Volunteers wanted

Volunteers are needed for a neighborhood cleanup Feb. 27 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Habitat for Humanity site in Maili, on Kaukama Road next to Ohana Party Rentals. There will be a pre-event meeting tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Doug and Lily Cabanitan’s home, 87-230 Kulaaupuni St. This is a Nani o Waianae project. Call 696-1920 or 372-5952.

Power failure closes court building

State officials say they expect Honolulu District Court, closed by a power failure yesterday afternoon, to be open as usual this morning.

The outage happened at 2 p.m. and shut off electricity and phone lines, the state Judiciary said.

The courthouse, also known as Kauikeauoli Hale, was vacated except for some employees.

The Hawaii Supreme Court has issued an order extending by one day the deadline for any filing or hearing that was due yesterday. Anyone whose case was scheduled yesterday afternoon but who was unable to appear because of the outage should call 538-5767 for civil cases or 538-5500 for traffic cases.

Ordnance spotted off Hapuna Beach

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources closed Hapuna State Recreation area in Kona yesterday after a county lifeguard noticed an object that appeared to be unexploded ordnance.

The cylindrical object was seen in the ocean at a depth of 4 to 5 feet at the south end of Hapuna Beach. It was described as between 4 and 6 inches in diameter with 8 inches of it protruding from the sea floor.

Lifeguards put up yellow caution tape along the beach between the state park and the Prince Hotel. The U.S. Army’s Unexploded Ordnance office will investigate.

Kokubun cleared as agriculture head

Russell Kokubun is Hawaii’s new agriculture director, confirmed by the state Senate yesterday.

The Senate unanimously approved Kokubun, who was a senator until he sought the job as chairman for the Department of Agriculture. Kokubun is the fifth of Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s Cabinet nominees to be approved by the Senate.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Halemaumau lava lake level increases

The lava lake at Kilauea’s Halemaumau crater has been rising gradually in the last few months.

Volcanologists don’t know what the significance of the rise is. It’s possible that the lava could spill out of the pit and onto the crater floor, though this might take months to happen.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported the observatory’s seismologists are also watching an increased number of earthquakes in the upper east rift zone.

Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory scientist-in-charge Jim Kauahikaua says the increase in seismicity somewhat resembled the prelude to a brief June 2007 eruption in a remote section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. But there have also been several similar seismic episodes when nothing happened.