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Community

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

10 Questions With John Urauchi

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

10 Questions With John Urauchi

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter 

Question: How long have you lived on Molokai? 

John Urauchi (JU): All my life. 91 years going on 92 in two months. 

Q: Where did you grow up on Molokai? 

JU: I was born in Kamalo, where we didn’t have any electricity or running water. It was a really a rough beginning. We had no running water, so no flush toilet. All the water came from the well outside the house. Our toilet was a puka toilet down below.

Q: What was it like growing up then? 

JU: In those days the fishing and crabbing was excellent.…

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Season’s Last Regatta

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

Season’s Last Regatta

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai’s three canoe clubs gathered for the island’s last regatta of the summer paddling season at Kaunakakai Wharf last Saturday. Crews of all ages from Molokai Canoe Club, Wa’akapaemua and Kukui clubs battled it out in friendly competition in ¼ and ½ mile races. Some crews will go on to paddle at the state race held this year in Hilo Bay on Aug. 5. …

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The Molokai Dispatch Wins 7 Awards

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

The Molokai Dispatch News Release

The Molokai Dispatch is honored to have won seven Excellence in Journalism awards for its news coverage in 2022. The awards are held annually by Society of Professional Journalism Hawaii Chapter and presented in newspaper, TV, radio and magazine categories. Winners for 2022 were announced at an awards dinner last week in Honolulu. 

Winning the News Page Design category for all newspapers statewide was The Molokai Dispatch’s graphic designer Marissa Motas for her layout of “Ka’ahele A Lono” in the Feb. 2, 2022 issue. 

“The designer utilized a lot of photos in an attractive and readable way,” judges commented.…

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Molokai Hospice Mahalo

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

Hospice Maui Molokai is so grateful for the many people who generously donated items and monetary gifts for our eighth annual Hospice Yard Sale.  Mahalo to the many people who shopped the sale and bought the treasured items.  Words are hard to express how appreciative we are for our Hospice Volunteers Dan, Ellen, Tim, Kathy, Ashley, Kahili, Ehulani and Didi who spent many hours sorting, pricing and displaying the many, many items.  Also, mahalo to Dr. Dan McGuire for the use of his parking lot for our sale.

The yard sale event was an idea to help those whose loved ones died and asked for ideas of what to do with their loved one’s treasured items. …

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Thadd R. Camara

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

Thadd R. Camara

Aloha e ka ʻohana a me nā hoa aloha o Molokaʻi a ma ʻō aku o ka pae ʻāina o Hawaiʻi a puni ka hōnua. We, the children of Thadd R. Camara share with you some of his words of aloha…

“My spirit lives in everyone that knows who I was and who I still am — Thadd R. Camara, Mr. Aloha — and if it wasn’t for Molokai I could never ever be Thadd R. Camara, the person I became to be…So for every sunset there will always be a new beginning. So my Molokai family, enjoy every beginning you are blessed with I waiting for you on the other side….Please…

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Nancy Shizuko Yamagata Unemori

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

Nancy Shizuko Yamagata Unemori

Nancy Shizuko Yamagata Unemori of Kaunakakai, Molokai was born on August 29, 1924 in Kapaa, Kauai, the eldest of 7 children. She passed peacefully on June 4, 2023.

She married Hisashi “Fats” Unemori (deceased), and moved to Molokai in 1958. Together they had 5 children. Alison (Warren) Yasuda, Kevin (Lynne) Unemori, Jeffrey Unemori (deceased), Kathleen (Rod) Wong and Scott Unemori (deceased). She also has six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She was a member of the Molokai UE club. Nancy supported her husband’s activities with the Molokai Lions Club along with many other local programs. As a dancer of Na Kupuna O Moana she made many new friends, traveled to different places and enjoyed her fun performances, never imagining the joy she would experience being on stage!…

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Holokai Fun

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

Holokai Fun

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Last weekend’s two-day Molokai Holokai featured homegrown and visiting paddlers in a variety of race events and fun activities on land and sea. Hosted by local nonprofit Youth in Motion, the annual event brings out all ages and abilities to enjoy the sport of paddling in many forms, from outrigger to stand-up, foil and windsurf. 

Friday featured a Maui to Molokai race, a mangrove seed contest, harbor cleanup and a skate jam session. Saturday was packed with a Holo Fun Run, Kamalo downwinder paddle race, keiki and makua races, trash art contest and a ho’olaulea at Molokai Community Health Center with live entertainment, food and craft vendors and cultural workshops.…

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Can Molokai’s Medical Future be Home Grown?

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

Can Molokai’s Medical Future be Home Grown?

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter

Most are familiar with the dire healthcare landscape on Molokai. With the passing of doctors Emmett Aluli and William Thomas in the past year, many Molokai residents were left without permanent primary care physicians. Help has come in the form of interim doctors flown over for relatively short periods. More long-term solutions have manifested in the recently opened Molokai Urgent and Family Care Clinic, operated by Dr. Ka‘ohimanu Dang Akiona with Aluli’s former staff. But the root of the problem remains unsolved: how to have more full-time, community-engaged doctors on Molokai. 

Pono Castanera wants to be one piece of solving that puzzle. …

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Penny Martin Shares Hokule’a Memories on Voyage Anniversary

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

Penny Martin Shares Hokule’a Memories on Voyage Anniversary

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Exactly 47 years ago, Molokai’s Penny Rawlins Martin was sailing aboard Hokule’a on its return leg from Tahiti to Hawaii during its inaugural voyage in 1976. She was 24 years old, one of the youngest on board – and one of only two women selected for that original crew. 

The voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti and back represented proof that early Polynesians could indeed sail across the ocean without the use of modern navigation tools. Instead they used the stars and environmental observations to guide them over the open ocean, nearly 3,000 miles each way.  …

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Artists in Residence

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

Artists in Residence

MAC News Release

This month, the Molokai Arts Center (MAC) welcomes two Artists in Residence, Dr. Ryan Pratt and Ms. Tansy Xiao. Dr. Ryan Pratt will be working on A Sonic Ecology. Ms. Xiao’s project is entitled Sound Dust.

Ryan is interested in “recording the natural sounds of Molokai, studying them and extrapolating a musical landscape, exploring portraits in audio with ‘endangered’ sounds, reflecting the ecology of the island.” Tansy would like to “create a poetic video essay inspired by Hawaiian traditional music.” She was fascinated by Hawaiian filmmaker Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu’s work, which was her first encounter to the genre.

Ryan Pratt was introduced to music through his grandmother, a jazz pianist and vocalist.…

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