Sports & Outdoors

County will be left responsible with servicing west end users.

By Todd Yamashita and Brandon Roberts

Molokai Ranch will let funding for West Molokai water operations run dry within four to six months, leaving Maui County responsible for operating the abandoned water system, said the new Director for Hawaii State Office of Planning Abbey Mayer during a community meeting last week.

Most of West End’s drinking water comes from the Ranch’s well 17in Kualapu`u, passing through the Molokai Irrigation System (MIS) in Ho`olehua, and on to a treatment plant in Maunaloa. According to Mayer, Molokai Ranch uses several regulated and unregulated subsidiary companies to manage this and all other Ranch water systems.

Where is Molokai two months after the shutdown?

By Brandon Roberts and Todd Yamashita

While Monsanto and ex-Molokai Ranch workers rallied with signs drawing attention to job loss on Molokai, lawmakers and community leaders nearby discussed strategies which might help the workers get back on their feet.

The Ranch has opened its doors solely for ex-employees to lease Ranch related businesses and to hunt Ranch lands for subsistence, according to Abbey Mayer, director of the state Office of Planning.

Of the roughly 120 workers laid off by Molokai Ranch only five percent have found employment, according to Mayer.

Representatives from the Molokai unemployment office and MedQuest said they have seen no increase in requests for service, but expect it to increase by the end of the month. Unemployment for Ranch workers will begin May 22.

Haliu Kealoha, a second grader at Kilohana, wins a prize at the bean bag toss last Saturday at the Bazaar that will go to fund programs for her throughout the next year.

What’s so bazaar about a fundraiser?

By Brandon Roberts

Hard to have Kilohana without the `ohana who gathered across school grounds to support the school by enjoying a day of food and fun. The East End was alive and full of aloha for the annual fundraiser.

Not all knowledge is learned in one house. What does that mean? Well, for me, that means that my house is different from someone else’s house, and that’s okay.

I always like to reflect on my hula life, since I am a hula person. As a haumana (student) I was given certain basic foundations and I have been fortunate to have learned hula from several kumu from different halau. Each halau, or house as I’d like to call them, have different styles.

Neither of these kumu hula have a style more correct than the other, just different, distinct, and personal to their respective hula genealogy. It’s fascinating to know that one halau can kaholo (a side step) differently from another. I’ve come to a point where I can look at a dancer’s feet and know what halau, what island, or which kumu their hula originates.

Molokai reopens debate on the legality of thrill craft.

What are currently coined thrill-craft, jet skis on Molokai are used for gathering rights, access to remote areas, recreation, and safety while surfing said jet ski owners at a town meeting last Thursday.

As the pro-legalization group spoke, a theme emerged; jet skis are being used and will continue to be, regardless of their illegality on Molokai. Supporters say the law needs to change to regulate use instead of keeping the craft illegal. However, opponents argue a lack of enforcement and the potential for thrill-craft based businesses could outweigh any benefits of legalizing the craft.

The 1992 state law refers to any vessel under 13 feet with the ability to carry up to three people as a “thrill-craft” said Nicolas Giaconi, district manager of the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreations (DOBOR), adding that jet skis are illegal around Molokai and Lanai because these islands are not mentioned in the law.

DLNR TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON JET SKI USE AROUND MOLOKAI

HONOLULU – The Department of Land and Natural Resources will hold an informal public meeting on Molokai on Thursday, May 8 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Mitchell Pauole Community Center conference room to hear from community members regarding the use of jet skis (also known as personal watercraft or PWCs) around Molokai.

Keiki make the 80th year of Lei Day one to remember.

By Brandon Roberts

“All leis are special, and we all have a favorite lei we like to wear close to our hearts,” Kumu Manuwai Peters said. Elaborating further he said that lei is a metaphor for the ones we love and hold dear in our lives. When a lei is created and presented, it is a gift that holds the mana and aloha from the maker, and is proudly displayed with this spirit.

The Molokai High School (MHS) theme for the 2008 Lei Day is; He Lei Pili i ka Pu'uwai (a lei close to one's heart). Each class gave song, hula and ho`okupu to this year’s Queen Pulamalani Hanaoka, and the packed gym. The junior class shared a tearful mahalo for the classmates that passed away this year.

The Kualapu`u reservoir, originally built to supply homesteaders agricultural needs, now supplies 84 percent of all water to 30 non-homestead accounts. State law mandates a two-thirds water allocation for current and future use by Hawaiians, yet the nearly 200 homestead accounts have only 12 percent of the reservoir. With water levels continually decreasing due to increasing non-homestead demands, the water security for future homesteaders may dry up.

State to demand homesteaders to pay up on delinquent water bills.

The struggle for homestead water is about to be cranked up a notch. Hawaii Department of Agriculture (DOA) says that Hawaiian homesteaders owe more than $191,000 in unpaid water bills to an irrigation system that was built specifically to help Hawaiians become sustainable.