Aloha Neighbors and Friends, For over 30 years, Malama Kai Foundation has been fulfilling our marine resource stewardship mission by supporting the statewide Day-use Mooring Buoy (DMB) Program, implementing youth educational programs, providing education and outreach regarding current ocean and coral reef habitat issues, and supporting various community-based conservation programs and projects. We are known for our balanced, respectful approach to working with conservationists, marine resource users, policy-makers, and the general public. We have accomplished a lot together in 2022! We established two educational scholarship programs. The first, the Hawaii Youth Camp Scholarship Program, will support access by Hawaiʻi youth to outdoor education camps focused on marine and coastal environments. The second, the George A. Wilkins Memorial Scholarship, will provide financial support to college-level students who are Hawaiʻi residents and pursuing degrees with a focus on marine technologies, oceanography, marine science, or coastal...

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WE'VE GOT A LOT TO CELEBRATE In 2022 you helped us remove tens of thousands of pounds from the beach, educate thousands of students, and divert loads of food scraps and recyclables away from the incinerator. We brought back our cleanup festivals for the first time since COVID, reached thousands at our first ever Vans US Open of Surfing, laid the groundwork for transforming composting and waste management on the island, connected with millions of individuals through virtual campaigns, and brought on three very special new Staff and a few wonderful interns. In summary, we did a lot...and we couldn't have done it without you. Whether you volunteered in person, made a donation, subscribed to and read our newsletters, or followed along on social media, every way that you and everyone in this community has engaged with us has helped us accomplish everything detailed in this impact report. Mahalo for your support, and get ready for an even bigger and better year ahead. As a special thank you to our newsletter subscribers, you g...

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Aloha Friends, Family and clients, Lissette and I support a few organizations on the Big Island that primarily involve our island’s youth. I thought you might be interested in this seasonal time of giving, where we also remember the many gifts and blessings we’ve been fortunate enough to receive. Please read on for further details of each group's efforts and contact information for your reference. Aloha, Rick   Aloha and Happy December, Before we head into the heart of the holiday season, I wanted to ask for a moment of your time to consider making an end-of-calendar year gift to the Parker Fund. And if you've already given, mahalo nui loa! The Parker Fund makes all things "Parker" possible - it funds extracurriculars, classroom supplies, financial aid, campus beautification and safety, and so much more. It goes beyond what tuition can support and is the gift that gives right back to our school ʻohana. I hope you will reflect on the value Parker School to you and our island community and make an ann...

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Lissette and I went to dinner with friends at Merriman's restaurant in Waimea on Sunday evening. We had no idea, like anyone else, what was brewing inside the world's largest and most active volcano, Mauna Loa. We awoke to text messages from friends and family members across the globe asking if we were okay on Monday morning, with links to the Mauna Loa volcano news less than 50 miles from our front door. After laying dormant for almost 40 years, Mauna Loa erupted at 11:30 PM, Sunday HST. In the slideshow of photos above, you can see the view from our driveway toward Saddle Road, which subdivides the island east to west, at 5000' of altitude. Mauna Kea is on the left, and Mauna Loa is on the right with the orange glow. You can also see it during the day, evident by a smoke plume in the same direction. We have traveled the 200+ mile round trip to the Volcanoes National Park to see Kilauea Volcano lava for two decades. Still, we never expected to see lava from our driveway emanating from Mauna Loa. We should have suspected this ...

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Year to date, the Big Island real estate market has remained very consistent with little fluctuation in total sales, median sales price and days on market. Island-wide, the median sales price for condos ($567K) surpassed single-family homes ($523K) in May 2022, with a 26% increase in price compared to this time last year, and with 13% fewer total sales (94) for the month. Given its vast size, it's important to consider the neighborhood level nuances whether you plan to buy or sell here. Brief Overview: Island of Hawaii Unit Sales Stats for May 2022 VS. May 2021 Single Family Homes – Down only 1% in total sales - totaling 256 units. Condos – Down 42% in sales. 94 total closed. Land – 287 total sales of land representing an increase of 30 units (+12%) when compared against 2021 sales for that month. Single Family Homes Specific Stats: Median Sales Price: $523,000 in May 2022 an increase of 5% over median prices from May 2021.. Days on Market: 12 days on market for May 2022. Down 79% from May 2021 which saw 57...

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My swim coach, Dave Prutow and friend Rachel dive together frequently and capture amazing sea life in action. Check out this video and article regarding Dave untangling a juvenile, white tip reef shark from the reef. It had been hooked by typical fishing gear that subsequently wrapped itself and the shark around the coral. As my friend Ray likes to say, “Humans”….:( https://youtu.be/XLQoSCFPD2E

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I swim on Sunday mornings with a group at Hapuna Bay State Park. Most of the participants have known each other for decades and are seasoned in the open water. During the COVID lockdown and subsequent cease to our regular Sunday church service, I started to swim with the group. It's been a blast getting to know everyone and sharing a great start to the week on Sunday mornings. We swim from the center lifeguard tower north toward a cove located at the end of the bay and in front of the Hapuna Beach Hotel. We then swim south, 1/2 mile across the bay to a beautiful cove nestled amongst the rocky cliffs where shore fishers are typically present trying to catch an Ulua, Papio, or other large reef fish that hug the shorelines in deeper waters. The round trip is 1.2m if you care to count and or a 40-minute beautiful, fast-moving "snorkel." The bay's sand bottom contrasts with the coral-infused views where I surf at Makaiwa Bay. The sand forms rivulets that generally run parallel to the beach and offer an excellent directional beacon ...

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Project Hawaii is a 501 C3 that operates on the Big Island, Maui and Oahu. Every year, each child asks Santa for a special gift and we Secret Santas make sure they receive it. Our group only provides Secret Santas for Big Island children. If you’re interested in participating this year, let me know how many children, approximate ages, little girl or little boy or teen. If you would like to have someone else do the shopping, head over to their website at https://www.helpthehomelesskeiki.org/ or send a check to: Project Hawaii P.O. Box 1844 Kea'au, HI 96749-1844 For those of you who haven’t participated, Magin and her crew are visiting homeless camps around the Big Island and gathering names, ages, sex and gift requests. We have around 500+ children and teens who are living rough around the island. This is the one time of year they receive something new that they want. If you opt to be a Secret Santa, I’ll send you names, etc. and you have until December 15th to purchase and place in a stocking and bring to me ...

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My friend Rachel asked me if I had seen the drone video floating around of a tiger shark cruising very near shore, amongst unsuspecting snorkelers probably from the Fairmont Orchid. The drone video location was just south of the Fairmont Orchid where we open water swim regularly. During the COVID lockdown months in 2020, the resort lap pool was closed and our masters group could not meet. We started a 3-day a week, early morning swim, from our Mauna Lani Beach Club at Makaiwa Bay to the dive buoy at Peaks surf break, just North of the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel (Auberge). When time and weather conditions permitted, we would swim further to the Fairmont beach, take a break and swim back-2.6 miles round trip.  This video is of a tiger shark cruising in the shallow water exactly where I’d clip the corner and enter the narrow entrance into the Fairmont’s beach. The rest of the crew would stay in deeper water and take a more direct route into the Fairmont. Note the narrow entrance into the Fairmont beach on the video when it zooms out...

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From Big Island Video News: Kīlauea  volcano is erupting. Following a sudden increase in earthquake activity and an increase in the USGS Volcanic Alert Level from ADVISORY to WATCH this afternoon, lava is now filling the Halemaʻumaʻu summit crater once again. The alert level has been raised to WARNING. A synthesized voice was utilized in the narration for this story. (BIVN) – Scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are capturing the new eruption of Kilauea, and sharing the photos online. The summit eruption began on Wednesday afternoon. Animated thermal webcam images taken between 2:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. recorded the start of the eruption. Vigorous lava fountains formed in the middle part of the solidified lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu crater, filling the floor with new molten lava. Follow this link for more information from the USGS.  (https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2021/09/30/video-scientists-capture-first-images-of-new-kilauea-eruption/)

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