Army calls suspected Maui bomb a ‘hoax’

Maui police allowed residents from 21 homes in Wailuku to return Wednesday night after an Army explosive ordnance disposal team from Oahu determined a possible homemade explosive device was harmless, police said.

A resident at 2275 Mokuhau Road called police after finding the suspicious item in the house about 12:50 p.m. Wednesday. The Army unit arrived on Maui about 7:30 p.m. and declared the device a "hoax" improvised explosive device, police said.

About 25 displaced residents stayed at a shelter at Wailuku Gym on Market Street and were allowed home about 8:50 p.m.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

State OKs bonds to fund campus

The state authorized $7.5 million in general obligation bonds Wednesday to help finance construction of the Hawaii Community College Palamanui Campus in west Hawaii, the University of Hawaii announced.

The bond money will be combined with $9.68 million donated to UH in January by Palamanui LLC, a partnership between Hunt Cos. Hawaii and Charles R. Schwab.

The Palamanui Campus, mauka of Kona Airport, will be the 11th permanent campus in the UH system and is expected to open its doors to students in fall 2014.

"We are thrilled and gratified to be able to start the building process for this much-anticipated campus," UH President M.R.C. Greenwood said in a statement.

County workers said to recycle

Kauai County offices have significantly increased recycling and waste-diversion activities since 2009, a report says.

Ninety-two percent of county offices have the official blue HI-5 recycling bins and are actively recycling beverage containers, the county said Tuesday.

Seventy-seven percent of county employees edit documents electronically rather than printing them out for that purpose, while 67 percent are making two-sided copies and 72 percent are using reusable dishware instead of disposables.

Sixty-two percent of county employees reuse envelopes, and 51 percent reuse paper that’s printed on one side by making scratch pads.

The report said that in the fiscal year that ended in June 2011, county offices recycled 59 tons of mixed paper, double the amount recycled in 2009.