Once one of the most common forest birds in the Hawaiian Islands, the ‘i‘iwi, also known as the scarlet honeycreeper, will be protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that listing was warranted based on a review of the best information available for the ‘i‘iwi, gained through exhaustive research, public comments and independent scientific peer reviews.

In the past, ‘i‘iwi could be found from the coastal lowlands where they foraged for food to the high mountain forests where they nested. Today, ninety percent of the ‘i‘iwi population is confined to a narrow band of forest on East Maui and the windward slopes of the island of Hawaii, between 4,265 and 6,234 feet (1,300 and 1,900 meters) in elevation. The birds are virtually gone from the islands of Lanai, Oahu, Molokai and west Maui, while the population on Kauai is in steep decline.

“In recent years, the ‘i‘iwi population has been in sharp decline, due to threats from habitat loss, invasive species and avian diseases, particularly avian malaria,” said Mary Abrams, project leader for the Service’s Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office. “These threats have affected all forest birds, not just the ‘i‘iwi. Conservation that benefits the ‘i‘iwi will undoubtedly benefit other Hawaiian forest birds.”

Avian malaria, carried by invasive mosquitos, is the primary driver in the decline in of the ‘i‘iwi population, and has already caused the decimation of dozens of other Hawaiian forest birds. The disease kills approximately ninety-five percent of infected ‘i‘iwi. Mosquitos, which are not native to the Hawaiian Islands, breed and thrive at lower and warmer elevations where they infect birds like the ‘i’iwi with avian malaria and pox.

“‘I‘iwi have virtually disappeared from any habitat where mosquitoes are found,” said Abrams. “This has caused their range to shrink dramatically – they are almost entirely limited to higher elevation ‘ōhi‘a forests for their habitat, dietary, and nesting needs.

Higher and cooler elevation ‘ōhi‘a forests, where mosquitoes do not thrive, remain the only habitat for the ‘i‘iwi, but even those areas are under threat. As temperatures rise, mosquitoes, and the avian diseases they carry, are able to survive at higher elevations and spread upwards into the mountains, further constricting the ‘i‘iwi’s range.

‘I‘iwi are dependent for their survival on forests of native ‘ōhi‘a. On the island of Hawaii, home to 90 percent of the remaining ‘i‘iwi population, those ‘ōhi‘a forests have been under attack from rapid ‘ōhi‘a death, an invasive tree pathogen.

“Working with the state, our conservation partners and the public will be crucial as we work to recover the ‘i‘iwi, said Abrams. “The Service is committed to building on our record of collaborative conservation to protect Hawaii’s native species.”

The Service’s final listing rule will be published in the Federal Register on Sept 20, 2017, and will become effective on Sept 20, 2017. Next steps include development of a recovery plan, which will be bolstered by input from other federal and state agencies, other conservation partners and the public.

More information, including the final listing, can be found here.
Photos of ‘i’iwi can be found here.

From the Souther Poverty Law Center (SPLC):

A group known as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a notice with Network Solutions on August 21, 2017 informing them that www.stormfront.org (Stormfront), a website using Network Solutions’ domain registration services, violates the provision of your Acceptable Use Policy “AUP” ...

Stormfront was caught in the crossfire due to its longstanding associations with White Nationalism, and particularly the Daily Stormer. As the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s complaint noted:

The AUP prohibits “utilizing the Services in a manner deemed, in Company’s sole discretion, to display bigotry, racism, discrimination, or hatred in any manner whatsoever.” Since its creation, Stormfront has been consistently recognized as a site for racial hatred and was even the subject of a documentary on the subject entitled Hate.com. The Stormfront website was use along with dailystormer.org to organize and encourage participation in the violent and fatal “Unite the Right” rally held in Charlottesville , Virginia last weekend. A representative sample of posts on the site refer to interracial coupled by slurs, share racist caricatures, or otherwise dehumanize minorities by referring to them as “creatures” or “ethnics.

Read the full post here

The State Legislative Public Access Room (PAR), a liaison between the public and state elected officials, is hosting a series of “Your Voice” workshops at several locations on the neighbor islands to help citizens learn about the legislative process and about how they can get involved.

The presentation provides information on the Legislature and legislative process, and includes tips and tools that citizens can use to effectively communicate with lawmakers. The workshop is designed to be helpful to newcomers and seasoned advocates alike.

Dates, times, and locations of neighbor Island workshops on Hawaiʻi, Maui and Kauaʻi are listed on the attached flyers. PAR is in the process of setting up workshops for Molokai and Lanaʻi.

Hawaiʻi Island: September 11-14
Maui: September 18-22
Kauaʻi: September 27-28

Noted Filipino historian Prof. Ambeth Ocampo of Ateneo de Manila University will discuss the handwritten diaries of Ferdinand Marcos and his family in a free public seminar on Friday, Sept. 1, at the East-West Center. The diaries were left behind by Marcos and his family when they fled the presidential palace amid the “People Power” uprising in 1986.

Prof. Ocampo’s talk on “Interrogating Presidential Papers: The Ferdinand Marcos Diaries” will be from noon–1 p.m. in the East-West Center’s John A. Burns Hall, Rm. 4111 (1601 East-West Rd). The program is free of charge and open to the public, with limited seating available.

To RSVP or for more information, contact (808) 944-7111, or [email protected]. Paid parking is available in marked visitor parking on the UH campus.

When they fled the presidential palace in February 1986, Ferdinand Marcos and his family left behind handwritten diaries spanning the years 1969-1984. Since then, they have been in the custody of the Presidential Commission on Good Government. Prof. Ocampo is preparing the diaries for publication, collating from different manuscript sources, and annotating from newspapers and the Official Gazette. He will present an assessment of Marcos’ own view of events during the years chronicled by the diaries.

Ambeth Ocampo is a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, Philippines. He is the Philippines’ top scholar on national hero José Rizal, about whom he has written several books. He writes a column on Philippine history for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Co-sponsored by: the Filipino Association of University Women, Knights of Rizal, UH Manoa School of Pacific and Asian Studies, UH Manoa Center for Philippine Studies and Philippine Airlines.

The state Office of Planning and the Kalihi 21st Century Transformation Initiative’s Vison Committee today presented Governor David Ige with a Final Vision report outlining the initiative’s top priorities, including economic development and housing to support Kalihi’s current and future generations.

In his 2016 State of the State address, the governor committed to working with the community to revitalize Kalihi. He asked the Office of Planning to bring together community members to develop a vision for 21st century Kalihi, focusing on state owned land in the Dillingham/Iwilei corridor.

The committee consisted of members from both public and private sectors. Community members also had opportunities to provide their input at three public informational meetings at Farrington High School. Together, they established a list of redevelopment priorities:

• Economic development
• Affordable housing
• Ensuring the safety, health and well-being of current and future Kalihi residents
• Open spaces, infrastructure
• Preservation of pride and culture
• Kalihi as an iconic area of Honolulu

“I appreciate the hard work of the Vision Committee, the community and the Office of Planning,” said the governor today in a press release. “They worked collaboratively to discuss a wide range of potential opportunities for Kalihi, as we work to transform the community to its fullest potential.”

“Being part of the planning process was empowering, but it also shows that Governor Ige cares what we think and want and need. He promised that he would work with us to create a vision for Kalihi and he delivered,” said longtime Kalihi resident April Bautista.

The state is considering redevelopment of the 16-acre site of the existing O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC), a key parcel that could provide many opportunities for the Kalihi community. The Department of Public Safety is currently going through an Environmental Impact Statement process, reviewing potential sites to relocate the facility. The state is also considering keeping OCCC on site, but in a reconfigured footprint.

21st Century Kalihi Vision Report

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) will award $250,000 to the Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) group to aid in its support of the We Are Oceania Hālau Ola One Stop Center in Honolulu to carry out its mission of addressing the needs of the Micronesian community in Hawai‘i.

“Micronesians, as well as all Freely Associated States (FAS) citizens, face a unique set of challenges when adjusting to life in Hawai‘i,” said Senator Brian Schatz, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This funding will support one stop centers and groups like We Are Oceania as they provide resources and guidance to help these communities succeed.”

We Are Oceania seeks to provide a centralized a support system to help Micronesian communities, families and individuals in Hawai‘i deal with issues including homelessness, urgent medical needs, student truancy and lack of job readiness. The Compacts of Free Association allows for citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau to live and work in the United States as legal non-immigrants.

According to the 2013 Compact impact enumeration conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Census, there are 17,170 FAS migrants living in Hawai‘i making up roughly .01 percent of the current population.

Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations and Indian Affairs Committees, announced that the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will award $90,000 to the Manoa Heritage Center in Honolulu through a new Native American language revitalization initiative. The funding, which will be matched dollar for dollar through a partnership with the First Nations Development Institute, will “support programs and initiatives that aim to preserve and revitalize Hawaiian language, history and culture.”

“Language is fundamental to the identity of Native Hawaiians,” said Senator Schatz. “This new funding will give us more resources to preserve the language and all aspects of the Native Hawaiian culture that help make our state so unique.”

According to its website, the Manoa Heritage Center is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote the thoughtful stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of Hawai‘i. This grant is part of NEH’s Creating Humanities Communities Grant Program which supports grassroots humanities programs by encouraging partnerships and collaborations between local entities.

In 2015, Senator Schatz authored the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act in order to “enhance and integrate native tourism, empower native communities, and expand unique cultural tourism opportunities in the United States.” A component of this legislation, which was signed into law last year, directed federal dollars towards Native American language preservation.