News Releases

Releases that pertain to the Molokai and Hawaiian communities.

Federal Assistance for Small Businesses

Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

Sen. Schatz News Release

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz released a resource guide to help Hawaii small businesses like many on Molokai better understand how to access federal loans and new programs established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The bipartisan $2 trillion CARES Act is the largest aid package in American history and was signed into law last Friday.

“This new law will help Hawaii small businesses meet their payroll and provide people with paychecks for up to eight weeks,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “As more federal help becomes available, we’ll continue to work to provide more information about how Hawaii families and businesses can access these new resources.”…

Molokai Student Finalist for $10K Scholarship

Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

Molokai Student Finalist for $10K Scholarship

HRYF News Release

Molokai High School student Maria Angst is one of two students being considered for a $10,000 Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation Scholarship (HRYF). Ten HRYF recipients, 10 representatives on an interview panel from 10 Maui Rotary Clubs, and 10 individual virtual interviews demonstrated the “Power of 10” this year.

The HRYF Scholarship program offers every Rotary club in the state of Hawaii a $5000 scholarship to award to a deserving high school senior planning on attending college. Each of the 10 Maui County Rotary Clubs held in-person interviews to determine their club’s respective scholarship recipient. Angst was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lahaina.…

MGH Updated COVID-19 Info

Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

MGH News Release

Molokai General Hospital has begun using an external triage system (patients are greeted and screened outside the ED) to screen patients. Those who may meet criteria will be tested outside of the hospital to expedite care. The COVID-19 testing is an extension of the emergency department services.
We encourage anyone who suspects they may have been exposed to COVID-19 to speak with their medical provider to find out if they meet testing requirements.
As of Wednesday, March 25, Molokai General Hospital will be limiting its number of entrances to one. All people entering the main facility will need to use the front lobby sliding glass door.…

$2M for Residents Impacted by COVID-19

Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Mayor Michael Victorino signed a relief bill to launch a $2 million program to assist residents of Molokai, Lanai and Maui who’ve been severely impacted with job losses from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.

“Maui County is establishing the Hawaii Emergency Laulima Program (HELP) to make available $2 million to assist residents who’ve suffered economic hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Victorino said. “In this unprecedented time of uncertainty, we want to reach out to our hard-hit hotel, restaurant, retail and other workers who’ve seen their source of livelihood shut down to slow down the spread of this disease.”…

County Budget Proposal

Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Mayor Michael Victorino presented his Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal to members of the Maui County Council last week, proposing to lessen the financial burden on taxpayers while doing more to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our longtime fiscally conservative policies have positioned us well to face the economic hardship our nation will endure as the coronavirus disaster plays out in the weeks and months ahead,” Mayor Victorino said.

The Victorino administration has already requested a Fiscal Year 2020 budget amendment for an appropriation of $4 million from the Emergency Fund and $2 million for the HELP program.…

Molokai General Hospital Protocol Updates

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

MGH News Release

Molokai General Hospital has begun using an external triage system (patients are greeted and screened outside the ED) to screen patients. Those who may meet criteria will be tested outside of the hospital to expedite care. The testing is an extension of the emergency department services.

We encourage anyone who suspects they may have been exposed to COVID-19 to speak with their medical provider to find out if they meet testing requirements.

As of Wednesday, March 25, Molokai General Hospital will be limiting its number of entrances to one.  All people entering the main facility will need to use the front lobby sliding glass door. …

County Emergency Rules Mandate Staying at Home

Sunday, March 22nd, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Mayor Michael Victorino announced a “stay at home and work from home” amendment to the Public Health Emergency Rules in an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19.

The amendment is effective at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, March 25. The new order will be in effect until April 30.

“The health and safety of our community has always been my top priority and I believe we need
to take bold actions if we are to stop the spread of this virus,” Mayor Victorino said. “I am ordering all our residents to stay at home and our visitors to stay in their rooms as much as possible.…

Molokai COVID-19 Update Livestream Friday

Wednesday, March 18th, 2020

Molokai COVID-19 Update Livestream Friday

County of Maui News Release

The County of Maui will be providing COVID-19 updates to Molokai and Lanai residents on Friday via a live stream on Akaku Channel 53 and the County of Maui Facebook page.

Mayor Michael Victorino will be joined by Dr. Lorrin Pang from the Maui District Health Office to talk about the coronavirus and answer questions from the public. Questions pertaining to Molokai and Lanai residents can be emailed to Mayors.Office@co.maui.hi.us or asked on Facebook during the stream.

Previously planned for Wednesday, the stream has been rescheduled to 2 p.m. on Friday, March 20.

General information and resources on COVID-19 (coronavirus) can be found on the County of Maui’s website at mauicounty.gov

The Molokai Dispatch Office Temporarily Closed

Wednesday, March 18th, 2020

The Molokai Dispatch News Release

To encourage social distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the health of our staff, we’ve made the decision to close The Molokai Dispatch and Copy Center office temporarily starting Thursday, March 19. Don’t worry, our staff will still be working hard remotely to produce our island’s newspaper, which will continue to be distributed weekly. To place an ad in the paper, please email sales@themolokaidispatch.com. To submit articles, releases, letters, announcements or events for the calendar, please email editor@themolokaidispatch.com.

We know many of you have come to reply on our Copy Center for your printing needs and we apologize for any inconvenience during this time.…

Mayor Announces Emergency Rules for Maui County

Wednesday, March 18th, 2020

County of Maui News Release

Mayor Michael Victorino announced a number of Public Health Emergency Rules effective as of 7:45 a.m. Friday, March 20, 2020, directed toward limiting the gathering of groups of people and curtailing vehicular transportation except for essential activities or operation of essential business or government functions, such as travel to and from work and medical appointments.

 “We need to take dramatic action to limit the spread of this infectious virus,” Mayor Victorino said. “We cannot do this alone, so we’re asking our community to follow these rules and look out for one another as we face this unprecedented crisis.”…