Nū Hou - Newsbriefs

By Ka Wai Ola Staff

To our readers

Ka Wai Ola is happy to announce that we are expanding with a midmonth, web only edition. This month will mark the official launch of Ka Wai Ola Loa,“loa,” as in an “extra,” “additional” Ka Wai Ola every month.

Like our monthly paper, this web-only edition will cover a vast range of stories and issues that are of great interest to the Hawaiian community. As its name implies, Ka Wai Ola Loa will give us a chance to increase our news, features and community coverage. And we hope the community will also take part by contributing articles on issues and activities that are important to you.

Future issues of Ka Wai Ola Loa will also feature a column to answer beneficiary questions and concerns. If you have a question or problem for us to tackle, write to webmaster@oha.org and we'll consider your question for publication in a future edition of Ka Wai Ola Loa.

Ka Wai Ola Loa is sent to subscribers via e-mail. To subscribe, visit oha.org.We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, write to webmaster@oha.org.

Mahalo,

Ka Wai Ola Staff

Mauna Kea CMP

A draft of the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan, which will guide all future development on the summit, has been released for comment. The draft includes a policy of managing access to the summit, and requiring orientation of visitors and employees with specific guidelines for culturally appropriate behavior.

The draft also recommends that the University of Hawai'i and the Office of Mauna Kea Management formally seek additional authority to make and enforce rules, and a staffing plan that would provide a bigger presence in the summit area for enforcement, interpretation and resource management.

Among other things, the draft also calls for a requirement for observatories to develop plans to recycle or demolish facilities once their useful life has ended.

For more information on the draft Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan or to comment, visit maunakeacmp.com.

HE HO'OMANA'O • IN MEMORIAM Photo: Sterling Wong Mary Louise Kekuewa Feb. 5, 1926 – Nov. 18, 2008 One of Mary Lou Kekuewa's most prized works of Native Hawaiian feather work was a cloak – the kind traditionally worn by ali'i. She spent 13 years crafting it. The prized feather cape hangs inside the featherwork shop she opened on Kapahulu Avenue in 1991, and as much as birds use their bright feathers to attract one another, the store has been a magnet for scores of people who sought out Aunty Mary Lou not only for her artistry but also for her magnanimous spirit. “She greeted everyone with a smile. She made everyone she came into contact with feel important and nurtured,” said daughter Paulette Kekuewa Kahalepua, of her mother, Mary Louise Kaleonahenahe Wentworth Peck Kekuewa, who died on Nov. 18 at the age of 82. Kekuewa discovered the art of feather work while volunteering for the 1955 Aloha Week Festivals on O'ahu. She wanted to help the festival's Royal Court refurbish its regalia of vintage feather lei and kāhili. She took lessons from Leilani Fernandez and then proceeded to share her newfound knowledge with others – an important step that expanded the teaching of the art beyond isolated enclaves of hālau and civic clubs. Paulette, who helped teach classes, said her mother did not follow any of the existing ali'i patterns, such as those preserved at the Bishop Museum, in making her prized cloak because she believed that “every feather cloak is a unique family heirloom.” Kekuewa named her cloak Ahu'ula o Maile Lani, a reflection of an image of her own mother's smiling face. In addition to Paulette, Kekuewa is survived by son Paul Kekuewa and daughter Nyla Kekuewa McKinzie.

College Awareness

GEAR UP Hawai'i and partners will be holding events statewide in January and February to help low-income students get the information and support needed to apply to and attend college. A major event will be held Jan. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pearlridge Mall – a change in venue from previous years to bring the event closer to the communities it serves.

At College Goal Sundays, students and families will get free help to complete the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Bring your parent's 2008 tax returns, pay stubs and other income and benefits information.

College Goal Sundays, which all start at 1 p.m., will be held Jan. 25 at Castle High, McKinley High, Waipahu High and Wai'anae High on O'ahu, and at UH Hilo Campus Center Dining Hall on Hawai'i Island. It will also be offered Feb. 8 at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School on Kaua'i, Kealakehe High on Hawai'i Island. Also on Feb. 8, the event comes to Maui Community College campuses on three islands: Moloka'i, Lāna'i (at the Education Center), and Maui, at Education Center in Hāna and at the MCC Maui Culinary Academy, Pā'ina Building, in Kahului. For more information, visit cgshawaii.org or call Frank Green at 591-2708 or Lorraine Teniya at 593-2262.

Also, free College Planning Workshops for students in grades 9 to 12, will cover preparing for, choosing and paying for college. For information, call Kathryn Kekaulike at 842-8900 or toll-free, 1-800-842-IMUA.

Financial Aid Nights, will answer questions for students and families about financial aid. For more information, call Frank Green at 591-2708.

More information can also be found at gearuphawaii.edu.

Homesteader savings

In partnership with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Hawai'i First Federal Credit Union announced a new program to help beneficiaries on Hawai'i Island save money for the construction or purchase of a home on Hawaiian Home Lands. A new special savings account, known as an Individual Development Account, will give the account holder $4 for every $1 deposited. In other words, if someone saves $1,600 in the account, the balance will be matched 4-to-1 for a total of $8,000 to be used toward the house. Beneficiaries also have the opportunity to participate in “Money First,” the credit union's money management education program. The number of accounts is limited, and there are income limits. For more information and to apply, contact Hawai'i First Community Resource Center at 808-885-6600 or info@hawaiifirstfcu.com.

NAGPRA grants

Federal grants are available under the federal law known as NAGPRA, or Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The law creates a process for museums and federal agencies to return cultural items like human remains, funerary and other sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants, Native Hawaiian organizations, Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages and corporations.

Two types of NAGPRA grants are offered by the National Park Service. Applications for the Consultation/Documentation Grants must be postmarked by March 2, 2009. Awarded annually, these grants of $5,000 to $90,000 may be used for travel, training and collaboration regarding researching and identifying significant items.

Repatriation Grants of up to $15,000 may be used for transporting NAGPRA items from a museum or agency to a tribe or for costs to reinter human remains and cultural items. Applications are accepted from October to June 30, 2009.


Grant applications are available online at nps.gov/history/nagpra/grants or by emailing NAGPRA_Grants@nps.gov or calling 202-354-2203. For more information about the grants program, see the online brochure at nps.gov/history/nagpra/grants/GrantsBROCHUREupdated2007.pdf.

Health center opens

The Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center held a blessing on Dec. 4 for its newest addition, the three-story, $12 million Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Family Medical Center, which will serve as a one-stop shop offering everything from root canals and behavioral health services to la'au lapa'au and ho'oponopono.

The center also houses a learning center, which will offer training and education in health for staff and the community, which is largely Native Hawaiian.

A large part of the center's mandate is to care for people with limited means and the uninsured. “Our health center serves 26,000 people a year, and more than half are Native Hawaiians, most of which are low-income,” said CEO Richard Bettini. “We are the medical home of 14,000 Hawaiians.”