Mililani students sing

Students from seven Mililani public schools will perform in the annual Mililani Complex Choral Music Festival, March 1 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Mililani High School gym. Choral groups from Mililani High, Mililani Middle School and five elementary schools — Kipapa, Mililani Waena, Mililani Uka, Mililani Ike and Mililani Mauka — will perform. Admission is free and the public is invited.

HECO repair cuts downtown power

A large section of downtown Honolulu was scheduled to be without power from 10 last night through this morning as Hawaiian Electric Co. planned to replace a large underground cable.

The scheduled outage was to affect the area from Nimitz Highway to Hotel Street, and from Punchbowl Street to Bethel Street.

A HECO spokeswoman said it was not known exactly when power would be restored. Businesses and residents were given advance notice of the outage, HECO said.

Police officers were on hand to direct traffic as necessary until power was restored.

Lingle and ex-staff due vacation pay

Former Gov. Linda Lingle and her staff are owed $345,000 for their unused vacation time, according to testimony from Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s office.

Abercrombie is asking lawmakers for more than $1 million to cover the vacation time, staff hiring and laptop computers.

Lingle would get nearly $17,000 for 299 unused vacation hours during her eight years in office.

The highest amount, more than $43,000, would go to the chief of staff position, which accrued 790 vacation hours. It’s unclear whether that money goes to former Chief of Staff Barry Fukunaga or his predecessor, Bob Awana.

Deputy Chief of Staff Joy Watari would get nearly $34,000. Senior communications adviser Lenny Klompus is owed nearly $33,000. Tourism liaison Marsha Wienert would receive more than $32,000.

Senate OKs nominees Young, Pablo

The state Senate has confirmed Kalbert Young as director of the Department of Budget and Finance and Fred Pablo as director of the Department of Taxation.

The Senate unanimously approved them Tuesday as members of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s Cabinet.

Young will be responsible for managing a state budget with a projected shortfall of about $800 million over the next two years. Pablo will handle the state’s tax collections.

Young was Maui County’s finance chief since 2004, and Pablo previously worked with him as Maui’s budget director.

Event aims to end spread of feral cats

In a concentrated, one-day effort to try to address the feral cat population problem, the Hawaiian Humane Society will offer free "Feline Fix" spay and neuter surgeries for 100 outdoor cats next Sunday.

Cats will be sterilized for no charge in exchange for one Humane Society "wish list" item, including canned kitten foot, cat toys and clean towels (see www.hawaiianhumane.org for a full list).

Cats must be at least 8 weeks old, weigh more than 2 pounds and be delivered in a cat carrier. Humane cat traps are available for sale or loan at the Humane Society. Same-day drop-off and pickup will be in the Humane Society classroom.

To schedule an appointment, call 356-2208 or e-mail cnakamura@hawaiianhumane.org.

Population data comes out this week

Detailed 2010 Census population counts for Hawaii are scheduled to be released this week.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Thursday it will provide data on race, demographics and population broken down across voting districts, cities and counties.

Federal law calls for the Census to provide redistricting data to every state by April 1.

Redistricting in Hawaii will be handled by a panel, with two members each appointed by state House and Senate majority and minority party leaders.

The eight elect a chairperson, and the panel then has 150 days to draw boundaries for each of the state’s 51 House districts and 25 Senate districts.

NEIGHBOR ISLAND

Borders’ exit will leave void on Kauai

Used bookstore Talk Story in Hanapepe will be the only bookstore left on Kauai after Borders closes its Lihue store.

Borders Group Inc. said Wednesday it would close 30 percent of its stores around the country as it reorganizes under bankruptcy. Its stores in Lihue and in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island are among those being targeted.

Lihue Borders General Manager Helaine Perel told The Garden Island newspaper the announcement surprised her. She says the Lihue Borders is more than a store. She says it is a community spot that has introduced children to reading and to books.

The store’s more than 40 employees are due to lose their jobs.

The county’s work force development office has already offered to set up a workshop to help employees find new jobs.