Advertiser Staff and News Services
MAUI
Conference to discuss exports
WAILEA, Maui — Maui County is co-sponsoring a one-day conference to help Hawai‘i’s farmers, nursery owners and food manufacturers expand their exports.
The "Hawaii To Go" conference will be held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at the Outrigger Wailea Resort. The conference fee is $65 with registration by March 6; it’s $95 after. The fee includes lunch.
Information will be presented on U.S. Department of Agriculture market development programs, with speakers from Washington, D.C., including Robert Tse, senior policy adviser from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, who will present an overview of Hawai‘i’s agricultural exports around the globe.
The keynote speaker will be John Henry Wells, superintendent and professor of the Food Innovation Center at Oregon State University. The center is focused on the development, marketing and export of agricultural products.
Conference sponsors include the University of Hawai‘i’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the Maui County Farm Bureau, the Hawai‘i Food Manufacturers Association and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.
For more information, call Norman Nagata at (808) 244-3242 or Monnie Gay at (808) 270-7710.
Makawao stop now 4-way
MAKAWAO, Maui — A trial four-way traffic stop will go into effect today at the intersection of Makawao and Baldwin avenues and Olinda Road in the center of Makawao town.
The intersection normally functions as a three-way stop, with stop signs at the Makawao Avenue and Olinda Road approaches. A stop sign will be added by the county Department of Public Works and Waste Management to the Baldwin Avenue approach to convert the intersection to a four-way stop during an eight-week trial period.
A police officer will be present at the intersection tomorrow and periodically throughout the trial period to monitor and increase driver awareness of the new traffic flow.
For more information, contact Charlene Shibuya of the Engineering Division at (808) 270-7437.
Kahului pool dedicated
KAHULUI, Maui — The Maui County Department of Parks and Recreation held a blessing and dedication this week for the newly renovated Kahului Swimming Pool.
Improvements include a paved parking area, a wheelchair-accessible ramp and a new covered pool deck structure to provide protection from the wind.
The Kahului pool, formerly known as the Salvation Army Pool, also received a new fence, landscaping with irrigation and a loading dock.
Total cost was $280,000.
BIG ISLAND
Cause of hikers’ deaths disclosed
VOLCANO, Hawai‘i — Two hikers found dead last November near a lava flow in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park died of pulmonary edema caused by inhalation of steam, according to park Superintendent Jim Martin.
The bodies of Nancy Everett, 42, of Volcano, and Ivan Klein, 42, of Washington, D.C., were found at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 about 100 yards from where lava was entering the ocean.
Pulmonary edema is an abnormal and often-fatal accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
Company breaks emission rules
POHOIKI, Hawai‘i — Puna Geothermal Venture could face a fine of up to $25,000 for an inadvertent release of hydrogen sulfide above permitted levels.
Area residents complained late Monday night of a bad smell in the air. Puna Geothermal representative Barry Mizuno said emission readings taken between 9 and 11 p.m. were in the mid-30-parts-per-billion range. The allowable hourly average is 25 parts per billion. Federal occupational safety rules allow up to 10,000 parts per billion for workers.
"We are sorry we stunk up the neighborhood," Mizuno said, adding "there was no health risk involved."
The inadvertent release of hydrogen sulfide occurred while the plant was shut down for annual repairs under an agreement with Hawai‘i Electric Light Co.
State officials are reviewing the plant’s records and could levy a fine of up to $25,000.
KAUA‘I
State defeats Hanalei boaters
LIHU‘E, Kaua‘i — The state claimed victory yesterday in its battle to drive commercial boating out of the Hanalei river, estuary and bay.
Four boating companies had challenged state regulations that halted motorized commercial boating operations.
Federal District Court Judge Helen Gillmor last week ruled that the regulations do not violate the due process provisions of the U.S. Constitution, as the boaters had argued.
Gillmor dissolved a restraining order that had allowed the boaters to keep operating.
Most of the boating companies run tours down the Na Pali Coast. Many already had moved their tour operations to the southwest side of Kaua‘i, reaching the Na Pali Coast from Port Allen.
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