Paraplegic woman starts rowing for isles
Paraplegic rower Angela Madsen left Santa Cruz harbor in California early Sunday morning for what she anticipates will be an 80-day solo journey to Hawaii.
Madsen was scheduled to leave Saturday but delayed her departure because of high surf.
The 52-year-old grandmother previously completed crossings of the Atlantic and Indian oceans, as well as a trip around Great Britain.
Madsen is undertaking the 2,300 trans-Pacific crossing with the benefit of an escort boat.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Coral cleared for new harbor
Construction of a floating dock with a finger pier and gangway at the Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor could begin this week.
State officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources ran into snags trying to start the $4.7 million project, but officials now say it could be finished by April.
Federal officials told the department it could not dredge the harbor until potential damage to coral was mitigated.
DLNR Director William Aila said sediment coming from the Kohala mountains killed off much of the coral in the harbor between 2009 and 2012. That was bad for the coral but good for the project.
In the end, Aila said, the department found only three corals deemed strong enough to protect. A team of DLNR employees moved the corals by hand to a nearby site.
Prices increase for bus passes
LIHUE » Frequent Kauai bus riders are encouraged to buy bus passes before increased rates kick in.
Effective July 1, the monthly pass will rise to $30 from $25, and the annual pass will increase to $300 from $240. Six-month passes for $120 will no longer be available.
Kauai Transportation Agency Executive Celia Mahikoa said the increase is necessary to cover a portion of the major changes in services offered in the last few years.
She says operations were expanded by about 35 percent by adding Sunday service and extending weekday hours. A consultant was also hired to design shelters for all bus stops.
