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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Improving Kupuna Health Through ʻAi Pono

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

By Dr. Landon Opunui, ND and Miki Wong, RD, Na Pu’uwai

There are multiple social and health disparities Native Hawaiian kupuna face such as high rates of life-threatening diseases, financial hardship, disability, shorter life expectancies and underutilization of services. As a result, it should be no surprise that data suggests the health care needs of Native Hawaiian kupuna far exceed that of their non-Hawaiian counterparts. This leads to health equity problems. Learn how you can improve health equity at https://about.me/whitneyperkinswitt.

Hawaiian culture emphasizes care for kupuna. However, many adult caregivers are less available to care for their aging loved ones because of competing work and ʻohana responsibilities.…

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Young Brothers Granted 46% Rate Hike

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

In the latest in a saga of Young Brothers barge troubles, the company was granted a 46 percent rate increase, with conditions. The increase, approved last week by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC), will be effective Sept. 1. YB must fulfill several mandates as part of the rate hike, which has been granted on a emergency basis for 12 months.

“We understand that Young Brothers is the only carrier required to serve all islands and discontinuation of service would discontinue all service to Molokai and Lanai,” said Molokai Councilmember Keani Rawlins-Fernandez in an informal virtual community meeting she held to dis-cuss the rate increase last Thursday.…

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Mo’omomi CBSFA Gets Support in Public Hearing

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

Mo’omomi CBSFA Gets Support in Public Hearing

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Decades of resource management, data collection, traditional knowledge, legislation and public hearings culminated last week in one of the final steps of the process to designate Mo’omomi as a state-recognized Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA).

A virtual public hearing, held by the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources and lasting more than four hours last Wednesday, yielded a major of testimony in favor of the CBSFA, though written testimony that was submitted — during a period which closed Aug. 26 — was not available to the public online.

The proposed CBSFA, which would allow community co-management of resources, runs along Molokai’s northwest coastline from Ilio Point to Nihoa Flats, extending one mile out from the shoreline.…

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Kalaupapa’s Annual Barge

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

Kalaupapa’s Annual Barge

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Barge Day in the remote Kalaupapa settlement has always been filled with excitement — it only comes once a year, after all! Often referred to as “Christmas in July” for residents, there is just a narrow window of calm, summer weather that allows the barge to safety dock at the settlement’s small harbor to unload a year’s worth of essential and large items. This year’s shipment was a little delayed — and complicated by strict COVID-19 protocols to keep at-risk residents safe.

“Once a year a barge brings in all of our bulky items, like appliances, vehicles, fuel, materials to repair buildings, and items considered hazardous to fly in on an airplane, like certain batteries,” the Kalaupapa National Historical Park Facebook page reported.…

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My Support for Moʻomomi CBSFA

Sunday, August 23rd, 2020

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed below, though written by a part owner of The Molokai Dispatch, are his personally, and are not representative of The Molokai Dispatch as a newspaper.

Opinion by Todd Yamashita

Aloha friends, Iʻm reaching out to you right now not as a publisher but as a member of our community – one who cares about the future of our community as much as you surely do.

Sailing on Hokulea, removing thousands of pounds of plastic from the Pacific gyre, volunteering in the fishponds of Molokai, and cleaning our beaches daily with family and friends – my life in conservation comes from the hope my boys will inherit a Molokai like mine: rich in marine resources, and rich in culture.…

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Forming a Community-Owned Energy Cooperative

Wednesday, August 19th, 2020

Shake Energy Collaborative News Release

On Saturday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., we will host a virtual public meeting to share information and gather input on the formation of a cooperative to design and own renewable energy projects on Molokai. This meeting will be hosted by Shake Energy Collaborative, a public benefit corporation based in California, and follows in a series of community workshops hosted on Molokai about Community-Based Renewable Energy (CBRE). At these workshops, community residents expressed the desire for CBRE projects to be owned and managed locally by a cooperative entity. This meeting will launch the effort to formalize this energy cooperative.…

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Why Hunt in Residential Areas?

Wednesday, August 19th, 2020

Why? They say if you have to ask the question, you don’t know the answer. And so I ask this question because I am looking for enlightenment, education and answers. I don’t want excuses. Excuses are tiresome. I simply want to know why.

Why do some feel the need to hunt in residential areas, so close to houses, close to where children are playing, close to where people are enjoying the outdoors? Why do some feel the need to hunt so close to houses that they risk harming others?

Why did someone feel the need to shoot a majestic buck, behead him, and leave his en-tire body to rot in someones yard?…

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Mahalo to Kalua Koi Outfitters

Wednesday, August 19th, 2020

I would like to take this opportunity to shout out a heartfelt mahalo nui loa to the Kalua Koi Outfitters. This family run business is doing a big service for our island people who depend on the local food bank during these hard times.

They are blessing us through Kaunakakai Baptist Church with deer meat whenever they get some! Our freezer is only being stocked through their generosity. This is such a blessing to those who cannot provide for themselves. They have found a way to support their family and give back by donating much needed meat to our island families.…

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New HI Case Record, Molokai Hospital Prepared

Wednesday, August 19th, 2020

New HI Case Record, Molokai Hospital Prepared

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

The state reached a new record last Thursday with 355 new COVID-19 cases reported in a single day. On Maui, 71 cases have been reported in the last 30 days, as of last Friday, and county officials expect that number to grow. Molokai confirmed cases remain at two.

“We would like to commend the community on their efforts to keep us COVID-19 free,” said Janice Kalanihuia, president of Molokai General Hospital. “We know it has been a long five months, but now is not the time to let our guard down. There have been a lot of visitors from other islands to Molokai over the past month so it is best for us to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, keep socially distant and wear a mask when out in public.…

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CBSFA a Step Toward Hawaiian Self-Governance

Thursday, August 13th, 2020

Aloha kakou. I am Davianna McGregor, professor of Ethnic Studies and director of the Center for Oral History at UH-Manoa. I live in Hoʻolehua with my life partner, Dr. Aluli.

Recently, some of our neighbors put up signs saying that I should be shame for supporting the Moʻomomi Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA).

Actually, Dr. Aluli and I are proud that for the past 25-plus years, we’ve been part of the Hui Mālama O Moʻomomi team to establish a CBSFA from ʻIliʻo Point to Nihoa.

Why do we support? Well, it was our Hoʻolehua Hawaiian Homestead community, not DLNR, that created the CBSFA designation.…

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