HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Library to feature rabbits, movie
Advertiser Staff
Wahiawa Public Library is hosting two free programs this month.
"Bunny Storytime," a 30-minute program recommended for children ages 3-5, will be April 12 in the Children's Room at 10:30 a.m. Children must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver. The Hawaii All-Breed Rabbit Club will have a live exhibit from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On April 18, the library will show a Disney movie based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. The move runs one hour and 45 minutes.
The Wahiawa library is at 820 California Ave.
PEARL HARBOR
USS HONOLULU PLANS LAST VOYAGE
The USS Honolulu will leave Pearl Harbor for its final voyage after a farewell ceremony April 15.
The 360-foot nuclear attack submarine has been in service since 1985, and its April departure will be its 10th deployment.
The Honolulu will carry 120 enlisted sailors and 19 officers on this deployment, which ends in October at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said it's "sort of sad that we will lose the namesake of our city and such an important submarine in terms of what it has done for Pearl Harbor and what it means for our country."
After the sub is retired, "there will be a scramble to see who gets the surfboards" representing each of the USS Honolulu's 10 deployments during the past two decades, said Cmdr. John Russ.
Each of the six-foot surfboards were signed by members of the crew during deployments. Three of the boards are kept on the sub, and the rest are stored at Pearl Harbor.
The submarine is the third vessel named after the city of Honolulu. The first was a cargo ship that was part of the Navy fleet from 1918-1919. A light cruiser commissioned in 1938 and placed in the inactive fleet in 1946 also bore the city's name.
WAIPAHU
SIXTH-GRADER WINS GEOGRAPHY BEE
Guthric Angeles, a sixth-grader at Kaleiopu'u Elementary School in Waipahu, showed his global knowledge Friday and won the Hawai'i Geographic Bee.
He correctly answered the winning question of: "Seventy percent unemployment and a severe shortage have virtually paralyzed economic activity in which country east of Botswana?"
The answer is Zimbabwe.
Angeles will represent Hawai'i May 24 at the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C.
Students across the country participated in state Geographic Bees on Friday. The Hawai'i contest was held at the Hawai'i Convention Center, where fourth- through eighth-grade students battled over geography knowledge.
"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek will moderate the National Geographic Bee for the 18th time. The competition will be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel.
STATEWIDE
PROTECTION OF MANTAS PROMOTED
A resolution advanced Friday in the state House of Representatives seeking to keep Hawai'i's manta rays safe from poachers.
Tourists flock to the Big Island each year for the rare opportunity to swim with manta rays. A relative of the shark, the massive, diamond-shaped creatures are dark on their dorsal side with a creamy white underbelly and grow to reach a wingspan of about 20 feet.
Manta rays are safe in Hawaiian waters, but have been targeted in other parts of the world used as food or aphrodisiacs.
"Worldwide, manta rays are becoming scarce and they need our protection now more than ever," said Keller Laros, founder of the Big Island based Manta Pacific Research Foundation.
Protecting the species before there is a problem is a particularly good idea in Hawai'i, where the economy is driven by visitor dollars, he said.
The rays produce only a single pup every five to 10 years and do not migrate to other areas, said Laros, who leads dives to see the Kona rays three times each week.
Over 15 years, Laros' group has identified about 100 different rays off Kona and about another 100 off Maui, which also has a growing manta ray diving industry.
Tim Clark, a University of Hawai'i graduate student and scientific adviser for Laros' group, estimated manta ray swims attracted 11,000 tourists who generated $2.4 million in revenue for the state in 2002.
The resolution urges the establishment of a working group to protect the rays from poaching and fishing.
