Department of Human Services News Release
The State Pharmacy Assistance Program (SPAP), which subsidizes the co-payment for Medicare prescriptions for low-income seniors, will be discontinued due to a lack of funding, announced the program’s administrator, the Department of Human Services (DHS). This change, effective July 1, 2011, will affect 43,500 eligible Hawaii residents enrolled in the program.
Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The funding will go towards expand its programs aimed at helping families obtain information about their Kalaupapa ancestors and assisting the public in learning more about the history of Kalaupapa.
“The `Ohana is excited and humbled to have the support of OHA,” said Clarence “Boogie” Kahilihiwa, president of the `Ohana, who has lived at Kalaupapa for more than 50 years. “We believe it is important for Hawaiians to know about their Kalaupapa roots and involve them in the preservation of Kalaupapa.”
Sen. Daniel Akaka News Release
The University of Hawaii (UH) will receive $4.3 million to continue a 14-year old program that provides job training and educational opportunities to more than 800 residents each year who live in underserved, rural communities on Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, and Molokai. Sens. Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye announced the funding last week.
The national unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent in May, and job creation has fallen to its lowest point in eight months. Maui County reported a 20 percent decrease in unemployment compared with one year ago.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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