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| Nā‘ālehu sixth-graders do the “dab” dance move with teachers Nellie Davis and Amber Keohuloa and PREPARES coordinator Kathy Bertram during their Spring Break trip to Alaska, representing Ka`u. See story below. |
UBER LAUNCHED IN KA`U with local drivers on Wednesday. With Uber drivers based in Ka`u, wait time is short for local rides and longer journeys to the far-away airports in Hilo and Kona.
Uber drivers will also provide rides to and from local parties to which one may not want to drive. Uber service is islandwide.Contacting Uber for a ride is accomplished through an app that customers download through www.uber.com or itunes. Anyone with questions can contact a local Uber driver at kamahinahawaii@gmail.com.
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HAWAI`I DECLARED ITSELF HO`OKIPA, the welcoming state, through a resolution introduced by a Hawai`i Island legislator and passed by the state House of Representatives this week. Penned by Rep. Joy San Bueanaventura, of Puna, House Resolution 76 cites the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing state sovereignty and protection from unreasonable demands to enforce federal government directives.
Buenaventura, in her second term in the state House, is an attorney, mathematician, former judge and former professor of business at University of Hawai`i - Hilo.
NA`ALEHU SIXTH GRADERS HEADED NORTH TO ALASKA during Spring Break. Seven from Nā‘ālehu Elementary represented Ka‘ū thanks to Preparing Responsive Educators using the Place-based Authentic Research in Earth Systems Program, affiliated with Alaska Pacific University.
Nā‘ālehu sixth grade teachers Amber Keohuloa and Nellie Davis both participated in the program which, according to the PREPARES website, “seeks to expand, implement, and conduct research on a framework for providing indigenous students with the skills and knowledge needed for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.” In doing so, PREPARES supports teachers with curriculum to help students learn about effects of climate change on Hawaiʻi and Alaska.
This year’s participation included a cultural exchange with Nā‘ālehu students meeting with their Alaskan peers in person. Student participant Candace Keohuloa recalled watching native Alaskans share dances about hunting seals for food and clothing as one of her favorite memories of the trip. Another trip highlight included learning about the Iditarod and meeting dog sledder Mary Shields, said Jaydah Pilanca-Emmsley. Jessa Mae Tamayo, of Nā‘ālehu, said Shields even let them pet her dog sledding team of huskies and shared racing stories.
For most, it was also the first time in a cold climate with falling snow. Both Madison Okimoto and Smith James recalled going to an ice park filled with ice sculptures and trying their hands at sledding as most memorable. However, for sixth-grader Ariel Cohen, night sky phenomena would be unforgettable. “My favorite memory was when I first walked outside and I saw the green stripe where the Northern Lights were, and cried happy tears,” she said. Hulali Baji also attended as the seventh member of the NES student team.
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Murder on the Nile - Performances Kilauea Theatre are through April 2 on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets prices are $15 general, $12 seniors and students and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets are available at Kilauea General Store, Kea'au Natural Foods, the Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo and at the door. For reservations and more information call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com.
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| Rep. Joy San Buenaventura penned the new Ho`okipa Resolution declaring Hawai`i as the welcoming state. |
Her Ho`okipa Resolution does not automatically make Hawai`i one of the sanctuary jurisdictions where President Donald Trump has threatened to cancel federal funding for refusing to cooperate in some federal immigration enforcement matters. However, the Ho`okipa Resolution could be interpreted as creating “sanctuary,” said one of Hawai`i’s few Republican state legislators, Gene Ward, of O`ahu. He said federal funding could be threatened. He called it “sticking our finger in the eye of the Trump administration.”
The introduction to the resolution points to Hawai`i’s state motto, Ua mau ke ea 'o ka ‘āina i ka pono, which means, "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." The resolution says the motto “reminds us that our deepest community values compel us to welcome the visitor and care for the wanderer in our midst.”
The introduction to the resolution points to Hawai`i’s state motto, Ua mau ke ea 'o ka ‘āina i ka pono, which means, "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." The resolution says the motto “reminds us that our deepest community values compel us to welcome the visitor and care for the wanderer in our midst.”
The resolution describes the Hawaiian value of Ho'okipa, and says this “open-hearted hospitality calls us to welcome the visitor and the stranger alike, and to unselfishly extend to others the best that we have to give.” HR76 declares that “Hawai`i is justifiably proud of its diverse immigrant heritage, which has woven the many people of this State into a rich tapestry of races, ancestral groups,
religions, cultures, and languages from all over the world.” It points out that “Hawai`i's unique spirit of inclusiveness allows its diverse people to live in relative harmony because of our respect and aloha for each other and our commitment to peace and justice.”
The Ho`okipa Resolution says, “our state and county governments cultivate a culture of inclusion when they ensure that all people in our communities receive equal protection under the law and respectful treatment, without regard to their race, national origin, ancestry, or citizenship status.”
HR76 turns to the federal government and its new practices: “Hawai`i's inclusionary and peaceful culture is now threatened by inflammatory rhetoric and harsh federal policies that vilify immigrants, divide communities and families, and create fear and suspicion among different racial, ethnic, and ancestral groups.”
The Ho`okipa Resolution puts forth that the U.S. Constitution “provides that the federal government may not commandeer state and local officials by demanding that they enforce federal laws and regulatory programs” and guarantees that “each state, and municipality within each state has the sovereign power to choose how they allocate their resources and cannot be forced to carry out the federal government’s agenda.”
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| The motto on the state seal "reminds us that our deepest community values compel us to welcome the visitor and care for the wanderer in our midst," says the Ho`okipa Resolution authored by Rep. Joy San Buenaventura. |
The Ho`okipa Resolution says, “our state and county governments cultivate a culture of inclusion when they ensure that all people in our communities receive equal protection under the law and respectful treatment, without regard to their race, national origin, ancestry, or citizenship status.”
HR76 turns to the federal government and its new practices: “Hawai`i's inclusionary and peaceful culture is now threatened by inflammatory rhetoric and harsh federal policies that vilify immigrants, divide communities and families, and create fear and suspicion among different racial, ethnic, and ancestral groups.”
The Ho`okipa Resolution puts forth that the U.S. Constitution “provides that the federal government may not commandeer state and local officials by demanding that they enforce federal laws and regulatory programs” and guarantees that “each state, and municipality within each state has the sovereign power to choose how they allocate their resources and cannot be forced to carry out the federal government’s agenda.”
HR76 contends that “local law enforcement agencies should not be required to bear the immense financial burden of enforcing federal immigration laws.” It requests that the “State of Hawai`i and its political subdivisions recognize that immigration is a federal function and that local law enforcement agencies should decline to work with federal immigration agencies.”
The Ho`okipa Resolution asks that the State of Hawai`i and its political subdivisions refrain from expending state and county funds and from entering into “any agreements under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act or any similar agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or by engaging in any other law enforcement activities that collaborate with ICE or any other federal law enforcement agency in connection with the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have not been convicted of committing a violent crime.”
Testimony supporting the resolution came from many organizations, including the Filipino-Amercian Citizens League, Filipino-American Advocacy Network, Japanese American Citizens League, Imua Alliance, American Civil Liberties
Union, Hawai`i J20+, Young Progressives Demanding Action, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawai`i, Aloha Dream Team, Hawai`i Friends of Civil Rights, Muslim Association of Hawai`i, Nursing Advocates & Mentors, as well as church leaders, professors, students, attorneys and many other individuals.
One petition asked that Hawai`i bccome an official Sanctuary State and Honolulu a Sanctuary City.
See testimony at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HR&billnumber=76&year=2017
The Ho`okipa Resolution asks that the State of Hawai`i and its political subdivisions refrain from expending state and county funds and from entering into “any agreements under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act or any similar agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or by engaging in any other law enforcement activities that collaborate with ICE or any other federal law enforcement agency in connection with the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have not been convicted of committing a violent crime.”
One petition asked that Hawai`i bccome an official Sanctuary State and Honolulu a Sanctuary City.
See testimony at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HR&billnumber=76&year=2017
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Sixth-graders Ariel Cohen, Jaydah Pilanca-Emmsley, Smith James,
Madison Okimoto, Hulali Baji, Jessa Mae Tamayo and Candace
Keohuloa (front) share Hawaiian implements with Alaskan peers.
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This year’s participation included a cultural exchange with Nā‘ālehu students meeting with their Alaskan peers in person. Student participant Candace Keohuloa recalled watching native Alaskans share dances about hunting seals for food and clothing as one of her favorite memories of the trip. Another trip highlight included learning about the Iditarod and meeting dog sledder Mary Shields, said Jaydah Pilanca-Emmsley. Jessa Mae Tamayo, of Nā‘ālehu, said Shields even let them pet her dog sledding team of huskies and shared racing stories.
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Nā‘ālehu elementary students experience real Alaskan snow for the first time
during an educational exchange with Alaskan students over Spring Break.
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Murder on the Nile - Performances Kilauea Theatre are through April 2 on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets prices are $15 general, $12 seniors and students and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets are available at Kilauea General Store, Kea'au Natural Foods, the Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo and at the door. For reservations and more information call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com.
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| www.kaucalendar.com |