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On Better Sirens

Wednesday, August 30th, 2023

Maui sirens did not go off before or during the fires. I am so sorry. To my beloved Hawaiian community, I have an idea that may help or save us in the future.  Authorities say, if the alarm siren had sounded, it may have caused people to run up and toward the fire. To me, the flaw is in the single use and single designation of the alarm siren. There is a very simple fix going forward, hopefully immediately: have two designations for our early warning alarm system that everyone can understand immediately.  

The steady siren, like our current monthly tests, designates a tsunami warning.…

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The Aftermath

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

The Aftermath

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

“Lahaina is love,” said Christina Nakihei. “If Lahaina and Molokai were brother and sister, they would be twins. It’s the exact same way as back home…Everyone is trying to help each other succeed.” 

Nakihei grew up on Molokai and then followed in the footsteps of her father, boarding at Lahainaluna High School. 

The connection between Molokai and Lahaina is evident, everywhere. The two communities have been linked for generations. 

“Lahaina is just like Molokai, it’s like home,” said Marcus Dudoit. “A lot of Molokai guys used to work in Lahaina. My grandfather used to work in the hotel.” …

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Fall Outrigger Races Canceled

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

The Molokai Hoe, Na Wahine o Ke Kai and Pailolo Challenge outrigger channel races will not run this year. 

“This decision has been made in response to the unfolding federal crisis on Maui, where fires have ravaged the island and left communities grappling with the aftermath,” explained a news release regarding the Molokai Hoe cancelation from the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (OHCRA). 

With residents of West Maui still reeling from deadly and devastating fires, Molokai Hoe and Na Wahine O Ke Kai organizers each hoped to redirect resources and energy towards recuperation efforts on Maui. 

“Given the gravity of the situation and the urgent need to allocate all available Maui County resources to support the Maui community impacted by the fires, OHCRA believes that postponing this year’s Molokai Hoe is not only a responsible course of action, but also a demonstration of unity and solidarity during times of crisis,” explained the OHCRA press release. …

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More Clean Energy Techs for Molokai

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

More Clean Energy Techs for Molokai

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

“It was the chance of a lifetime,” said Christina Bethke, one of the 12 Molokai residents who are now qualified to work as clean energy technicians. 

“I lived off the grid my whole life,” explained Bethke who was born and raised on a homestead. “Solar was my passion for decades now.”

Bethke and the other Molokai students just finished a four-month, fully-funded intro to photovoltaic training course put on by the Ho’ahu Energy Cooperative Molokai (HECM). The training was a hybrid of curriculum-based and hands-on learning, explained HECM’s training and workforce developer Liliana Napoleon, M.B.A. 

Napoleon explained that the course was intended to educate both in life skills and job opportunities, allowing graduates to transition from a “typical on-grid lifestyle” to an “energy farming lifestyle.” …

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Writing Workshop

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

MAC News Release 

The Molokai Arts Center’s (MAC) Artist in Residence Noelani M. Piters is near the end of her residency, working on a short story collection centered around Hawaii, the Native Hawaiian diaspora, mixedness and what it means to belong. Her stories will explore how immigration, colonization, family myth, mixed experience, the relationship to the land, inheritance and kuleana complicate and create identity. This will manifest in fragmented narratives, characters who question the invisible barriers that delineate their various heritages, and visceral descriptions of locations with deep historical or personal significance.

Noe, who is a Chinese, Kanaka Maoli and Jewish writer living in San Francisco, CA, will be the guest of our next MAC Talk on Thursday, Aug.…

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Wildfire Preparedness

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

By Erin Peyton, HWMO Community Wildfire Ambassador

Be wildfire-aware in all activities. Below are some tips and resources to keep you, your family and your homes wildfire aware, prepared, and safe.

Stay informed using trusted sources, and make sure you are signed up for civil defense alerts. Sign up for the Maka’ala notification service at the MEMA website at mauicounty.gov/emergency. The link to self-register is under the Maka’ala – Emergency Alerts or public.alertsense.com/SignUp/publicUser.aspx?RegionId=1946.

If you don’t have a computer or other electronic device to sign up, please call the MEMA office at (808) 270-7285. They will be happy to assist you to register on the phone. …

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Librarian Award Brings YA Author to Molokai

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

Community Contributed

By Ric Ornellas 

Molokai High School (MHS) students who’ve read The Honeys by young adult (YA) author Ryan La Sala are thrilled the author is coming to MHS on Aug. 31. Diane Mokuau, MHS Librarian, received the 2021 School Librarian of the Year annual award presented by School Library Journal (SLJ) and sponsored by Scholastic. The pandemic interrupted Mrs. Mokuau’s preferred author’s visit until now. Scholastic’s Credo and Educational Platform inspires students to cultivate their minds to the utmost capacity, become familiar with our cultural heritage, and to strive for excellence in creative expression. Scholastic is a decade’s long book fair supplier to MHS and other Molokai schools.…

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Reflections from the Incoming Editor

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

Reflections from the Incoming Editor

It’s been a year to remember. If you’d asked me a year ago where I would be, I’d have hoped for an opportunity like this, but never expected it. Life comes at you fast. 

In sincere gratitude, my experience so far has only been made possible by the outrageous generosity of the Molokai community. From miso soup at the Guzeiji Soto Mission, to corned beef hash at the Kikukawas, from Wednesday night soccer to Thursdays at the softball fields, my life here has revolved around borrowed cars, rented rooms, and true friends as I slowly got my feet under me. 

I want to say thank you to Catherine Cluett Pactol.…

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Growing Old Consciously

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

To be aware of my own aging process is quite an interesting experience. It happens to everyone, whether we want it to or not. At first glimpse, I tried to ignore it. Then I tried to fight it, but that’s like fighting against gravity mid-fall. 

I’ve learned to see my play of emotions in a different way. I’m on a natural honorable journey here on Molokai. The ego tells me to do the things I used to do as a young person. But I can’t, at least those things have become less satisfactory. So why take that route? Why keep myself in the mind frame of “I can’t?”…

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Molokai Community Assists in Maui Fire Aid

Wednesday, August 16th, 2023

Molokai Community Assists in Maui Fire Aid

By Catherine Cluett Pactol, Reporter

Last Tuesday, Aug. 8, fires broke out on Maui that officials now say are the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century. As of Sunday, deaths had reached nearly 100 and rising, with more than 1000 people still unaccounted for. The entire town of Lahaina was destroyed in a fast-burning fire that left residents running for their lives and jumping into the ocean in attempts to escape the blaze. 

With government assistance lacking and official aid slow to arrive to those hit hardest, the Maui community galvanized to organize food, water, clothing and essential supplies to those who fled with only the clothes on their backs. …

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