OHA announces Washington bureau chief
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has hired someone in the nation’s capital to help improve federal law and policy for Native Hawaiians and Hawaii.
The office announced last week that Kawika Riley will be its Washington, D.C., bureau chief.
The Hawaii island native is a former spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration.
He has previous experience with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.
OHA Chief Executive Officer Kamanaopono Crabbe says Riley’s legislative and public policy background will help put the concerns of the Hawaiian community front and center on the agendas of federal policymakers.
Crabbe says Riley will make a meaningful contribution to national efforts to empower Hawaiians.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Family wants 442nd soldier’s photo returned
The Maui family of a deceased Japanese-American veteran of World War II is pleading for the return of a photograph of him and his 442nd Regimental Combat Team war buddies.
The framed photo hung in Russell Shigeru Takashima’s Kahului home for at least half a century.
His daughter Faith Minyard told the Maui News the family discovered it was missing after an estate sale at his home over the weekend. The photo was not for sale and appears to have been stolen during the frenzied event.
The photo is signed by some of the men from the highly decorated combat team of second-generation Japanese-Americans. Veterans of the unit received the Congressional Gold Medal last year.
Takashima died Aug. 17. He was 90 years old.
Maui’s Kealia wildlife refuge open Saturday
Maui residents will have a rare opportunity Saturday to visit a national wildlife refuge on a weekend.
The Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge covers 700 acres along Maui’s south-central coast and is one of the few natural wetlands remaining in Hawaii.
It’s typically open during the daytime on weekdays. It opens on Saturdays only for special events or volunteer service projects.
This Saturday the Kanuimanu Pond public viewing area will be open, and visitors should be able to see the endangered Hawaiian stilt and Hawaiian coot. The public may also check out a new visitor center that opened in February.
Refuge Manager Glynnis Nakai says the refuge hopes to attract more Maui residents by opening on Saturday. She says many people don’t realize the refuge is there.
