home where a nurse is always on duty to tend to any patient who is in need of care. We passed the Visitors’ Quarters and the Wilcox House, both of which accommodate visitors who come to experience this special settlement for a few days. We passed the Bayiew Home which now serves as offices for some of the National Park personnel as well as sleeping accommodations for others. When we got to the next intersection, we paused at the memorial Celtic Cross erected by the English in 1893 to the memory of Fr.…

Record Roi Round-Up

Wednesday, April 8th, 2015

Record Roi Round-Up

Molokai divers joined forces last month for a cause – to save native fish species by ridding the island of about 1,000 pounds of invasive roi.

“Nowadays everyone is about malama this, malama that. This is really giving back to the reef,” said local diver Dicky Dowling, who organized the second annual Molokai Roi Tournament. “That’s the most invasive species… Somebody gotta do something, you cannot just stand on the side.”

In the 1950s, the Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife introduced roi as a game fish for food. However, they have now overtaken the reef and prey on native reef fish.…