Lalulima Hana is the Family/Community Workday this Saturday, April 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Honokaa Elementary School. Join the keiki at the school to better the mind, body and spirit of the local families and community.
Together with the school, please step up and make a change with “our own hands.” Come and be inspired by what the keiki of Honokaa Elementary have been doing to kick start this project. Hear from guest speakers and work hand-in-hand with community neighbors to start a community garden and walking trail.
Makua Lanakila Mangauil says: “We as a people have the strength within these two hands to shape the paths for the next seven generations.” Please bring gardening work clothes, tools for gardening and clearing, and a “healthy potluck item.”
For more information, email kuikapono@yahoo.com or call Lanakila at 430-2829.
After returning to the Big Island, the Honokaa Jazz Band will present the end-of-the-year concert on Friday, April 27, at the People’s Theater in Honokaa at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation. Adults $5, students $3. All proceeds will go to support the Jazz Band.
The following week the high school Ensemble Class will present their end-of-the-year concert featuring the senior members, May 3 at the People’s Theater at 7 p.m. Again, admission is by donation. Adults $5, students $3. All proceeds will support the music program at Honokaa. The concert will include a wide variety of musical styles, rock, rap, jazz, jawaiian and country.
The next week the band and the ensemble will perform for the annual Transition Conventions with Frank Delima!
The Rotary Club of North Hawaii will award community grants to nonprofit organizations. The club wants to attract as many groups as possible, and the grant application has been simplified to make the process easier for community organizations to apply. Completed applications must be postmarked by April 30. Grants will be awarded by the end of May.
To be eligible, organizations must be nonprofit with a stated mission of health, human services or youth activities. The project must benefit the communities of Honokaa, Waimea, Waikoloa, North or South Kohala.
All applications must be submitted on a Rotary application form. Forms are available on the Rotary Club of North Hawaii website for easy access. Visit www.north-hawaii-rotary.org, click on the link titled “Community Grants.”
Guidelines are shown on the last page of the application. The 40-plus-member service organization issues community grants, academic, and vocational scholarships in the spring. The organization has successfully sponsored numerous recipients with scholarships to both Hawaii and mainland colleges and universities. Its most popular annual fundraiser is Oktoberfest.
All proceeds, after expenses, are dedicated to community grants, scholarships and international projects. During the past 10 years alone, Rotarians have donated more than $347,000 to the community — $237,000 in community grants and scholarships to more than 225 organizations — and built a $100,000 open air pavilion for the people of Waimea. It also completed more than two dozen local and international charitable projects last year.
Rotary International includes more than 1.2 million Rotarians in 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries.
Rep. Mark Nakashima is reporting that the Papaikou Traffic Safety Project is nearing completion. GP Roadway Solutions has installed the curb delineator systems, guardrails, and driver feedback signs. The striping and milled rumble strips are scheduled to be completed by the end of April.
Sign panels are expected to be delivered within a month and will be installed throughout the project by the end of May.
Please continue to use caution when driving through the construction area for the safety of you, your passengers, and the workers.
The Legislature is in its final weeks of session. The bills that remain alive at this point have passed through all the committee referrals as well as the three readings (votes) on the House and Senate floors. If the chambers cannot agree upon changes to the bill by the non-originating chamber, the bill will go to conference to resolve the differences between the two chambers’ versions.
The conference committee will meet publicly; however, no additional testimony will be heard as the legislators work to come to an agreement. A final version of the bill must be reported out of the conference committee for final reading by April 26, the Final Decking deadline for non-fiscal bills, and April 27 for the budget bills. This deadline gives enough time for members to review the bill in its final form 48 hours prior to voting on the measure. The final form of the bill needs to be voted on by May 3. If the bill has a Conference Draft, meaning it was amended by the Conference Committee, it will need to be voted on by both chambers.
Should you have any questions or concerns please email repnakashima@capitol.hawaii.gov or call 974-4000 ext 6-6680.
Carol Yurth’s column is published every Sunday and spotlights activities on the Hilo-Hamakua coast. She welcomes items for her column. Reach her by mail (46-1240 Kalehua Road, Honokaa HI 96727) at least 10 days before the requested publication date, call her at 775-7101, or e-mail waiukahe@interpac.net.
