Candidates to debate

Mayoral candidates Kirk Caldwell, Peter Carlisle, Panos Prevedouros and Rod Tam will square off in a debate at 6:30 tonight on KFVE, KGMB and KHNL. Panelists for the program, co-sponsored by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, will be retired UH professor Dan Boylan, former KGMB anchor Kim Gennaula, Hawaii News Now senior reporter Teri Okita and Star-Advertiser reporter B.J. Reyes.

UH-led team receives $1 million grant

The National Science Foundation has awarded nearly $1 million to a team led by University of Hawaii Professor H. Ronald Riggs for the study of how tsunami debris affects infrastructure.

The researchers will study how logs, utility poles, steel shipping containers and other large items carried by tsunamis can affect buildings and structures like fuel and chemical storage tanks.

The university said in a news release that communities would be able to withstand tsunamis better if scientists had a greater understanding of these effects and helped communities upgrade building codes.

UH professor Marcello Kobayashi is joining the study along with scholars from Oregon State, Lehigh and Nagoya universities.

Kona seeks watch groups

The Kona Community Policing Section of the Hawaii Police Department will host two Neighborhood Watch meetings — one for North Kona and one for South Kona — for coordinators and for people interested in forming or joining a Neighborhood Watch.

The South Kona coordinators meeting will start 5 p.m. Sunday at the Konawaena High School cafeteria. Anyone interested in joining or forming a neighborhood watch for South Kona is encouraged to attend the meeting at 6 p.m.

The North Kona coordinators meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Kealakehe Intermediate School cafeteria. Anyone interested in joining or forming a neighborhood watch for North Kona is encouraged to attend the meeting at 6:30 p.m.