HAWAI'I BRIEFS
DOE to receive more federal aid
Advertiser Staff
The Department of Education will receive an additional $6.4 million in Federal Impact Aid because of the number of children displaced by housing renovations on military installations.
State Rep. K. Mark Takai, D-34th (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit), who discovered the provision that allows for additional funding for students forced to live off-base, said applying for the additional funding has brought in almost $20 million in extra funding over the past three years.
This extra $6.4 million will be a 16 percent increase from the $40 million the DOE was anticipating.
Federal Impact Aid pays for a portion of the educational costs of federally-connected students, such as school operating expenses like textbooks, computers, utilities and staff salaries.
STATE REVENUES JUMP 17.2 PERCENT
State tax revenues for the first four months of the current fiscal year amounted to $1.42 billion, a 17.2 percent increase over the same four-month period of the previous fiscal year, the state Department of Taxation said yester-day.
The increase is well above the 6 percent gain forecast for the entire fiscal year by the state Council on Revenues. It predicts the state's annual tax income so the governor can prepare the state budget and the Legislature can plan on how it will allocate funds.
During the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, the council underestimated what the growth in the state's tax take would be, initially forecasting it would rise by only 5.3 percent when it actually rose 16 percent.
The cumulative total for the current fiscal year rose with the addition of $322 million in October, the department said.
KAILUA
CASTLE MEDICAL SMOKE BAN TOTAL
Castle Medical Center will prohibit smoking anywhere on its property, including outdoor areas, beginning at 7 a.m. tomorrow, the hospital announced yesterday.
The ban will coincide with the national observance of the Great American Smokeout on Nov. 17.
A hospital news release said Castle will become the first O'ahu hospital to prohibit smoking inside and outside its facilities, even in parking lots.
"The Great American Smokeout is set aside as a day to help smokers quit smoking for at least one day, but Castle Medical Center is taking this national observance a huge step further by launching a new smoke-free policy," said Castle President and CEO Kevin Roberts.
The smoking lanai of the hospital's behavioral health unit will be rededicated as a nonsmoking lounge with a wall mural, skylights and furnishings.
BIG ISLAND
POLICE SEEK LEADS TO HILO INTRUDER
Big Island police are looking for a man who allegedly broke into a Hilo home, attacked a woman who was sleeping there and threatened her with a gun early yesterday.
Police said Brandon Lani, 25, of no permanent address is accused of entering the Kapi'olani Street home at 3:30 a.m. and threatening to shoot the woman there. Police said Lani is a former acquaintance of the woman.
The woman fled and called police. Lani allegedly fled from the home in a white four-door sedan. Police said the partial license plate reported for the car was HTG 6--.
Lani is 5 feet 8 and 170 pounds, with a slim build and tan complexion. He has brown hair and brown eyes, police said.
Anyone with information on Lani's whereabouts is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 935-3311, or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
GOVERNMENT ACCESS STUDIED
The Governor's East Hawai'i Council of Advisors will meet tomorrow to hear a presentation on a plan to improve access to government proceedings for Neighbor Island and rural O'ahu residents.
The meeting at the Hilo State Office Building Conference Room will begin at 5:30 p.m. The council will hear a presentation from Susan Irvine of the League of Women Voters on the Fair Access Commission legislation pending at the state Legislature.
Anyone requiring special assistance or accommodations to participate at this meeting may call 974-6262. For additional information on Neighbor Island councils of advisers, visit the governor's Web site at www.hawaii.gov/gov.
KONA FORUM TO COVER DISEASES
Kona residents will have a chance to learn more about infectious diseases ranging from bird flu to hepatitis at a forum tomorrow hosted by state Rep. Josh Green, D-6th (Kailua, Keauhou).
The community event will offer information about avian influenza or bird flu, hepatitis B and C, HIV, drug-resistant staph infections, and other infectious diseases affecting West Hawai'i.
The event will be at the Kona Outdoor Circle Education Center & Botanical Gardens tomorrow from 6 to 9 p.m.
Speakers will include Green, Dr. Alan D. Tice of the John A. Burns School of Medicine; and Ken Akinaka, executive director of the Hepatitis Prevention, Education, Treatment and Support Network of Hawaii.
CHAMBER FORUM ON GAS PRICE CAP
The recent surge in gas prices and the effect of the state's wholesale gas price caps will be the subject of a Hawai'i Island Chamber of Commerce forum Friday in Hilo.
State House Majority Leader Marcus Oshiro will speak in support of the gas cap law. Kimo Haynes, president of Hawai'i and Maui Petroleum, will speak in opposition.
The forum is sponsored by the chamber's Economic Development committee, and will be at Restaurant Kaikodo from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The event will cost $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers. Advance payment and reservations are required. Contact the chamber office at 935-7178.
HAWAI'I KAI
RECYCLING DRIVE TO BENEFIT SCHOOL
Friends of Koko Head Elementary School and Charitable Ventures will conduct a HI 5¢ recycling drive from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday.
The community is invited to drop off redeemable cans, plastic and glass bottles at the school. Proceeds will pay for the school's physical education teaching position and various cultural arts programs, including next month's production of "The Pirates of Penzance" with assistance of Hawai'i Opera Theatre.
The school also has scheduled a recycling drive for Jan. 13. Call 397-5811.
