News Releases

Two Molokai Churches Lauded for Highway Cleanups

Thursday, January 23rd, 2025

Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Maui District News Release

Two churches on Molokai have been recognized by the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Maui District, for their contributions to the Adopt-A-Highway public service program.

The Heart of Aloha Church and Tenrikyo Molokai received the Adopt-A-Highway No Ka Oi Highway Hui Award for the fourth quarter of 2024 and first quarter of 2025, respectively. Both churches and their volunteers have regularly picked up trash along a two-mile segment of highway for the past eight or more years, helping to prevent roadside rubbish from blowing into the ocean or other sensitive ecosystems.…

Seed to Harvest Gardening Program Taking Applications

Thursday, January 16th, 2025

UH CTAHR Molokai News Release

The University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (UH CTAHR) Molokai Cooperative Extension Service Team is excited to announce our 12 week “Seed to Harvest” gardening series. Apply by contacting UH CTAHR at (808) 567-6929. Applications are due no later than Jan. 24.

The “Seed to Harvest” gardening series is a part of the “Rooted in Resilience: Building Healthy Communities Through Gardening” program for 2025. This program is funded by the County of Maui Department of Agriculture and is a partnership between UH CTAHR, Molokai Cooperative Extension Service and the County of Maui Department of Agriculture.…

Ke Alahele Education Grant

Thursday, January 16th, 2025

MEDB News Release

Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) is seeking applications from educators and students for its Ke Alahele Education Grant. All Maui County public school educators and students are invited to apply. Projects must also be endorsed by the applicant’s school principal to be eligible.

Thanks to the generosity of over 300 Ke Alahele supporters at MEDB’s October fundraising dinner and auction, MEDB expects to award 15 to 20 grants of $3,000 in the spring 2025 semester, depending on the number of applications received.

The Ke Alahele Grant funds can be used to support a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and professional development activities at both the secondary and post-secondary levels.…

Tow and Scrap Program

Thursday, January 16th, 2025

Maui County Dept. of Environmental Management News Release

The County of Maui Department of Environmental Management has launched a new Tow and Scrap program for Molokai residents to recycle their unwanted qualified vehicles at no cost. The County is partnering with A&S Services LLC and Molokai Metals Facility to facilitate the program.

Residents must be the last registered owner of the vehicle being recycled. Residents will need the vehicle title with their name on the title and a government-issued photo identification.

To make an appointment, residents may call A&S Services LLC at (808) 336-0747. An A&S employee will go to residents’ homes, check their documents and give them two forms to fill out.…

Agricultural Micro Grant Additional Information

Thursday, January 16th, 2025

MEO News Release

Molokai residents interested in applying for the Agricultural Micro Grant Program can do so in-person at MEO’s Molokai Office, 380 Kolapa Place, Kaunakakai, Hawaii 96748. For more information, contact the MEO Business Development Center by phone at (808) 553-3270 or by email at lily.napoleon@meoinc.org. The deadline to submit applications is Feb. 25, 2025. Further application details are available at meoinc.org/programs and were printed in the Jan. 8 issue of The Molokai Dispatch.…

MEO 60-Year Spotlight: The Molokai branch

Thursday, January 16th, 2025

MEO News Release

Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc., (MEO) is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025. The Community Action Partnership program, born of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty and the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, was chartered on March 22, 1965.
MEO’s reach stretches from East Maui to Lanai City to Kaunakakai, Molokai, while offering most of the agency’s 30 programs in each location.
On Molokai, MEO offices and a Head Start preschool were completed in 1992 on 1.3 acres at 380 Kolapa Place in Kaunakakai. Prior to moving, MEO was located across the street from Kaunakakai Elementary and served as a “community hub,” recalled MEO Molokai Director Mahie McPh

erson, who leads a staff of 19.…

State Expands Keiki Medicaid Coverage 

Thursday, January 9th, 2025

Hawaii Dept. of Human Services News Release 

Hawaii families can have greater peace of mind when it comes to health care for their keiki, thanks to a new approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Under this change, children in Hawaii can stay covered by Hawaii’s Medicaid program, QUEST, without interruptions, as follows: children under age 6 will have continuous coverage until their sixth birthday. Children ages 6 to 19 will receive coverage for two years at a time.

This means families won’t have to reapply as often, reducing paperwork and making it easier to focus on what matters most: their children’s health and well-being.…

Film and Creative Content Funding

Thursday, January 9th, 2025

Hawaii Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism News Release

Right now, Molokai creatives have a chance to bid for funding for their film and media projects.

The Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) Creative Industries Division (CID) Hawaii released on Dec. 31, 2024, a request for proposals (RFP) toward the development of small, mid-sized and microbudget film and creative media projects. Providing Phase I seed funding from the Hawaii Film and Creative Industries Development Fund, the solicitation is to support local filmmakers, media makers and content creators with the goal of supporting the growth of Hawaii-originated intellectual property (IP) for licensing, distribution and export.…

Agricultural Micro Grant Program

Thursday, January 9th, 2025

MEO News Release

Applications for the popular Agricultural Micro Grant Program 5.0 – which offers up to $25,000 in grants to Maui County small farmers and ranchers – will be available starting Jan. 9, 2025.
The $2 million Maui County-funded program, administered by Maui Economic Opportunity’s Business Development Center, is open to select startup and operating farms on less than 12 acres, and livestock ranches up to 40 acres.
The farms and ranches must possess a county business or state general excise license as of July 1, 2024. Preference will be given to women and Native Hawaiian-run operations.
The grants may be used to directly impact the availability of locally-grown produce, livestock and poultry and other related products.…