Aka`ula School Celebrates 10 Years

Friday, April 25th, 2014

Aka`ula School Celebrates 10 Years

Editor’s note: Reprinted here with permission are two student-written articles that originally appeared in Aka`ula School’s newsletter.

By Madison Trenner, grade 5

On Saturday, April 5, Aka`ula School celebrated a decade of “Learning and Leading Together.”  On this beautiful spring day current students opened with the school oli.  Victoria Newberry presented a colorful history of how a group of energetic people came together and started a school.  Towards the end of her speech, we were blessed with a short shower.  Lunch was a plate of tasty tortillas filled with meat and vegetables.  For dessert we had the biggest cake I have ever seen. …

Money Matters: 2015 County Budget

Friday, April 25th, 2014

Money Matters: 2015 County Budget

Money may not be everything, but around county budget season, it becomes pretty important. Mayor Alan Arakawa presented county councilmembers with his proposed $622.6 million Fiscal Year 2015 budget last month, and since then, the council has been traveling to various districts gathering public input.

On Molokai, the three-hour meeting held two weeks ago garnered a lively turnout and a full slate of testimony.

“We’re here to listen to you as to what your needs are,” said Molokai councilmember Stacy Crivello.

This year’s proposed budget is a $63.3 million increase — 11.3 percent — from last fiscal year’s financial plan adopted by the council.…

Advocating for the `Aina

Thursday, April 24th, 2014

Advocating for the `Aina

In celebration of Earth Day, hundreds of attendees, young and old, examined taxidermies of the endangered native Hawaiian duck, learned how to check plants for invasive fire ants using peanut butter, and pinpointed areas of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the most remote island archipelago in the world.

The community gathered at Molokai’s 22nd annual Earth Day festival at the Kaunakakai Ball Field last Friday evening to honor the values of aloha `aina and malama `aina. Kupuna Moses “Moke” Kim inspired island youth to malama `aina through the Hana Kupono program at Molokai High and Intermediate School. This year’s theme, “He Wa`a He Moku, He Moku He Wa`a; your canoe is like an island, an island is like your canoe,” is a testament to Kim’s mission to preserve Molokai’s natural and limited resources, according to event organizers.…

Molokai Celebrates Library Week

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014

Molokai Celebrates Library Week

Last week, communities across the country celebrated the impact local libraries have on their neighborhoods during National Library Week. On Molokai, the Alu Like Native Hawaiian Library and the Molokai Public Library both participated in observances by offering special programs.

At Kaunakakai’s public library, the community was invited on an educational journey through space that perpetuated the values of the local library.

“The values libraries instill are lifelong learning,” said Sri TenCate, Molokai Public Library Branch Manager. “We service people from babies to seniors and are so happy to be able to give them the resources that we have, so they may continue to learn.”…

Eggs of the Earth

Saturday, April 19th, 2014

Community Contributed 

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

Squash has been referred to as “eggs of the earth” and was domesticated before corn and beans, over 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. It’s native to a broad area from the southern U.S. to South America, and was cultivated by Native Americans.

Categorized either as summer or winter squash, summer squash are varieties eaten when fruit and seeds are immature, such as zucchini, crookneck, patty, scallop, and others, while winter squash are those eaten when the shell is hardened and seed is fully matured. Some squash are grown for their high protein seeds, including the Japanese variety, Kakai.…

3 Brushfires Intentionally Set

Saturday, April 19th, 2014

Three small brushfires blazed in Kalama`ula Mauka last Thursday morning, and are believed to have been intentionally set, according to the Maui Fire officials.

A juvenile male was observed in the area prior to the fires being reported, and was subsequently arrested, said Sergeant James Terry of the Molokai Police Department.

Molokai firefighters from Kaunakakai, Ho`olehua, and Pukoo were dispatched to a brush fire around 10 a.m. When Fire crews arrived on scene, they discovered three separate fires burning, stated Maui Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga.

Two fires were burning at the corner of Likelike Avenue and Pookela Street. These two fires merged in to one fire approximately a quarter acre in size.…

Brushfires Believed to Have Been Intentionally Set

Friday, April 18th, 2014

Three small brushfires blazed in Kalama`ula Mauka yesterday morning, and may have been intentionally set, according to the Maui Fire officials.

Molokai firefighters from Kaunakakai, Ho`olehua, and Pukoo were dispatched to a brush fire around 10 a.m. Thursday. Fire crews arrived on scene and discovered three separate fires in light flashy fuels burning at that location, stated Maui Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga.

Two fires were burning at the corner of Likelike Avenue and Pookela Street. These two fires merged in to one fire approximately a quarter acre in size. The third fire, also a quarter acre in size, was located about 50 yards to the West on Likelike Avenue.…

Join the SHAKA Movement

Friday, April 18th, 2014

Community Contributed

Opinion by Noonoi Selnick

The question is not whether organic produce is safe to eat. The question is why did government waffle in 2002 and allow 245 more chemicals to be used in organic crops, mostly grown as a specialty line by agribusiness corporations.

The question is — as Barbara Kingsolver, author of “Seeing Red,” put it, why are there synthetic ingredients allow in our foods? In 2005, a federal court ruled that organic food could not be made with synthetic ingredients. But agribusiness lobbyists complained, and Congress again waffled and rewrote the law. It’s now legal to use Bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to developmental problems in kids, in cans of organic food!…

County Recognizes Abuse Prevention Efforts

Friday, April 18th, 2014

County Recognizes Abuse Prevention Efforts

A proclamation by Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa declaring April as Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month had special meaning for prevention efforts on Molokai. Thanks to the efforts of staff at Child and Family Service, Child Welfare Service and Molokai’s Consuelo Foundation, support, services and prevention programs have taken a leap forward.

One example of recent success is the founding of a trained team of experts, counselors and first responders called Molokai Sexual Assault Response Team, or MoSART, which enables victims of sexual assault to no longer have to travel off-island for services and care.

At a proclamation ceremony in front of the Public Library last week, community members gathered to recognize those efforts and celebrate the county-wide declaration.…

Finding Neverland: Kualapu`u Students Perform School’s Last Musical

Thursday, April 17th, 2014

Finding Neverland: Kualapu`u Students Perform School’s Last Musical

Keiki sent their loved ones flying on a musical journey to Neverland last Thursday evening at Kualapu`u School’s performance of “Peter Pan” and the school’s last theater production.

The overflowing school cafeteria left only standing room for latecomers to watch 35 eager students of all ages sing, dance, and deliver “Peter Pan,” their second musical and fourth annual production. Students performed last week during school for classmates on April 7 and 8 and for their ohana on April 9 and 10 at 6 p.m. Students write, choreograph, and direct an original screenplay as part of a class lesson each year. This year, the unit emphasized self-entitlement with a concept titled, “Who Do You Think You Are?”…