Coming up

A reception for "Mga Sinag Sa Balangaw" ("Hues of a Rainbow"), an exhibition of Philippine costumes and textiles, will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Hamilton Library’s Bridge Gallery. The event will feature music, food and entertainment by the Mahalohalo Kulintang Ensemble. Visitors are encouraged to wear traditional Filipino attire. The exhibit runs through Dec. 20.

Church’s campaign signs protested

The state attorney general’s office has forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service a complaint regarding campaign signs on a Waipahu church’s property.

The complaint accused Kanana Fou Congregational Christian Church of violating a federal tax code that prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations from campaigning for or against any candidate for elective office.

"The prohibition on the intervention into political campaigns is a federal tax law prohibition," said Hugh Jones, supervising deputy attorney general for the Tax Division. "The IRS is the agency which enforces it."

Jones forwarded the complaint last week to the Exempt Organization Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

The church is listed by the IRS as an organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. A call made yesterday to the Kunia Road church was not returned.

Signs for Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona and state House candidate Carl Wong were visible last week from the H-1 freeway.

"The law is explicitly clear on this; no nonprofit can endorse a candidate," said Michael Golujuch Jr., who filed the complaint. "I gave them until the end of business day Wednesday to remove the signs, or I would file an official complaint. The next day, more signs went up."

Strong winds expected for 2 days

Hang onto your hats.

Blustery conditions are expected to peak tomorrow and Thursday, the National Weather Service forecasts.

Hawaii residents from Kauai to Maui can expect sustained wind speeds of 25 mph and gusts of 35 to 40 mph.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory yesterday for Maui’s Haleakala summit, which was expected to receive 30 mph sustained winds last night, but higher wind speeds were reported yesterday afternoon.

A "really strong" high-pressure system to the north brought windy conditions yesterday to the smaller Hawaiian islands and will continue through Friday, National Weather Service forecaster Matthew Foster said.

Noxious odor sickens 2 at OCCC

Two men were sickened by a noxious odor at the Oahu Community Correctional Center yesterday afternoon.

About 48 inmates and workers were evacuated at about 2 p.m. from one of the modules at the prison, located at 2199 Kamehameha Highway in Kalihi, said Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig. The odor was traced to a drain cleaner with an acid component, Seelig said.

A hazardous-materials team was called at about 1:30 p.m.

The team tested the air and found no hazardous gas present, Seelig said.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Human chain moves books

Well more than 1,000 volunteers formed a human chain stretching more than a mile to move thousands of books from the old Bond Memorial Public Library to the new North Kohala Public Library on the Big Island.

West Hawaii Today reported Saturday’s two-hour Huki Puke, or passing of the books, event transported about half of the old library’s 17,000 books and other materials.

The new library is slated to open Nov. 8.