Senators to hear veterans' issues
Advertiser Staff
The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs is visiting O'ahu, Maui and the Big Island to hear testimony from various officials on VA issues and benefits.
Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawai'i, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, also will hold separate, informal town hall meetings on Lana'i, Moloka'i, Kaua'i and in Hilo to listen to veterans. VA officials are scheduled to attend the town hall meetings to answer questions and hear concerns.
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearings:
Akaka's town hall meetings with veterans:
Representatives from the VA and staff members from the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs will join Akaka at the hearings and town hall meetings, all of which are open to the public.
By Senate rule, participation in committee hearings is limited to invited witnesses published in advance. The hearings will be run formally, with an official transcript for consideration by other committee members who will not be able to make the trip.
Among the witnesses scheduled for the hearing are: Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, the state's adjutant general and head of state Civil Defense; Mark Moses, director of the state's Veterans Services; and Allen Hoe, a Vietnam veteran whose son, Army 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, was killed in Iraq in 2005.
Akaka will be available after the official conclusion of the O'ahu hearing to field informal comments from the public. All of the informal town hall meetings will be open to comments from the public and VA officials will be on hand to answer questions.
A&B FOUNDATION PLEDGES $100,000
The Alexander & Baldwin Foundation has pledged $100,000 to the Arizona Memorial Museum Association in support of the organization's capital campaign to replace the existing USS Arizona Memorial museum and visitor center.
The Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund Capital Campaign was launched to raise funds to replace the deteriorating museum and visitor center.
The new facility, to be called the Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum & Visitor Center, will house an expanded museum, an education and research center and improved visitor space and amenities.
The new facility will also serve as the gateway and central ticketing location for all the Pearl Harbor historic sites.
For more information about the new museum and visitor center call 487-3327 or toll-free at 866-DEC-1941; or visit www.PearlHarborMemorial.com.
