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Government

Census Incentives

Wednesday, September 9th, 2020

Census Incentives

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Time is running out to complete the mandatory U.S. Census, and with Molokai’s response rates critically low, officials held two incentive events on the island last weekend. Last Friday, residents who hadn’t yet completed the census could receive a $5 gas card to Rawlins Texaco, while on Saturday a sweet deal offered a Kamoi Snack N Go gift certificate for answering census questions.

The census, which takes place every 10 years, counts residents based on age, race and area of residence. Guided by census data, the federal government allocates about $6.75 billion to states and communities across the country each year.…

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Another Positive Case, Kualapu’u School Closed

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

A second recent COVID-19 case was confirmed last Saturday, bringing the island’s total to four since the pandemic began. Kualapu’u School is closed for five days as a result of a student being exposed.

It was unclear as of Sunday whether the new case was connected to last week’s positive case.

Lydia Trinidad, principal of Kualapu’u School, wrote in a letter to the school community Saturday that at that time, that no students or staff at the school had tested positive.

“In light of the specific information available to us and out of caution, Kualapu’u School campus will be closed for at least five days, beginning Sunday, Aug.…

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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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New Molokai COVID Case

Tuesday, August 25th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

A new COVID-19 case was confirmed on island last Friday, according to officials. The resident contracted COVID while on Oahu before the interisland quarantine was reinstated on Aug. 11, said Molokai Councilmember Keani Rawlins-Fernandez in a social media announcement.

“The person’s name will not be released to the public. The person has given contact information for those who could have been exposed. Contact tracers are trying to get a hold of those people on Molokai now,” said Rawlins-Fernandez Friday.

The state Dept. of Health had yet to publicly acknowledge the case as of Sunday.

This is the third case for Molokai; the other two were in April, linked to a Friendly Market Center employee who traveled to Las Vegas.…

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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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Schools Back in Session, Amid Last Minute Changes

Wednesday, August 19th, 2020

Schools Back in Session, Amid Last Minute Changes

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Monday brought a return to school for some campuses on Molokai under various blended learning models, while two schools, Kaunakakai Elementary and Molokai High, announced over the weekend they will implement 100 percent virtual learning for the first several weeks.

Two weeks ago, the Dept. of Education announced Oahu schools would start the year with four weeks of distance learning, due to continued a rise in COVID-19 cases. Last week, a second announcement extended distance learning to all schools in the state, except those on Molokai and Hana.

“The decision to move ahead with Molokai’s reopening plans was community-driven,” said Nanea Kalani, a spokesperson for the DOE, explaining why Molokai schools were among the only in the state to return to campus on Aug.…

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Cancel RIMPAC

Thursday, August 13th, 2020

We’re six months into a global pandemic. The U.S. death toll just surpassed 160,000 people. That’s 53.4 times more people than were killed on 9/11/01 and 66.5 times more than were killed at Pearl Harbor.

With new COVID-19 cases already rising, the last thing Hawaii needs is a large number of people arriving from all over the world all at once. In 2018, 25 nations, with 46 warships, five submarines, 17 land forces, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel were part of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise. RIMPAC has been held in Hawaii every other year since 1971. A scaled back version is set to begin Aug.…

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Mo’omomi CBSFA Public Hearing

Thursday, August 13th, 2020

DLNR News Release

Stakeholders are strongly encouraged to participate online for a statewide, online public hearing on the proposed adoption of new rules to establish the Moʻomomi Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) on Molokai’s northwestern coast. The goal of the CBSFA is to establish a marine managed area to maintain sustainable long-term harvest of key subsistence fish stocks and to reaffirm traditional and customary native Hawaiian subsistence fishing practices.

Brian Neilson, Administrator of the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) said, “This innovative option of an online hearing, especially with the spike in coronavirus infections, provides a safe and appropriate physical distancing for DLNR/DAR to hear from everyone regarding these important nearshore marine resources.…

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DeCoite Narrowly Beats Ritte, Pending Recount

Thursday, August 13th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

If you ever thought your vote didn’t count, Saturday’s primary election showed differently. Just 91 votes between Molokai’s incumbent District 13 Representative Lynn DeCoite and fellow Molokai resident and challenger Walter Ritte, as of press deadline Sunday. A mandatory recount was conducted Monday evening.

“In the past, candidates would have to file with the court to request a recount if they’re close,” said Maui County Clerk Kathy Kaohu. But she explained part of new mail-in voting laws call for an automatic recount of results that come within 100 votes or one quarter or one percent of the total number of votes cast, whichever is greater.…

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Interisland Travel Quarantine in Effect Again

Thursday, August 13th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

With numbers of new COVID-19 cases in the state continuing to skyrocket, a partial interisland travel quarantine was reinstated by Gov. David Ige last week, effective Tuesday, Aug. 11. The mandatory 14-day quarantine affects Molokai residents traveling anywhere in the state except Oahu. If you’re flying into Honolulu, you don’t have to quarantine, but upon your return to Molokai, the 14-day quarantine would be required.

“With Oahu’s 200 new cases reported today and 1,618 active cases statewide, reinstituting the interisland quarantine was necessary to protect our community and healthcare system,” Mayor Michael Victorino said last Friday. “I also want to let our residents know that we are discouraging any non-essential travel, but we understand if you need to travel for work or medical care.”…

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