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Search Planned for Missing Woman

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

A woman who disappeared on Molokai more than two months ago is still missing, and this weekend, Molokai volunteers will gather to search for her.

Gianina Reid, a 25-year-old woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder, abandoned her car and disappeared in the area of the Kalaupapa lookout with no belongings and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

Kimberlyn Scott, a Maui resident whose pregnant daughter Charli Scott went missing on Maui seven years ago, now helps organize searches for families whose loved ones are missing. She will be using her experience to help coordinate Molokai residents in a planned search effort Sept.…

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Molokai Death Marks First for COVID

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021

Molokai Death Marks First for COVID

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Each year for Valentine’s Day, Pilipo Solatorio of Halawa Valley would write a love letter to his wife, Dianna, in The Molokai Dispatch for their wedding anniversary. Married 58 years, Dianna passed away two weeks ago at Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu after contracting COVID-19. Now, her family is begging the community to take the virus seriously.

“It was devastating. To hear him cry, and for him to look at you and ask, ‘Can I just kiss her one last time?’ and it was hard for me to tell him ‘you can’t, you know, you can’t touch her.’…

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Molokai Drugs Offers Free COVID Testing

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Free COVID-19 testing is now available at Molokai Drugs. With testing now a requirement for non-vaccinated state and county employees and Molokai cases continuing to spike, having greater accessibility to testing is important.

Molokai residents need to pre-register at precentcovidhi.com, as walk-in testing is not available.

“We are offering testing only four days per week (Tuesday through Friday),” Kimberly Svetin shared on social media. “Our supplies are limited so we ask that you cancel if you are sick or cannot make it in for your timeslot.”
Molokai Drugs as a free testing site is being offered through a partnership between Hawaii State Department of Health, National Kidney Foundation, FEMA and Molokai Drugs, Inc.,…

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COVID Vaccines Q&A

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By the Molokai Health Foundation

Question: I’m healthy. Why should I get vaccinated?
Answer: Anyone can get the virus and give it to other people who might not be as healthy. If you get vaccinated, you’re protecting family and friends, plus yourself!

Q: What side effects could I get from a vaccination?
A: The main side effect is a temporary sore spot where you got the shot. Other symptoms, like tiredness, headache or slight temperature, might last a few days, but go away quickly.

Q: I have diabetes and heart problems. My friend has cancer. Is it safe for us to get vaccinated?…

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Fishpond Restoration Workdays

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By Maile Naehu

Spend a day with us in Mana’e with Hui o Kuapa! We are hosting four Community Workdays for the restoration of ʻOhalahala fishpond at Kumimi Beach located after the 20 mile marker, East Molokai. 

Our dates are Saturday, Sept. 4 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 17 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 14 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Lunch and water will be provided. Please bring a water bottle, towel, work and protective gear such as hat, long sleeved rash guard or shirt, longer shorts or leggings, reef shoes or tabis and/or an old pair of shoes, work gloves (we will have some in limited supply), and a light breathable mask. Limited…

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Vaccine Mandate Concerns Voiced

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

A few dozen residents took to sign-holding in Kaunakakai last week to air concerns about recent vaccine mandates imposed on state and county employees, which also includes Dept. of Education teachers, as well as students wanting to participate in school athletics.

The island and state are in the midst of the largest spike in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, causing dire concern to health officials and leading to many workplace vaccine mandates in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. And though strongly urged by many community leaders and officials, getting vaccinated in still a personal choice, and some residents are standing up for the freedom to choose.…

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Residents Sought for Broadband Mapping Project

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

ʻAuamo Collaborative News Release

ʻAuamo Collaborative is hiring short-term data collectors to serve on a community outreach team for its Rural Broadband Mapping Project aimed at discovering broadband capabilities in the rural areas of Molokai, as well as Hawaii Island, Maui, Lanai and Kauai. Team members will be deployed in these regions to monitor quality of Internet coverage, ability to access broadband services, and gauge broadband utility.

“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed poor or non-existent broadband service in Hawaii’s rural areas and we need a better understanding of what connectivity exists in our communities,” said Brad Bennett, founder of ʻAuamo Collaborative. “The lack of access affects a families’ ability to obtain educational opportunities, telehealth services, and government assistance, made even more acute by pandemic restrictions that hinder people’s access to in-person services.”…

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Molokai Highest Per Capita COVID Rate in State

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Last Friday, Molokai logged 12 positive COVID-19 cases in one day – the highest single-day count for the island since the pandemic began – and had 31 cases in the last week alone. The total case count has alarmingly tripled in the last three weeks. The island is up to 154 total cases since the pandemic began, as of Sunday.

Molokai also currently has the most cases proportionate to the island’s population. The Dept. of Health reports cases per 100,000 people by island, and Molokai’s statistic at 803 cases per 100,000 population leads the state, with Hawaii Island coming in second at 799 per 100,000 people, and Oahu at 639.…

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Congressman Kahele Visits Molokai

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021

Congressman Kahele Visits Molokai

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Congressman Kaiali’i Kahele spent four days Molokai last week to get a better understand of the challenges and strengths of the community, as the last stop in a district-wide tour. He spoke with sustainability leaders and fishpond restorers, large-scale farmers and backyard gardeners, as well as staff at a variety healthcare organizations on island.
U.S. Rep. Kahele took office on Jan. 3 of this year, representing the second Congressional district, which covers the whole state.

“My first six to nine months in office [I wanted to] get a chance to go to all the different islands to really start to hear what are the community’s concerns and how can my voice at the federal level help answer some of those things,” he said during his Molokai visit, which spanned Monday to Thursday last week.…

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Woman Still Missing on Molokai

Tuesday, August 17th, 2021

Woman Still Missing on Molokai

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Nearly two months after her disappearance at the Pala’au State Park in Kalae on June 24, Gianina Reid is still missing. The 25-year-old woman is described by police as Caucasian, 5-foot-8, weighing about 120 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes and a tattoo of a crescent moon shape on her forehead.

Molokai Police Detective Kyle “Ikaika” Bishaw-Juario said police have conducted multiple searches for her in the Kalae area with no results.

A $500 reward has been posted for information leading to her whereabouts.

Moments before her disappearance on June 24, her speeding vehicle hit Pala’au Park caretaker Jerry Rich, who was working near the side of the road.…

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