Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
Roadwork to plan around
The state Department of Transportation is advising O'ahu motorists of road construction and lane closures beginning today.
The following are closures on the H-1 Freeway corridor through Wednesday:
• One lane of Waialae Avenue from Ekaha Avenue to 17th Avenue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• One lane of Waialae Outbound Frontage Road between 17th Avenue and Wai'alae Avenue overpass from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tomorrow and Wed-nesday, left lane of the H-1 between McCully overpass and Ward Avenue overpass in both directions, closed from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
• Wednesday, Punahou on-ramp to the H-1 westbound and the right lane of the H-1 westbound between Alexander on-ramp and Punahou on-ramp will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Other lane closures:
• One lane of Fort Weaver Road between Geiger Road and Laulaunui Street in either the northbound or southbound direction today through Dec. 21. The northbound lane will be closed 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and the southbound lane 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
• The Kailua-bound Pali Highway tunnels will be closed today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to remove trees uprooted during the recent high winds. A contra-flow lane will be set up through the Honolulu-bound tunnels.
Mall offers gift-wrapping
Volunteers will be wrapping holiday gifts to benefit the American Cancer Society from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at Windward Mall on the lower level of the theater wing.
Shoppers can leave their packages at the gift wrapping booth or wait for them to be completed. Prices will be based on the size of the gift.
Christmas Eve hours will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Mililani woman is top librarian
Arlene Ching, children's librarian at the Mililani Public Library, has been named Public Librarian of the Year for 2001 by the Hawai'i Library Foundation.
The award is sponsored by the nonprofit Hawaii Library Foundation and carries a $500 award from the foundation as well as $500 cash and a $500 gift certificate from Borders Books, Music and Cafe.
Ching, who joined the Hawai'i library system in 1989, was recently given a $3,000 grant to launch the first Talespinner's Festival of the Pacific, a free program to bring professional storytellers to public libraries.
Weed & Seed's new officers named
Weed & Seed Hawaii has named two new officers. Maile Kanemaru is executive director, and Reina Miyamoto is site coordinator for Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown.
Kanemaru will oversee the expansion of Weed & Seed, which includes a site in Waipahu and plans for a third site. The federally sponsored program is a collaborative effort between law enforcement, businesses, nonprofits and residents to reclaim, restore and rebuild neighborhoods.
Elks Club offers lunch with Santa
The Elks Club at 2933 Kalakaua Ave. is looking for a few kids to enjoy lunch with Santa.
The club will hold an afternoon of fun, including games, a pinata, canoe rides and goodies from Santa. Photos with Santa will be included.
An $8 ticket buys each child a spaghetti dinner and an afternoon of fun. For each ticket sold, the club hopes to provide a ticket free to a needy child.
For information, call 923-5722.
Low-income can get free eye care
Hawaii Optometric Society members are offering free eye care to low-income families through the national program Vision USA.
Families can sign up through January. A patient must have at least one person in the family employed at least part time, and no insurance to cover eye exams. Also, a patient must not have had an eye exam in two years, and must meet certain income guidelines.
Information and application forms are available online at www.aoanet.org/visionusa.html; by writing to Vision USA, 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63141; or by calling 1 (800) 766-4466 during January.
Disabled parking placards tracked
As part of a continuing state crackdown on motorists who illegally park in spaces for the disabled, a newly designed placard will go into effect Jan. 1 that prominently displays an expiration date.
A new statewide data system will go into effect that tracks who has been issued placards, allowing police to find out immediately whether a placard is still valid, said Fran-cine Wai, executive director of the state Disability and Communication Access Board. The board inherited the permit program from the Department of Transportation in July of last year.
