Top Hawaii Headlines: Tuesday morning edition

Swine flu appears to have reached Hawai'i, with three probable cases: a married military couple and an unrelated school-age child.

Gov. Linda Lingle, trying to tap into populist anger over higher taxes, yesterday invited the public to join her at the state Capitol on Thursday afternoon when she plans to veto bills that would raise taxes.

Lingle called bills to raise the hotel room tax and increase state income taxes for high income earners, SB 1111 and HB 1747, "seriously detrimental to our economic health."

Karen's Law: The daughter of a woman who was allegedly strangled by a teenager is frustrated that a bill to make it easier to try juveniles as adults when charged with first-degree murder has not been approved.

A 1997 graduate of Konawaena High School will serve as a ground segment lead in Tuesday's launch of a NASA microsatellite to study space's affect on cells in long-duration space travel.

In a tight budget year, fair elections funds are proving fair game for a government raid, a move that could delay public financing of Hawaii County Council elections.

More than 15,000 students at Kapiolani Community College face an identity theft risk because of an Internet security breach, school officials said.

The Kaua‘i Marriott and the Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee teamed up last week to remove the island’s only known pampas grass population located at the Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Club.

Top Hawaii Headlines: Tuesday morning edition

The Hawaii State Department of Health issued an alert to doctors statewide on Monday urging them to watch for swine flu in patients.

Hawai'i would get 300,000 doses of flu medicine if swine flu should reach the Islands, but state officials yesterday encouraged everyone to start making plans now to care for the elderly and the young for a potential outbreak.

Tourism officials in the islands said Hawaii is well positioned to offer an alternative to Mexico, where the swine flu appears to be concentrated.

State House and Senate budget negotiators agreed last night to use federal stimulus money meant for public education to help offset spending cuts to the state Department of Education rather than use the money to help close the state's budget deficit, as Gov. Linda Lingle has suggested.

State legislative leaders are moving into the last five days of the 2009 Legislature with no clear plans on how they will resolve the state budget shortfall and what funds they will use to fill the budget holes.

While environmental groups rallied at the state Capitol in support of a measure to prohibit building any new fossil-fuel power plants in Hawaii, at least one renewable-energy advocate urged lawmakers to proceed with caution.

The Maui County Council Budget and Finance Committee on Monday voted 7-0 to recommend a $549.7 million budget for 2010, with cuts in spending that reflect the county’s tight economy.

Young Brothers on Monday asked to intervene in the Pasha Hawaii application to the Public Utilities Commission to use its trans-Pacific transporter, MV Jean Anne, to carry vehicles and cargo interisland.

Members of an Oahu family who have been waiting 10 years for justice expressed relief Monday, after a jury found the man suspected of killing their loved one guilty of murder.

Time is running out for the construction of two more remotely operated underwater vehicles.

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority is a landlord to roughly 40 tenants who use the facility for commercial and research purposes.

Federal stimulus funds will pay for a $7.3 million visitor center and replacement administrative building at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge.