Bird kill, bag ban, flu death, tax break and other news

A dog attack on a seabird colony in Kihei prompted state wildlife officials to remind pet owners to keep their animals leashed.

After a two-week delay to huddle with the county attorney and revise the wording to ease enforcement, the Kaua‘i County Council on Wednesday morning passed an ordinance that will outlaw single-use plastic checkout bags from the island’s retail establishments despite objections from some members of the business community.

The state Health Department yesterday said an 11th Hawai'i resident has died with a confirmed case of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

The day after the state received its first batch of H1N1 flu vaccine, a Hawaii County Council committee Tuesday advanced a resolution opposing mandatory vaccination of the populace.

The four county mayors shot back yesterday at Gov. Linda Lingle's complaints that they are getting in the way of an agreement between the state and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Property taxes for owner-occupants in O'ahu likely will be lower than other property owners under a bill that was approved 4-0 by a Honolulu City Council committee yesterday.

Hard choices are ahead for Hawaii Community College.

The Hawaii County Council Finance Committee on Tuesday unanimously created a new program manager position to control underage drinking, even though it's unclear how the position will be paid for once its funding grant runs out in two years.