Neighbor Island briefs
Advertiser Staff
Firefighters battle cane fire
KIHEI, Maui — Maui firefighters spent most of yesterday trying to contain a runaway cane fire that burned a portion of the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge.
Stiff winds whipped the flames from a Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. burn off Mokulele Highway near the Maui Humane Society animal shelter. The fire was reported to be spreading at 8:15 a.m.
It was contained later in the afternoon after an estimated 35 acres burned. Firefighters continued to douse embers as darkness approached.
Refuge Manager Glynnis Nakai said the fire burned an area of the 700-acre refuge forested with kiawe and other vegetation.
Nakai was not sure if any endangered birds were affected. But because this is not the nesting season, she said she did not anticipate significant losses.
Beach reopens after sewage spill
WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i — The entire stretch of 'Anaeho'omalu Bay has been reopened following a raw sewage spill at the Waikoloa Beach Resort.
The beach was closed to swimmers after 500,000 gallons of untreated sewage entered the ocean from a Sept. 9 break in a West Hawai'i Utilities main. Portions of the beach already had been reopened, and utilities spokesman Robert Spetich said the remaining signs barring swimmers were taken down around 8:30 a.m. yesterday with the approval of state health officials.
Waikoloa is a 31,000-acre residential and resort project on the South Kohala coast.
Parade to have patriotic flare
WAIMEA, Hawai'i — The Big Island's annual Paniolo Parade to celebrate the cowboy history of North Hawai'i will take on a distinct red-white-and-blue flavor "to show our aloha for all that America stands for," said parade Chairwoman Lani Olsen.
Saturday's 26th annual parade, an Aloha Festivals event, will start at 10 a.m. Former Kohala police Capt. Charles Rose is being honored as parade marshal.
The parade route runs along Waimea's historic Church Row and ends at the Waimea Park, where a ho'olaule'a will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In Hilo, meanwhile, the 51st Hawai'i County Fair conducted by the Hilo Jaycees at the Civic Auditorium and fairgrounds will go on as scheduled tomorrow through Sunday.
Kaua'i to send aloha, photos
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Kaua'i residents can send messages of aloha to those involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks during a three-day program at Kukui Grove Center's center stage.
The event today through Friday is called "Aloha from Kaua'i — Images and Words of Love and Support."
People may use chalk and magic markers to write messages on sidewalks or scrolls that will be digitally photographed and sent electronically, or rolled up and sent to New York and Washington, D.C. Cash donations also will be accepted.
Entertainer Larry Rivera will perform from noon to 1 p.m. today at the shopping center.
Meeting on dolphins slated
WAILUKU, Maui — The issue of keeping dolphins in captivity will be discussed at a Maui County Council committee meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
The council's Human Services Committee will consider a proposal by Council Member Jo Anne Johnson to ban the exhibition of captive dolphins, a move that likely would sink the Dolphin Institute's plans to move from Honolulu to Maui.
The committee will hear from a panel comprising Paul E. Nachtigall, interim director of the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology and director of the Marine Mammal Research Program; Billy Hurley, general manager of Dolphin Quest-O'ahu; Hannah Bernard, director of education at the Maui Ocean Center; Rob Lafferty of the Free Dolphin Maui Coalition; and veterinarian Elizabeth Lyons of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Public testimony will be taken at the meeting, to be held in the Council Chamber in Wailuku.
