NŪ HOU - NEWSBRIEFS

Nū Hou

By Ka Wai Ola Staff

Funded in part by PICO, “Nā Kamalei” will be aired on National PBS stations in May. Photo: Courtesy of PICO

Documentary winners

With new funding from Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC), two locally made documentaries – one on the Native Hawaiian martial art of lua and the other on top wahine surfers – are a step closer to reaching a national TV audience. “Pa Kui A Holo – Kaua'i's Warriors,” produced by T. Lulani Arquette will receive a research and development award, while “Women on Waves” by Karin Williams will receive a production award.

A total of $60,000 will go to the two projects – a portion of the $200,000 that PIC annually gives to selected independent producers who use film to portray authentic stories about life in the Pacific region. PIC paves the way for national broadcast on PBS, which is the organization's principal funding source.

A panel of cultural experts, academics, national TV programmers and independent producers selects submissions for PIC funding. Recipients of PIC awards become eligible for other resources, including travel grants, scholarships and workshops. The support helps to defrays the cost of a one-hour program, which may range from $350,000 to $1.5 million. Recent PIC-supported Hawai'i documentaries include “Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula,” which PBS will broadcast nationally on May 6.

Applications are now being accepted for the PIC Media
Fund Open Call. For more information, go to www.piccom.org or call 591-0059.

New SHPD leader

An Office of Hawaiian Affairs staff member is part of a transition team that is conducting a search to find a new chief administrator for the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD). Included in the three-person team, appointed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, are OHA special assistant to the administrator Stanton Enomoto, Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission attorney Rowena Somerville, and SHPD architecture branch manager Bryan Flower.

Melanie Chinen quit the top job at SHPD on Dec. 7 following mounting criticism of her management style from former employees and several archeological and burial organizations. Much of the criticism of Chinen involved her division's handling of iwi discovered during land development projects. Protection of iwi is an OHA mandate under constitutional law that also guarantees the protection of historic sites and associated cultural practices. OHA provides consultation following the discovery of iwi or any other evidence of historic significance of land and property.

Mālama Loans

Since the November launch of the OHA Mālama Loan program, the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund has approved 67 loans and has committed more than $1.7 million to the Native Hawaiian community. The monies dispersed in just four weeks has set a record for the loan fund, which was established in 1990.

The effectiveness of the OHA Mālama Loan program has been attributed to an innovative partnership with First Hawaiian Bank. The partnership has been lauded as a potential national model for a sustainable revolving loan fund because it offers greater access and loan-processing efficiency. Native Hawaiian beneficiaries can apply for home improvement, education and business loans at any of FHB's 58 branch banks statewide.

Civic club officers

The Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club installed new officers at a Dec. 16 ceremony. Starting two-year terms as officers on Jan. 1 are Mahealani Cypher of Kāne'ohe, president; Leialoha “Rocky” Kaluhiwa of He'eia, 1st vice president; Donna Ann Kameha'iku Camvel of Ioleka'a, 2nd vice president; Teri Loo of Waihe'e, corresponding secretary; and Jennifer Walthal of Honolulu, treasurer.

Outgoing president Elizabeth Lau, who is ending 30 years of leadership at the Ko'olaupoko and Kualoa-He'eia Hawaiian Civic Clubs, will assume leadership of the club's new Kūpuna Council in January. Incoming president Cypher said she is looking forward to implementing a strategic plan that expands civic club involvement in cultural activities and an ahupua'a outreach program.

He'eia fishpond

Paepae O He'eia, the nonprofit that manages He'eia Fishpond in Windward O'ahu, will be holding its fresh moi sale on Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon at He'eia Fish Pond.

The fish will be sold at $8 per pound by pre-sale orders only. Deadline to submit orders and payment is Jan. 7

Contact Keli'i Kotubetey at 236-6178 to submit your orders or for more information.

“All proceeds of the fish sale will go back into the maintenance and revitalization of He'eia Fishpond,” Kotubetey said. “The fish are grown under our 'Āina Momona program which focuses on highlighting various products from the fishpond. And it's our goal to revive the pond and restore its food producing potential to be mutually beneficial to the fishpond and our communities.”

Grants workshops

Workshops to assist the public in applying for the OHA Community Grants Program will be held on each island from January through April. Anyone wishing to qualify for the program must attend at least one of the workshops before the grant application deadline of June 30. The grant program provides awards of up to $100,000 for projects and services that address the needs of Native Hawaiians in areas of health, human services, native rights, land, culture, housing, education, economic development, governance, natural resources management and capacity building.

Workshops will cover the grant application process and minimum eligibility requirements of the community grants program. In fiscal year 2008, more than 50 nonprofit organizations used Community Grants funds for purposes ranging from a substance abuse program for middle school students in Kohala to a coastal habitat restoration project on O'ahu. As a Hawaiian trust, OHA dedicates 10 percent of its total annual operating budget to the Community Grants Program. Applications for the next cycle of the program may be submitted between April 1 and June 30. All grant requests are subject to the availability of funding. For workshop registration, call OHA at 594-1972. More information on all OHA grant guidelines is available at www.oha.org.

Hulihe'e Palace

Hulihe'e Palace in Kona started an eight- to 12-month restoration last month to repair damage done by the Oct. 15, 2006, earthquake. In 2007, the state Legislature approved $1 million for the project, which will focus primarily on repairing cracked plaster on the palace interior and exterior and refitting coral blocks in the second-story gabled area. “We intend to bring it back to even better than it was before,” said Gerry Miyamoto, regent for Daughters of Hawai'i, caretakers of the 169-year-old palace.

A structural engineer and historical architect visited the museum two days after the 6.7-magnitude earthquake and determined the structure is sound, Miyamoto said. Hulihe'e Palace, which closed for restoration Dec. 10, is home to treasures such as pre-contact Hawaiian implements, 19th century beds and armoires and makaloa mats, described as the “finest sleeping mats in Polynesia” by author Peter Buck.

Once owned by Princess Ruth, the palace attracts thousands of visitors annually because of its location on the main street in Kailua-Kona town, Miyamoto said. The palace is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ho'olako Pono loan

A loan program that offers construction loans and mortgages to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands lessees has become the sole recipient of a national award for helping to improve home ownership. The Ho'olako Pono Loan Program of American Savings Bank received the honor Nov. 9 in Las Vegas from America's Community Bankers, a national trade association.

Since 2005, 153 DHHL-qualified applicants have received Ho'olako Pono loans totaling more than $32.8 million from American Savings Bank. The program offers loans of up to $625,000 to buy a new home, refinance an existing home or finance the construction of a new home.