Cold remarks start Ige’s meeting in capital
President Barack Obama opened his White House meeting with the Democratic Governors Association on Friday by poking a little fun at Hawaii’s new governor.
“I am a little concerned that David Ige, of Hawaii, does not know what to do with this weather,” Obama said. “I don’t even know if he owns a winter coat.”
“I bought one in Colorado,” Ige responded to laughter, according to a White House transcript. Ige was one of 16 Democratic governors at the meeting, which was also attended by Vice President Joe Biden.
Ige is in Washington, where the temperature hovered below 20 degrees Friday, for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
According to the governor’s office, Ige will also be meeting with federal transportation, health and housing administration officials, and with Army officials “to reiterate his commitment to strengthening the state’s relationship with the military.”
He is expected to return to Hawaii on Wednesday evening.
Forest Service shifts center site
KAILUA-KONA » A U.S. Forest Service plan to convert an old schoolhouse in Puuanahulu into a science and education center is off the table.
Instead, the agency plans to pursue build-out of the facility at an old landing strip site within the 38,800-acre Puu Waawaa dryland forest.
The switch follows a public meeting earlier this month with residents of Puuanahulu, many of whom supported the project but didn’t want it located in the center of the community.
The center will feature restoration projects, outdoor activities and workshops on the dryland forest, mostly for junior high and high school students.
The Forest Service will now examine how to design a classroom to hold 10 to 20 students and sleeping quarters for students, teachers and researchers with a maximum of about 15 beds, according to Ric Lopez, director of the Institute of Pacific Island Forestry, based in Hilo.
Kitchen fire forces eatery evacuation
A kitchen fire caused $50,000 in damage and prompted the evacuation of about 80 restaurant staff and guests Thursday at the Mediterranean Gourmet restaurant in Haena, Kauai.
Restaurant staff brought the fire under control using hand-held fire extinguishers and garden hoses.
Firefighters exposed a portion of the roof, removed the damaged mechanical roof-mounted vent and extinguished the remaining areas that were burning in the crawl space above the grill. They also used a vent fan to ventilate the main seating area of the restaurant.
The fire was first reported at 8:40 p.m. and was extinguished at approximately 9:45 p.m.
