Feb 26, 2014 | Education
Hana High School science and natural resources teacher Paulo Burns says he and many of his students are visual learners, meaning that seeing is believing for them. So, when Burns and his students received 10 computer tablets, a projector, a laptop and a camera with a $5,000 Ke Alahele Education Fund grant, they were able to see what otherwise would be academic abstractions. “Science deals with teaching so many new vocabulary words and concepts that it is like teaching a foreign language,” he said. “If we don’t give our youth every tool at their fingertips to help them understand it, then many will give up easily and not pursue careers in science.”
Burns’ students used the new tablets to study the voyages of crews aboard Hawaiian canoes as they navigated across vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean. “We wanted to provide students with tools of the 21st century to help them succeed in school,” he said. “We wanted to connect with Hawaiian culture through studying the canoe voyages and using modern computer tablets to blog questions to them. We wanted to make a Hawaiian compass at school to show the students that they will never be lost with the education they got at Hana School.” Burns said the tablets were successful in reaching his goals.
Burns said he believes it’s important for the community to support schools in the education of science, technology, engineering and math. “STEM is all around us in the real world, so it is critical that communities support it so that the next generation has the foundation to help solve the problems that we all face today,” Burns said. “We need to create problem-solvers that know how to use modern tools to come up with solutions.” Burns said he appreciates the Maui Economic Development Board and its Ke Alahele Education program. “MEDB was thoughtful to invest in the lives of our youth to help them succeed and create a better future.” The Ke Alahele Education Fund was established to support the growing need for students to gain proficiency in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in Maui County.
Feb 19, 2014 | Small Business, Sustainability
On Wednesday, February 26, 2014, Maui Food Technology Center will hold their 1st Annual Supply and Service Expo at the Hannibal Tavares Community Center in Pukalani from 10 am to 3 pm.
This is the perfect opportunity for new or existing food producers wanting assistance with the many challenges of developing a product and getting it into the marketplace, entrepreneurs planning to expand their network opportunities and resources, and consumers interested in attending the tradeshow and hearing the latest from experts in the food manufacturing, distribution and hospitality industries.
A tradeshow comprised of national, state and local service providers will feature manufacturers and distributors of food, ingredients, equipment and packaging supplies; dealers, brokers and traders; business services and educational groups that work with the food and hospitality industries. Entrepreneurs and existing businesses will also have an opportunity to network with brand identity and marketing industry professionals.
Specialized presentations will be held throughout the event. Featured speakers include
- Dr. Aurora Saulo, Professor and Extension Specialist in Food Technology with the University of Hawaii Maui College on “Food Safety Certified: What Does That Mean?”
- Marc McDowell, Executive Chef of Makena Resort on “Developing Local Products From Start To Finish”
- Marty Parisien, Co-Owner/CEO at Singing Dog Vanilla on “Social Media Zen”
- Mike Abrams, President of Flavor Waves, on “Get Out There, Make Friends, and Help People.”
Door prizes will be drawn throughout the event, must be present to win. Attendees are also eligible to win a 32 GB i-Pad Mini, need not be present to win. The first 100 people will receive a free Expo tote. Public admission is free.
Major event sponsors include: County of Maui Office of Economic Development, Fred Baldwin Memorial Fund, and Tri-Isle Resource Conservation and Development.
For more information on becoming an exhibitor and/or attending the Supply and Service Expo, visit MauiFoodTechnology.org or call 888-948-6382.
Feb 12, 2014 | Education
Ellen Federoff
With no regular classroom to call her own, Ellen Federoff said her 12 new computer tablets have helped tremendously in ensuring she can teach in any location on the Kihei Charter School grounds. Federoff purchased the tablets through a grant she received from Maui Economic Development Board’s Ke Alahele Education Fund. “I’m like the nomad. I don’t have a classroom but I really can take any space with my students since we have the technology support,” she said.
Federoff applied for and received a grant to purchase12 Samsung Galaxy computer tablets. “Without them, I would be struggling big time,” she said. Tasked with teaching 130 7th- and 8th-graders about health and physical education, Federoff was using the tablets most recently for a student research project about the nutritional value of energy drinks. “They can’t just Google it. It’s a directed research (project.) I give them up to 12 Web sites to read and research,” she said. Her students enjoy being able to do their school work on computer tablets that also have protective cases. “My students are so tech savvy. They love their tablets, they think they’re cool and they’re very comfortable with using them.”
Kihei Charter Middle School has two computer labs, but it does not have a computer or laptop for every student, according to Federoff. That’s why the Ke Alahele Education Fund grant is helpful in supplementing school equipment and helping a greater number of students access the Internet, and at Kihei Charter, their very own Web sites and electronic portfolios. “Everything today in education, in our school for sure, is technology based,” she said. Aside from her classes, Federoff said she’s working on a check-out system for the tablets so that other teachers and classes can use them. “We’re definitely going to be using these to the fullest,” she said. MEDB established the Ke Alahele Education Fund to support the growing need for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills in Maui County.
Feb 5, 2014 | Environment
Maui High School junior Daniel Fonseca saw up close how invasive plants and animals have been having an adverse impact on the West Maui Watershed. “We mostly learned about the invasive strawberry guava trees because they have become one of the biggest threats to the native plants,” he said after a recent Maui Economic Development Board Youth Alliance trip to the environmentally sensitive watershed. “Strawberry guavas are strong, and they grow very quickly so they aren’t giving much of a chance to the koa or ohia trees to grow.”
Fonseca said his favorite part of the tour was helping the West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership remove approximately 200 strawberry guava trees in the forest. The Watershed’s Natural Resource/GIS Technician Jill LaBram said the strawberry guavas, a non-native species, forms monotypic stands where nothing else can grow and it uses up much more water than native plants. LaBram said the Youth Alliance support was important to the nonprofit’s attempts to re-establish the native forest along the Waihe’e Ridge trail. “Every little bit helps,” she said. Fonseca credited watershed personnel for how well they’re preserving Hawaii’s native forests. “What they’re doing is pretty important because without them the forests that once made Hawaii unique would be completely taken over by invasive plant species,” he said.
The West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership has a staff of seven to 10 people, based in Lahaina, who work to protect West Maui’s native forest that supplies much of Maui with clean, fresh water. LaBram said the Watershed offers volunteers service trips for individuals as well as school and community groups. Call 661-6600, or e-mail: outreach@westmauiwatershed.org. Youth Alliance members attend monthly events during the school year to explore and gain a greater understanding of key components in the Maui community. Their gatherings are coordinated by MEDB.
Jan 29, 2014 | Environment, Events, Small Business
DougMcLeod, County of Maui Energy Commissioner
What will future consumers want and expect from their utility? That is just one question Hawaii leaders and others across the country are expected to tackle at the upcoming conference: “Electric Utilities: The Future Is Not What It Used To Be.” The event scheduled for March 26-28 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center comes at a time when Hawaii is experiencing an unprecedented wave of growth in solar and wind generation. The gathering will provide a forum for open and frank discussions about the rapidly changing energy landscape and its implications for power utilities, policymakers and consumers.
The County of Maui and the Maui Economic Development Board are presenting the conference with the support of numerous partners. County of Maui Energy Commissioner Doug McLeod asks: “The traditional investor-owned utility model has worked in the past, but will it be the right model for tomorrow’s electric utility?” McLeod said he hopes the conference will bring new faces and ideas to Hawaii from Japan and the Mainland. MEDB President and CEO Jeanne Skog said she and her agency are pleased to partner in the event. “As Maui County continues to move aggressively toward clean energy goals, this dialogue will contribute to creating a new template for how utilities will best serve our residents,” Skog said.
McLeod said open and frank discussions are important to understanding the impact renewable energy alternatives are having on electricity usage and electric rates. Conference organizers have confirmed keynote presentations from Hunter Lovins, president of Natural Capitalism Solutions, and Ron Binz, former chief of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The conference also expects to spur discussions on other questions, including: what are the key drivers shifting today’s energy paradigm; how can states achieve a mix of clean energy to satisfy all stakeholders; and what are the key elements of a 21st century energy utility business model.
To learn more, go to www.hightechmaui.com/energyconference.
Jan 22, 2014 | Education, Innovation
Maui Waena Intermediate School media teacher Jennifer Suzuki shows how hard work and support from the Maui Economic Development Board can make a difference in the education of the island’s young people. After graduating in 1988 from Baldwin High School, Suzuki was hired as a rental car sales representative. She learned that work in sales was not her passion. So, she began looking for a new career, knowing in her heart that “I always liked helping people.”
Suzuki enrolled in college, earning a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 1997, followed by a post-baccalaureate education certificate from the University of Hawaii Maui Center. While at the center, she was encouraged by her mentor, Victor Pellegrino, to tutor college students in English. “I just realized I could help people,” she said. She had stints as a teacher for hospitalized, mentally ill students and for those facing family and substance abuse challenges. Eleven years ago, she was hired at Maui Waena where she’s taught 8th-grade Language Arts, and in the last 3-1/2 years taught computer introduction, media and news writing to 6th, 7th and 8th-graders.
Suzuki’s association with MEDB began when she sought to establish a new media lab. She initiated a student newspaper and TV broadcast and built a STEMworks computer lab. “I never want to be considered a teacher of technology,” she said, “more like one who used technology as a way to teach how to communicate and be creative.” Suzuki’s new lab contains a variety of computers, software and cameras with at least half purchased through MEDB and its Women in Technology Project. “MEDB has been phenomenal,” she said. Suzuki and her students have also attended MEDB trainings, and her students have gone on to share their know-how with peers on Lanai and with elementary-aged pupils.
Suzuki’s career exemplifies the Focus Maui Nui value of education and fostering the well-being of young people, enabling them, if they choose, to live on Maui and become valuable, contributing members of the island’s community and good stewards of local treasures.
Jan 15, 2014 | Community
Lanai High School sophomore Jayde Fernandez got a taste of a career in law enforcement recently during a tour of the Wailuku Police Station through an event organized by the Maui Economic Development Board’s Youth Alliance. “I learned what it takes to become an officer and what the career entails,” she said. “I also learned what the different departments are and what they do.” The experience has led her to consider a career in police work, specifically forensic science. “The trip to the Maui Police Department made me realize that even though it will be hard work to be a forensic scientist, it will be worth it. I got to see what goes on and now I know for sure that forensics is the career I want to pursue.”
Maui police officer Edith Quintero said it was an honor to give the students a behind-the-scenes look at law enforcement. “This gave MPD an opportunity to share the different aspects and duties within the department,” she said. The tour featured discussions about the challenges of law enforcement on Maui versus those on Molokai and Lanai. The students also discussed Maui’s crime rate, common crimes on the island, vice matters and sexual assault.
Fernandez, 15, said she was impressed with the Maui Police Department’s commitment to the community. “I feel that police in Maui County truly care about the community and do everything they can to keep it safe,” she said. “I admire them for putting their lives on the line to protect ours and think it’s really cool that they are able to tackle different situations and solve them.” Youth Alliance members attend monthly events during the school year to explore and gain a greater understanding of key components in the Maui community. Their gatherings are coordinated by MEDB.
Jan 8, 2014 | Community, Education
The new year is an opportune time to embrace the potential for shining a light on our community, a business, a nonprofit or individuals who showcase the values of Focus Maui Nui. Our Maui community is a model of innovation, always striving for sustainable island living with the resources available in the middle of the Pacific. These have helped make Maui an incubator for new energy technology and exploration. Focus Maui Nui strengthens our community by featuring the efforts of individuals and groups who strive to foster and respect the spirit of aloha in everything they say and do. We look forward to 2014 by returning to the Focus Maui Nui vision statement devised a decade ago:
Maui Nui will be an innovative model of sustainable island living and a place where every child can grow to reach his or her potential.
The needs of each individual, the needs of our natural and cultural assets, and the needs of the whole community will be brought into balance to reflect the extremely high value we place on both the land and its people.
The education and well-being of young people will be fostered to ensure that those born on these islands can, if they choose, spend their whole lives here – raising children, owning homes, enjoying rewarding jobs, and taking advantage of opportunities to contribute to this community and to be good stewards of our local treasures.
Maui Nui will be a leader in the creation of responsible, self-sufficient communities and environmentally sound economic development.
That which makes Maui Nui unique in the world will be preserved, celebrated, and protected for generations to come.
We invite you to visit us at www.FocusMauiNui.com; call 875-2300, check us out on Facebook or sign up for a RSS feed. We value your input, and we thank you for all you do to make Maui Nui, no ka oi and unique in all the world.
Jan 1, 2014 | Community
Happy New Year from Focus Maui Nui, a community-driven vision of our islands, spearheaded by Maui Economic Development Board.
Dec 25, 2013 | Community
In six decades of business, the Lanai family operating Pine Isle Market has learned it must constantly strive to meet and satisfy its customers. “We found it necessary to stock the basic needs of the town,” owner/operator Kerry Honda said. That has meant providing food, drink, dry goods and health and beauty aids. As years have passed, the grocery store has had to stock up on “a little bit of the ordinary” items such as weed whackers, fishing goods, electronics and appliances.
Pine Isle Market Ltd. formed in 1949 and began as a partnership with five original members and the late Isamu Honda taking the lead. Within the first couple of years of business, three partners dropped out and Honda, with his late wife, Marian, ran the business along with the store butcher. For the last 50 years or so, Pine Isle Market has set up shop in the Lanai City Town Square on Eighth Street. The staff maintains the “plantation days” tradition of closing for lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Honda’s son, Kerry, heads up the business today and runs it with 21 employees. “The hard work of my parents, the total support of my wife Cindy and children, employee dedication and customer loyalty have been the factors in the success of Pine Isle Market,” Honda said. “In a small community such as ours, we cherish our family, employees and customers,” Honda said. “We strive to set good examples for our community, stress the importance of conservation and saving for the next generation.”
Pine Isle Market: “We Strive to Satisfy”
The most challenging part of the business has been competing with other businesses. “We strive to offer fair and competitive prices,” Honda said. “Our motto is ‘We Strive to Satisfy.’” Pine Isle Market was honored in 2010 as Hawaii’s Family-Owned Small Business of the Year. Honda said his 22-year-old daughter, Corie Honda, has expressed interest in running the business sometime in the future.
