Group to petition bus fare increase

Members of the Faith Action for Community Equity are launching a petition drive against a bus fare increase.

The petition will circulate at the group’s meeting today from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 1020 S. Beretania St. In the next weeks the 27 churches that make up FACE will adopt bus stops to gather more signatures. Higher bus fares will take effect on Thursday.

McCain bill would repeal Jones Act

U.S. Sen. John McCain has introduced legislation to repeal a maritime law that requires ships transporting goods between states to have been built in the United States, be crewed and owned by U.S. citizens, and fly the U.S. flag.

The 90-year-old law, known as the Jones Act, has been criticized recently for allegedly hampering foreign ships offering assistance in the cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Hawaii Republican Rep. Charles Djou opposes the law. Democratic Sens. Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye, and Rep. Mazie Hirono back it.

 

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Kauai woman missing since Wednesday

Kauai police are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing Kapahi woman.

Amber Jackson, 57, was last seen on her property at about 9 p.m. Wednesday. She was wearing gray sweat pants and a V-neck T-shirt.

Jackson is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs about 135 pounds with a fair complexion and thin build. She has blue eyes and shoulder-length blond hair.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the Kauai Police Department’s dispatch at 241-1711, the department’s Investigative Services Bureau at 241-1696 or Crime-Stoppers at 241-1887.

India joins telescope observers

Indian astronomers plan to join a project to build the world’s largest telescope on Mauna Kea.

Thirty Meter Telescope officials said yesterday that India’s Department of Science and Technology is due to become an observer, the first step on the way to becoming a partner.

The telescope is being built by the University of California, the California Institute of Technology and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy.

Astronomers in China and Japan also are participating.

The University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents is due to vote on the project Monday. It must give its approval because it owns the lease on the land where the telescope is to be built.