A fair day for recycling

University Laboratory School is holding its second Recycle-A-Thon and Sustainability Fair today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. People may drop off electronic items, beverage containers and other recyclable items. Vendors, games, crafts and even food booths will promote sustainability themes. People are encouraged to bring their own plates and utensils. Suggested donation for admission is $1 or five recyclable items.

Firefighters gain against volcano blaze

The National Park Serv­ice is reporting prog­ress in the battle against a wildfire that has burned 2,076 acres in the east rift zone of Kilauea volcano.

The Napau fire was 50 percent contained as of yesterday afternoon, the Park Serv­ice reported. The fire is confined to its perimeter, the Park Serv­ice said.

Lighter tradewinds and rain helped the 50 National Park Serv­ice firefighters in their attempts to prevent the wildfire from spreading on its southern perimeter to Chain of Craters Road.

The wildfire was sparked March 5 by lava from the Ka­moa­moa eruption.

The fire, which had threatened a rain forest home to endangered species, is about seven miles southeast of the Kilauea visitor center.

Lighting work to shut Lihue tennis courts

The Lihue County Park tennis courts will be closed for one month beginning Monday for a lighting replacement proj­ect, Kauai County announced yesterday.

The county is installing shielded lights that reduce the amount of light shining upward, which can attract seabirds and put them at risk.

Paul’s Electrical Contracting was awarded a $1.1 million contract to retrofit lights at Hana­pepe Stadium, Isen­berg Park, Lihue County Park tennis courts, Peter Rayno Park and Vidinha Stadium.

"We are committed to installing bird-friendly lighting at all of our facilities in order to minimize the impacts on endangered and threatened seabirds," said Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Ra­pozo, noting that there were no lighting-related bird deaths at any county facility last season. He said the shielded lights are energy efficient and are designed to reduce "spillover" onto nearby homes.