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Because of the re- moteness of North Shore shark encounter tours and other con- ditioning factors, researchers say the tours do not pose a threat to public safety.Amid the hundreds who gathered at Kapi'olani Park yesterday for a brief glimpse of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, perhaps none appreciated the bittersweet implications the imperial visit would have for Japanese-Americans in Hawai'i more than 70-year-old Helen Wadahara.State officials plan to slash funding for Healthy Start, a nationally recognized child-abuse prevention program that serves thousands of children in the Islands, limiting services to East Hawai'i and Leeward O'ahu, and forcing the layoffs of dozens at nonprofits with Healthy Start programs.Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a bill yesterday that would allow workers to organize labor unions if a majority sign union cards, an alternative to secret-ballot elections.A Seattle-based company has all the parts in place to begin shipping Oahu's trash to the mainland — with or without a city-approved contract.Bright side to down economy: The Hawaii Police Department, which was understaffed for years, is now nearly at full strength.As El Nino returns to the Pacific, signaling a more active hurricane season, Hawaii County Civil Defense this week is renewing its emergency notification system with a $71,800 two-year contract to the current provider.After riding a wave of prosperity, Maui County residents are struggling to cope with a recession that has swept through the islands. In The Maui News' continuing series of stories on the islands' financial crisis, today's report tells the personal stories of residents surviving these tough times.The Kauai County Board of Ethics renewed with a vengeance its discussion on conflicts of interest and the infamous Section 20.02(d) of the County Charter, rejecting a County Attorney opinion, repeatedly declining to go into executive session, and changing its rules to provide public discussion of county employees’ disclosure statements in a wild meeting at the Mo‘ikeha Building.One of two former Moanalua Golf Club workers who admitted butchering a pet dog of a golf club member in 2007 started serving three months of a one-year prison term yesterday.
The state Board of Education heard a proposal yesterday by the state librarian to close five branches to cut the budget.The Board of Education yesterday heard a proposal from State Librarian Richard Burns to close five public libraries and negotiate furloughs and other salary savings to reduce the Hawai'i State Public Library System's budget by more than $5.7 million.The board that oversees Hawaii's public libraries was told Thursday about a proposal to close five libraries statewide to deal with budget cuts.
The libraries that could be closed are Ewa Beach on Oahu, Holualoa, Pahala and Kealakekua on the Big Island, and Hana on Maui.Avoiding a possible shutdown of public schools on Sept. 21, members of the state Board of Education passed a $1.8 billion budget for 2009-2010 that covers a $226.85 million shortfall and includes reducing about $117.4 million in labor costs.Faced with the most drastic budget cuts ever to the state's public education system, the Board of Education approved a plan yesterday that includes about $117 million in yet-to-be negotiated labor savings — from potential pay cuts to furloughs of teachers and administrators.Isolating Gov. Linda Lingle, county mayors and the leaders of several independently governed state agencies have agreed on a framework for new contracts with public-sector labor unions aimed at addressing the state's budget shortfall.Hawaii's four mayors on Thursday called on Gov. Linda Lingle to personally attend an on-the-record negotiation session next week now that state employee unions have submitted what the mayors called a viable preliminary proposal on pay cuts or furloughsBig Islanders may soon be allowed to live in tents or other temporary structures while building a home of their ownOn war duty in Iraq, troops from Hawaii, including several from Maui, plan to share their aloha by celebrating next month's 50th anniversary of statehood.Two horses were shot in Wailua late Wednesday or early Thursday, owners and police say.