O'ahu briefs

Advertiser Staff and News Services

LEEWARD

'Olelo to air Makua forum

'Olelo Community Television will air a live panel discussion on the military use of Makua Valley beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday on NATV Channel 53. The program will be simulcast on 'Olelo's Web site, www.olelo.org

Subjects of discussion will include the historical and cultural significance of the valley, the health implications of the hazardous materials and unexploded ordnance in the valley and what steps can and should be taken.

Discussion panelists will be William Aila Jr., a local fisherman and Hawaiian homesteader; Momi Kamahele, an administrator for the University of Hawai'i's Hawaiian studies program; retired UH professor Marion Kelly; and Sparky Rodrigues, a member of Malama Makua.

Makua on Rotary agenda

Brig. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, assistant division commander (support), 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army Hawai'i, will discuss the importance of training to military readiness at the next Kapolei Rotary Club meeting, 7:30 a.m. Thursday in the Kapolei High School faculty/staff lounge.

Eikenberry has said because the Army has not been able to train at a company level in Makua Valley on the Leeward Coast for more than two years, the readiness of soldiers at Schofield Barracks has deteriorated.

Admission is $7 and includes a buffet breakfast.

If the teachers strike is still in progress, the meeting will be in the Campbell Estate Building, Laulima Room.

For information, call Keola Lloyd at 674-3167.

WINDWARD

City to buy Kahalu'u sites

The city is obtaining three beachfront properties in Kahalu'u that will be cleared to provide an open coastal view.

The properties are not contiguous, but one is next to the ocean side of Kahalu'u Regional Park and will become part of the park inventory, said council member Steve Holmes, who sought the properties for the city. This property, 5.305 acres, has been condemned by the city, and a court will decide on the price that the city will pay, Holmes said. The city appraised this agriculture-zoned land at $200,000.

All three properties were under condemnation, but the owner of the second parcel opposite the intersection of Wailehua Road and Kamehameha Highway accepted a city offer of $208,000 for .17 acres of land, Holmes said. The commercial-zoned land had appraised at $208,000, he said.

The third parcel is on the Kahuku side of the above property. Silver Hawk Development owns two parcels there that total about a quarter of an acre. The city expects to take possession of this property shortly, he said, adding that no appraisal was available for the residential-zoned land.

All the land will be cleared and landscaped to provide an open view of the coast, Holmes said.

A state-owned parcel between these properties that is covered with mangrove also will be cleared, he said.

CENTRAL

H-1 exit slated for repaving

Exit 13B of the H-1 Freeway, Halawa Heights/Stadium, will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday for repaving work, the state Department of Transportation advises.

Motorists are urged to allow extra travel time and take an alternate route.

HONOLULU

Blood Bank plans drives

A number of blood drives are scheduled around O'ahu during May by the Blood Bank Hawai'i.

The drives will be:

• May 5: Koko Marina Shopping Center, 10 a.m. to 2 p .m.
• May 6: Waikele Center, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• May 7: Zippy's Kapolei, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• May 12: Times Super Market-Kailua, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• May 13: Kapolei Shopping Center, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• May 19: Kahala Mall, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• May 20: Hawai'i Kai Towne Center, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• May 26: Towne Center of Mililani, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• May 27: Windward Mall, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• May 27: Wallace Theaters Kailua, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• May 29: Times Super Market-McCully, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To donate, you must be in good health, 18 or older, weigh 110 pounds or more and able to provide a valid photo ID.

To make an appointment or for more information, call Blood Bank of Hawai'i at 845-996.

Shots damage cars in university area

Four vehicle owners on Varsity Place near the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus found bullet holes in their parked cars when they awoke yesterday morning.

Most of the cars had been shot through the windows, detectives said.

Patrol officers found a 9 mm casing near the cars and suspect that caliber of weapon had been used.

No one reported hearing the shots overnight, and no one has reported witnessing the vandalism, detectives said.

McCully-area parks to close at night

The Ala Wai Neighborhood Park and Old Stadium Park in the McCully area of Honolulu will be closed each night between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., effective immediately, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced Friday.

Both parks have been subject to increased incidents of vandalism, noise disturbances and property damage in recent months, the parks department reported. With the posting of signs indicating the night closings, visitors who enter the park during prohibited hours will be considered trespassers, and will be asked to leave.

In 1990, the City Council passed an ordinance allowing night closure of parks. So far, the parks department has designated 101 parks to be closed at night in an effort to reduce damages and end disturbances.