Applicants sought for ethics, campaign spending panels

There are going to be vacancies on the state Ethics Commission and the Campaign Spending Commission, and the Judicial Council is seeking applicants to fill them.

There will be one vacancy on the Ethics Commission. The five-member panel addresses ethical issues involving legislators, lobbyists and state employees, with the exception of judges.

There were will be two vacancies on the Campaign Spending Commission. The five members supervise campaign contributions and expenditures.

Members on both commissions serve on a voluntary basis. Neighbor island commissioners receive reimbursement for travel expenses to attend Oahu meetings.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens who live in Hawaii and don’t hold another public office. Applications with a resume and three letters of recommendation must be postmarked by Friday. Visit the state Judiciary’s website at www.courts.state.hi.us for applications and more information.

Mainland time jumps ahead with start of daylight saving

The mainland sprang forward Saturday night.

Daylight saving time began at 2 a.m. Sunday local time in most of the mainland United States, except for much of Arizona.

Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas do not observe daylight saving time.

That means the time difference between Hawaii and the East Coast is now six hours. The West Coast is three hours ahead.

The time change is also a good time to replace batteries in warning devices such as smoke detectors.

Daylight saving time ends Nov. 1.

Motion-sensor cameras look for feral dogs

WAILUKU » Motion-sensor cameras have been installed on Maui in an attempt to capture feral dogs that have been able to evade traps.

It’s a high-tech effort to capture two adult dogs that have eluded authorities for months, the Maui News reported Saturday.

The 40- to 60-pound dogs know better than to be lured into a trap, Maui Humane Society Chief Executive Officer Jerleen Bryant said.

The cameras near Kepaniwai Park and the Iao Valley State Monument can capture pictures at night to help detect a pattern in the dogs’ routine, Bryant said. They’re easily spooked by people and no one has been able to get close enough to capture them, she said.

The dogs seem to be subsisting off garbage found at the parks. Neighbors in the area are "fully aware of the dogs (and) don’t want them there, either," Bryant said.

There have been no reports of the dogs harming anyone, other than surprising people hiking in the area.

"We’re being cautious," Bryant said. "It’s only a matter of time (that) potentially something bad could happen (and) we want to get out in front of it before something does happen."

Bryant said the society asked the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for help. The department installed the cameras.