Kaʻū News Briefs, Sunday, June 25, 2023

LORI LEI SHIRAKAWA KATAHARA returned to Kaʻū with her halau on Saturday to join in Hui Mālama Ola Nā 'Oiwi's Sixth Annual Mālama Nā Keiki Festival. It was held at Pāhala Community Center. Accompanying her were musicians Dane Sesson and Gene Akamu. Keiki and young ladies performed hula under the direction of Kumu Lorie Lei, who is known for the hula studio in Wai'ohinu that she stewarded for decades. Now based in Hilo, she returns to Kaʻū to perform at special events and to work with students.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

HUI MALAMA 'OLA NA 'OIWI'S MALAMA NA KEIKI FESTIVAL filled Pāhala Community Center on Saturday. 

    The event was designed for young families, expecting and first-time mothers and for women considering pregnancy. 

     Many keiki came with families to enjoy the fun and education day that included makahiki games, prizes, make and take crafts, growing your own plants and a bicycle that powered a blender make smoothies. Pāhala Fire Department joined in with demonstrations for the keiki. Mamaki tea tasting and growing instructions, along with native Hawaiian plant displays were offered.

      Many service providers offered help and education in health and nutrition, early learning, housing, mental health and legal counseling, and training in using a car seat safely. Programs that provide free diapers for new mothers and literacy training hosted interactive displays. Pāhala Elementary was also on hand. Police photographed and provided keiki IDs.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

Da Bux, which provides fresh vegetables and fruit at a discount through Mālama Market in Ocean  View, as well as KTA in Hilo may work on expanding to the smaller stores in Kaʻū. Photo by Julia Neal

DA BUX AND THE FOOD BASKET came to Kaʻū on Saturday for Hui Malama 'Ola Nā 'Oiwi's Malāma Nā Keiki Festival in Hawai'i. The programs brought shelf-stable and fresh foods to give. Da Bux representatives explained that the program can provide grocers with 50 percent of the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables to keep them affordable for families who qualify for SNAP, the government's Supplemental Nutrition Program, formerly known as food stamps.          .

     The only store with Da Bux in all of Kaʻū is Mālama Market in Ocean View. Some grocers in Kaʻū talked to Da Bux representatives about expanding into small local stores to support the distribution of fresh, healthy foods to families, along with supporting local famers and the small stores themselves. 

    Da Bux is funded through private donations, foundations, USDA and other agencies.

    This summer there is Kaukau 4 Keiki, providing free food for children during the school 

Growing mamaki tea, which is also a favorite  food of the endangered Kamehameha butterfly, was don display with tasting at the Keiki Festival. Photo by Julia Neal

break. Year round there is the monthly Food Basket and Kupuna free food programs and meals programs for seniors.

THE GOVERNOR IS IN COLORADO. Gov. Josh Green, M.D. traveled to the mainland and is in Boulder, Colo., from Saturday, June 24 through Wednesday, June 28, to attend the 2023 Western Governors Association Annual Meeting.
    Green is meeting with other governors and their special guests in public conversations about the most significant issues facing the region.
     Hawai'i's governor was set to participate in conversations about matters such as geothermal energy use, water, ecosystem restoration, and health care.
    Green is scheduled to return to Honolulu on Wednesday, June 28. Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke is serving as acting governor while the Governor is out of state.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.

GOV. JOSH GREEN'S EXPERIENCE AS A DOCTOR IN KAʻŪ influences his actions as a governor, he told the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce last week. According to a story in the Hawai'i Tribune Herald, Green told the story of coming to Kaʻū after his residency to serve some 8,000 people. He said, "Those months and years are what got into my blood. I saw limited access to trauma services an in the rural parts of our state, which is all of the Big Island." He linked his approach to serving in an Emergency Room to his approach at serving as Governor. "They come in, you deal with it, find a solution and move on. That is basically the role I am using to run our government now."

    Green noted that there is a 40 percent shortage of health care workers on the Neighbor Island, with about half that on O'ahu. The Governor noted the new Hawai'i Health Corp, which offers educational loan forgiveness to providers who practice here, from doctors to nurses, physician's assistants to nurse practitioners and social workers to psychologists. Naturopaths are also on the list.

Literacy was big at the Keiki Festival, sponsored by Hui Mālama on Saturday. Photo by Julia Neal