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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Hale Connects People to Land and Sea

Monday, May 27th, 2013

Hale Connects People to Land and Sea

At Ka Honua Momona (KHM) Ali`i fishpond, workers take breaks in the shade of a large traditional thatched hale, where it is cool even on the hottest days. Office workers can look out at the hale and 30-acre pond from the windows of the sustainable office building where administrative work supports KHM’s mission of sustainability.

KHM hasn’t always had these amenities. The office and hale are the newest addition to the Ali`i fishpond, which nine years ago was overgrown with mangrove and knee-deep in mud. Today, because of the efforts of staff and volunteers eager to preserve the site’s ancient heritage, the Ali`i and Kalakoeli fishponds serve as a place for learning, sharing and restoring.…

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Food Producer Training

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Food Producer Training

Maui Culinary Academy and Hawaii Master Food Preservers News Release

A hands-on training program designed to explore value-added food production to support the skills necessary for a career in the food manufacturing industry. The Value-Added Food Production Cohort Training (VAFP) will engage participants in the development of specialty, niche food products to realize economic gains utilizing Molokai grown produce and farm products as a way to create more competitive “shelf ready” foods  through value-adding. This is valuable training for farmers, food distributors and others in the “farm-to-table” food chain.

“Adding value to crops by processing brings more money to the island and in the pocket of Molokai farmers,” said Glenn Teves, a University of Hawaii Molokai extension agent. …

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Whale Tales

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Whale Tales

A new, life-sized replica of a humpback whale tail at Molokai Fish and Dive is making a splash with local elementary school students. Last Tuesday, the ocean tour and gas business hosted a much younger crowd than usual at their shop. Preschoolers from Kaunakakai Elementary School stopped by to admire the work of art and learn more about the majestic creatures that live just off shore.

Making its appearance about a month ago, the tail has quickly become a landmark — and with good reason. A whale’s tail is composed of two lobes, each of which is called a fluke. Constructed by a local artist to accurately represent the size, texture and color of the real thing, the tail in front of Fish and Dive measures 14 feet across its flukes, with whale tails in the wild spanning up to 16 feet.…

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New Pavilion for Coconut Grove

Friday, May 17th, 2013

New Pavilion for Coconut Grove

Each weekend, community members and organizations host gatherings at the pavilion of Kiowea Park, causing a strain on the building built half a century ago. Kalama`ula homesteaders are trying to ease that strain by building a second, larger pavilion with updated facilities in the park, which is located in the Kapuaiwa Coconut Grove area.

County councilmember Stacy Crivello presented the plan for the new pavilion to the Molokai Planning Commission for comments May 8. As a Kalama`ula homesteader, she is acting as a project coordinator for the new facility.

“It’s been well used, and it’s continually overused at this state,” she said about the existing pavilion, which was built in the 1960s and renovated in the 1990s.…

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Help Sought Locating Distressed Monk Seal

Friday, May 17th, 2013

Help Sought Locating Distressed Monk Seal

NOAA News Release

Monk seal advocacy groups are asking for the public’s help to locate a sick and severely malnourished Hawaiian monk seal known to frequent the Kalaupapa area in the county of Kalawao, Molokai. Experts are concerned about her health and want to bring the seal to Oahu for assessment and treatment at the Waikiki Aquarium. The seal would be returned to Kalaupapa after recovery.

“The seal we are looking for would appear ill and its ribs or other skeletal features would likely be visible. We are asking people to keep an eye out for this seal in the water or on the beach,” explained Pat Wardell, President of the Monk Seal Foundation, a Hawaii based organization that recently took over management of the monk seal volunteer program on Molokai.…

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Maximum Protection, Minimal Change at Papohaku

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Maximum Protection, Minimal Change at Papohaku

 

Papohaku sand dunes protect the water from runoff and nearby homes from high tide swells. Now the system that guards so much could receive some protection from human threats. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) proposed increased protection for the Papohaku dune system. While the changes will not likely bring enforcement of stricter development rules, officials said they hope the protection would raise awareness of the dunes’ value.

A 500-page document dedicated solely to the preservation of the dune system at Papohaku stresses the environmental and cultural value of the system. Molokai wildlife biologist Arleone Dibben-Young, who served as a consultant for the preservation plan, said these dunes shelter homes from high swells and shield the ocean from red dirt run-off that comes with rain from the mauka regions.…

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Molokai Power Outage

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Maui Electric News Release

At 9:40 a.m. this morning, Molokai experienced an island-wide power outage affecting approximately 3,200 customers. At this time, power to the majority of our customers on Molokai has been restored.

Parts of Kaunakakai were brought back on-line at 11:38 a.m. and Hoolehua, including the Airport, was restored to power at 11:43 a.m. Customers on Molokai’s west end were restored shortly thereafter at 11:51 a.m. and the Kualapuu area was brought back on-line at 12:03 p.m. Remaining customers in Kaunakakai were restored at 12:18 p.m.

At this time, customers on Molokai’s east end remain without power. Maui Electric crews are working hard to bring these customers back on-line as quickly and safely as possible.…

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Big Funds for Organizations Making a Big Difference

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Big Funds for Organizations Making a Big Difference

 

Two Molokai nonprofit organizations have support to “pay it forward” in the community using awards from the Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA). Ka Honua Momona (KHM) and Kukui Ahi Patient Program at Molokai General Hospital each received $10,000 from HMSA as part of the health care coverage provider’s 75th anniversary celebration.

HMSA employees chose 10 organizations statewide to receive $10,000 each to make a difference in their communities, according to a press release about the HMSA Pays It Forward campaign.

“Our employees wanted to find a way to really stretch this gift and I’m confident this concept of paying it forward will accomplish that,” said HMSA CEO Michael Gold.…

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Increased Protection of Papohaku Dunes

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

DLNR News Release
The Papohaku Dune System in west Molokai has been identified as an important natural and cultural resource of the State of Hawaii. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) will hold a public hearing on Molokai on May 10 regarding a proposed subzone amendment to increase the level of protection for the dune system.

The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, May 10 at the Mitchell Pauole Community Center.

OCCL is proposing to change the state land use conservation district subzone of tax map key (TMK): (2) 5-1-006:156 at Papohaku Beach, Kaluakoi, from the general subzone to the protective subzone.…

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Molokai Rocks

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

Molokai Rocks

A look at the island’s quarries

By Emily Sumners and Catherine Cluett

Rock mining isn’t one of Molokai’s more well-known industries, but it nonetheless plays an important role on the island. Molokai rock is used to pave all the island’s roads, form the cement for its buildings and sidewalks, provides gravel to repair its dirt roads and stones for its rock walls. Since mining poses certain risks and dangers, it is recommended that they offer msha new miner training to their workers.

In mining operations, the use of electric motors plays a crucial role in powering various equipment, from drills and crushers to conveyors and pumps.…

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