The BYU-Hawaii voyaging canoe Iosepa arrived in its new home at the Halau Wa'a O Iosepa in the Polynesian Cultural Center's Hawaiian Village on July 22. PCC, BYUH and the community held a grand opening for the new canoe attraction from June 25-28, but inclement weather and poor sailing conditions delayed the canoe's actual arrival. Continue reading this post…

Manny Mattos, a Big Island wood carver, explained his appreciation of ancient Hawaiian weapons and his love of creating museum-quality reproductions of them — some from rare endemic wood — to a small group at Kahuku Public Library on June 24. "Basically, I recreate all of the old Hawaiian weapons out of endemic woods for educational and cultural purposes," he said. Continue reading this post…

It was a "chicken skin" moment on a number of levels when William K. "Uncle Bill" Wallace III — filled with emotion and visibly affected by a chemotherapy treatment earlier that day — stepped to the microphone on June 25 for a private dedication ceremony of the new Halau Wa'a O Iosepa in the Polynesian Cultural Center's Hawaiian village and started chanting. Continue reading this post…

Two Koolauloa women play prominently in recent Brigham Young University Hawaii executive actions:

Former Laie resident Dr. Debbie Hippolite Wright, LCSW, Ph.D., [pictured at left] has been named Vice President for Student Development and Services at BYUH, effective July 7; and… Continue reading this post…

HONOLULU — Governor Linda Lingle has signed into law a bill to strengthen the State’s and community’s ongoing collaborative efforts to preserve valuable lands and natural resources throughout Hawai‘i for future generations. The bill (SB2423 SD2 HD2 CD1), which becomes Act 140, provides the Governor with additional negotiating tools to use in acquiring and protecting nearly 1,300 acres of land on Oahu’s North Shore, including the makai and mauka lands from Kahuku Point to Kawela Bay.

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Kahuku High Head Coach Reggie Torres shared a few comments with Kaleo before the start of the varsity Red-and-White Scrimmage on June 2: “We look forward to the season. In the off-season we’ve evaluated the whole program and we’re trying to fix some things one step at a time.”

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A lot of well deserved recognition at this time of year goes to graduates who earned scholarships — with athletes in our community usually outshining the academics. Such scholarships provide a wonderful way for a select few of our youth to extend their skills beyond Koolauloa. We all feel a measure of pride in their accomplishments, and love to watch and read of their successes on the intercollegiate playing fields.

But there's another aspect of winning scholarships we don't discuss as much: Some recipients drop out after one or two seasons — some with injuries, others who can't handle the class work, and still others play out their eligibility but don't graduate. For whatever reason, some do not follow through with the educational aspects of their awards.

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Congratulations to the 256 seniors who graduated in the Kahuku High Class of 2008 on May 29. Once again, Kahuku's commencement ceremony, held in the BYU-Hawaii Cannon Activities Center, proved truly unique.

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The members of the Kahuku High Class of 2008 are:

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Congratulations to the following Kahuku High 2008 graduates who received more than $1.75 million worth of scholarships — as of May 29 commencement — with still more coming in:

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The Kahuku Class of 2008 graduation ceremony on May 29 provided a good opportunity for some of those in the audience to reflect on their own graduations. For example: Continue reading this post…

After being in dry dock for three years behind the BYU-Hawaii dormitories, the university's 57-foot traditional wa'a kaulua or twin-hulled Hawaiian sailing canoe, Iosepa, spent several weeks sailing from Hukilau Beach along Windward Oahu and, as of June 2, was preparing to sail to the Big Island.

When Iosepa returns, the beautifully crafted vessel first launched in 2001 will make its home in the Polynesian Cultural Center's Hawaiian village, where it will be available to the university, community and visitors when it's not sailing. Continue reading this post…