Hirono campaign takes in $624,000
U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono raised more than $624,000 during the past three months for her Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, her campaign announced on Wednesday.
The campaign’s performance since October was double the amount Hirono raised in the previous quarter. Hirono, who faces former congressman Ed Case in the primary to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, has collected about $1.5 million in total.
The quarterly reports are due at the end of January, but Hirono released her report early.
Former Gov. Linda Lingle, the leading Republican candidate, has said she could raise $8 million to $10 million.
"Nobody thinks this campaign is going to be easy — especially considering our potential Republican opponent’s vast national fundraising network," Betsy Lin, Hirono’s campaign manager, said in a statement. "But our impressive year-end numbers give us all the more confidence that the depth and breadth of our grassroots support from working families all across Hawaii will ultimately prevail."
Space station to glitter in early morning
For early risers, the International Space Station will offer a lucky Friday-the-13th light show tomorrow if the clouds stay at bay.
The space station will rise in the southwest at 5:49 a.m.
As it nears the zenith, the point straight overhead, it will pass between Saturn on one side and Mars and the moon on the other just after 5:50 a.m. It will disappear about 5:54 a.m. in the northeast.
At minus-3.6 magnitude, the space station will be brighter than Jupiter (at minus-2.5) and Mars (minus-0.3), but not the moon, a waning gibbous.
About 220 miles up, the space station orbits at a speed of 17,200 mph. It is visible just before dawn or after sunset when it is illuminated by the sun against the darker sky.
Aboard are two Americans, commander Dan Burbank and chemical engineer Don Pettit; cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin and Oleg Kononenko; and Dutch medical researcher Dr. Andre Kuipers.
On the Net
Heavens Above
www.heavens-above.com/
Autopsy cuts tally of 2011’s traffic fatalities
A Kailua-Kona man who was in a one-vehicle crash in South Kona on Nov. 8 died from a medical condition and not from the crash itself, Hawaii County police said Wednesday.
The determination was reached in an autopsy on Bonifacio Pako Alip III, 48, police said. Alip was driving on Hawaii Belt Road at the 99-mile-marker in South Kona when his Dodge Ram pickup truck went off the left side of the road and overturned about 8 p.m., police said.
Alip was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:18 p.m. Hawaii island’s traffic fatality count for 2011 was revised to 22 from 23.
Tot badly hurt in accident with tractor
A 4-year-old Molokai boy suffered life-threatening injuries in a tractor accident Wednesday, the Maui Fire Department said.
Firefighters responded at 5:11 p.m. Wednesday to a property in Kualapuu after the boy was run over by a tractor. He suffered traumatic injuries to his head and arm. Maui’s medical helicopter flew the boy to the Queen’s Medical Center.
Work to replace hydrant means water shutoff
The Kauai Department of Water has scheduled a water outage in parts of Waimea from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today to allow workers to replace an aging fire hydrant.
A detailed map of affected streets can be viewed at www.kauaiwater.org.
The department will place a water tank near the junction of Alawai and Menehune roads for customers affected by the shutdown. Customers will need to bring their own water containers.
