 I'm Marsha Joyner and today we are at the Capitol with Representative Lynn DeCoyt from Molokai. And as you know, Molokai is a special little island, way, way, way, 39 miles away from Sandy Beach. And it is, I think, still real Hawaii, old Hawaii. Last true Hawaiian island. Last true Hawaiian island. And there has been in the news this issue of Hawaiian airline cutting back on flights to and from Molokai. And last year the ferry was gone. So what does that mean to the people that live on Molokai? Have they really been isolated so far? Are they stranded? So we're here today to ask them to talk about what is going on with Molokai and what can we do? Well, one is we can talk with Hawaiian Airlines and we've had a lot of our constituents call in mostly in regards to ADA compliance because many of our kupuna need the ramp to get on to the airlines to come over to Honolulu and Maui for doctors. We've asked them to write in to Hawaiian Airlines. We've had a meeting with Hawaiian Airlines two nights ago on the island. It was well attended, about 80 people. And there were grave concerns for the next 90 days of discontinuation for the Maui to Honolulu, and Maui, Molokai to Maui flight as well as the midday Molokai to Honolulu flight. So once, tell me from the beginning, what is it with Hawaiian Airlines? What is it that they said they were going to do? So basically because they have a lack of fleet, they are required by FAA to take that plane out for service and maintenance, which is going to take about 90 days. So it's not forever, it's for this? It's for that 90 day period from September 15th to December 15th. Oh, Christmas time. Shopping time. Shopping time, canoe race time. They were gracious enough to accommodate Molokai for the canoe races and put in three extra flights. Now, I have been to Molokai on the little planes, but what about the ADA? How do you get wheelchairs and things on those flights? We can't. So that's why the pressure to have Hawaiian continue their flights to and from Molokai. Those planes are nine-seaters and they cannot accommodate wheelchair accessibility or ADA for people with Walker and cannot make it up to the steps. I was on one flight and they weighed everybody to make sure that we fit. Yes. And that's usually the case, you know, the balance of weight is a heavy concern. Our other concern is if a passenger is over 300 pounds, they cannot get on that flight also. So we're pretty strapped because our morning flights from Molokai to Honolulu are normally full and by moving a midday flight out from Molokai to Honolulu, you now look at people that are on the midday flight trying to get on the morning flight, of which it'll take a lot of planning, people that are going to go to doctors. It's really hard because in some case when a person has a heart attack or stroke, they're then referred back to a heart doctor and those doctors are here in Oahu or Maui and it's a huge inconvenience, especially if you're a caregiver trying to take off work. Now you're asking for two seats and it's a 48-seater. Again, two weight and balance will be huge factors on who will take priority on those flights. Nat, you have a clinic, health clinic. What about a hospital or other medical facilities? Well, we have Queen's Hospital, so Molokai General is a partner with Queen's Hospital which accommodates a lot of our patients, check-ups, heart surgeries, everything from chemotherapy and cancer. So, you know, the clinics will do the minor things, but anything after a stroke and stuff is air-vac'd out. Cost-wise, it's huge, unless you have Hawaii Life Flight Insurance or AMR. Now, there's other things going on, especially except the airline, but what about the sale of Molokai Ranch? What is that going to do to the island? Well, you know, actually Molokai Ranch has always been on the market for sale. I guess now it's come back in. I haven't had a conversation with Molokai Ranch yet, but you know, we're hoping that if Molokai Ranch is sold that they come back to the community and have these meetings with the community to see what is liking of what their proposal is. Development is a huge deal for Molokai as they want to remain the last Hawaiian island and keep culture, preserve its way of life, but at the same time trying to understand how do we keep our kids home with jobs, economic development, and figuring out if there's enough water, you know, and that's a big problem. Water. The fresh water you mean? Yes, potable drinking water. Do you not get enough rain? No, we don't. Every year we're in drought restrictions and it's played a huge part on whether or not we're cutting back whether it's due to potable drinking water or agricultural water. So if you were to put in a new farming, a new agriculture venture, then water would be an issue? Well, right now we haven't had, we're looking pretty good on ag water. It's just a matter of how long the summer and drought lasts. But people have been very good on conserving, on taking new precautions and measures on, instead of overhead irrigating, going to drip line and doing water conservation measures. Now, back to the children. We were there last year and for the Martin Luther King Peace Poem Project. And there were 57 winners in Hawaiian that they were fluent in Hawaiian. Their English wasn't well, okay, but that was amazing. The numbers of people on your island that speak Hawaiian, that is fabulous. You know, it's huge. Punanaleo thrives on Moloka'i. The immersion program also thrives with the support of, you know, legislature in supporting Hawaiian language. You know, the children speak fluent in a time when our generation was growing up. We wouldn't have the privilege really of being educated on Hawaiian language. But as MCC does provide for Hawaiian language, most of the parents have gone back and within Punanaleo it's a requirement that the parents come in and learn the language to interact with the children. There was one kid, he was reading his poem in Hawaiian, but he couldn't handle reading it in English. He was darling. And you know, that's a challenge that they face. But for many of the parents here who want to keep the culture and the education in Hawaiian language alive, it's strong and thriving. So what else is going on in Moloka'i? Well, we want to see more on the education line of MCC in offering higher degrees. They do have in higher education. A lot of our parents have gone back to school. We like to see that continue and enrollment to start to increase. Of course, healthcare is a big issue. Making sure Kupuna that are on fixed income have other options of basically surviving. Cost of living, highest, electric and gas. You know, we struggle for the jobs is to maintain those jobs and keep people living on Moloka'i that want to continue to live there. Now, what about the sweet potatoes? Is that still a big industry? For us, it's still a big industry. My family, as myself, a third generation sweet potato farm, our family still thrives and my dad still works with us raising Moloka'i purple sweet potatoes. So it's been a wonderful job and something that you got to like to continue to farm. Do we have many tourists? Not as much as people would like to see, but enough as they come onto Moloka'i, they're educated about the lifestyle, about who we are, about learning respect for one another and welcoming people with open arms and realizing that there's places you can and cannot go. But the tourists that come are very welcoming and they respect the people and the culture there. Well, I promised that we wouldn't keep you long. Your staff said you had lots of meetings. But thank you so much for spending this time with us and we will be back. Thank you, Marshar. I appreciate it. Thank you. Aloha.