Native Hawaiian education programs get $7.5M

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a total of $7.5 million to Native Hawaiian education programs in Hawaii, according to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.

Schatz said he worked to protect and increase funding for the DOE’s Native Hawaiian Education Program by more than $3 million despite President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate it in fiscal year 2018.

Programs receiving funding:

>> Partners in Development Foundation will receive $621,994 to fund its Pili A Paa expansion project, which is focused on Native Hawaiian students in kindergarten through grade 12 on Hawaii island.

>> Maui Family Support Services will receive $783,973 to help prepare Native Hawaiian children for kindergarten and reduce the risk of child abuse.

>> Bishop Museum will receive $231,150 to create an internship program at the museum that provides Native Hawaiian students and teachers STEM-related activities.

>> Laiopua 2020 will receive $818,051 to improve academic performance for more than 1,250 students in West Hawaii.

>> Friends of the Future will receive $835,259 to improve education for over 1,400 Hawaii island students.

>> Hookakoo Corp. in Honolulu will receive $223,340 to improve the English and Hawaiian literacy of more than 600 students at the kindergarten to third-grade levels.

>> The state Department of Education will receive $604,729 to improve Native Hawaiian education at the Nanakuli-­Waianae Complex Area.

>> The University of Hawaii will receive more than $1 million to create a Hawaiian immersion summer camp for more than 120 students. UH will also receive $682,271 to increase Native Hawaiian enrollment in postsecondary education and certification programs; $630,588 to fund literacy-focused education programs for prekindergarten through third grade and prepare more high school students for jobs in STEM; $700,000 to address the needs of more than 1,600 at-risk Native Hawaiian students; and $329,790 to foster and promote STEM engagement among sixth- and seventh-graders.

Bank robber sentenced to prison

A 45-year-old man was sentenced to 188 months, or approximately 15 years, in prison for robbing a bank and pharmacy on Kauai in 2016, according to a statement from the Office of the United States Attorney, District of Hawaii. In addition, he was ordered to pay $630 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.

According to the Office of the U.S. Attorney, Walter Mill escaped from the Kauai Community Correction Center in Wailua on Nov. 3, 2016. That same day, he robbed the First Hawaiian Bank in Lihue, used the money to buy a BB gun and conducted a series of carjackings. He ordered the driver of one of the vehicles he carjacked to drive him to a pharmacy in Koloa, where he demanded Oxycontin pills, according to court documents. He then continued his crime spree until he was arrested later that day in Hanapepe.