Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
HONOLULU
OHA raises considered
A commission appointed by the governor is studying possible raises for Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees and has invited the public to offer comments.
Since they began earning salaries in 1993, OHA trustees have been paid $32,000 a year, with the chairperson receiving $37,000.
Anyone is invited to submit written comment by Monday to: Commissioner Alan Yee, P.O. Box 3406, Honolulu, HI 96801, or e-mail: ayee@kmhllp.com.
Dispute-resolution method spotlighted
A free public forum on court-based alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, will be at noon Monday in the Supreme Court conference room, on the second floor of Ali'iolani Hale, 417 S. King St.
Donna Stienstra, a senior researcher from the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C., will present an analysis of the procedure and talk about why and how the courts are providing these services.
Alternative dispute resolution offers a faster, cheaper alternative to the time-consuming and stressful process of hiring a lawyer, filing a lawsuit and waiting for your day in court.
The most common forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation. In arbitration, a dispute is submitted to one or more impartial people for a final and binding decision; in mediation, a neutral person helps the parties reach their own solution.
For more information, call 539-4237.
Rotary Club to hold fund-raiser
The Rotary Club of Downtown Honolulu will hold a fund-raiser and silent auction starting at 6 p.m. Monday at Formaggio restaurant next to Fujioka's Wine Merchants in the Market City Shopping Center.
The event will feature a food and wine tasting.
Proceeds will benefit the Central Middle School Library Project as well as other International Rotary Projects. Tickets are $55 per person. For more information, contact Rob Welsh at 550-9230.
Chamber president stepping down
Ronald Ushijima will retire as president of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce at the end of the month, while officials of the business organization look for someone to take the helm.
Ushijima had overseen the administration and operations of the chamber for more than 15 years. Before joining the organization, he had served as vice president of administration for Royal State Corp.
In 1992, Ushijima received the Order of the Rising Sun with Silver Rays from the emperor of Japan. He also was honored as Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year, an award the city conferred on him in 2002.
A retirement gala in his honor is set for March 20 at Lau Yee Chai Restaurant.
WINDWARD O'AHU
Kane'ohe lanes remain closed
Lanes in both directions on Kane'ohe Bay Drive between Puohala Street and Kawa Bridge will be closed for construction through Friday.
The closures are expected between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. The state Department of Transportation is installing curbs in the median and doing paving and electrical work.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
West Kaua'i to get job center
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — West Kaua'i residents can check on job openings, labor laws, on-the-job training and other employment matters at the WorkWise! One-Stop Job Center satellite office, to be open each Thursday afternoon in Waimea.
The office is in the Kaua'i Community College computer outreach lab across from the Waimea Post Office and American Savings Bank. A WorkWise! banner is posted out front when the office is open.
The office will be open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. For more information call WorkWise! at 274-3060.
Trial on raising horses opens
KAILUA-KONA, Hawai'i — A Big Island man who says he just wants to raise a few horses heads to trial today over his neighbors' pleas to ban farm animals.
Neighbors of Frank Fistes, a Kona businessman, have sued to keep him from raising Arabian horses on his 1.5-acre Kula Kai Estates property. The subdivision is zoned for agricultural use, but the plaintiffs claim residents have covenants banning farm animals.
Fistes has owned his land for 14 years. But after new neighbors moved in three years ago, they said flies and the smell of manure were a problem.
STATEWIDE
Rules change for passport applicants
State Department officials have changed passport requirements to guard against international child abductions and trafficking.
Under rules that took effect this week, children under 14 will have to appear in person when applying for passports. Previously they were not required to be present.
Department spokesman Stuart Patt said the move was made because of cases in which adults would use identifying information for one child, a U.S. citizen, to create a passport using the photo of another child.
In addition, the department's Bureau of Consular Affairs will accept only color photos for passports. The photos are now electronically scanned to create the passport, and black-and-white photos do not reproduce as clearly in the system, Patt said.
A search engine to help find facilities that offer help and accept applications is online at iafdb.travel.state.gov/. It includes several public libraries and post offices.
