Students can remove names from military recruiting list

Students at state middle, intermediate and high schools or their parents have until Sept. 15 to remove student names from a national list given annually to military recruiters by the state Department of Education under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The department has developed an opt-out form for military recruiting for students and parents, available for download on the department’s website, doe.k12.hi.us.

Students or guardians who submit forms will have their names and contact information removed from the list sent to Inter-Service Recruitment Council in mid-October. Requests filed between 2007 and 2010 will be honored until the students leave the school system.

Request forms are accepted year-round, but may take longer to process if submitted after the Sept. 15 deadline. For more information, students and parents can call the department at 808-692-7290.

Death of female inmate was due to heart condition

The death of a 37-year-old female inmate at Oahu Community Correctional Center in July was from natural causes, Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office said yesterday.

Renee Lessary died from a heart condition, according to the medical examiner.

Lessary, who was awaiting trial, had a history of methamphetamine use and hypertension, the medical examiner said.

She died on July 28 after being taken to the prison infirmary for treatment.

Contract awarded by city for Ewa Beach fire station

The city has awarded a contract to build a new fire station at Ocean Pointe in Ewa Beach.

City officials said the project is budgeted at $4.6 million. Kodama Okamoto Architects Inc. did the planning and design, and 57 Builders won the construction contract.

Work is slated to start later this year. City officials said construction is expected to take a year.

It will be the first city project to be built under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification standards, city officials said.

Developer Haseko donated land on the corner of Keoneula Boulevard and Kaileolea Drive for the project.

"This location will help us maintain our response time standards in the Ewa community and provide a 21st-century, modern fire station," said Honolulu Fire Chief Kenneth Silva.

Firefighters at the Ewa Beach fire station on Pohakupuna Road will be relocating to the new station. The department might use the old fire station for operational needs.

The new 12,000-square-foot fire station will be designed to accommodate a second fire company and to include a training tower.

Bottomfishing reopens around main islands

Fishers will once again be allowed to catch opakapaka, onaga and other bottomfish around the main Hawaiian Islands beginning this week as the new fishing year begins.

The bottomfish fishery was closed in April after the catch limit for the year was reached.

The new bottomfish fishing year began Wednesday.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources says the proposed catch limit this year is 254,050 pounds. The number is expected to be finalized after it is published in the Federal Register.

The restrictions affect catches of onaga, ehu, opakapaka, kalekale, gindai, lehi and hapuupuu.

There are 12 areas around the main islands where bottomfishing is not allowed at any time. The department website has maps of restricted zones.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Plan protects rare seabirds

Kauai County plans to limit lighting at public facilities to protect endangered seabirds.

The county outlines the aim in a Seabird Habitat Conservation Plan submitted to authorities Tuesday after three years of discussion with state and federal agencies.

Kauai’s seabirds have been dying at alarming rates, in part because bright lights confuse them.

The plan includes a policy to not illuminate normally bright sports facilities such as tennis courts and baseball fields during fledgling season — Sept. 15 to Dec. 14 — when young seabirds migrate to sea.

The Kauai Interscholastic Federation previously announced a policy to hold high school football games in daylight hours during fledgling season.

The plan also would protect Newell shearwaters, which rely on moonlight to travel out to sea after birth; the endangered Hawaiian petrel; and the band-rumped storm-petrel, which is being considered for listing as an endangered or threatened species.

The plan was submitted to a group led by the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife. A public review period is expected to be scheduled.

Board OKs telescope

The draft conservation district use application to build the world’s largest telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea has advanced.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Mauna Kea Management Board on Wednesday unanimously recommended approval of the application for the Thirty Meter Telescope.

UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney is expected to sign the application before it moves to a final review by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.