The High Street Journal The An Official Publication of the County of Maui high STreeT Journal An Official Publication of the County of Maui OCTOBER 2018 PROCESS BEGINS FOR MAUI COUNTY TO ACQUIRE A PORTION OF WAILUKU WATER COMPANY HOMELESSNESS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 5TH ANNUAL MADE IN MAUI COUNTY FESTIVAL SET FOR NOV. 2-3, 2018 page 1 The High Street Journal An Official Publication of the County of Maui CONTENTS The High Street Message from the Mayor.................................................................................... 3 Journal M.D. Minute............................................................................................................. 4 Happenings at the County ............................................................................... 5 PUBLISHER / EDITOR Lynn Araki-Regan Homelessness and the Environment ........................................................... 7 EDITORIAL COORDINATORS Kehau Deutsche Process Begins for Maui County to Acquire a Portion of Wailuku 8 Tiffany Iida Water Company .............................................................................................. Rod Antone PHOTO COORDINATOR Ryan Piros Community Meetings are Critical in the Budget Process.................... 9 CONTRIBUTORS Kulia i ka nu`u ........................................................................................................ 11 Dana Acosta Kupaianaha............................................................................................................. Sandy Baz 13 Karen Arakawa Mayor Alan Arakawa Mayor Arakawa Sends Representative; Hawaii Delegration Holly Ho Strong at Global Climate Event ................................................................ 14 Don Medeiros Linn Nishikawa Kaunoa makes retirement feel like the BEST years! ........................... 17 Rob Parsons Karin Phaneuf 18 Keith Regan MEDB announces its “2018 Startup Weekend Maui Series” ............ Christie Trenholme Jessica Woo Shuttle tickets from Kihei & Wailuku for Lahaina’s Halloween are available online! ............................................................................................. 20 5th Annual Made in Maui County Festival set for November 2-3, 2018 ..................................................................................................................... 20 Photo Gallery ......................................................................................................... 22 page 2 The High Street Journal An Official Publication of the County of Maui MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR Aloha everyone, first off, I am grateful that we have had no more storms. Knock on wood we will make it through to the end of Hurricane Season on Nov. 30th without any more hurricanes or tropical storms. A good thing too, because we’ve had some busy days. There was the Maui Fair of course, I’m sure you are all exhausted from the fair weekend, whether you were roaming around with the kids or stuck in a little booth making chow fun, funnel cakes or whatever it is your were making for your church or school. Congratulations to all who made the 96th annual Maui Fair such a success. Besides that, we also had some special visitors in town from Fukuyama City. This year Maui County and Fukuyama celebrated our 10th anniversary as sister cities and we had the honor of hosting Fukuyama City Mayor Naoki Aedahiro and his lovely wife, as well as Assembly Vice-Chair Hiroso Tsukamoto and other city officials. Our Fukuyama visitors marched in the Maui Fair parade, took a tour of Maui Brewing Company, had some impromptu hula lessons and of course, helped us to plant another rose in our joint rose garden in front of the county building. Mahalo to everyone who helped host our guests, including Lynn Araki-Regan, her husband Keith, Stephanie Ohigashi, Tiffany Iida, Coralynn Dumlao, Tokie Ogawa, Deidre Tegarden and many more for all your hard work. The next big event coming up is Halloween on Front Street in Lahaina. Don’t forget that there are shuttle buses available for people in Kihei and Wailuku so they don’t have to drive to Lahaina. Contact the Office of Economic Development or the Lahaina Town Action Committee for more information. Right after that in November is the Made in Maui County Festival, held on November 2 and 3 at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. Call OED for more information on that as well. Finally, I’m very happy to say that my administration has transmitted a request for funding and approval to Maui County Council members, in order to purchase land and easements owned by Wailuku Water Company. I’m very excited about this because we will finally be able to take a valuable public resource and return it to public hands. There’s much to do and little time to do it, but we will get it done together as we always do. Mahalo to all of your for all of your hard work. Mayor Alan M. Arakawa page 3 The High Street Journal An Official Publication of the County of Maui M.D. Minute A Message from Managing Director Keith Regan “True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” ―Helen Keller Finding Purpose Amid the Busy Season Maui Fair. Fall break. Halloween. October is a busy month for the County of Maui, and it just starts to accelerate toward the holidays from here. Before we know it, it’s the new year, with stress, calories and busyness showing more wear and tear than many of us would like. But before worrying about making a massive overhaul to diet and exercise, take a moment to strategize. Consider small, manageable steps for wellness. Even just better choices at work. About 40 people gathered in a Honolulu meeting room last month to learn how to live healthier during the “Start Living Healthy @ Work” forum sponsored by the state Department of Health and the Hawaii Employer- Union Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF). The event featured speaker Ryan Picarella, president and CEO of Wellness Council of America, who offered some pretty stunning stats. Studies show that people spend one third or more of their lives at work; if worksite wellness improves, overall health increases. Other interesting findings include: - Most people don’t leave their work, they just leave their boss, meaning that job stress follows employees even after departing from the office each day. - When employees believe their employer genuinely cares about his/her well-being, many of the productivity stats go up. - Also, place has a significant influence on health and longevity. Picarella asked the group: “Which has a bigger impact on well-being: genetics or zip code?” The answer is zip code. He cited places a few miles away from one another in New York City where the life span yields a 15-year difference. Thankfully. our state is among the healthier in the nation. And while EUTF, which provides support to plan, develop and implement worksite wellness programs for state and county employers, and programs like Blue Zones, can help increase worksite wellness, the effort must begin with each individual. The person has to want to get healthier. Picarella said that the most important piece to health, wellness and longevity, is finding purpose, our own deeper sense of meaning in the world. Whether family, friends, community, job, faith — the values that explain the “why” behind our existence holds much weight. Take a moment to think about your “why,” your purpose, as we approach the holiday season. Your significance to the workplace is vital — there is no other individual like you. We hope that you are reminded of your great role with the County of Maui and with our community as a whole. Let’s learn to take small steps together toward healthier choices! Keith Regan Managing Director page 4 The High Street Journal An Official Publication of the County of Maui Happenings at THE COUNTY KAMAOLE BEACH PARK I MAKAI PARKING LOT PHILIPPINE CONSULATE OUTREACH ON TO CLOSE FOR UPGRADES NOVEMBER 17-18 The South Maui Parking Lots Improvements The County of Maui Immigrant Services Division Project will impact parking at several lots during (ISD) is announcing the Philippine Consulate upgrades, starting with Kamaole Beach Park I Outreach, to be held on November 17 and 18, makai side Oct. 22 through Nov. 2; and Nov. 13 2018, at the Maui Business Resource Center, for final restriping. Park users are asked to be in the Maui Mall. The Maui online passport aware of construction activities and follow all appointment is now open and the website is posted signage, the county Department of Parks https://philippineshonolulu-maui.eventbrite.com. & Recreation said. Call the ISD office at 270-7791 for any inquiries. The Kamaole I mauka parking lot at the intersection of Alanui Ke Alii and South Kihei COUNTY EMPLOYEES ENCOURAGED TO Road will remain open during this time. CONTRIBUTE TO MAUI UNITED WAY’S LIVE UNITED CAMPAIGN Awarded to Maui Kupono Builders for $527,572, the South Maui Parking Lots Improvement It’s that time of year again folks. The following is a Project, which begins Oct. 22 and continues message from the United Way: through Feb. 12, 2019, will upgrade lots with milling and repaving at Kamaole I, Kamaole III, Aloha! Please consider contributing to Maui Keawekapu and Po’olenalena. Dates for other lot United Way’s annual LIVE UNITED Campaign. construction work and closures will be released as Last year, County of Maui employees donated schedule is set. an amazing $60,000 to fund 33 partner agencies helping our Maui community in the areas of For questions, contact Samual Marvel, civil Education, Income, and Health. Donations