Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 7, 1 Iulai 2007 — OHA opens Lānaʻi office [ARTICLE]

OHA opens Lānaʻi office

In lune, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs opened its new satellite office on Lāna'i to help the agency better serve the approximately 200 Native Hawaiian beneficiaries that live on the island. "Up until this month, OHA had a permanent, physical presence on every major Hawaiian island except Lāna'i and Ni'ihau," said OHA Trustee Colette Machado, who represents Moloka'i and Lāna'i. "With this new office, the agency is now in a better position to touch the lives of the Native Hawaiians who eall Lāna'i home, and to ensure that our programs and services reach them." OHA has long been trying to establish an office on Lāna'i, but the limited number of rental spaces on the island hampered the agency's efforts until recently. OHA was finally able to secure the former Oshiro's Service Station as a rental site from Castle and Cooke Resorts LLC, whieh owns 98 percent of the island. The former service station has been renovated and converted into a 432-square-foot office, whieh will be run by Pearl Ah Ho, OHA's first community resource coordinator for Lāna'i and a longtime island resident. The Lāna'i office is located on the corner of Frasier Avenue and Ninth Street, at 850-B Frasier Avenue. The contact information for the office is: P.O. Box 631413, Lāna'i City, HI 96763; 808-563-0101.

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