July 2010

Nursing facility to kick out school

Helen Altonn, Star Advertiser

The Health Department is moving ahead on plans for a 150-bed skilled nursing facility on Hawaii State Hospital grounds in Kaneohe that officials say will provide critically needed beds for older patients with mental and physical health needs.

But the major hitch is the Hakipuu Learning Center, a public charter school in a building where the proposed 50,000-square-foot skilled nursing facility is slated to go.

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Charter school evicted to make way for new nursing facility

Marisa Yamane, KHON2

Hawaii's population is aging at two and a half times the national average. That's why State Health Department officials say it's crucial to have the appropriate resources ready.And there's a state project in the works to build a brand new nursing facility.

The facility would accommodate as many as 200 patients, and would also serve as a training ground for university students, and Health Department workers.

But the project is being met with some opposition.

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School of the Soil

David Thompson, Hana Hou Magazine

Pua Mendoca knows who’s been nibbling holes in the leaves of her taro, eggplant and basil. Mendoca is the kumu kahua mala, or school garden instructor, at a charter school in Hilo called Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo. The culprits nibbling on the leaves? They’re the Chinese rose beetles that recently discovered the school’s raised vegetable beds.

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