Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2013 — OHA coming to Kauaʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA coming to Kauaʻi

Aloha from Kaua'i and Ni'ihau! M a h a 1 o this month to Trustee Colette Maehado, our Moloka'i and Lāna'i trustee as well as ehairperson of the Board of Trustees, for hosting Neighbor Island Community and BOT meetings baek in June on Moloka'i. It was another opportunity for the trustees to visit with our heneheiaries and hear them share

their important issues. We got to hear both sides of the GMO debate, first fromMyeogen Seeds Moloka'i and then from Unele Walter Ritte and representatives from Moloka'i Mom on a Mission. We also had time for a eouple informative site visits to Lanikeha Commercial Kitchen in Hoolehua and Moloka'i Community Heahh Center. Mahalo Colette and Moloka'i! In the eight months since I was elected in November, I have had the opportunity for many new experiences as an OHA trustee. And one of the highlights for me as a Neighbor Island trustee will happen in August - when Kaua'i hosts my fellow trustees and some of our OHA staff on-island. Our Kaua'i Community Meeting will be on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 6:30 p.m. This year, we will be using the Wilcox Elementary School cafeteria, located at 4319 Hardy St. in Llhu'e. When we have these meetings, OHA shares some updates on our programs, services and initiatives. But the main purpose is to hear from you, our beneficiaries and community members.

The official Kaua'i Board of Trustees Meeting will be the following morning, on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 9 a.m. As is our tradition, we will be using Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center's office and lānai area, located at 4530 Kali Road in Llhu'e. Both the Community Meeting and BOT Meeting are open to the puhlie. And I want to invite you to attend to hear about some of what OHA does and to share your mana'o

with me, my fellow trustees and our OHA staff. Please help me to weleome these OHA visitors to our Beautiful Kaua'i. If you can't make it, don't worry, you ean always visit our newly relocated OHA Kaua'i office at 4405 Kukui Grove St., across of Kukui Grove Shopping Center, and next to Pyramid Insurance. It's more spacious, has lots of parking and is easier to find than our old office. I hope all of that makes you feel weleome whenever you visit us there. Finally, I want to send a shout-out to the people of Anahola on Kaua'i. They reviewed a proposed energy project, banded together, voiced their concerns about that project and fought for what they believed is right. A special thank you goes to the Anahola Fanners and Ranchers Association (AFARA) for helping to organize and infonn their eommunity. Whichever side you find yourself on with this issue, the people and masses always win when everyone is infonned and involved in the decision-making process. Mahalo nui loa! ■

Dan Ahuna TrustEE, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau