News Releases

Releases that pertain to the Molokai and Hawaiian communities.

Monk Seal Habitat Revision

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

NOAA News Release

Due to the rapid decrease in the Hawaiian monk seal population, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Fisheries Service has proposed to revise the critical habitat area for monk seals, and is inviting public comment.

The proposed revision includes expanding the 1988 critical habitat designation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and adding new areas throughout the main Hawaiian Islands.

Wind Developer Invites Mana`o

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Pattern Energy News Release

In March of this year, Pattern Energy was introduced as the preferred developer for a potential 200 megawatt (MW) wind project on Molokai Properties Ltd. (MPL) lands.  Since that time, Pattern Energy has formed Molokai Renewables LLC and is working with Bio-Logical Capital to explore the project.  We believe that a wind project on Molokai has the potential to help provide a wide range of benefits to the Molokai community and to generate clean energy for Hawaii. 

Save an Endangered Plant

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release

A rare plant, found only in the wet forests of eastern Molokai, was designated an endangered species in 2009. A draft Recovery Plan for the plant, called Phyllostegia hispida, is available for public comment, with the addition of a recent addendum. The draft plan is published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Phyllostegia hispida, known only by its scientific name, is a nonaromatic member of the mint family (Lamiaceae).  It is a loosely spreading, many-branched vine that often forms large tangled masses, and is known only from the wet forests of eastern Molokai at elevations between 3,650 and 4,200 feet.

Molokai’s Own Graduates as Medical Student

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

UH Manoa News Release

The next stop is the White Coat Ceremony for six graduates of the Imi Ho`ola (“those who seek to heal”) Post-Baccalaureate Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). One of this year’s graduates is Molokai’s Kaimana Chow of Kaunakakai.
 
Imi Ho`ola, a program within the medical school’s Department of Native Hawaiian Health, seeks out promising college graduates from under-served communities, offering them a year of intensive preparation for medical school. By completing the training, they earn a place in the next class of MD students.

Deaf Education Workshop

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Hawaii Centers for Independent Living News Release

In conjunction with UH Maui College, Molokai and Hawaii Centers for Independent Living (Molokai), we are offering a once-in-a-lifetime free workshop to learn basic American Sign Language.

Two sessions are available: Aug. 29-Sept. 2 at UH Maui College, Molokai, 10 a.m. – 12 noon; and Sept. 5-9 at Home Pumehana rec center, 6-8 p.m.

Alex Young will be conducting the workshop, and we encourage government, nonprofit agencies and private sector representatives to attend these workshops in order to better serve our deaf community. Register at 553-3340 or kealohal@pacificil.org.

Still Time to Recycle

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Berry Company News Release

Due to the continued interest in the Think Yellow, Go Green Recycling Program, The Berry Company, publisher of the Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages, has extended the collection deadline for this year’s Think Yellow, Go Green telephone directory recycling program on Hawaii’s Neighbor Islands to June 15.

The program kicked off on Earth Day, April 22, as a recycling contestbetween schools on the Neighbor Islands. The recentdistribution of the new 2011 Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages sparked a renewed interest among island residents to recycle their outdated directories.

With most Hawaii schools preparing for summer break, Molokai residents can drop off outdated telephone directories to Makoa Trucking.

Molokai Anti-Wind Group Forms

Monday, May 30th, 2011

I Aloha Molokai (IAM) News Release

The acronym IAM represents “I Aloha Molokai,” a newly formed working group comprised of Molokai residents opposed to the proposal to develop a 200 megawatt industrial scale wind power plant to serve the energy needs of Oahu. IAM’s mission is to share information, as well as educate the general public to the potential impacts of the project. This is a grassroots effort to raise awareness and provide balance as the developer and proponents of the project move forward in their attempt to persuade the island community to support the project.

Former Molokai Resident Receives Nursing Award

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Former Molokai Resident Receives Nursing Award

Brigid Mulloy, a certified nurse midwife (CNM),  has been named the 2011 Distinguished Alumna for the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing at the University of Wyoming.  Mulloy was the featured speaker at the School of Nursing Convocation Ceremony on May 7, where she spoke to an audience of 500 people about her experiences as a midwife on Molokai. She was also honored at that ceremony for her excellence in clinical practice as a CNM and for her outstanding community contributions.

Brigid is well known on Molokai where she lived from 1994 to 2010, and practiced for 13 years as a nurse midwife and was the director of the Molokai Women’s Health Center. She delivered over 250 babies during her time on Molokai, the oldest of which have now graduated from high school. Brigid and her husband Claud Sutcliffe are now living in Waimea on the Big Island.

In 2007, she was recruited to work at the North Hawaii Community Hospital’s Family Birthing Unit, where she joined a practice with JoAnn Johansen, another CNM who worked many years on Molokai. This opportunity gave Brigid the chance to grow professionally as a midwife, and to pursue other interests, such as taking Elderhostel groups to experience Easter Island. She continues to be involved in the work her father, the late University of Wyoming anthropology professor, Dr. William Mulloy, began with the support of the University of Wyoming in the 1950s. She was instrumental in the creation of the William Mulloy Library, a research facility for archeologists and the people of Easter Island. Brigid was also invited by the University of Wyoming in 2007 to represent her father at the opening of the new anthropology building on the Laramie campus.

For more information, visit uwyo.edu/NURSING/alumni/alumni-distinguished/2011-mulloy.html

Energy Assistance Available

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Do you need help to pay your electric or gas bill?  If so, Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) may be able to help you.  Every year, we help more than 200 families apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).  Last year’s eligible applicants received an average of $717 which was directly credited to their utility accounts.  

Applications will be accepted from June 1 – June 30, 2011.  To apply for LIHEAP, call MEO at 553-3216 to schedule an appointment for June.  At your appointment, you will need to have:

●    A valid and current photo ID (Hawaii State driver’s license, State of Hawaii ID),
●    Social security numbers for all household members over one year of age,

Camp `Olelo Hawaii

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Ka Honua Momona News Release

'Auhea 'oukou e nā makamaka o Moloka'i Nui a Hina. Eia 'o Ka Honua Momona e 'imi nei i nā 'ohana hoihoi i ka 'ōlelo a me ka lawai'a.  E mālama 'ia ana kekahi papahana lawai'a ma o ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i ma ka lā 26 o Iune a hiki i ka lā 2 o Iulai. 

Ka Honua Momona, in partnership with Hawaii Marine Program Conservation International, is pleased to offer a free Hawaiian language Lawai`a Ohana Camp to our Molokai ohana. The camp will teach the protocols and policies of pono fishing, and be held from Sunday evening, June 26 through Saturday evening, July 2. The program will be hosted at Ali'i fishpond with excursions to other areas of the island. Space is limited! Deadline for camp participants and positions is Friday, June 10.