Hawaii Community Foundation Neighborhood Grants Program offers funding and technical assistance to neighborhood groups for projects that improve the quality of life in communities. The program encourages self-help. This means that neighborhood groups plan and take action on issues on their own. Applicants are expected to accomplish a product and strengthen their organizing and leadership skills. To be considered for funding, neighborhood groups must have limited financial resources based on the income level of their area.
The program is interested in funding those groups with projects that have some of the following ideas:
* Build Neighborhood Capacity (Strengths): Use the skills and experiences of neighborhood residents.
* Use of Physical Resources: New uses or beautification efforts for land, building, or natural resources.
* Cooperation: Activities bring neighbors together to work on community issues and/or build linkages between communities.
* Self-sufficiency: Neighbors will have greater responsibility and control over what happens in their neighborhood.
* Longevity: The project builds leadership and organizational skills of community members for the neighborhood's future.
Some of the projects funded have included neighborhood policing, and the restoration of a neighborhood park. Several organizations in Waimanalo that have been assisted by this program including the Hawaiian Homestead Residents Association (Renovation of the Community Center), The Waimanalo Health Center (exercise class) and the Waimanalo Community Development Corporation (to start the Waimanalo News).
The maximum any one group can request is $10,000. The grant awards generally range from $2,000 to $3,000. To learn more about the Hawaii Community Foundation Neighborhood Grants Program call Maralyn Kurshals or Dionne Kaiwi at 537-6333. Applications must be received by September 1, 1995. n
Weinberg Village Expanding
Four new units are being added to the Weinberg Village Waimanalo. Construction should be complete by December, 1995. The new units will include three 2 bedroom apartments and one 1 bedroom apartment. With the new units, Weinberg Village will soon have 31 units total, of which 29 are living units. Two homes that were donated and were to be moved onto the site were termite damaged and will not be used.
The additional units are all new construction and not renovation of structures moved from another site. The original buildings were portable classrooms that had been moved from Kapiolani Community College and eight studio units from Kauai. The contractor is Robert Kaya Builders, one of the contractors that donated labor in the renovation of the original structures
Four of the families from Weinberg Village have moved on to permanent housing. Two families now live at Kauhale Ohana, the twenty-five unit Hawaii Housing Authority apartments behind Waimanalo School.
The regularly scheduled in house transitional training classes have resumed after a summer break and will be ongoing two times weekly, two hours each class. Some residents are doing additional training to upgrade skills.
"We're making a big effort to tackle the problem of substance abuse," said Chas Williams, the director of Weinberg Village Waimanalo. We are developing a policy on how we treat people on site who have substance abuse problems." To accomplish this, he is sponsoring with the state a brainstorming retreat to promote the idea of what needs to go into good policy for homeless shelters. Participants will include representatives from the legal aide society, officers from the community policing team, people from treatment facilities. "We want to emphasize not just enforcement but treatment. We want them to go into treatment as much as possible. A treatment specialist will come in to deal with people on an individual basis. We're trying to face this head on."
"We have had good cooperation with the community," Chas Williams said. He referred to the Shima family who held a fund raiser which started a revolving fund for activities. Using a portion of these funds, the teens held a dance, hired a dj and did all the preparations on their own. n
Hawaiian Homes Claims Deadline
August 31, 1995 is the deadline for Native Hawaiians to file a claim against DHHL for a breach of trust that occurred between Statehood and June 30, 1988. Persons eligible to file a claim are those beneficiaries eligible to receive benefits of homesteading and related programs from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). This includes current homesteaders who received housing with defects, were not allowed on property awarded during the Accelerated Awards Program, and those still on the waiting list.
Also eligible to file a claim are those eligible beneficiaries who tried to apply for homesteads but whose application was rejected because they owned property, had too much income, or whose application was lost by DHHL. Persons wishing to file claims for breaches of trust that occurred after June 30, 1988 may bring suit immediately in the state Circuit Court.
The Hawaiian Claims Office has made available a video about the claims process that may be borrowed from the Waimanalo Library. Claims are filed with the Hawaiian Claims Office of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. There is no charge to file a claim. The Hawaiian Claims Office can help arrange free legal assistance for those who cannot afford legal representation. To file a claim call the Hawaiian Claims Office at 586-2826. n
Shopping Center Sold
The Waimanalo Shopping Center was sold at auction for $2 million dollars. The high bidder was First Hawaiian Credit Corporation, a mortgagee of the property. Court confirmation is expected by mid August with transfer to be effective in September. According to Wendell Brooks, court appointed commissioner of the auction, no money actually changed hands in the transaction. A credit bid was submitted by First Hawaiian Credit Corporation equal to the amount owed them by the court's judgment. Debts owed to other parties that held mortgages on the property were wiped out.
According to Wendell Brooks, the foreclosure shouldn't adversely affect the tenants of the shopping center. In the weeks before the auction, the shopping center facade was painted and leaks in the roof were patched. Other work to improve the shopping center will likely happen in the next few weeks. n
Unisyn Odor
In the past several months, there have been a number of complaints of a strong odor coming from the Unisyn plant on Waikupanaha Street. While the staff at Unisyn has been attempting to determine the source and rectify the problem, the odor has persisted. The Department of Health has caught wind of the smell and given Unisyn a limited amount of time to make the corrections, or possibly face fines of up to $10,000 per incident. This issue will be aired at the August 14 meeting of the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board. n
7-11 Liquor License denied
At an August 1 meeting of the Liquor Commission, 7-11 Hawaii was denied a license to sell liquor at the Waimanalo Beach 7-11 store. Testimony was heard from Waimanalo residents Jenny Kamau'u, Rep. Eve Anderson, Gregory Field and Al Lewis. The lawyers for 7-11 Hawaii requested being placed on the agenda for the August 14 meeting of the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board to ask for board approval to sell liquor at the same hours as nearby Bobby's Market.