Prison beds, plastic bags, deadly storms | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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DENNIS ODA / doda@staradvertiser.com

meandering in the mud With housing from the Marine Corps base in Kaneohe looming in the background, Marines drove their amphibious assault vehicles through the Nuupia Ponds Wildlife Management Area on Wednesday. The vehicles, part of "mud ops," plowed up non-native plants, allowing native birds such as the endangered Hawaiian stilt to forage and nest. The furrows created by the 26-ton vehicles also inhibit predators from preying on young birds in the nests. It was the 30th time the operation has been held.

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Local

» Hawaii officials said Tuesday they plan to add a total of about 1,100 prison beds on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island as the state phases out its use of private prisons in Arizona over the next six years.

» Naval investigators opened a homicide case into Monday’s death of a 14-month-old boy who had been unconscious for nearly a year after suffering head injuries. His father is a Marine Corps sergeant at Kaneohe Bay.

» A City Council committee advanced a bill Wednesday to bar large retailers from handing out disposable plastic bags. The state’s other three counties have enacted similar bans.

» Hundreds of people packed the Kalihi driver licensing office Friday to renew their licenses before strict state identification requirements take effect Monday. The office processed about 600 licenses Friday, twice the normal amount.

» ‘Iolani School announced Monday that Timothy Cottrell, head of The Harley School in Rochester, N.Y., will succeed Val Iwashita as headmaster in June. Iwashita is retiring after 17 years as ‘Iolani headmaster.

» A Facebook photo of Kaneohe Bay Marine Sgt. Brandon Morgan kissing partner Dalan Wells at a homecoming ceremony from an Afghanistan deployment gained national attention and drew thousands of supportive comments.

» Alex O’Loughlin, star of "Hawaii Five-0," took leave from the show to get treated for problems with pain medication prescribed for a shoulder injury, CBS said Friday.

Mainland

» GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney set his sights on the states holding Super Tuesday contests after holding off Rick Santorum to win last week’s primaries in Michigan and Arizona and the Washington caucuses.

» A swarm of early-season tornadoes left a trail of death and destruction across the South and Midwest last week.

» A 17-year-old walked into a high school cafeteria Monday in Chardon, Ohio, fatally shooting three students and leaving townspeople to grapple with the tragedy and wonder what could have set off the gunman.

World

» North Korea announced Wednesday that it would suspend nuclear weapons tests and uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors to monitor activities at its main nuclear complex, a step that raised the possibility of ending a diplomatic impasse that has allowed its nuclear program to continue with no global oversight for years.

» The U.S. military announced last Sunday that it has recovered the remains of the last American service member who was unaccounted for in Iraq, an Army interpreter seized by gunmen after sneaking off base to visit his Iraqi wife in Baghdad.

» In the wake of last year’s nuclear accident, Japanese leaders did not know the actual extent of damage at the Fukushima plant and secretly considered the possibility of evacuating Tokyo, even as they tried to play down the risks in public, an investigation of the disaster revealed Monday.

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Star-Advertiser staff and news services

THIS WEEK

Local

>> Tuesday: The state Board of Education will discuss progress on Race to the Top initiatives, the 2011-2018 strategic plan and other items,
1:30 p.m., 1390 Miller St., room 404.

>> Tuesday: The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations will hold a West Hawaii Sustainable Agriculture Skill Panels Forum, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona. Call 586-8672.

>> Wednesday: The Hawaii Community Development Authority will hold a public hearing on a developer’s request for a waiver to rules intended to preserve mauka-makai views, 9 a.m., 461 Cooke St.

>> Friday: The state Board of Land and Natural Resources will discuss a time extension for construction of an ocean fish farm off Malae Point on Hawaii island and other items,
9 a.m., 1151 Punchbowl St.,
room 132.

>> Saturday: The Honolulu Board of Water Supply will hold an aquaponics workshop, 10:30 a.m. to noon, at the Halawa Xeriscape Garden, 99-1268 Iwaena St. Free. Advance registration required at 748-5363 or tours@hbws.org.