OHA Headed to Hawai‘i Island for Engagement

TMT protest, July 15, 2019. PC: Gerald Besson

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is coming to Hawai‘i Island, offering multiple opportunities for public engagement.

Hawaiʻi Island residents will have opportunities to share their manaʻo with the OHA at a community forum and a regular meeting of the OHA Board of Trustees, scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 18 and Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, respectively.

The community forum is specifically designed for OHA officials to listen to the manaʻo of the public and highlight the agency’s efforts to improve the conditions of Native Hawaiians, an OHA press release said. The board meeting is intended to conduct regular board business.

The OHA Board will also visit Puʻuhonua o Puʻuhuluhulu at the base of Maunakea. Both meetings and the site visit are open to the public.

The Hawaiʻi Island meetings wrap up this year’s series of OHA community and board meetings held throughout the state, the release continued.

OHA Board Hawaiʻi Island Meetings Schedule:

• Community meeting: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the Pāhala Community Center, located at 96-1149 Kamani St. in Pāhala.

• Board meeting: 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 19 at Aunty Sally Kaleohano’s Lūʻau Hale, located at 799 Piʻilani Street in Hilo.

• Site visit: 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19 at Puʻuhonua o Puʻuhuluhulu, located off the Maunakea Access Road.