President heading back to Washington
President Barack Obama is returning to Washington this evening, ending the first family’s annual Kailua vacation, during which he went back to Washington, D.C., for a week to reach a compromise with congressional Republicans over the “fiscal cliff” tax and spending standoff.
The Obamas arrived in Honolulu on Dec. 22 and stayed at a beachside vacation compound in Kailua. The president flew back the day after Christmas and returned Wednesday morning.
On Friday, Obama played golf at the Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort with Bobby Titcomb, Marty Nesbitt, Sam Kass and Marvin Nicholson. Playing in gusting wind and a driving rain, they took about five hours to complete their round of golf, a White House media pool reported.
Stowaway raccoon did not have rabies
A raccoon that stowed away aboard a cargo ship from California has tested negative for rabies.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture announced the results Friday.
Personnel from shipping company Matson called the department earlier this week after seeing the animal scampering on the ship’s deck in Honolulu.
Hawaii is the only rabies-free state, and raccoons are seen as a threat because they could introduce the disease here. A department spokeswoman said the animal had to be euthanized to conduct the rabies test.
Utility scam makes rounds on Big Isle
Hawaii island police are warning the public about a telephone scam in which callers claim to be utility company employees.
The caller tells the victim that their utility bill is delinquent and that service will be shut off. The caller then instructs the victim to make a payment directly to the caller by telephone.
Police advise members of the public who receive a call about their utility bill to hang up and call the utility company directly at a published phone number (not a number they receive from the caller) to find out whether the call is legitimate.
Grant helps center treat at-risk inmates
The federal government has awarded the Hawaii Intake Service Center a Second Chance Act grant of $597,576 to help medium- to high-risk inmates diagnosed as substance abusers with mental health disorders before and after they are released from Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
The funding, from the Office Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice, is intended to reduce recidivism by providing treatment, social services and individual counseling prior to release and following up with links to services after release, the state Department of Public Safety said in a news release Wednesday.
"Providing in-reach services of this kind will help to strengthen the participant’s capacity to successfully transition from jail to the community," said Hawaii certified peer mentor and volunteer Debbie Marie.
Kauai bus service schedule shifts
The Kauai Transportation Agency will be making changes to several weekday mainline bus routes in about two weeks.
The changes are scheduled to take effect Jan. 20:
» A 5:30 a.m. bus will be added to Route 200, Lihue to Kekaha, departing from Walmart.
» The first bus on Route 500, Lihue to Hanalei, which currently leaves Kauai Community College at 5:55 a.m., will now leave at 5:25 a.m.
» The 7:45 a.m. bus on Route 400, Hanalei to Lihue, will be eliminated due to low ridership. Passengers on that bus will have the option of riding either the 7:15 or the 8:15 a.m. bus.
A complete listing of all bus routes can be found on The Kauai Bus website, www.kauai.gov/transportation.
Printed bus schedules are available on all county buses and The Kauai Bus office, 3220 Hoolako St., Lihue. Call 246-8110.
Fireworks calls down 31% on Oahu
The number of fireworks-related complaints received by the Honolulu Police Department this New Year’s holiday period was 31 percent less than the previous year.
HPD said it received 593 fireworks-related complaints between Dec. 26 and Thursday, down from the 854 complaints received a year ago. Officers issued 80 citations for fireworks this year, and arrested one adult and one juvenile, HPD said.
This is the fourth consecutive year complaints have gone down, from a high of 1,840 in 2009.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Attorney named to Council post
David M. Raatz Jr. has been appointed director of the Office of Council Services, the research arm of the Maui County Council, Chairwoman Gladys C. Baisa announced Friday.
Raatz worked as a legislative attorney in the Office of Council Services for 16 years before he left in March 2012 to be program director for the Maui Economic Development Board.
Big Isle students to study flight
Several dozen Hawaii island middle school girls and their teachers will learn about flying airplanes when they visit Oahu this month.
The Pacific Aviation Museum said Thursday that 30 students from Kau High and Pahala Elementary School will participate in its young aviators-in-training program Jan. 16-18. They will be accompanied by four teachers.
The three-day "Flight School" program will teach the girls the basics of flight and introduce them to historical figures such as Amelia Earhart and Rosie the Riveter.
