Gov. Linda Lingle has released $8 million to finance an upgrade of Hawai'i's disaster warning system. The money will be used to upgrade existing civil defense sirens and install new solar-powered sirens throughout the state, focusing on tsunami inundation zones.

"Sirens are an effective tool for alerting the public in emergencies," Lingle said yesterday in a news release. "It is imperative that we have a comprehensive and up-to-date system in place to support state Civil Defense in responding to disasters and keeping our residents and visitors safe."

Earlier this year, state Civil Defense identified the need for 249 sirens to be installed or replaced statewide.

The funds will be used to finance the installation of about 96 high-priority sirens in tsunami inundation zones. Additional money will be requested in the future to replace obsolete sirens and add warning sirens at the remaining sites.

Construction is scheduled to begin in November and be completed in December 2009.

HELP LINE OFFERS VOG INFORMATION

The state Health Department has launched the new Volcano Helpline to provide up-to-date information on vog and volcanic emissions.

The toll-free number is 866-767-5044.

The help line will be staffed Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

In a news release, the department said "health information providers who have been trained in public health emergency service information" will be manning the phones.

In addition, recorded messages (updated daily at 7 a.m.) are accessible seven days a week, 24 hours a day including holidays, the release said.

Additional information on vog can be found at http://hawaii.gov/gov/vog.

HAWAI'I NO. 2 IN SLIMNESS RANKING

When it comes to being thin, only one other state is slimmer than Hawai'i.

The new national report — "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2008" — ranks Island residents the least obese, except for Colorado.

The report, just released in Washington, says Hawai'i's adult obesity rate is 20.7 percent, compared with Colorado's 18.4 percent. However, Colorado's rate had statistically significant increases for two years in a row, while Hawai'i's didn't.

Mississippi had the highest rate of obesity at 31.7 percent, followed by West Virginia, 30.6 percent, and Alabama, 30.1 percent.

The "F as in Fat" report is a follow-up analysis of the annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.