HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Open house at wastewater plant
Advertiser Staff
KIHEI — The county's Kihei Wastewater Reclamation Facility will host an open house Jan. 29, with free tours at 9:45 and 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
The facility, at 480 Welakahao Road, just south of the Elleair Maui Golf Club, processes wastewater that is recycled for irrigation and other uses in South Maui.
Open house visitors must wear shoes. Call Steve Parabicoli, water recycling program coordinator at (808) 270-7426.
Kahului airport work to begin
KAHULUI — Work is expected to begin in March on $13.5 million in improvements to Kahului Airport, the state's second-busiest airport.
The project, to be completed by September 2006, includes extending the ticket lobby, replacing two baggage claim carrousels and installing an emergency power system.
The federal government is contributing nearly $9 million for the improvements, with the state paying the rest.
Earlier work that will finish in March includes relocating agricultural check stations and the concession store closer to the curb and constructing a sidewalk canopy.
KAUA'I
Hazardous waste being accepted
LIHU'E — Refuse transfer stations on Kaua'i this weekend will accept household hazardous waste, including aerosols, batteries, gasoline, pesticides, paints, solvents and other materials, on two upcoming dates.
Residents can bring the items from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to the Hanalei and Kapa'a transfer stations on Saturday, and to the Lihu'e and Hanapepe transfer stations on Sunday.
There is no charge. The service is available to residents only, not businesses.
HONOLULU
Beijing children's choir to perform
The famed China Children's Choir from Beijing will perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at Central Union Church.
The choirs of Sacred Hearts Academy and the Hawai'i Youth Opera Chorus will sing with the Children's Choir on two numbers.ÊFor information and tickets, call 524-6808.
Black Studies Institute today
The first annual Winter Institute for Black Studies, entitled "Lifestyle Changes: Keys to Reducing Health Disparities Among People of Color," will be today and tomorrow at the East-West Center's Hawai'i Imin International Conference Center.
Those interested can register today before the 9 a.m. opening. Cost is $125 for kama'aina, $75 for students and $35 for the banquet only tomorrow at the Ala Moana Hotel.
Dr. Terry Shintani, who created the Hawai'i Diet program and is a clinical faculty member at the University of Hawai'i, will give the opening address.
UH is the host for the institute, which will be held annually and will feature a rotating chairperson. James Oliver Horton will be the first. Horton, a UH alumnus, serves as the Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University and director of the Afro-American Communities Project at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.
The conference will include a panel of Native Hawaiian health officials discussing the empowerment of Native Hawaiians in regard to health. More than 20 scholars will participate in presentations.
Gala will honor Wai'anae kupuna
A fund-raising gala to honor Wai'anae kupuna Agnes "Auntie Aggie" Kalanihookaha Cope and to benefit her cultural society will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom.
The event also will mark the 80th birthday celebration for Cope, the executive director of the Wai'anae Coast Culture & Arts Society Inc.
Cope helped lead the Hawaiian cultural renaissance and is a hula master and practitioner of healing arts. She was recently named a "Living Treasure" by Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i.
Proceeds will benefit the society, which provides arts and cultural programs for the needy and is itself in need of money.
Cocktails and a silent auction will open the event, followed by entertainment and dinner.
Entertainers are Melveen Leed, Frank DeLima, O'Brian Eselu, Halau Hula O Hokulani and Ledward Ka'apana. Paula Akana will emcee, with a special appearance by Kimo Kahoano.
Tickets: $100 per person; group sponsorships starting at $1,250 also are offered.
Information: Event Designers, 668-8940.
MANOA
Galileo subject of public lecture
Harvard University professor Owen Gingerich will discuss how Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo abandoned traditional ways of establishing scientific truth and changed the rules of science, during a free "Frontiers of Astronomy" public lecture at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy Auditorium, 2680 Woodlawn Drive.
Gingerich is a research professor of astronomy and history of science and an author.
EAST HONOLULU
Kahala fence, signs on agenda
The Wai'alae/Kahala Neighborhood Board will discuss the no-parking signs along Malia Street and the property owners fence along Kahala Beach that encroaches the shoreline setback, at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 1350 Hunakai St.
There also will be two presentations, one by the city about its curbside recycling program and another by the Hawai'i Clean Elections. For more information contact the Neighborhood Commission at 527-5578.
STATEWIDE
State library gets Gates grant
The Hawai'i State Library has received an $84,000 "Staying Connected" grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The grant will provide three years of staff training for the library systems information technology and front-line staff.
The Hawai'i State Library "is actively expanding digital resources to inilibrary and remote users, and is investigating effective ways to use technology to deliver library services and to increase access to our collections. We are very grateful and appreciative to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for this grant award," said state librarian Jo Ann Schindler.
The grants help libraries sustain and improve the quality of public access computing and the Internet in public libraries. They have been awarded to 37 state libraries and the District of Columbia public library.
