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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Kamakani Farms: Salt, Chickens, Tomatoes—and Wind

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

Kamakani Farms: Salt, Chickens, Tomatoes—and Wind

by Paul Hanley | Community Reporter 

“I didn’t want to do conventional farming,” says Cameron Hiro, who operates Kamakani Farms in Hoolehua with his wife Jacqueline and their ohana. A fourth-generation homesteader, Hiro resides on agriculture lands where his mother Janice and her late husband, Cameron’s stepfather Joseph Pele, and other family members once grew vegetables.

Though Cameron didn’t want to farm he stayed in the food industry. After high school, he studied restaurant, culinary and catering management, which led to a 35-year career in cooking, catering, and event management. In 2017, he and his brothers Raymond Hiro and John Pele became owners of Hiro’s Ohana Grill at Hotel Molokai.…

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Free Mobile Market Delivery for EBT/SNAP Customers

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

Sustʻāinable Molokai News Release

Sustʻāinable Molokai’s Mobile Market is proud to announce free mobile delivery for EBT/SNAP customers as part of the Da Bux Program. With no minimum purchase required, this new service aims to make healthy and fresh produce more accessible to the Molokai community. 

Customers can order online and receive their groceries at their doorstep, with free delivery available for EBT/SNAP recipients. Visit MolokaiMobileMarket.com to purchase fresh, locally-grown, and produced food. Our online store opens weekly from Sunday at 3 p.m. to Tuesday at 12 p.m. Order pickups are on Thursday and deliveries are every Friday.

The Da Bux Program is designed to support Molokai’s local food system by increasing access to healthy food options for all members of the community.…

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Grant For Energy Savings

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

Hawaii Energy News Release 

Molokai nonprofits, small businesses and restaurants can receive grants of up to $6,000 for eligible energy efficiency projects through the EmPOWER Grant program. Applications will be available beginning Aug. 1 and must be submitted by Sept. 29. Organizations may apply for a grant of up to $6,000, depending on the equipment type, which may cover up to 100 percent of eligible project costs.

EmPOWER Grant funding may be used to cover the following expenses of energy efficiency projects: new energy efficient equipment, including HVAC systems, window film, ENERGY STAR® certified commercial kitchen appliances, and refrigeration technologies like motor controls and adding doors and anti-sweat controls to open cases; parts, accessories and other materials necessary for installation; labor for old equipment removal, site preparation and installation of energy efficiency measure(s); shipping costs for equipment and materials; taxes for the preceding items.…

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Unreliable Transportation Decreases Dental Services

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

There are now decreased dental services on Molokai due to unreliable transport into and out of the island. 

Dr. Tabitha Chiu, DMD writes: 

“Dear Nalu Dental patients,

In the few months that l’ve been working at Nalu Dental, l’ve felt so welcomed by everyone that l’ve met. It’s been a privilege to be able to provide dental care to your community. Unfortunately, due to the unpredictability of transportation on and off the island, I will be pausing my commutes from Oahu. It has become difficult to manage my schedule when flights are consistently delayed, often without notice. I hope to return once transportation is more reliable.…

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Disappointing Services

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

To recap a previous community letter, we, the people of Molokai, used to have a ferry that traveled to/from Maui twice daily, and we used to have services from three different airlines. Since February 2021, our only means of off island travel is via Mokulele Airlines/Southern Airways for medical, business, family, recreation travels.  (And some have access to private boats.)

It’s with great disappointment that Mokulele Airlines has not been dependable in providing reliable and consistent services.  We travel frequently each month for the reasons mentioned above, and we have a corporate account.  Too often our flights have been delayed, changed, or canceled. …

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County Mapping Molokai’s Wetlands

Wednesday, July 12th, 2023

By Jack Kiyonaga, Reporter 

Maui County is seeking to protect wetlands across the county, and to do that, it needs to know where they’re located. In response to a recently passed ordinance, the county is in the process of creating a new map of wetlands on Molokai. 

“The purpose [of the map] is to protect and restore wetlands. You cannot protect and restore something if you don’t know where it is,” explained Shahin Ansari, an ecologist contracted by the county for the project. 

Ansari explained that the new map will offer the public a “functional perspective on a wetland.” 

The project was started in March 2023 and is slated to finish in October of this year.…

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County to Consider Public Ferry

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

A feasibility study to consider a Maui County-owned ferry system is slated to be completed in the next year. Lanai Councilmember Gabe Johnson, who has spearheaded the initiative, said $300,000 has been budgeted for the study for this fiscal year that will determine options for how ferries between Molokai, Maui and Lanai could be run, how much it would cost, where the funding might come from, and other variables. 

He pointed to how Maui’s public bus transportation is operated, with the buses owned by Maui County and operated under a contract with Roberts Hawaii. He said a similar arrangement for the ferry service might be an option. …

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Sustainability Speaker Series

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

Maui County News Release 

The County of Maui Environmental Protection and Sustainability Division will host the second installment of its speaker series “Sustainability Together: Community-led Regenerative Action” on July 10 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Molokai Community Health Center. The event will be streamed live on Akaku Maui Community Media Channel 54.

Panelists at the July 10 event include Molokai Homestead representatives, community organizer and solar energy technician Todd Yamashita, Leilani Chow of Sustʻainable Molokai, Keaʻa Davis of Shake Energy Collaborative and Harumi McClure of Haru Energy.

In the second of the four-part speaker series, participants will gain insights into the household-level impacts of energy insecurity and how different communities have successfully mobilized to build resilience through the use of renewable solar energy.…

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County Seeks Feedback on Wetlands Map

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

Maui County News Release

Molokai residents are being asked to weigh in on the creation of a Maui County wetlands map during a public meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 6, at the Mitchell Pauole Community Center conference room in Kaunakakai.

Facilitated by the county’s Planning Department, University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program and consultant H. T. Harvey and Associates, the meeting will gather ideas from the community to help prepare the first draft of the overlay map.

As part of a new county law to restore and protect wetlands, titled Ordinance 5421, planning officials are working on a comprehensive wetlands overlay map that will identify existing and future wetland areas.…

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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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