The US Department of Agriculture has designated Maui County as a primary natural disaster area due to losses and damages caused by a recent drought.

On April 12, the US Drought Monitor reported that 98.3% of the state was abnormally dry or drier. Maui and Kalawao counties were designated as a natural disaster area on April 20, 2016, making all qualified farm operators in the locations eligible for low interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met.

A series of Kalaupapa family workshops begins this week to help people find information about ancestors that were forcibly relocated to the remote Molokai community.  There were an estimated 8,000 individuals who were sent to the Kalaupapa Peninsula between 1866 and 1969 because of government policies regarding Hansens disease. The meeting times are as follows:... Read more »

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka today voted to support the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (S. 22), a bipartisan package of over 160 bills that includes legislation supporting the establishment of a memorial honoring Hansen’s disease patients of Kalaupapa.  The bill also supports funding in the amount of $5 million over 10 years... Read more »