Posted on: Friday, May 2, 2003
Hawai'i briefs
Akaka backing 3 water projects
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, has introduced legislation authorizing federal participation in the construction of three water reclamation projects in Hawai'i, including a desalination project in Kalaeloa designed to meet demands for water in the 'Ewa region.
The Kalaeloa Desalination Facility would process 5 million gallons of seawater per day, providing drinking water to an area where demand is outpacing supply.
The second project, the Kealakehe Demonstration Wetlands Project in North Kona, is designed to maximize the reuse potential of effluent discharged from the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The third project would expand the West Maui Recycled Water Distribution System, reducing the need to use potable water for irrigation.
The bill also authorizes an additional $1.7 million for the Bureau of Reclamation to undertake a study of Hawai'i's irrigation and water delivery systems.
Attorney wins justice award
Hawai'i attorney Lawrence Okinaga has been named the recipient of the American Judicature Society's 2003 Justice Award.
The award, the society's highest distinction, will be presented to Okinaga in November.
The society cited Okinaga's work as chairman of the Judicial Selection Commission, Commission on Judicial Conduct, and as president of the society. Okinaga is a partner in the firm Carlsmith Ball and is a graduate of the University of Hawai'i and Georgetown University.
Help sought for O'ahu cleanup
Nani 'O Wai'anae is inviting everyone interested in spiffing up O'ahu to join the Great Hawai'i Clean-Up Day from 8:30 a.m. to noon tomorrow at 25 O'ahu locations.
Nani 'O Wai'anae is a nonprofit grassroots volunteer organization dedicated to educational awareness about environmental issues. Organizer Katy Kok stressed that the annual cleanup has been all-volunteer since the state eliminated its litter control office in 1995 as part of budget cutbacks.
For information or to pre-register for a specific O'ahu site, call 696-1920 or 484-1000.
Guatemalan consuls to visit
WAILUKU, Maui — Officials from the Guatemalan consulate general in Los Angeles will be on Maui this weekend to assist that country's citizens with passport and visa services, identification cards, birth, death and marriage certificates and other matters, and to provide immigration information.
The mobile consulate will operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday at the Maui Economic Opportunity Family Center, 99 Mahalani St. in Wailuku.
For more information, call Enlace Hispano at (808) 249-2993 or the General Consulate of Guatemala in Los Angeles at (213) 385-2705.
