 |
| Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking advisors from the public to sit on its council, as humpbacks give birth and raise their young in nearshore waters of Ka`u before returning to the Northern Pacific in Spring. See story below. Photo from NOAA |
 |
| Jeanette Howard and Lorie Lei Shirakawa, two teachers of Hawaiian language and culture in Ka`u. Photo by Julia Neal |
Hawaiian is an official language in the State of Hawaiʻi, along with English. In 2012, an amendment to Hawaiʻi statutes provided that the month of February shall be known and designated as ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Month to celebrate and encourage the use of the Hawaiian language. This measure was the first Act to be codified in Hawaiian and English, and stated: “Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi: E ʻike mau a e kapa ʻia ana aʻe ka mahina ʻo Pepeluali ʻo ia ka ‘Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi’ i mea e hoʻomaikaʻi a e paipai aku ai i ka ʻōlelo ʻana o ua ʻōlelo Makuahine nei lā.”
The translation of Gabbard's statement into Hawaiian, courtesy of ‘Ōiwi TV, is as follows: Pēia ka manaʻo o ka Lunamakaʻāinana Tulsi Gabbard i kēia lā i hoʻomanaʻo i ka Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.
“He ʻōlelo ola o Hawaiʻi nei ka ʻōlelo Makuahine ma muli o nā keʻehina hoʻōla ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi i ʻauamo aloha ʻia no nā kenekulia i kaʻahope akula. ʻIke maoli ʻia ke ola o nei ʻōlelo ma nā ʻoihana, nā kaiāulu, a me nā kula a puni ʻo Hawaiʻi mokuʻāina. I kēia mahina hoʻomanaʻo, e hoʻomaopopo kākou i ke kuleana a kākou e kahukahu a hoʻāmana like ai no ke ola mau o ko Hawaiʻi ʻōlelo makuahine. “E ola ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!”
Mōʻaukala: ʻO ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kekahi o nā ʻōlelo kūhelu ʻelua o Hawaiʻi mokuʻāina, pau pū me ka Pelekānia. Ma 2012 i hoʻoholo ʻia ai ʻo Pepeluali ka “Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi” i mea e pai aʻe ai i ke ola o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. ʻO kēia ka ʻōlelo hoʻoholo mua i paʻa ma nā ʻōlelo kūhelu ʻelua ʻo ka Hawaiʻi lāua me ka Pelekānia penei: “Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi: E ʻike mau a e kapa ʻia ana aʻe ka mahina ʻo Pepeluali ʻo ia ka ‘Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi’ i mea e hoʻomaikaʻi a e paipai aku ai i ka ʻōlelo ʻana o ua ʻōlelo Makuahine nei lā.”
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY is seeking to fill five primary and two alternate seats on its advisory council. The council ensures public participation in sanctuary matters and provides advice to sanctuary management.
"The members of our advisory council represent an extremely important element of our community," said Malia Chow, sanctuary superintendent. "Their input, experience and expertise assist sanctuary managers in making informed and timely decisions on how best to protect and conserve our important cultural and natural resources."
The sanctuary is accepting applications for the following seats: business/commerce (primary); Molokai Island (primary and alternate); Native Hawaiian (primary); Oahu Island (primary and alternate); and tourism (primary).
Candidates are selected based on their expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying, community and professional affiliations, and views regarding the protection and management of marine resources. Applicants who are chosen as primary or alternate members should expect to serve a two-year term.
Applications are due by Tuesday, Feb. 28. To receive an application kit or for further information, contact Shannon Ruseborn via email at Shannon.Ruseborn@noaa.gov; by phone at 808-725-5905; or visit the sanctuary website at http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/council/council_app_accepting.html. Completed applications should be submitted to: NOAA Inouye Regional Center, NOS/HIHWNMS/Shannon Ruseborn, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
The sanctuary is administered by a partnership of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the State of Hawaii through the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The sanctuary works to protect humpback whales through research, education, conservation and stewardship. See Facebook.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
THE FOOD BASKET & Tutu and Me HI South have announced that Kat Bumatay with The Food Basket, which serves as Hawai'i Island's Food Bank, will be at Na'alehu Community Center on Monday, Feb. 6 to provide information about the S.N.A.P. food program, from approximately 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. - outdoors at the community center, weather permitting.
Fourty-eight "light bags" of food to be given away on a first-come, first-served basis. This event is open to all Tutu and Me participants as well as the general public with no restrictions or requirements. To receive a bag of food, individuals need only sign for it.
THE FOOD BASKET, which serves Nā‘ālehu, the Food Pantry in Ocean View and other locations in Ka‘ū, is seeking the community’s support during its New Year, New Wheels campaign, an effort to raises needed funds to replace worn out and unrepairable vehicles. As Hawai’i Island’s only food bank, The Food Basket has provided continuous emergency hunger relief for 27 years, and the agency’s vehicles are an essential aspect of operations.
Each month, over 12,000 unduplicated individuals are served by The Food Basket through a network of partners and in-agency programs islandwide. “Our vehicles are the workhorses of The Food Basket,” said Executive Director En Young. “We don’t produce food. We collect it and get it out to where it needs to be. Our population is only one-fifth that of O‘ahu, but we are responsible for six times the area. We need reliable vehicles to serve places like Nā‘ālehu, because we can’t just stop at a service station if something goes wrong.”
In 2016, The Food Basket traveled over 130,000 “food miles,” picking up and delivering over 1.4 million pounds of food.
According to The Food Basket staff, the five vehicles currently being used include only one model made within the past decade and are not mechanically reliable enough to cover The Food Basket’s 4,028-square mile service area and often requires staff to use their own vehicles for deliveries.
![]()
Maintenance costs and rental expenses are rising sharply to compensate for out of service vehicles. Of The Food Basket’s five vehicles serving the entire island, only one is equipped with working refrigeration, providing additional challenges in maintaining the quality and safety of fresh food during transport.
“We have to have vehicles that work,” said Bernard Torres, Lead Warehouse Associate and Driver in Hilo. “None of the vehicles in Hilo currently have refrigeration capacity, which is a necessity.”
Funds raised through the campaign will be used to acquire a new box truck and cargo van for The Food Basket, both of which would have refrigeration.
The Food Basket is aiming to reach its $150,000 goal by July 31 in order to have these vehicles in use by the end of the year.
To donate, see GoFundMe.com/TheFoodBasket or HawaiiFoodBasket.org.
The mission of The Food Basket, Inc. is to feed the hungry in Hawai’i County while attending to the root causes of this critical social problem. The Food Basket will accomplish its mission by preventing the waste of all edible food in Hawai‘i County, feeding the hungry with this food, educating the community about local hunger and what can be done to solve this social problem, and collaborating with organizations of partnering missions to eradicate poverty, the root of hunger and other social ills.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
![]()
MOKUHANGA: Japanese Woodblock Printing, Thursday, Feb 2 – Thursday, March 9, 1 – 3:30 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Glenn Yamanoha instructs. $80/$72 VAC members plus $30 supply fee. 967-8222
OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meeting, Thursday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-2442 & 928-2015.
STEWARDSHIP AT THE SUMMIT, Friday, Feb. 3, 11, 18, 20; 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Volunteers clear ginger from park trails. Free; park entrance fees apply. nps.gov/havo
HAM RADIO OPERATORS Potluck Picnic, Sunday, Feb. 5, Manuka Park. All American Radio Emergency Service members, anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio and families are invited to attend. Dennis Smith, 989-3028
PU`U O LOKUANA, Sunday, Feb. 5, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Kahuku unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about formation and various uses of this grassy cinder cone and enjoy a breathtaking view of lower Ka‘ū on this free, moderately difficult 0.4-mile hike to the top.
![]()
![]()
Mōʻaukala: ʻO ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kekahi o nā ʻōlelo kūhelu ʻelua o Hawaiʻi mokuʻāina, pau pū me ka Pelekānia. Ma 2012 i hoʻoholo ʻia ai ʻo Pepeluali ka “Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi” i mea e pai aʻe ai i ke ola o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. ʻO kēia ka ʻōlelo hoʻoholo mua i paʻa ma nā ʻōlelo kūhelu ʻelua ʻo ka Hawaiʻi lāua me ka Pelekānia penei: “Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi: E ʻike mau a e kapa ʻia ana aʻe ka mahina ʻo Pepeluali ʻo ia ka ‘Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi’ i mea e hoʻomaikaʻi a e paipai aku ai i ka ʻōlelo ʻana o ua ʻōlelo Makuahine nei lā.”
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY is seeking to fill five primary and two alternate seats on its advisory council. The council ensures public participation in sanctuary matters and provides advice to sanctuary management.
 |
| Candidates for the council advising the humpback whale sanctuary can apply through Feb. 28. Photo from NOAA |
The sanctuary is accepting applications for the following seats: business/commerce (primary); Molokai Island (primary and alternate); Native Hawaiian (primary); Oahu Island (primary and alternate); and tourism (primary).
Candidates are selected based on their expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying, community and professional affiliations, and views regarding the protection and management of marine resources. Applicants who are chosen as primary or alternate members should expect to serve a two-year term.
Applications are due by Tuesday, Feb. 28. To receive an application kit or for further information, contact Shannon Ruseborn via email at Shannon.Ruseborn@noaa.gov; by phone at 808-725-5905; or visit the sanctuary website at http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/council/council_app_accepting.html. Completed applications should be submitted to: NOAA Inouye Regional Center, NOS/HIHWNMS/Shannon Ruseborn, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
The sanctuary is administered by a partnership of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the State of Hawaii through the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The sanctuary works to protect humpback whales through research, education, conservation and stewardship. See Facebook.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
THE FOOD BASKET & Tutu and Me HI South have announced that Kat Bumatay with The Food Basket, which serves as Hawai'i Island's Food Bank, will be at Na'alehu Community Center on Monday, Feb. 6 to provide information about the S.N.A.P. food program, from approximately 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. - outdoors at the community center, weather permitting.
Fourty-eight "light bags" of food to be given away on a first-come, first-served basis. This event is open to all Tutu and Me participants as well as the general public with no restrictions or requirements. To receive a bag of food, individuals need only sign for it.
 |
| The Food Basket needs new wheels to reach remote places in Ka`u. Photo from The Food Basket |
THE FOOD BASKET, which serves Nā‘ālehu, the Food Pantry in Ocean View and other locations in Ka‘ū, is seeking the community’s support during its New Year, New Wheels campaign, an effort to raises needed funds to replace worn out and unrepairable vehicles. As Hawai’i Island’s only food bank, The Food Basket has provided continuous emergency hunger relief for 27 years, and the agency’s vehicles are an essential aspect of operations.
Each month, over 12,000 unduplicated individuals are served by The Food Basket through a network of partners and in-agency programs islandwide. “Our vehicles are the workhorses of The Food Basket,” said Executive Director En Young. “We don’t produce food. We collect it and get it out to where it needs to be. Our population is only one-fifth that of O‘ahu, but we are responsible for six times the area. We need reliable vehicles to serve places like Nā‘ālehu, because we can’t just stop at a service station if something goes wrong.”
In 2016, The Food Basket traveled over 130,000 “food miles,” picking up and delivering over 1.4 million pounds of food.
According to The Food Basket staff, the five vehicles currently being used include only one model made within the past decade and are not mechanically reliable enough to cover The Food Basket’s 4,028-square mile service area and often requires staff to use their own vehicles for deliveries.
Maintenance costs and rental expenses are rising sharply to compensate for out of service vehicles. Of The Food Basket’s five vehicles serving the entire island, only one is equipped with working refrigeration, providing additional challenges in maintaining the quality and safety of fresh food during transport. “We have to have vehicles that work,” said Bernard Torres, Lead Warehouse Associate and Driver in Hilo. “None of the vehicles in Hilo currently have refrigeration capacity, which is a necessity.”
Funds raised through the campaign will be used to acquire a new box truck and cargo van for The Food Basket, both of which would have refrigeration.
The Food Basket is aiming to reach its $150,000 goal by July 31 in order to have these vehicles in use by the end of the year.
To donate, see GoFundMe.com/TheFoodBasket or HawaiiFoodBasket.org.
The mission of The Food Basket, Inc. is to feed the hungry in Hawai’i County while attending to the root causes of this critical social problem. The Food Basket will accomplish its mission by preventing the waste of all edible food in Hawai‘i County, feeding the hungry with this food, educating the community about local hunger and what can be done to solve this social problem, and collaborating with organizations of partnering missions to eradicate poverty, the root of hunger and other social ills.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
OCEAN VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH meeting, Thursday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-2442 & 928-2015.
STEWARDSHIP AT THE SUMMIT, Friday, Feb. 3, 11, 18, 20; 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Volunteers clear ginger from park trails. Free; park entrance fees apply. nps.gov/havo
HAM RADIO OPERATORS Potluck Picnic, Sunday, Feb. 5, Manuka Park. All American Radio Emergency Service members, anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio and families are invited to attend. Dennis Smith, 989-3028
PU`U O LOKUANA, Sunday, Feb. 5, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Kahuku unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about formation and various uses of this grassy cinder cone and enjoy a breathtaking view of lower Ka‘ū on this free, moderately difficult 0.4-mile hike to the top.
