Hawai'i briefs

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Art winner gets free trip to Japan

Hawai'i residents over the age of 60 are invited to participate in the 13th annual Shizuoka Friendship Postcard Art competition.

The competition is sponsored by Tokai University Junior College in Japan and supported in Hawai'i by all Nippon Airways and Hawai'i Tokai International College.

Residents of Japan will also participate in their own competition, which was created to further the friendship between Japan and Hawai'i through the medium of art.

Entries must be on postcards and will be judged on originality and creativity. Painting, collages, print and other forms of mixed media will be accepted. Entries must be postmarked no later than Sept. 20.

All entries will be exhibited in the Shizuoka Community Gallery in Japan, and the local winner will be given a round-trip ticket and accommodations to attend the awards ceremony in Shizuoka in December.

For official entry postcards or information, call 983-4109.

Airport official to retire this year

State Airports Administrator Jerry Matsuda has announced he will retire from the Department of Transportation at the end of the year.

Matsuda submitted his retirement papers a week ago, said Transportation Department spokeswoman Marilyn Kali.

He has been the airports administrator since 1997 and oversaw the state's opening of the Kalaeloa Airport, Kali said.

Democrats recruit Native Hawaiians

The state Democratic Party is organizing a Native Hawaiian Caucus to try to increase participation by Hawaiians in politics and the party, and will hold an organizational meeting at 5 tonight at the Washington Intermediate School cafeteria.

U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, and Patsy Mink, D-Hawai'i, are expected to attend. Staffers will provide a briefing on the bill by U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, to clarify the federal government's political relationship with Hawaiians.