Isles warned about high surf on weekend
An approaching west-northwest swell is expected to produce surf of up to 35 feet along the north- and west-facing shores of Oahu, Kauai and Niihau on Saturday.
The National Weather Service issued a high-surf warning for the islands effective from 6 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Monday.
The warning may be expanded to include other islands as the swell moves closer, according to weather officials.
Surf is expected to rise rapidly beginning on Saturday evening and remain elevated through Sunday. Another northwest swell expected to arrive Tuesday could raise surf heights to surf-advisory levels along north- and west-facing shores at midweek.
Saturday’s swell will arrive just a day after the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau holding period closed.
The holding period began Dec. 1 and remained open through Friday to accommodate the potential arrival of large winter swells that met the contest’s minimum requirement of clean, 40-foot wave face heights.
The event has been staged just eight times in the last 29 years.
Union approves 2-year contract for nurses
The Hawaii Government Employees Association unit representing registered professional nurses has ratified a new two-year contract with pay raises.
The unit, which covers about 1,700 public-sector nurses, agreed to a 4 percent pay raise retroactive to January and a 4.3 percent raise effective in July. The government will also cover 60 percent of health insurance premiums.
"We recognize the hard work of our Unit 9 negotiation team that helped to secure a contract that is fair and equitable to our members," Randy Perreira, the HGEA’s executive director, said in a statement. "We commend the dedication and commitment of our professional nurses for their invaluable service they provide everyday in our safety net health care facilities and our community."
The contract runs from July 2013 through June 2015.
Health Department’s director confirmed
The state Senate voted unanimously Friday to confirm Dr. Linda Rosen as director of the state Department of Health.
Rosen replaces Loretta Fuddy, who died after a plane crash off Molokai in December.
Rosen, a pediatrician, has worked at the department since 2000 and served most recently as chief of the emergency medical services and injury prevention system branch.
Senators noted that Rosen received overwhelming support from her colleagues at the department.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who appointed Rosen, was in the Senate gallery with Rosen for the confirmation vote.
