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Ua Ritte to Address ‘Ahupua’a Restoration

Thursday, February 13th, 2025

Ua Ritte to Address ‘Ahupua’a Restoration

Molokai Bahá’í Community News Release

Restoring an ahupua‘a is no small task—it requires resilience and consistency driven by necessity. In his presentation “Restoring ‘Ahupua‘a: A Generational Undertaking,” Kalaniua “Ua” Ritte, Executive Director of ʻAina Momona, will share the challenges and triumphs of restoring the Kaʻamola ʻahupua‘a on Molokai. The presentation at Molokai Public Library will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19.

ʻAina Momona is a Native Hawaiian nonprofit dedicated to restoring Molokai’s cultural and environmental abundance. Deeply rooted in his Molokai community, Ritte brings decades of experience as a steward of the land and advocate for traditional practices. Under his leadership, ʻAina Momona has spearheaded efforts to restore the Kaʻamola ahupuaʻa, blending indigenous wisdom with innovative strategies to combat soil erosion, invasive species, and watershed degradation.…

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Basketball Takes Second at MILs

Thursday, February 13th, 2025

Basketball Takes Second at MILs

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff 

Molokai High School (MHS) boys basketball travelled to Lanai to compete in the Maui Interscholastic League DII tournament last week. In their first game, the Farmers prevailed against Maui Prep, beating them by a score of 65-56. Kaizen Torres-Umi Napoleon led the scoring with 28 points, with Tyshonn Harper following with 11. The Farmers next took on Seabury Hall in the finals, with Seabury taking the 82-38 win. The Farmers will continue their season at home on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 1 p.m. at the Barn against a to-be-determined opponent. 

Girls basketball was likewise in action, competing in the state tournament over on Oahu.…

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Bill Plans for Future of Kalaupapa and Kalawao County 

Thursday, February 13th, 2025

Bill Plans for Future of Kalaupapa and Kalawao County 

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

A new bill being heard in the Hawaii Senate looks at the impending future of Kalaupapa along with that of Kalawao County. With seven patient residents all between the ages of 83 and 100 remaining, four of whom call Kalaupapa their full-time home, state and federal agencies with responsibilities in Kalaupapa are preparing for the day when the settlement is without patients. 

Currently, the Department of Health (DOH) is charged with most elements of patient care, with the National Park Service (NPS) running utilities, waste management and the maintenance of certain areas like the trail, cemeteries and other archeological sites.…

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E Ola Ka ‘Olelo Hawaii 

Thursday, February 13th, 2025

E Ola Ka ‘Olelo Hawaii 

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

“If a culture has its language, the culture will live on. Once the language dies, the culture dies,” explained Kilia Purdy-Avelino. As a longtime kumu of ‘Olelo Hawaii currently teaching ‘olelo in a Hawaiian focused charter school, Purdy-Avelino has helped many students participate in this lifeline of language. Last week though, she sat in a slightly different role as a judge at the annual ‘Aha Ho’okuku ‘Olelo Hawaiian Language Competition. 

Molokai students of the Hawaiian language from preschoolers at Punana Leo to high schoolers and even some post-grad young adults gathered at Kulana ‘Oiwi Halau on Tuesday, Feb.…

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Juan “Johnny” Visoria Trinidad – The Youngest Sakada

Thursday, February 6th, 2025

Juan “Johnny” Visoria Trinidad – The Youngest Sakada

Juan “Johnny” Trinidad was born to Leoncio Rodrigues Trinidad and Lucia Visoria on Feb. 8, 1928 in Ilocos Sur, Philippines. He was the oldest of eight children.

He was only 18 years old when he was recruited by the Hawaii Sugar Plantation Association, where his compadres averaged 10 years older than him. He boarded the USS Maunawili, on April 3, 1946, to arrive in Hawaii in October. Thus, he became known as the “Youngest Sakada.”

Juan worked for California Packing Company (CPC) and Del Monte Corporation for a total of 51 years, starting off as a pineapple laborer, and then a truck and harvester driver, a luna and lastly, as a welder in the Kualapuu Shop.…

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MVP Tournament

Thursday, February 6th, 2025

MVP Tournament

With many events on island cancelled following last week’s storm, Molokai residents were eager for some action. Luckily, the Molokai Volleyball Players (MVP) tournament was still on at the Molokai Baptist Church for Friday and Saturday. In the co-ed tournament, teams got to play each other in a pool format to determine rankings before embarking on the single elimination tournament.

Organized by Suli Aki, the tournament only takes place four times a year, and offers prizes like custom plaques for the victors.…

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MHS Sports Update

Thursday, February 6th, 2025

MHS Sports Update

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

Despite last week’s storm, the Molokai High School (MHS) wrestling team was able to make the trip over to Lahainaluna for a round-robin tournament. The Farmers had a strong showing for both the girls and boys. For the girls, Hila’i Kapuni and Masina Borden-Phillips came aways with first place in their divisions, and Stephanie Gandeza and Jazlyn Boswell finished in second place.

For the boys, Reyn Raguindin, Kolby Dudoit and Aiden Augustiro all took home first place, with Kingston Montizor and Jona Dudoit taking second place. With these scores, the Farmers were able to place third overall as a team in both the boys and girls divisions.…

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2024 Visitor Numbers Show Continued Decline

Thursday, February 6th, 2025

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

Visitor numbers and expenditures on Molokai have fallen over the past year, continuing the downward trend seen since 2019. The Hawaii Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) recently released their data for visitor statistics to Hawaii for December 2024, and 2024 as a whole. While tourism has increased statewide by 0.3 percent, totaling at 9,689,113, Molokai’s visitor numbers decreased by over 10 percent in 2024, totalling 29,844. Likewise, visitor expenditures on Molokai fell nearly 12 percent in 2024, down to about $30 million from $34 million in 2023.

Molokai averaged 468 visitors per day in 2024, down from 496 in 2023, and the lowest in the state.…

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Celebrating Lunar New Year and the Year of the Snake

Thursday, February 6th, 2025

Celebrating Lunar New Year and the Year of the Snake

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

Last Friday, Molokai residents celebrated the Lunar New Year at the Molokai Public Library, where they took part in traditions like Chinese paper cutting and lantern crafting. Dr. Sun Hui Hung from the University of Hawaii’s outreach college was scheduled to perform at the library but was unable to make the event due to the inclement weather.

Hung, who practices a musical synthesis of Chinese and Hawaiian styles, often plays Hawaiian songs accompanied by slack-key, steel guitar and her own Chinese instrument: the erhu.

In Hung’s own description, she creates “Hawaiian music with a Chinese spirit.”

“It makes for a really interesting combination,” she said.…

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Winter Storm Surges Across Molokai

Thursday, February 6th, 2025

Winter Storm Surges Across Molokai

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

The biggest storm of the winter so far blew into Molokai on Thursday, Jan. 30, dumping two to four inches of rain across the island and whipping along with winds over 50 miles per hour.

“It was the most significant storm [of the winter] so far,” explained Joseph Clark, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “It’s been such a quiet winter.”

The storm was actually not produced by a Kona low, explained Clark. Kona lows have a lot more cold air than this storm did, are more unstable and sit on a region for a longer period of time.…

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