Girl Fest founder to run for Congress
Kathryn Xian, an activist who has pushed the state to address human trafficking and has sought to empower women through Girl Fest, said Monday that she will run for Congress.
Xian will seek the Democratic nomination in urban Honolulu’s 1st Congressional District, which is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who is challenging U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in the Democratic primary.
City Council members Stanley Chang and Ikaika Anderson, state Sen. Will Espero and state Rep. K. Mark Takai are the other declared candidates for the post.
Xian said she plans to make a formal announcement Monday.
Xian is executive director of the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery. She is also the founder of Girl Fest Hawaii, which uses education and art to raise awareness about violence against women.
Chopper airlifts injured hiker out of Iao Valley
Maui firefighters rescued a hiker who fell and injured his shoulder in Iao Valley on Sunday.
The 56-year-old man, hiking with friends, may have dislocated his shoulder in the fall and was in extreme pain and unable to walk out, a Fire Department spokesman said.
Firefighters hiked about 20 minutes into the trail and located the man. The Fire Department helicopter airlifted him to a landing zone, where an ambulance took him to Maui Memorial Medical Center in serious condition.
42-acre blaze extinguished after 4 hours
Kauai firefighters extinguished a 42-acre brush fire in Wailua early Monday morning, a county spokeswoman said.
The fire broke out in an open field near the Aloha Beach Resort shortly before midnight Sunday. Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 3 a.m. and extinguished it by 4 a.m.
No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged.
Police shut down all lanes of Kuhio Highway and Leho Drive for roughly three hours. The roadways were open to alternating traffic flow by 3 a.m. and fully reopened by 4 a.m.
The cause is under investigation.
Maui lifeguard recertification to close 2 pools
The Maui Department of Parks and Recreation has announced the closure of the Upcountry and Soichi Sakamoto pools on Wednesday due to lifeguard certification renewal.
The pools will reopen Thursday at 10 a.m. For information, contact Fran Yamamoto at 270-6138.
