Union negotiations top Tuesday headlines

The state's chief labor negotiator walked away from talks with four government employee unions after just half an hour yesterday, and Gov. Linda Lingle warned that she could begin sending out layoff notices in coming days.

Labor tensions continued rising yesterday as Gov. Linda Lingle's negotiator walked out of bargaining talks, and the governor said she is preparing for mass layoff notices to be sent as early as Friday.

The strain continues to come up with the state's $730 million shortfall. Unions, state officials and the four Hawaii mayors met Monday to come up with a solution

State negotiators walked out of a meeting Monday afternoon because they said union representatives did not want to discuss issues on the record.

A misinterpreted navigation system, a sleep-deprived skipper, faulty equipment and an inexperienced bridge team led to the grounding of the Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal on the night of Feb. 5, according to a Navy Safety Investigation Board report.

Folks at the Honolulu Christian Church in Manoa — trying to cope with growing pains and thinking about adding a second sanctuary — thought their prayers had been answered three years ago when the owner of an adjacent property offered to give the church first shot at buying his 11,250-square-foot lot at 2234 University Ave

A presidential-sized parking problem is turning some residents against a Manoa church.

The quest for short sales and foreclosure properties dominated real estate activity on the Big Island and Kauai last month and continued to drive property prices down in most categories.

After hitting an all-time low of 59 percent in April, Maui's hotel occupancy rate fell another 3.1 percentage points, or 5 percent, in May to 55.9 percent.

The draft environmental assessment for proposed Alii Drive improvements along Oneo Bay in Kailua-Kona was released this week.

Of all the objects in the night sky, few can compare with the ethereal beauty of the planetary nebulae.

Not many people seem to know the location of the Weuweu-Kawai-iki Fishpond.

Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr., proud owner of a 6X barong Tagalog (Filipino dress shirt), said that if he gets to the Philippines any time soon, he will visit Paoay, Ilocos Norte Mayor Bonifacio Carpio Clemente Jr.