• Failure notice from provider:
    Connection Error:http_request_failed

  • Submission Deadlines

    Advertising

    Thursday 4pm

    May 22, 2025

    Content

    Friday 4pm

    May 23, 2025

    To print on:

    Wednesday

    May 21, 2025

  • Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Google Plus Subscribe via RSS

Health

Two New Molokai Cases

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Two new COVID-19 cases on Molokai last week brought the island’s total cases to 19 since the pandemic began, as of Sunday. A case was confirmed by the Dept. of Health on Monday, Nov. 30, with another on Saturday, Dec. 5. Contact tracing took place and there were no further details available.

On Dec. 4, the DOH announced that it is reducing the mandatory quarantine period for those exposed to COVID-19 from 14 days to 10 days. The Department said this is to improve compliance without significantly increasing the risk of transmission in the community, based on updated recommendations from the CDC last week.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

Visitor Industry Gives Rice

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2020

MHLA News Release

The Maui Hotel and Lodging Association (MHLA) distributed 25,000 pounds of rice throughout Maui County in November.

The annual “Rice for the Holidays” program began in 2009 when MHLA partnered with Jim Coon of Trilogy Excursions in their annual giveaway of turkeys to the residents of Lanai by adding a five-pound bag of rice with the turkey.

Since then the program has expanded to provide rice for food distributions on Maui and Molokai. In 2011, Hana was added to the distribution. The rice was distributed on Lanai and Molokai Saturday, Nov. 21; and will be distributed in Hana on Friday, Dec.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

Census Followup

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2020

My name is Napua Burke and I served as minister to the Hawaiian Congregational churches (Topside Molokai UCC Churches) from 2013 to 2016. At the end of 2016, I returned to Hilo to care for my mother and I continue to be grateful for the kind words and messages I received at the time of her passing.

My husband and I have continued to maintain a home in Molokai because we love this island and its people. We have not visited Molokai since the beginning of the pandemic for obvious reasons. Recently though, I began working for the Census and I have volunteered to come over to Molokai in December to conduct what are called Post Enumeration Surveys, which is basically a method of verifying that accuracy of the information received during the census.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

Support the Arts

Wednesday, November 25th, 2020

MAC News Release

Molokai Arts Center (MAC) started 2020 celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Plans to expand classes and activities, helping to intensify MAC’s commitment to the Molokai community, was waylaid by COVID-19 and frequently changing safety protocols.

The mission of the only non-profit arts education organization on Molokai is to provide art classes, youth and kupuna programs, as well as studio and gallery space for adults, children, residents and visitors to this rural island. We believe that everyone in the Molokai community, from the professional artist to the novice, deserves the opportunity to develop their creative gifts.

Today, this means servicing less people in light of social distancing requirements and canceling all activities which normally gathered more than ten people.…

Posted in , , , , commentsAdd your comment

Virtual Floating Lantern Ceremony

Wednesday, November 25th, 2020

Since 2013, Hospice Molokai (now known as Navian Hawaii), along with the Molokai Guzeiji Soto Mission, has hosted the Annual Floating Lantern Ceremony. The event provides our Molokai Community the opportunity to come together in a safe and familiar space reminding us that we are not alone and to honor our loved ones that have died.

Due to COVID-19 we were unable to hold the seventh annual live event on Nov. 14, so a Virtual Video Event was created for you — “Holding Space to Honor Our Loved Ones.” It can be viewed at any time on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=57asQuS4yQk “Molokai Floating Lantern.”…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

The Angels Are Coming

Wednesday, November 25th, 2020

Opinion by Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

First came the virus and we found ourselves wearing masks, keeping the social distance from our fellow citizens, shutting down our businesses and places of worship and going into quarantine. Then came the devastating fires on the west coast, with subsequent widespread destruction and loss of life. Next came storm after storm decimating parts of the nation and taking lives in their paths. It seemed like the end of the world might be imminent. Finally came the fever of election campaigns where the truth often went out the window, to be replaced by blatant lies.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

Kalawao Last County With No COVID

Wednesday, November 25th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

As the rest of the county sees unprecedented rises in cases, Hawaii has the lowest case counts of any state in the U.S. over the last seven days as of Sunday, according to the Center for Disease Control. Kalaupapa — which is its own county of Kalawao — is reportedly the last county in the U.S. with no confirmed COVID-19 cases. The Kalaupapa community — managed by the Dept. of Health and National Park Service — has taken rigorous steps to insure the health and safety of the remaining patient residents living there.

Statewide as of last Friday, Hawaii had an average of 85 cases per day, according to the Dept.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

$2.5M in Assistance for Farmers and Ranchers

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Mayor Michael Victorino is urging Maui County farmers and ranchers to apply for reimbursements of expenses for losses related to COVID-19 and for food sustainability.

“This program has $2.5 million in CARES Act funding to provide Maui County farmers and ranchers with an urgent lifeline to help them with reimbursement of their expenses,” Mayor Victorino said. “I would like to thank the Maui Chamber of Commerce for partnering with the County of Maui to help sustain our agricultural community through these difficult times.”

Farmers and ranchers can apply reimbursement on allowable expenses of up to $25,000 for those who meet program qualifications.…

Posted in , , , , , , commentsAdd your comment

Pandemic Doesn’t Stop Coastline Cleanup Efforts

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

Pandemic Doesn’t Stop Coastline Cleanup Efforts

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Despite the large annual Mo’omomi marine debris cleanup being cancelled this year due to the pandemic, a recent effort spearheaded by Hawaii nonprofit Sustainable Coastlines removed more than 25,000 pounds of trash from Molokai’s north shore. Using helicopters to airlift enormous sacks of rubbish from remote areas that had previously been collected, along with limited volunteer efforts to gather more debris, millions of pieces of plastic that had washed ashore will now be removed from the island and recycled or properly disposed of.

The effort represented a collaboration with Sustainable Coastlines, global clean ocean movement Parley, Windward Aviation, along with Molokai conservation organizations, Uncle Mac Poepoe, and a few local families.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

Residents: Travel Rules Appear to Favor Visitors

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

As Hawaii’s COVID-19 numbers continue to level off averaging around 100 new cases per day and no new recent cases for Molokai, daily cases across the mainland have reached all-time highs. The U.S. surpassed 11 million cases on Sunday, and one million just in the last week alone, according to the latest data.

Meanwhile, Hawaii residents continue to live under strict travel regulations, as visitors from mainland are welcomed by the state. As officials seek to balance safety with economic recovery, some locals say they feel visitors are being prioritized over residents. And as many in the Molokai community continue to hunker down and avoid travel, partly due to the many hoops of paperwork, testing, quarantine rules and regulatory hassle, some are getting fed up.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment