News Releases

Releases that pertain to the Molokai and Hawaiian communities.

MHS Alum Named CEO of Hawaiian Board

Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

MHS Alum Named CEO of Hawaiian Board

HCDB News Release

Patti Tancayo Barbee, of Molokai, is the new president and CEO of the Hawaiian Community Development Board (HCDB). She has been senior vice president, working for over 20 years with Kali Watson, the outgoing president who has been appointed by Gov. Josh Green and confirmed by the Hawaii State Senate to lead the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, a post he first held in the Cayetano administration.

Barbee has many years of experience planning, executing and closing various types of housing projects throughout Hawaii. She is an expert in project and program management, mortgage financing, environmental reviews, government procurement and contract management. …

Artist in Residence

Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

Artist in Residence

MAC News Release 

The Molokai Arts Center welcomes our first Artist in Residence (AIR) of 2023, ceramicist Brad Menninga of St. Paul, Minnesota. Molokai provides a perfect backdrop to create, explore and experience a unique culture. The purpose of the MAC Artist in Residence program is to provide guest artists with a respite from daily responsibilities to enable them to create and concentrate on their work. This is a non-paid, volunteer position.

Menninga began his ceramics career in Portland, Oregon, dividing his time between studio pottery and making giant puppets for street theater. Eventually wishing to focus more intently on art-making and the ideas motivating his work, he received a MFA from California College of the Arts in San Francisco in 2010 and incorporated a daily practice of study into his routine.…

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

DOH News Release 

On March 20, Governor Josh Green, M.D., proclaimed April 2023 as “Sexual Assault Awareness Month” (SAAM), which is part of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the issue of sexual violence. A statewide SAAM sign-waving is planned for Tuesday, April 4, including an event at the Hawai‘i State Capitol from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and at other locations and times across the islands. Molokai sign-wavings will be held every Wednesday in April. 

This year’s theme, “Foundations for the Future,” aims to envision a future without sexual violence through healthy relationships and safer communities. During the month of April, the Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) and partner agencies are providing statewide trainings, events, and activities to bring awareness to the continuum of sexual violence from primary prevention to response and intervention.…

College Resource Fair

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

UHMCM News Release

Find a degree pathway that best fits your interests! Join us at our Resource Fair at the UH Maui College Molokai (UHMCM) campus on Wednesday, April 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. to meet with program coordinators within the UH System. We have a wide range of representatives joining us, from UH Manoa’s College of Education and the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, to UH Maui’s ABIT program and ELWD Apprenticeship and Trades. 

If you need help applying for the Fall or summer semester, stop by the Center for assistance with the application process. For more information or if you have questions, call (808) 553-4490.…

Resident Raises Awareness for Early Cancer Screenings

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

UH Cancer Center News Release 

Molokai resident Nancy Swartz noticed redness and a lump on her right breast. Having breast cancer in her family and a husband with prostate cancer, Swartz took these symptoms seriously. If your husband is also dealing with prostate cancer, I recommend you to find out here a great supplement that can offer many health benefits.

To continue, she consulted her primary care physician who found her symptoms to be consistent with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC). IBC is a rare form of breast cancer that gets its name from symptoms appearing swollen and red, or inflamed. IBC can present different symptoms than other types of breast cancer, such as rapid change in breast size or shape, redness or rash on the breast or nipple, pain or tenderness in the breast, nipple retraction or discharge, and enlarged lymph nodes under the arm or collarbone.…

Grant Solicitations to Support Native Hawaiians

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

OHA News Release  

More than $9 million in grant solicitations to help Native Hawaiians are now available through the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Solicitations include community grants to strengthen ʻohana (family), moʻomeheu (culture) and ʻaina (land) connections, and grants to support education, health, housing, economic stability, homestead communities, and iwi kupuna repatriation and reinternment. Two new granting categories are being launched to support Native Hawaiians with disaster recovery and provide technical assistance to organizations serving Native Hawaiians (Kakoʻo Support Grants). 

Molokai nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply.

With a legacy of supporting more than a decade of community events, OHA’s ʻAhahui Grant Program is making more than $300,000 available for community events scheduled from June to December 2023.…

Long-Sleeved Shirts for Farmworkers

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023

MEO News Release 

New or lightly used long-sleeved shirts are being collected for farmworkers from March 24 to 31 by Maui Economic Opportunity’s National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP).

The Nat’l Long Sleeve Shirt Drive, organized nationally by the Association of Farmworker Opportunities Programs, coincides with Farmworker Awareness Week, which brings attention to farmworkers and honors their work.

Long-sleeved shirts provide protection from pesticide exposure and heat-related illnesses. Donations, which will be given to farmworkers, need to be light colored, natural fabric and long sleeved.

They may be dropped off at MEO Molokai, 380 Kolapa Place, Kaunakakai.

MEO is Hawaii’s NFJP operator, the nonprofit agency’s only statewide program.…

Prom Dress Giveaway

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Prom Dress Giveaway

MEO News Release

The Bella Project prom dress giveaway on Molokai is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 17, at Maui Economic Opportunity in Kaunakakai.

MEO Youth Services on Molokai worked with The Bella Project officials on Oahu to bring more than 150 new and lightly used formal wear to the island for local youth. “The Gift of Glamour” event is set for MEO at 380 Kolapa Place.

The formal wear will be given away at no charge to the youth.

Donations are being accepted to supplement the supply from March 13-17. New or lightly used dresses, sandals, accessories, tuxedos, slacks, dress shoes and shirts are being accepted.…

Special Chamber Music Performance

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Special Chamber Music Performance

MAC News Release

Make way! Come enjoy a performance by Chamber Music Hawaii of “Paka’a Lanakila!” in a Hawaiian language storytelling about a boy’s triumph over local fishermen. Written for wind quintet, narrator, and Ka’eke’eke, with overhead English translation, experience the excitement of Paka’a outsmarting everyone, even his doubting family.

Composed by Dr. Jon Magnussen, the event features the spring wind quintet and master storyteller Kalama Cabigon. Overhead projection including artwork by Karen Loebel-Fried and English translations will accompany the performers.

The event is on Monday, March 20 from 6 to 7 p.m. at St. Damien of Molokai Parish Church located in Kaunakakai.…

Taxes for Health Insurance Marketplace Consumers

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Legal Aid Society News Release

Molokai consumers enrolled in 2022 Marketplace health insurance must file their federal taxes by April 18. Most consumers received advanced premium tax credits based on their estimated income in 2022 to lower their insurance costs. Consumers must reconcile their estimated income with their actual income in 2022 by filing federal taxes. Any difference between the advanced premium tax credits and actual tax credits may impact their refunds or taxes owed.

The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii wants to remind Molokai consumers four things:

Get your 1095A: Get your 1095A from the mail or log into your Marketplace account and print.…