O'ahu briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
WINDWARD
Park hearing scheduled
The city has set May 30 for a permit hearing for a Kane'ohe park that will include an educational garden, soccer fields, a softball field and a picnic area.
The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Kane'ohe Community and Senior Center, 45-613 Puohala St., Kane'ohe.
The Kahua O Waikalua Neighborhood Park will be next to the Kane'ohe Wastewater Treatment Facility and the Bay View Golf Park. The construction of the park requires a special management area use permit.
The facility will be built in two phases and will have a shelter with comfort station, a concrete walkway system, fencing and 67 parking stalls.
The public may view maps of the project area at the city Department of Planning and Permitting, Permit and Zoning Records Access, on the first floor of the Honolulu Municipal Building, 650 S. King St. between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily. For assistance, call 527-5349.
People with disabilities that require special assistance should call 527-5046.
Anyone wishing to testify at the hearing should bring a copy of their testimony. Written testimony can be submitted to the planning department at the above address.
CENTRAL
Kipapa school starts fund
Kipapa Elementary School has established the Kipapa Elementary Alumni and Community Foundation to create an endowment for the school and to meet its increasing need for money.
School principal Elsie Tanaka said the educational foundation offers the opportunity to take fund-raising a step further.
"Most of the educational foundations are typically associated with older high schools with a large alumni base," Tanaka said. "Our foundation is attempting to utilize the same basic concept to benefit from the school's proud heritage and its award-winning educational programs."
The foundation has set a first-year goal of $10,000 and will be seeking corporate and individual donations. Wal-Mart has awarded the foundation a matching grant of $1,000.
Monies raised will be used to purchase, lease or rent equipment, books and other materials and services for the students, faculty, staff and alumni.
The foundation is updating its mailing list of alumni and former staff. To receive more information or to volunteer, call 627-7323.
EAST HONOLULU
Play staged at library
The Honolulu Theatre for Youth will perform "Come and See the Peppermint Tree" at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the 'Aina Haina Public Library.
The play, written by Evelyn Dean DeBoeck, is about two sisters who search for a peppermint tree. In their search, they become distracted. The play is free and sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Hawai'i and local Friends chapters.
To request a sign language interpreter, call the library at least five days before the event.
Volunteers to be honored
Haha'ione Elementary School's annual Volunteer Tea begins at 12:15 p.m. May 30 in the cafeteria to honor the parents, teachers and community members that volunteer their time.
This invitation-only luncheon brings together all those who have helped out throughout the year in an atmosphere of friendship, said Carolyn Nakamoto, school principal.
HONOLULU
Fluoridation to be discussed
A nonprofit citizens group will hold a series of town hall meetings tomorrow and Saturday on the health effects of fluoridating drinking water.
Dr. David Kennedy, a dentist and advocate of pure drinking water, will be the featured speaker at the forums sponsored by Hawai'i Citizens for Health.
Citizens for Health is a nonprofit, grassroots, consumer advocacy group that supports public policies empowering people to make informed health choices.
The meetings will be held from 8 to 10 p.m. tomorrow at 'Aiea Public Library; 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at McKinley High School Hirata Hall; and also 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 26 at the Hawai'i State Capitol Auditorium.
ABC morning show to film lu'au event
ABC-TV crews will be shooting a "Good Morning America" segment live at 11:30 p.m. tonight at Hilton Hawaiian Village and the public can attend the beach-side event. Hawai'i's own Sam Choy is joining TV chef Emeril Lagasse to create a "live lu'au" for the show. The segment airs here tomorrow morning on KITV Channel 4.
H-1 on-ramps near UH to be closed
The H-1 Freeway University on-ramp and the Old Wai'alae Road on-ramp will be closed for guardrail and drainage work starting this morning.
The Old Wai'alae Road westbound on-ramp to the H-1 Freeway will be closed today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for drainage work.
The University eastbound on-ramp to the H-1 Freeway will be closed today through May 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for guardrail work.
During these closures, motorists are advised to anticipate delays and to take an alternate route.
Seminar to discuss alien ocean species
The ocean around Hawai'i is now home to more than 300 alien species in addition to its native plants and animals.
Scientists are growing increasingly concerned about the effects of these newcomers, said Lu Eldredge, an invertebrate zoologist at Bishop Museum.
Eldredge will join others from the museum, the Waikiki Aquarium and the University of Hawai'i-Manoa in a free informational seminar from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday.
The program, in the aquarium's classroom, will include displays of freshly collected alien seaweeds to compare with native species, as well as other examples.
"Algae and the taape, or blue-line snapper, are probably having the most impacts right now," Eldredge said.
The taape, which was introduced as a food fish, has spread throughout the island chain and up to Midway in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
It competes with native species for food, and in some areas appears to be displacing native marine animals, he said.
The workshop is sponsored by the Packard Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the university and the museum.
