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Educator Malina-Wright wins award

VerlieAnn Leimomi Kapule Malina-Wright, a teacher, principal, cultural advocate and activist, will receive the National Education Association's Leo Reano Memorial Award for her 40-year commitment to native language immersion programs and cultural education.

Since 2000, she has been vice principal of Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'O Anuenue, a K12 Hawaiian language immersion school, and has taught in several summer programs in Honolulu.

The Aloha United Way recognized volunteers and partners in its Family and Individual Self-sufficiency Program, which sponsored a statewide Earned Income Tax campaign and free tax assistance programs. They saved the public more than $1,695,000 in tax preparation fees.

The Modular Building Institute recognized Hawaii Pacific University's Hawaii Loa campus expansion plans with a national first place award for two modular buildings completed last year.

Jared Lane K. Maeda, of Wailuku, a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, received one of 525 U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships. He will spend two months this summer in Suwon, South Korea, as part of an intensive Korean language institute hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.

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