Neighbor Island briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
BIG ISLAND
Big Island storm closes road
NA'ALEHU, Hawai'i — The Hawai'i Belt Road through Ka'u was closed for several hours yesterday after a storm dumped up to five inches of rain in the area.
The road was closed for a six-mile stretch north of Na'alehu Elementary School to the 57-mile marker at Kawa Flats.
Civil Defense Administrator Bill Davis said there have been no reports of property damage since the rain began on Sunday night.
Missing Kona woman found safe
KEALAKEHE, Hawai'i — A South Kona woman reported missing last week was found safe in Honolulu yesterday, Big Island police reported.
Penelope Carolynn Medeiros, 54, of Captain Cook, was found by police on O'ahu.
The 54-year-old self-employed nursery owner was reported missing by her family members.
Recycled water spills into channel
An underground irrigation line used by the Kane'ohe Klipper Golf Course broke yesterday morning at the Marine Corps base at Kane'ohe Bay, releasing approximately 7,800 gallons of nonpotable, recycled water in the vicinity of the Mokapu Central Drainage Channel, officials said.
The irrigation system, which reuses more than 750,000 gallons of water daily, will be turned off until repairs are completed. The break occurred at about 7 a.m.
Saddle Road appeal denied
HILO, Hawai'i — An appeal seeking to block $200 million in proposed improvements to Saddle Road, including realignment around the Army's Pohakuloa Training Area, was denied last week by Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura.
That leaves standing a state conservation district use permit to rebuild the road from its current junction west of Waimea to the Kaumana neighborhood of Hilo, a distance of 48 miles.
Federal Highways Administration project manager Dave Gedeon in Denver, Colo., said the first 13-mile segment of the four-phase project should begin in the first quarter of 2003 and will be built over two years at a cost of about $48 million.
Katsuya Yamada, a former attorney and state House member, had appealed the permit, saying a more environmentally sensitive route should have been chosen. He also was concerned about the potential impact on hunting.
MAUI
Maui mayor on 5-day trip
WAILUKU, Maui — Mayor James "Kimo" Apana left yesterday for a five-day trip to Vancouver and Los Angeles, where he will meet with officials from technology and film companies.
While in Vancouver, Apana will talk with representatives from Lions Gate studios, Post Modern Sound and Mainframe, his office said.
In Los Angeles, the mayor will meet with officials from Neo Rhino, which assists companies in starting up or moving to Hawai'i.
ALL ISLANDS
Sanctuary meetings begin
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary will hold public meetings throughout May on its management plan for the next five years.
The updated plan calls for the distribution of more educational materials, continued work in linking with other organizations, and supporting a range of research programs, said Naomi McIntosh, acting manager of the sanctuary, which was established in 1997.
All of the meetings are from 6 to 9 p.m.
The first is tomorrow at Tokai University Auditorium in Honolulu, followed by a meeting Thursday at the Kihei Community Center on Maui; Friday at the Radisson Kaua'i Beach Resort Ginger Room; May 8 at the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel Kamakahonu Ballroom; May 9 at the Naniloa Hotel Ho'omalimali Room in Hilo; May 21at the Lana'i Public Library; and May 22 at the Mitchell Pauole Center on Moloka'i.
