The last major development in Hawai'i Kai, a 297-unit condominium project on Hawai'i Kai Drive, cleared another hurdle yesterday when the City Council Zoning Committee approved the an agreement between the developer and the community that outlines details of the development.

The committee, however, gave the community until Oct. 17 when the full council will give its final vote on the project. By then the community and developer should agree on the agreement that will enable the developer to build two towers up to 90 feet. Called Hale Alii, the 3.8-acre project will be 37 feet away from Moana Kai, a townhome project.

HEAD-ON CRASH ON KAUA'I INJURES THREE

A head-on collision yesterday morning on the Kapa'a bypass road injured three Kaua'i residents, police said.

A 16-year-old girl in a Honda Accord was driving north on the bypass road about 7:40 a.m. when her car veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a southbound vehicle driven by a 33-year-old woman, police said.

The two women were taken by ambulance to Wilcox Hospital for examination, along with a 10-month-old infant who was traveling with the adult. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known, police said.

Traffic on the bypass road was rerouted for about 45 minutes until both vehicles were towed from the area.

$50,000 GRANT TO FIGHT SMOKING

The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai'i said it received a $50,000 grant from the Hawaii Medical Service Association Foundation to help fund a program educating businesses about the benefits of providing tobacco-cessation benefits to employees.

The coalition will provide technical support to employers who want to adopt or promote stop-smoking benefits to employees and will be launched under the leadership of the Business Leaders Advisory Board.

"Research shows Hawai'i annually incurs $309 million in healthcare costs because of smoking," Cliff Cisco, HMSA Foundation vice president, said in a news release. The coalition said research also shows smokers have higher rates of job absenteeism because of illness or family illness and that healthcare costs for smokers are as much as 40 percent higher compared to those for nonsmokers.

HEALTH CENTERS GET REPAIR FUNDS

Gov. Linda Lingle has released $106,000 to replace the interior water lines at the Waiakea and Keawe health centers on the Big Island. The project will fix ongoing water leakage occurring at the centers.

"This project is part of my administration's efforts to improve community hospitals and health centers statewide to ensure access to quality healthcare," Lingle said in a news release issued yesterday.

"The projects will provide patients, visitors and staff of these facilities with a healthy and comfortable environment," Lingle said.

The governor approved the initial release of $165,000 for the project last year. Construction is scheduled to begin this month.

$8.6M SECURED FOR AIRPORTS ON O'AHU

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, yesterday announced that Honolulu International Airport has been awarded $8 million in federal funding for an emergency generator that will upgrade runway lighting. Inouye also announced that Kalaeloa Airport on O'ahu will receive nearly $602,600 to purchase a 1,500-gallon aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle to replace its rescue-firefighting vehicle.

Both grants were awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation.