Off-duty police officers, firefighters, civil defense and military personnel, and other volunteers will be passing the hat today in the annual "Hats Off" fundraising event to benefit the Hawai'i chapter of the American Red Cross.

The public is asked to fill the hats with donations to benefit the local chapter, which responds to about 120 requests for assistance a year, said Coralie Chun Matayoshi, chief executive officer of the Hawai'i chapter.

Volunteers will collect donations at various locations around the state. The event began yesterday at Tamarind Park in downtown Honolulu.

For more information call 734-2101 or visit www.hawaiiredcross.org.

SCHOOL SEARCHED IN LOCKDOWN

Campbell High School locked down all classrooms yesterday for about 45 minutes while police and school officials searched for an intruder who was reported to be on campus.

School principal Gail Awakuni said her office was tipped off by a parent.

"We had an unwanted intruder," said Awakuni. "He was not our student. He was supposedly spotted on campus. We were alerted earlier by a parent, and so we took precautions and we put in our safety plan."

Those plans called for contacting authorities, closing the doors of all classrooms and advising neighboring schools, she said.

Adding to the commotion, an ambulance arrived about the same time to take a sick student to the hospital, Awakuni said. The ambulance incident was not related to the intruder search.

Although a police helicopter flew overhead, Awakuni said an intruder was not located. She said it was not certain an intruder was even on campus, but that the policy is to err on the side of safety.

SIX CANDIDATES FOR KAUA'I BENCH

Gov. Linda Lingle will select from among six candidates provided by the state Judicial Selection Commission to fill the vacant Circuit judgeship on Kaua'i.

Lingle yesterday made the list available to the public to encourage public comment.

The candidates include deputy public defender Edmund Acoba, private attorney and former deputy prosecutor Alfred Castillo Jr., private attorney Joe Moss, District Judge Calvin Murashige, District Judge Trudy Senda and private attorney and former County Council member Randal Valenciano.

Lingle has until the end of the month to make her selection. Public comments should be sent by March 14 to Governor.Lingle@hawaii.gov or fax (808) 586-0006.

MANDARIN CLASSES BEGIN MARCH 10

Mun Lun School in Chinatown is starting a 12-week conversational Mandarin class for adults beginning March 10. The classes will run from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the school on 1190 Maunakea St. Cost is $140 which includes tuition, fees and materials. For information, call the school at 521-5277 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. weekdays.

FOUNDATION GIVES $50K FOR VOYAGE

Island Insurance Foundation is donating $50,000 to help the Japanese Cultural Center co-sponsor Hokule'a's current voyage to Japan.

The Polynesian Voyaging Society is traveling to Micronesia and Japan on its latest journey, which began several weeks ago. The cultural center is a community partner for the voyage and is lending financial and in-kind support. In 1881, King David Kalakaua traveled to Japan and met with Emperor Meiji.

The check will be presented to center officials at the grand opening of the exhibit, "Navigating Cultural Connections: Hokule'a's Voyage to Japan," at 11:30 a.m. today at the cultural center in Mo'ili'ili.

MAN, 79, ARRESTED IN SEX ASSAULT

Police arrested a 79-year-old 'Ewa Beach man yesterday for investigation of a sexual assault against a family member.

A witness reported seeing the suspect assault a 15-year-old girl, who has a learning disability, a police report said.

ASSESSMENT MAY BE REVIEWED

The environmental assessment for the project to replace the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center is available for public review, the National Park Service officials announced.

The current visitor center was built in 1979 on soft-soil fill and has been sinking. It has been re-leveled five times with shims, but portions have sunk up to 30 inches, too deep to adjust any further — beyond the limit of the design.

The park service wants to build new visitor center buildings adjacent to the existing facility. It would be a 23,000-square-foot, open-air facility.

The project would cost $52 million and would be completed by Dec. 7, 2009, the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The environmental assessment is available online at http://park planning.nps.gov (search for USS Arizona Memorial).

The public comment period closes on April 6.