Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
HONOLULU
HPU students receive degrees
Nearly 400 Hawai'i Pacific University students received degrees last night at the summer commencement ceremony at the Waikiki Shell.
Caroline Matano Yang, chairwoman of the Fulbright Scholarship Board in Washington, D.C., delivered the commencement address and received the Fellow of the Pacific Award, the university's highest honor, for her contributions to international education.
CENTRAL O'AHU
'Weed & Seed' plans night out
Hundreds of residents of Waipahu, Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown and 'Ewa will hit the streets this evening as part of Weed & Seed's "National Night Out" against crime and drugs.
Residents will spend the evening outdoors forming community policing groups to patrol areas of Waipahu before gathering for a neighborhood celebration including free food, games and entertainment.
Residents are asked to meet at Waipahu Intermediate School, 94-455 Farrington Highway. Sign-in begins at 5 p.m., with the community patrols taking place from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The event runs until 8:30 p.m.
Waipahu was selected in 2000 as the second Hawai'i community to implement the Weed & Seed program. The 'Ewa district will begin a similar program in October.
For more on participating in the program, call Maile Kanemaru at 543-2216.
Bookmobile being repaired
The O'ahu Bookmobile will be off the road starting today for mechanical repairs.
The bookmobile makes stops at 11 Leeward sites on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and stops at eight Windward sites on Thursdays and Fridays. It is based out of the Pearl City Public Library.
It is scheduled to be back on the streets by Sept. 3.
Waipahu sewage spill cleaned up
About 1,200 gallons of raw sewage spilled from a manhole near 94-054 Awamoku St. in Waipahu yesterday.
City crews arrived at the site at 8:45 a.m. and brought the spill under control an hour later. A city spokesman said the spill was caused by grease, roots and other debris clogging an 8-inch main.
The spill was in an area that is not accessible to the public, and the wastewater dissipated into the ground and did not reach streams or the ocean, the spokesman said. Workers cleaned, disinfected and deodorized the spill area.
WINDWARD O'AHU
Kailua teen to lead peace walk
Annie Elfing, a 15-year-old Kailua resident, will lead the Hawai'i Hiroshima Peace Walk today, inspired by a trek she took across the United States this year starting at Pearl Harbor and ending in New York.
The original Hiroshima Peace Walk started with a prayer vigil near the gates to Pearl Harbor. It called attention to present-day nuclear dangers and included Japanese Buddhist monks, peace activists and Native Americans.
The group carried with them a burning ember that was kindled from the Hiroshima atomic bomb explosion in 1945.
Anyone interested in joining today's walk is asked to gather at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Aikahi Shopping Center Safeway store. The walk will begin at 8 a.m. from the Aikahi gate of Marine Corps Base Hawai'i in Kane'ohe and conclude at about 3 p.m. at the Hiroshima Peace Bell at the Izumo Taishakyo Mission, 215 N. Kukui St. in Honolulu.
Bring water, a hat, comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a lunch.
STATEWIDE
Fishermen must file new forms
The state will require commercial fishermen to file new or updated forms starting this fall, the first major change in nearly 50 years to commercial fish-catch reports.
The new forms, developed after statewide consultation with fishermen, focus on effort — how much time and fishing gear was needed — as well as the catch. Fishermen will have to report on everything they catch, including the fish they release or use for bait.
"We appreciate the input of the many fishermen who were involved in helping us develop and test these new forms," said William Devick, administrator for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources.
The new forms will no longer collect economic data, which will be obtained from commercial marine dealers.
MAUI
Maui council to keep chairman
Members of the Maui County Council have decided Councilman Dain Kane should remain acting chairman through the end of the year.
Kane took over the post with the illness of Chairman Patrick Kawano, who died June 24 of complications from diabetes.
Councilman Michael Molina suggested Kane retain the chairmanship so the council could concentrate on its work instead of politics.
Last month, the council voted to grant Kawano's last request and appointed his aide, Danny Mateo, to serve the remainder of his term.
