‘Ohana Wa‘a Laulima: Making Paddling Accessible
By Mālielani Larish On a bright Sunday morning, half a dozen members of ‘Ohana Wa‘a Laulima respectfully hold the hull of a sleek canoe while Kahu (Reverend) Kauila Haumea invokes a Hawaiian prayer of blessing. ‘Ohana Wa‘a Laulima (the canoe…
Kōnea o Kukui: To Restore the Light
By Jan Wizinowich With the passage of time, a place becomes layered with the spirits of beings and events that hold the stories and wisdom of those who have gone before. Many may not notice or recognize the spirit of…
Sampans, Mahai‘ula Bay, and the Big Bang
By Pete Hendricks I was enjoying a pleasant morning one day back in 1996, snorkeling at Mahai‘ula Bay (now known as Kekaha Kai State Park) in North Kona. Just off one of the lava fingers of the reef, I spotted…
Education on the Ocean: Pua Ka Ilima Treats Keiki to Sailing Adventures
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu It was a 19-day adventure on the open seas for Ralph Blancato and his crew to pilot a 42-foot sailboat from California to Hawai‘i Island. In July 2022, Ralph and his team of three people sailed successfully…
In Memoriam: Ginger Sizemore
By Barbara Garcia Editor’s Note:Sue Springer submitted a request for us to publish a story on her friend, Ginger Sizemore, in June 2019. Due to Covid-19 causing us to reduce the number of stories we publish in each issue, it…
Kawaihae Canoe Club Celebrates 50 Years
By Jan Wizinowich It’s early morning at Kawaihae and outrigger canoes dot the horizon carrying the kūpuna paddlers. Soon, the men’s master crew will be gliding into the boat ramp after an early morning run heading north. A Matson barge…
HEART: Growing Hilo’s Love for Theater
By Mālielani Larish Performing arts lovers of all ages are lucky that Larry Reitzer grew disenchanted with lounging on the beach. After a 30-year career in the entertainment industry, Larry retired and moved to Hilo with the intention of penning…
Everyone Wins in Honoka‘a’s Feeding Program
By Catherine Tarleton Sustainable, adj. 1: capable of being sustained, 2a: of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged, 2b: of or relating to a…
An Album for the Community: Martin Charlot’s Konawaena Mural
By Mālielani Larish As he approached the entrance to Konawaena High School’s Ellison Onizuka Gym, Martin Charlot gazed up at the mural that wraps around the gym’s façade—a mural painted by his own hands more than 40 years ago. On…
HAKA: The Hawai‘i Animal Kuleana Alliance
By Mālielani Larish Moving hastily, Syndi Texeira lifted her neighbor’s dog, an 80-pound pit bull mix named Bear, into a vehicle for transport out of Leilani Estates. It was May 3, 2018, and the police and civil defense had informed…
Morinoue’s Hale: A Gathering Place
By Emily Gleason When you walk into Hiroki and Setsuko Morinoue’s home, the first thing you’ll notice is the art. Beautiful paintings, prints, and sculptures cover the walls and all available shelf space. Their own work comingles with that of…
Tsunamis: Hawai‘i’s Most Dangerous Natural Hazard
By Walter Dudley Just before 7am on the morning of April 1, 1946, Seaman Perry Minton was in the radio room aboard the USS Thompson headed toward Pearl Harbor when, he recalls, “Almost as soon as I put on the…
Donnie’s Thanksgiving: First-hand Story of Halapē’s 1975 Tsunami
By Leslee Engler and Donnie Cruz If you lived through an earthquake and tsunami on the beach where your family was camping, you would remember that very clearly. It took place 47 years ago, and Donnie Cruz remembers every minute…
Ikaika no Kohala: A Community Connects through Story and Art
By Jan Wizinowich When the historic Kohala Village HUB’s (KVH) main building was lost to fire in March 2019, a heart center of the community vanished. A year later Covid hit, disrupting community connections. These dual tragedies inspired folks at…
Iopa Maunakea: Standing Firm with the Men of PA‘A
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu Dry land taro plants are being hand-watered by two young men, one with headphones and the other holding a sprayer, in the Pāhoa morning sun. Banana trees, young la‘i (ti leaf), coconut, ‘ulu, and other thriving endemic…
Mikey “Redd” O’Shaughnessy: In Search of One Perfect Wave
By Stefan Verbano “One wave will change your life.” This is the motto of big wave surfer Mikey “Redd” O’Shaughnessy, who throughout his 29 years of life in Hawai‘i has seen those words play out in the best and worst…
Kevin Rhinehart—Always Pushing His Limits
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu Life for Kevin Rhinehart changed drastically when he suffered a life-threatening stroke in January 2012 at the age of 53. At the time, his career as a successful psychotherapist was flourishing and he performed regularly as a…
A Wa‘a Named La‘i‘ōpua
By Gayle Kaleilehua Greco Being birthed on the ‘āina of Hawaiian homelands at the Villages of La‘i‘ōpua in Kailua-Kona is a wa‘a (canoe) by the same name, La‘i‘ōpua. Not since the Makali‘i was constructed in 1993, has there been an…
Ka‘apuni da Big Island (Keep on Pedaling)
By Lillian Lim It was late summer 2020 and Covid had already changed island life dramatically. One of the joys that still remained and could be safely done without risk to others was cycling. One afternoon, a handful of cyclists,…
How Running Found Jockey-Turned-Coffee Horticulturist, Jon Kunitake
By Sara Stover Growing up in Hōlualoa, Jon Kunitake’s knowledge of horses was limited to the paniolo (cowboys) of Waimea. His early life revolved around coffee, leaving little time for any extracurricular activities. Born in a house on a coffee…
Justin Young Keeps Moving!
By Sara Stover Justin Young was drifting off to sleep on what seemed like a grassy knoll near South Point when a roar of thunder shook the night. The thunder woke up a dog, which woke up its owner, who…
The Night Lava Returned to Halema‘uma‘u Crater
By Stefan Verbano Bruce Miller and Ed Clapp headed to the crater overlook that fateful December night to stargaze and celebrate the solstice. A cold, wet mist hung in the mountain air, surrounding them. They approached the volcano’s rim as…
Welcome to the Lava Zone
By Brittany P. Anderson It’s hard to forget that day—May 3, 2018. The ground shook and cracked open, slowly blanketing land and homes, smothering dreams and spitting out steam. Then, the molten orange lava burst free, weaving a path of…
St. James’ Circle: A Hub of Resilience
By Jan Wizinowich It’s Thursday morning and St. James’ Circle in Waimea is a humming hive of activity. The church kitchen is abuzz with volunteers cheerfully chopping ingredients, then cooking and filling pans with the evening’s weekly community meal. Another…
Athlete and Adventurer Tutu Lorna Just Keeps Moving!
By Sara Stover Lorna Larsen-Jeyte has always been on the move. The lifelong swimmer and 81-year-old adventurer does not, however, workout for the sake of working out. “It is about being outside and in nature,” she says of the active…
Maka‘eo Path Fosters Health and Community
By Fern Gavelek Build it and they will come. This statement certainly holds true for the Maka‘eo path at Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area. Flanking the mauka (upland) side of the former Kona Airport runway in Kailua-Kona, the paved…
Hale Ohia: Volcano’s Enchanted Road to Old Hawai‘i
By Sara Stover Less than two miles outside the entrance to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, in the heart of the small artists’ community of Volcano Village, is the Hale Ohia tract. Hidden by a thick grove of ‘ōhi‘a and Sugi…
Dr. Joan Greco Inspires Students while GIving Back to Our Island Community
By Brittany P. Anderson There’s something extraordinary about a woman who rises to the top in a male-dominated field. It takes strength, grace, intellect, fearlessness, and the courage to never accept “no” for an answer. That woman is Dr. Joan…
Hilo’s Ocean Center, Riding a Wave of Peace
By Sara Stover Tucked away at the end of Kalanianaole Avenue is a hidden gem. A haven of calm just past the hustle of Hilo’s port. “This is our classroom,” says Kalani Kahalioumi, director of special programs for Hawai‘i County’s…
Shine On: The Peace Poles of Hawai‘i Island
By Jan Wizinowich Dark times call for light. This is the spirit behind the Peace Pole Project, a movement that is planting beacons for peace across the planet. Since its founding, the Peace Poles Project has spread worldwide with the…
