Prison visits are cut due to staff shortage
Visitation was canceled at Oahu Community Correctional Center on Sunday because of staffing shortages, the Department of Public Safety said.
Cancellation of weekend visits has become common in the last year as guards call in sick.
To find out more about visitation schedules for each facility, go to dps.hawaii.gov.
Pacarro tabbed to lead liquor panel
Former Deputy Prosecutor Franklin Don Pacarro Jr. has been picked as administrator of the Honolulu Liquor Commission.
He replaces Greg I. Nishioka, who resigned in March 2013 after the Disciplinary Board of the state Supreme Court said he admitted to misappropriating funds.
Pacarro served as deputy prosecutor from 1986 to 2010.
He graduated from Saint Louis High School, the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law.
The Liquor Commission regulates and enforces state and county laws regarding the manufacture, importation, sale and consumption of intoxicating liquors in Honolulu.
Owner of kayak found adrift turns up safe
The owner of a kayak found adrift off Kauai was found safe on shore Sunday.
The Coast Guard said he never was in distress.
Earlier, Coast Guard officials in Honolulu got word from the charter boat Holo Holo that it had found an unmanned, 15-foot kayak adrift about 7 miles off Barking Sands.
The yellow two-person, inflatable kayak was labeled Pacific Extreme and had a red life jacket aboard, the Coast Guard said. There was no one visible in the water.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Barbers Point was launched to the scene to search for anyone in distress.
The Coast Guard advises the public to label all watercraft and equipment with contact information to help quickly account for owners and prevent any unnecessary searches. Through the Operation Paddle Smart program, the Coast Guard offers a free "If Found" decal to be placed prominently on watercraft.
The stickers are avilable at local harbormasters and at select marine retail and supply stores.
Brush fire ignites near Kekaha harbor
Fireworks could be the cause of a brush fire Saturday near the Kekaha Small Boat Harbor on Kauai.
Two units from the Waimea fire station responded to the 4:49 p.m. alarm and were on scene within minutes, the Kauai Fire Department said in a news release.
The fire was extinguished by 5:17 p.m.
No injuries were reported and no buildings were threatened.
The 911 caller reported that the fire might have been caused by fireworks, Kauai officials said.
On Kauai, fireworks are allowed only during certain hours on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve.