Flags to be lowered to honor the Rev. Aiona
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff in remembrance of the Rev. Canon Darrow Kanakanui Aiona, a former Hawaii Board of Education member.
Aiona, an Episcopal priest, served on the board for 20 years. Abercrombie’s office said he died of heart failure Dec. 20 at the age of 77.
Abercrombie said Aiona was a "forward-thinker" who recognized the importance of education in changing lives and communities. He says Aiona’s devotion to education, especially in the Native Hawaiian community, was an inspiration.
U.S. and state flags at state offices and agencies and the Hawaii National Guard are to be lowered from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday.
Amaral tapped to join Paroling Authority
Gov. Neil Abercrombie is appointing a former state representative and Native Hawaiian cultural liaison to the Hawaii Paroling Authority.
Abercrombie announced Annelle Amaral’s appointment Monday.
Her term will expire in June 2015 if the Senate confirms her nomination. Amaral would fill a new seat created by a new law expanding the authority’s members to five from three.
Amaral, a former Honolulu police officer, served in the state House of Representatives from 1988 to 1996. She served as Native Hawaiian cultural liaison to the commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii from 2008 until recently.
Last week a task force issued recommendations to reduce the disproportionate number of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system.
Native Hawaiians make up about one-quarter of the state’s population, but about 40 percent of the state’s inmates and those on parole.
Fishing kapu in Waikiki-Diamond Head area
The Waikiki-Diamond Head Shoreline Fisheries Management Area is closed to fishing for one year beginning today.
"Periodically closing areas to fishing was a practice used by early Hawaiians," William Aila, director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said in a news release. "It helped fish populations replenish themselves."
The fisheries management area encompasses the near-shore waters between the Ewa wall of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium and the Diamond Head Lighthouse, and from the high-water mark on shore to a minimum seaward distance of 500 yards or to the edge of the fringing reef if the reef extends beyond 500 yards.
Fishing is not allowed at any time in the adjoining Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District between the Ewa edge of the Natatorium and the Ewa edge of the Kapahulu groin.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Keeau traffic roundabout plan to be discussed
The state Department of Transportation will hold a public informational meeting Jan. 16 in Pahoa on a planned traffic roundabout at the T-intersection of Keaau- Pahoa Road and Old Government Road. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility, 15-3022 Kauhale St.
The intent of the project is to improve safety and traffic flow at the intersection. The project also will include slope reinforcement, landscaping improvements, electrical conduits, street lights, and handicap-accessible curb ramps and sidewalks.
Construction will take about 12 months, with start date impending.
Native Hawaiian organizations and residents with concerns about possible effects on cultural or religious sites may contact Steven Yoshida at steven.yoshida @hawaii.gov, or by mail at Hawaii Department of Transportation, Traffic Design Section, 601 Kamokila Blvd., Room 602, Kapolei, HI 96707.
Kauai police cut vacant positions down to just 3
The Kauai Police Department will have only three open positions with the arrival of the New Year.
The Garden Island newspaper reports that the police department for years has struggled with a large number of vacancies, but the situation improved this year with the graduation of two classes of police officers and the streamlining of the application process.
The department’s acting assistant chief, Kaleo Perez, said the time it takes to process new hires has been greatly reduced, resulting in more hires. Also, online pre-employment tests and other tests grouped over two days has sped up the process.
Perez said it now takes six to eight months to process an application, down from three years.