Legislators grill hospital chief

Lawmakers quizzed the acting Hawaii State Hospital administrator Wednesday during a hearing to investigate accounts of violence and mismanagement at the facility.

State senators pushed William Elliott to explain hiring practices at the psychiatric hospital. They also questioned his qualifications for overseeing the hospital and probed possible nepotism in hiring.

Hospital workers have come forward in recent months with accounts of frequent violent attacks by patients.

Workers also have said that low staffing contributes to danger for workers at the hospital.

Elliott says there are about 60 full-time jobs that remain open at the hospital. He said most of those positions are covered by temporary hires through a staffing agency.

UH college set to honor pair

The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources has named Thomas Lumpkin, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, as outstanding alumnus for his work to reduce poverty and improve food security worldwide.

Hawaii island food industry executive Derek Kurisu will receive the college’s Ka Lei Hano Heritage Award for advocacy on behalf of agricultural producers in post-sugar Hawaii. He is executive vice president at KTA Super Stores.

The awards will be presented at CTAHR’s 26th Annual Awards Banquet on May 9 at the Ala Moana Hotel. Reservations will be accepted through April 24. Information and online registration are available at www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/banquet.

Obstacles delay Big Isle’s reuse of waste water

KAILUA-KONA » Significant hurdles remain in Hawaii County’s quest to offer treated waste water that can be reused for landscaping irrigation.

West Hawaii Today reports the county is still a few years away from being able to do that.

Environmental Management Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd told community members Tuesday one hurdle is removing sludge from the Kealakehe waste-water treatment plant. She says if the $12 million project can be awarded to a bidder within the next month, construction could begin by summer and last up to 18 months.

She says another hurdle is getting the transmission lines in place to take treated waste water to the locations that would use it.

Another issue is delay in completing the widening of Queen Kaahumanu Highway. The lines were to be installed during road construction.

Maui mayor, officials to visit at Keiki Fest

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa will host County on Your Corner from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at the 2014 Valley Isle Keiki Fest at the University of Hawaii-Maui College campus in Kahului.

Joining Arakawa at this month’s event will be County Councilman Don Couch; Housing and Human Concerns Director Jo-Ann Ridao; Public Works Deputy Director Rowena Dagdag-Andaya; and Executive Assistants John Buck, Mike Molina and Joe Pontanilla.

For more information, call 270-7855.