MEDIA RELEASE

Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s newly appointed interim director of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), Alapaki P. Nahale-a, and the governor’s newly appointed District 1 State Senator Malama Solomon, Ph.D., will top the agenda at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6 at Waimea school cafeteria.

It is Waimea Community Association’s first town meeting of 2011.

The meeting is co-sponsored by WCA, the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders Association and Waimea Hawaiian Civic Club. Because the 2011 State Legislature officially begins Jan. 19, the district’s incumbent state Rep. Cindy Evans also will participate in a pre-session briefing to look at legislative priorities for Waimea and all of Hawaii County.

No newcomer to DHHL, Nahale-a has served as a Hawaiian Homes Commissioner since 2008. Concurrently, he was Board President and later, Executive Director of the Hawaii Charter Schools Network, and the Director and Local School Board founding member of Ka Umeke Kaeo Hawaiian Immersion Public Charter School.

He has served as a Hawaii County Charter Commissioner and a board member for the Kuikahi Mediation Center. In years prior, he held a series of community development positions with Hawaii Community College, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation. He also served the Hawaii County Council for five years as an assistant legislative auditor and fiscal/program review auditor.

He is a 1986 graduate of Kamehameha Schools and earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Solomon re-joins the state Senate, filling the seat vacated by Dwight Takamine when he was appointed by Abercrombie to lead the State Department of Labor.

She will be continuing 18 years in public service that have included two years as a Trustee with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and 16 years as the 1st District’s Senator, which included eight years as Senate Majority Leader. She holds a Ph.D. in Education and has taught high school through college.

Solomon also has managed her family’s farm and ranch operation and today is the owner-manager of a 1,600-acre cow-calf operation in Waimea, North Kohala and Hamakua.

To kick off the 2011 legislative discussion, town meeting participants will be asked to vote for their top legislative priorities – an exercise initiated last January that proved a useful tool for both elected officials and community members.

Also on the agenda will be the election of WCA two-year officer positions of secretary and treasurer as required by the association’s bylaws. Nominees include Brian Thomas for treasurer for a second term, and Patti Cook for secretary.

All who attend WCA monthly Town Meetings are asked to help continue the association’s commitment to help Waimea’s food pantries by bringing a donation – preferably cash or a check – or non-perishable food items. Checks may be payable directly to a food pantry so the donation is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

For information, call WCA President Sherman Warner (885-1725) or visit www.WaimeaTown.org