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Coastal Kuleana at Moʻomomi Beach

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026

Coastal Kuleana at Moʻomomi Beach

By Dayanti Karunaratne | Editor 

 

A group of about 20 representatives from various local and national organizations joined forces for a clean-up at Moʻomomi Beach on June 5th in celebration of Makahiki Kuleana Kahakai: the Year of Our Coastal Kuleana.

 

The Year of our Coastal Kuleana is a state-wide Department of Land and Natural Resources initiative that encourages people to learn about shorelines and play a part in their protection. Across the state, community groups have been organizing restoration projects, hauling away both litter and invasive plants that threaten these ecosystems. Many took place this weekend in recognition of World Ocean Day on June 8th.  …

The Power of Seagrass 

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026

The Power of Seagrass 

By Dayanti Karunaratne | Editor

Most people avoid beaches that have a lot of underwater vegetation. There’s an ‘ick factor’ when we feel plants between our toes or see it floating on the surface of the water. But Marine Biologist Iker Yturralde knows that it’s an important part of our ecosystem. So when he visited Molokai in early June, he went searching for seagrass. 

“Coastal vegetation is disappearing due to a host of different reasons, whether it be natural disasters or man-made events,” Yturralde of the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa said at a presentation at the Molokai Public Library. “Seagrass protects against the damages of rising sea levels and increased storm events.” …

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Maui County to Host Agriculture Grant Workshop

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026

Maui County News Release

The County of Maui Department of Agriculture encourages nonprofits and for-profit businesses to attend free workshops that will help them prepare for the Fiscal Year 2027 grant application period. Grant applications will be received starting June 22 until 4:30 p.m. July 22, 2026.
County Department of Agriculture priority grant funding areas will focus on agricultural infrastructure, operations, education, recovery, livestock, non-food agriculture and feral animal control. Special emphasis will be placed on supporting operations on Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.
Four public workshops across Maui County will cover eligibility, grant requirements and the application process. In-person and online sessions are as follows:

Molokaʻi: Wednesday, June 17 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.…

OHA Gift Card Program Supports Kona Low Recovery Efforts

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026

OHA News Release

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) will launch its ʻĪnaʻi Kōkua Gift Card Program on Friday, June 12, to support Native Hawaiian households recovering from damage caused by the March 2026 Kona Low storm events.
The program will provide a one-time $2,000 Home Depot gift card to eligible Native Hawaiian homeowners, renters and lessees whose primary residences sustained minor storm-related damage. OHA has allocated $410,000 for the program, making approximately 200 cards available statewide.
Applications will be accepted from June 12 through June 30, 2026.
“The ʻĪnaʻi Kōkua Gift Card Program is another way OHA is supporting Native Hawaiian families recovering from the March storms and flooding,” OHA Board of Trustees Chairperson Kaialiʻi Kahele said.…

Exploring Molokai Nui a Hina with Aunty Opu’ulani

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026

Molokai Bahá’í Community News Release

Cultural educator Aunty Louella Opu’ulani will speak on the tradition of Molokai Nui a Hina at the Molokai Public Library on June 17 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Global Citizenship Speaker Series.
Moloka’i Nui a Hina is a foundational Hawaiian proverb and traditional chant. It translates to “Great Moloka’i, born of Hina,” and honors the moon goddess Hina and the sky god Wākea as the mythic parents of the island.
The phrase connects deeply to the island’s history, culture and identity. According to mo’olelo, Molokai is a cherished child of the gods. Because an island’s resources are finite, this metaphor teaches that the land must be deeply nurtured and cared for by its people.…

Molokai’s Aloha Makes It to Berkeley

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026

Molokai’s Aloha Makes It to Berkeley

By Léo Azambuja

Molokai’s resiliency and aloha keep inspiring other communities across the Pacific. Back in April, a group of four students and two faculty from the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, spent a few days on the island to find out about solar energy projects led by community initiatives, and potentially apply their findings to communities on the mainland.

The university’s Environmental Law Clinic has a series of projects trying to get residential solar systems installed in a quicker, cheaper and more reliable manner to give homeowners and renters energy independence.  

“Molokai was a very logical place to come to look at the work of the energy co-op here,” professor and Law Clinic director Claudia Polsky said of the Hoʻāhu Energy Cooperative Molokai, whose mission is to produce community-owned, affordable, renewable energy for the benefit of their members, community and the environment.…

Call for Artists for Hawai‘i Craftsmen’s 59th Annual Statewide Exhibition

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026

Call for Artists for Hawai‘i Craftsmen’s 59th Annual Statewide Exhibition

Hawai‘i Craftsmen News Release

Hawai‘i Craftsmen invites Hawaiʻi-based artists to submit work for the 2026 Annual Statewide Exhibition — the organization’s premier juried showcase of traditional and contemporary craft. This year’s exhibition will open on O‘ahu at the Downtown Art Center Main Gallery in September, and will then travel to the Schaefer International Gallery at Maui Arts & Cultural Center through December.

The 2026 exhibition will be juried by Jonathan Yukio Clark, Director of the Schaefer International Gallery at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Clark is a multidisciplinary artist and curator whose work and leadership span sculpture, textile, printmaking, and gallery programming both locally and nationally.…

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