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Community

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

Lei Hali’a O Kalaupapa

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

Community Contributed

I was a little tardy getting into the Paddy Wagon because I had been trying to choose which of two shirts to wear to the occasion this morning. Had I been married, that decision would surely have been made last night…at the very latest. Anyway, I opted for the shirt with the red branches, set on a white background. I figured this was acceptable on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

When I arrived at the designated location in Papaloa Cemetery, a large number of Kalaupapa residents, patients and workers as well as visitors had assembled around a canopy which sheltered tables of flowers and tea-leaf lei.…

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Tree Butchering

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

God did not prepare me for what I saw as I walked to my once beautiful country road in Ho’olehua this morning. All the Koa trees cut down, strewn across the road like dead soldiers lined up in a trench. 

I had agreed, against my will, to let them trim the roads because they felt in case of emergency, some of the overhanging branches might be low. But what constitutes what they considered trimming? Butchering is a better word for what the county did. I am in shock and will be in shock till I die having to drive on my road, every day, 365 days a year and remember what the county left me. …

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Conrad Areola Ruiz

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

Conrad Areola Ruiz, 80, of Kualapuu, Molokai, Hawaii passed away on May 26, 2023 in Aurora, Colorado. He was born in Rimos #4, Luna LaUnion, Philippines and was a farmer. He is survived by his wife Maria Ruiz; daughter Maybelinda (Grant); granddaughters Darianne, Denichel and Holly; great-granddaughter Raelyann; and siblings Jovencio (Victoria), Orlino (Evelyn), Randy (Elma) and Arthur (Ofelia). 

Services will be held on Oahu at Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary Visitation on Friday, July 14, 2023 with visitation from 5 to 6 p.m., and service at 6 p.m. Shipping out to the Philippines for a second service and burial to follow in Luna Memorial Park in Luna, LaUnion, Philippines.…

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Free County Movie Nights This Month

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

Maui County News Release 

To celebrate national Parks and Recreation Month in July, the County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation will be offering free, family-friendly events on Maui, Molokai and Lanai that include outdoor movies and activities.

Movie nights will be held Fridays. For details on each showing, including movie titles, visit the County of Maui homepage, mauicounty.gov. For Molokai, movies start at 7 p.m. and will be held at the following community centers: Kualapuʻu on July 7; Mitchell Pauole on July 14; Maunaloa on July 21; and Kilohana on July 28.

National Parks and Recreation Month is an initiative of the National Recreation and Parks Association that promotes building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through parks and recreation.…

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Ho’ahu Awarded Energy Grant

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

Ho’ahu Energy Cooperation Molokai (HECM) was one of four organizations nation-wide to receive funding under the Energy Storage for Social Equity (ES4SE) Initiative. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) funding will assist Ho’ahu deploying residential islanded solar and battery storage nano-grids to 15 households in the Molokai community. ES4SE will support a BESS, inverter and controls, remote monitoring equipment, and look at ways to partner with HECM’s workforce development program.

ES4SE is designed to empower disadvantaged communities to consider energy storage technologies as a viable path toward achieving their energy goals.

“These organizations are fully engaged with ES4SE to find energy storage solutions in their communities,” said Gene Rodrigues, assistant secretary for electricity.…

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Canoe Races Return

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023

Canoe Races Return

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

After a four-year break during the pandemic, the famed Molokai Hoe and Na Wahine O Ke Kai paddling races are back on. There’s both excitement among paddlers for their return, as well as challenges to overcome. The women’s crossing will be on Sept. 24 and the men’s race is set for Oct. 8. 

Hundreds of paddlers from around the globe flock to Molokai each year for the iconic Ka’iwi Channel crossings – and that can put a strain on the island’s resources, particularly after COVID. 

One of the biggest obstacles race organizers and community members considered in discussions of whether or not to bring the races back was how to get paddlers to Molokai. …

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Kaunakakai Harbor to be Dredged

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter 

Molokai depends on barge deliveries for food, fuel and other essentials. The barge depends on being able to dock at the Kaunakakai Harbor, which must be kept at a certain water depth for it to be usable. Maintaining the harbor depends on the US Army Core of Engineers (USACE), the authorities responsible for monitoring 28 harbors across the state. Dredging is essential to maintaining necessary depths by removing the sediment that collects in the harbor over time. Fifty years after it was last dredged, Kaunakakai Harbor is slated for maintenance dredging this fall. 

Work is scheduled to start after Oct.…

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Molokai-Made Hip Hop Album Na Hoku Finalist

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023

Molokai-Made Hip Hop Album Na Hoku Finalist

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Molokai couple Maile and Hanohano Naehu have created a musical album called Ho’okupu, a hip-hop anthology of Hawaiian history. It was nominated for Hip Hop Album of the Year in this year’s Na Hoku Hanohano awards and has been named a finalist for the category, with the awards ceremony this Saturday, July 1. 

Ho’okupu tells the story of Hawaii’s history, from the Kumulipo at the beginning of time, to modern day, using the artistic medium of hip hop. It’s a collaborative effort with emcees, academic professors, Hawaiian historians, chanters, music producers and others, created and recorded at the Naehu’s east end off-grid home. …

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Molokai Subsistence Survey

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023

Sust’ainable Molokai News Release 

The Molokai Subsistence Survey from 1993 shows important informated about how residents get their food. Now, Sust’ainable Molokai is conducting an update to that survey. Please consider taking between five and 30 minutes to complete the 2023 Molokai Subsistence Study Update. All English-speaking Molokai residents over the age of 18 are eligible to complete the survey. The survey can be found online at sustainablemolokai.org/subsistence or can be completed in person at community events or at the Sustʻainable Molokai office. 

In 1993, the governor commissioned the Molokai Subsistence Task Force to study subsistence on Molokai. The study found that the average Molokai family got 28 percent of their food from subsistence activities like hunting, fishing, gathering from the ocean, and raising animals.…

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Vandalism at Kamakou

Wednesday, June 28th, 2023

E malama i ka lako honua no na hanauna a pau. Take care of the resources for future generations. 

I was disappointed to hear that a fence in the Kamakou Preserve was cut and vandalized two weeks ago.  The fences of Kamakou Preserve protect some of the last and best native forests on Molokai and are home to species found nowhere else on the planet.  The native forest of Kamakou collects the water that is used by residents across the island, which includes Hawaiian Homes, county, private and other folks.  

We only have 13 percent of the native forest this island once had, pushed back miles inland by fire and hooved animals, now mostly at the tops of the mountains, such that many people now never see what a healthy forest looks like. …

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