HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Girl hurt in fall leaves hospital
Advertiser Staff
A 2-year-old girl who fell from the fourth floor of an apartment building in Nu'uanu Feb. 20 has been released from the hospital, according to the attorney representing the girl's family.
Ashli Alcala-Romero suffered internal injuries and head trauma in the fall. Police believe that Ashli fell after a railing along an exterior walkway gave way.
Ashli was taken to The Queen's Medical Center for treatment and was released Friday, the attorney said.
Meanwhile, a fund has been established to assist with Ashli's medical treatment. Donations can be made to "Friends of Ashli" at any Bank of Hawaii branch statewide.
Shuttles planned for First Friday
Organizers of the First Friday Gallery Walk have arranged for a free trolley to shuttle people from Waikiki to Friday's event in downtown Honolulu.
More than 20 downtown art galleries, cafes and other businesses participate in the event. A Gallery Walk Map, available at participating businesses, leads visitors to various downtown artists and businesses.
Art at the venues ranges from contemporary Western art, Hawaiian and multiethnic art, children's art, retrospective exhibitions, tattoos and bonsai.
The trolley will pick up riders at four Waikiki locations —Benihana restaurant, Outrigger Islander, the Duke Kahanamoku statue and Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel — beginning at 4:30, with the final drop-off at 9:15 p.m.
The trolley will stop downtown near Indigo restaurant and First Hawaiian Bank's main branch.
Sponsors include the Kosasa Foundation, The ARTS at Marks Garage, Hawai'i Consortium for the Arts, the City and County of Honolulu and the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.
Cultures of Asia, Pacific celebrated
The 11th annual Honolulu Festival will feature Japanese and local crafts, Australian aboriginal dance, music and a parade during the March 11-13 cultural fair.
Highlights are expected to include: a fire-spitting dragon in the parade; entertainment ranging from Auntie Genoa Keawe and Maunalua to lesser-known performers; and the premiere of a documentary film about John Manjiro, who is said to be the first Japanese man to set foot on American soil.
The event is designed to celebrate the art, music, dance and history of Asia and the Pacific and is expected to attract more than 5,000 artisans, performers and spectators from Japan.
Organizers said last year's event was attended by 38,500 people. Mayor Mufi Hannemann yesterday welcomed the event as important for economic, social and cultural ties with Japan.
For more information, check www.honolulufestival.com.
East-West Center hosts U.N. panel
One of the key international scientific organizations on climate research is meeting at the East-West Center this week to review the latest scientific research on climate modeling,
The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group 1, the group that deals with the physical basis of climate change, is meeting in preparation for the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, scheduled for completion in 2007. The meetings are sponsored by the University of Hawai'i's International Pacific Research Center .
The reports of the climate change panel help guide international policy on climate change. The first three assessment reports were issued in 1990, 1995 and 2001. For more information, see www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm.
LEEWARD
Coast Guard aids storm victims
A four-engine turbo-prop airplane and its crew from the Coast Guard Air Station at Barbers Point was scheduled to arrive yesterday over Swains Island, a small island north of Tutuila Island, American Samoa, to airdrop relief supplies to the five families living there — all survivors of Cyclone Percy.
The American Samoa government requested assistance in providing the inhabitants with food, water and portable radios. The families on Swains Island routinely receive weekly supply deliveries by boat, but have not received a delivery for several weeks.
The C-130 airplane planned to airdrop 100 emergency rations, water, osmosis water-purification filters and VHF/FM radios. The crew was also to conduct an aerial survey to assess the damage done by Percy's 130-mph winds and 30-foot seas.
The crew planned to land at Tutuila Island and stay for the night. The plan for today is for the C-130 crew to load the plane with more supplies — including tents, kerosene stoves and a chain saw — from the local government and airdrop those to the families before returning to Honolulu.
CENTRAL
Author to give talk at library
Duncan Smith, author and creator of NoveList, an electronic readers' advisory resource, will be the featured speaker in a program at Pearl City Public Library tomorrow.
His talk is from 3 to 4:15 p.m.; admission is free.
Smith will share highlights from his research on why people read and the relationships that exist between readers, the books they read, and their lives.
To request a sign-language interpreter, call the library as soon as possible.
Pearl City Public Library is at 1138 Waimano Home Road. For more information, call the library at 453-6566.
Program for keiki scheduled
Mililani Public Library will host Ohana Music Together, a program for young children, on March 8.
The program, designed for infants to 6 year olds with their parents or caregiver, will be at 11:30 a.m. in the library's Children's Room. Admission is free. Pre-registration is required; call the library or sign up at the library's reference desk.
Conducting the program will be Rebecca Andrew, director and teacher, Ohana Music Together of Hawai'i. The Music Together approach encourages the experience of music and emphasizes adult involvement.
KAUA'I
Contractor group plans workshop
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Home builders, developers and others working in the building industries are invited to a workshop March 29 at the Kaua'i Marriott Resort on the county's new best-management practices for control of sediment and erosion at construction sites.
The program is sponsored by the Contractors Association of Kaua'i, state Department of Health Clean Water Branch, and the county's Engineering Division. Registration is required. Call the contractors association at 246-2662.
