HAWAI'I BRIEFS
'Dr. Beach' picks 3 Hawai'i sites
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i landed three spots on the annual list of top 10 U.S. beaches compiled by "Dr. Beach."
Hanalei Bay on Kaua'i was No. 3 and Maui's D.T. Fleming Beach and Hamoa Beach were Nos. 5 and 10, respectively.
Topping the list was Fort De Soto Park's North Beach near St. Petersburg, Fla. Other picks were Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, N.C.; Caladesi Island State Park, Fla.; Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.; Coronado Beach, San Diego; Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, Fla.; and Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.
Dr. Beach is Stephen Leatherman, Florida International University's director of the International Hurricane Research Center and the Laboratory for Coastal Research. He has been selecting his annual list of the best swimming beaches in the country since 1991, considering 50 criteria including scientific and ecologic factors, facilities and management.
More information is available at www.drbeach.org.
O'AHU
Red Cross offers classes at park
The American Red Cross is offering free swimming and water-safety lessons at Ala Moana Beach Park this summer, beginning next week.
All lessons will be held on the Magic Island side of the park, near the showers and lifeguard station No. 1E. Mail-in registration forms are available at www.hawaiiredcross.org. Registration will also be on-site the first day of each session.
Classes for children (ages 4 to 14) will be held on Saturdays, from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., on these dates:
• Session 1 — June 4, 11, 18 and 25, and July 9 (no class July 2).
• Session 2 — July 16, 23 and 30 and Aug. 6 and 13.
Classes for ages 15 and up will be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. on these dates:
• Session 1 — June 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 20, 22 and 23.
• Session 2 — June 27, 29 and 30, and July 11, 13, 14, 18, 20 and 21 (no class July 4, 6 and 7).
• Session 3 — July 25, 27 and 28, and Aug. 1, 3, 4, 8, 10 and 11.
MAUI
Fire truck slips off Hana road
NAHIKU, Maui — A Fire Department truck slipped off Hana Highway near Nahiku yesterday when a weakened portion of the narrow roadway crumbled beneath its tires.
The Pierce 1250 pumper truck, assigned to the Hana Fire Station, tipped over on its side at 12:30 p.m. and slid about 8 feet down an embankment, said Assistant Battalion Chief Alan Pascua. The two people inside the cab were not injured.
The truck was being brought to Kahului for maintenance, Pascua said. He did not have an estimate of the damage.
Heavy equipment from the county Department of Public Works and Environmental Management was sent to right the truck and pull it out, he said.
Two other trucks are stationed at Hana, so the area's fire coverage was not affected by the accident, Pascua said.
Kihei school to get heat relief
KIHEI, Maui — The state has released $1 million for air-conditioning improvements at Kihei Elementary School, which suffers from some of the hottest campus temperatures in the state. Plans call for installing new cooling systems in the Classroom Buildings A through F and 12 portable classrooms.
Last year, the state released $1.45 million for the project, which is now in the design phase. The additional $1 million will finance construction of air-conditioning systems in Buildings A, B, and D, with subsequent phases to be completed as money becomes available.
Pe'ahi Road schedule revised
HA'IKU, Maui — The county has revised its road-closure schedule for Pe'ahi Road to accommodate work by tree maintenance crews.
Pe'ahi Road near the Ha'iku Road Intersection will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. today until 3:30 p.m. Friday. The work is being done by the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Public Works and Environmental Management.
Farmers market open later in day
KAHULUI, Maui — The Aloha Friday Farmers Market has announced summer hours from noon to 6 p.m. Fridays, starting June 3.
The market is held at Maui Community College. Organizers said the afternoon hours are more convenient for farmers and will allow more lunchtime and after-work customers to stop by.
BIG ISLAND
'Ohana Day June 5 in Hilo
HILO, Hawai'i — "We Are 'Ohana Day" is planned for June 5 to share messages of hope with individuals and families struggling with substance abuse.
The free event from noon to 5 p.m. at Wailoa State Park in Hilo will feature stories of those who have overcome their addiction and are in recovery.
Entertainment will be by Bruddah Kuz, Brittni Paiva, Rupert Tripp Jr., Hula Halau O Kou Lima Nani E, and Lava Roots Dance and Drum. There will be presentations by students from Kua O Ka La Public Charter School, Na 'Opio O Waimea, and Ka'u Middle School.
Sponsors include Performing and Fine Artists for World Peace and the North Hawai'i Drug-Free Coalition, with funding from the Hawai'i County Resource Center. Other sponsors are KHBC Radio, Creative Arts Hawai'i, Peck Tunes and Kumanu Music.
Footage of the event will be included in a video that will be shown at schools, treatment centers and correctional facilities. For more information or to volunteer, call (808) 985-8725 or e-mail artpeac@aloha.net.
Project to close Hilina Pali Road
HILO, Hawai'i — Work on the final phase of the Hilina Pali Road resurfacing project in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park will close the road to all car and pedestrian traffic from Tuesday to Aug 1. The Kulanaokuaiki Campground and the Mauna Iki, Hilina Pali and Pepeiau trailheads also will be closed.
The Puhimau Crater parking lot will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays for stockpiling of asphalt.
Park staff will lay asphalt on a 2-mile stretch and then apply a seal coating to 5 miles of roadway. Dump trucks will haul material from parking lots at Halema'uma'u Crater, Devastation Trail and Puhimau Crater to Hilina Pali Road.
Overnight campers in the front country may still use the Namakani Paio Campground off Highway 11, and registered backcountry hikers may access the park's coastal trails and campsites from Mau Loa o Mauna Ulu and Pu'u Loa trailheads on Chain of Craters Road and from the Ka'u Desert trailheads on Crater Rim Drive and Highway 11.
