HAWAI'I BRIEFS
State parks get $3 million for safety
Advertiser Staff
State parks have received $3 million for improvements intended to make public lands safer.
Bringing large-capacity cess-pools into compliance with Environmental Protection Agency requirements will cost $2.5 million.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources will use the remaining $500,000 to do a rockfall mitigation assessment at Diamond Head State Monument and to install warning signs on public lands.
REEF ETIQUETTE VIDEO ON AIRLINERS
Through the end of March, Aloha Airlines will show passengers on its flights from the Mainland a 7-minute video, "Hawai'i Reef Etiquette," made by Ziggy Livnat's For The Sea Productions.
"Every day, I see tourists stepping on corals, feeding fish, littering and harassing sea turtles, dolphins and endangered monk seals. Most people want guidance," Livnat said. The video was partly funded by grants from the Hawai'i Community Foundation, the Snorkel Bob Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Livnat said he hopes to get the program, which he provides at no cost, to other airlines as well.
KAILUA
KAWAI NUI TOUR PLANNED SATURDAY
Experts will lead a tour of Kawai Nui Marsh, and streams flowing through it, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Participants will learn about Ha-wai'i's native aquatic animals and insects and the impact alien species have on them.
A $5 donation will be accepted. The tour is limited to 25 people.
Make reservation by calling Chuck Burrows at 595-3922 or write chuckb@hawaii.rr.com.
KANE'OHE/NU'UANU
LANE CLOSURES MAY SLOW TRAFFIC
Drivers on the Pali Highway in Nu'uanu and Kamehameha Highway in Kane'ohe could run into lane closures as the state makes repairs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Friday.
Pavement repairs are in progress in the town-bound lane near Waokanaka Street on the Pali Highway. Resurfacing and shoulder work is being done in both directions of Kamehameha Highway between Castle Junction and Kahiko Street.
State transportation officials recommend cautious driving.
COLLEGE HELP OFFERED TO TEENS
High school students who have potential to attend college but lack financial means, academic standing and guidance counseling can attend a free summer residential program to get help.
The Windward Community College Upward Bound Program will hold an informational session about the program from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the college's 'Akoakoa Building, Room 101.
The summer program includes classes and career exploration. During the year, advisers and tutors will be in contact with participants.
Requirement for enrollment include being a freshman, sophomore or junior in high school, showing potential to be successful in college, meeting income guidelines or having parents who have not earned a bachelor's degree.
Call Lisa Gillis-Davis, program director, at 235-7488.
FISHPOND GROUP TO TRAIN DOCENTS
The Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society will conduct a volunteer docent training workshop from 10 a.m. to noon on March 9 at the fishpond. Individuals or groups will be trained to facilitate activities for school and community groups. The public is invited, but pre-registration is required. Call Ka'ohua Lucas at 843-1217 or write kaohua@hawaii.rr.com.
KAHUKU
HEALTH CENTER GETS $643,500
A $643,500 grant promised last April to the Ko'olauloa Community Health and Wellness Center in Kahuku has been awarded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
The center was promised $650,000, but the federal government cut funding 1 percent, said May Akamine, executive director of the center. Nevertheless, the center is happy to receive the grant, Akamine said.
The goal of the center is to provide 100 percent access and zero health disparities, and it will do that by targeting the poor, uninsured, underinsured, homeless, Hawaiians, Pacific islanders, immigrants, agricultural workers, youths and the elderly, according to a news release from the organization.
The clinic serves O'ahu communities from Waimea Bay to Kualoa.
KUALOA
REBURIAL RITE HELD FOR 38 HAWAIIANS
A traditional ceremony was held last week for the reburial of the remains of 38 Hawaiians that were inadvertently discovered over the past 12 years at Kualoa Regional Park.
Families, cultural specialists, and city and state officials planned the re-interment at the park, according to a news release from the state Department of Lands and Natural Resources. The remains were being cared for by archaeologist Paul Cleghorn of Pacific Legacy Inc., the release said.
The city Department of Parks and Recreation has volunteered to assist the state and families in maintaining the burial sites.
KAUA'I
A SPECIAL TREAT FOR TOP VOLUNTEERS
LIHU'E — Committed volunteers on Kaua'i will get a special treat during National Volunteer Week with tickets to a concert April 23 at Vidinha Stadium, entitled "Pu'uwai Aloha: A Giving Heart."
The concert will feature Rai-atea Helm, Andy Bumatai, Robi Kahakalau, The Makaha Sons and Maunalua, Glenn Medeiros and Christie Parongao. Mele Apana will emcee the show.
Organizers have made contact with more than 400 groups to seek out their most active volunteers. For information on who can attend and how to nominate volunteers for the concert, reach Art Umezu at aumezu@kauai.gov or 241-6390; Catherine Stovall, cstovall@kauai.gov or 241-6398; or Mary Daubert, mdaubert@kauai.gov or 241-6300.
TOUR OF HOMES BENEFITS HOSPICE
LIHU'E — Kaua'i Hospice has scheduled its biennial tour of homes fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 2 — a tour that gives participants access to some of the island's most exclusive properties.
The event will be followed by a reception at a Kalihiwai River luxury home with more than 11,500 square feet of living space.
Tickets are $85, and sales begin today. Call Kaua'i Hospice at (808) 245-7277.
