More military might, politics and dirty tricks, Filipinos love Abercrombie, more island news

Delegations representing indigenous people from around the world were taken from Hawaii's voyaging canoes yesterday morning and paddled to the shores of Kualoa in a welcoming ceremony unlike any other seen at previous Healing Our Spirit Worldwide conferences. Star-Advertiser.

A celebration ceremony Sunday shared cultures from around the world. KHON2.

The Pentagon is planning a $278 million program to increase missile testing on Kauai that would improve the protection of Europe from ballistic missiles from countries such as Iran, and provide an additional element of defense for Hawaii from North Korean threats, officials said. Star-Advertiser.

The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies has broken ground on a new wing. Associated Press.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to spend $1.4 million cleaning up lead paint on former Midway Atoll military buildings that have been poisoning Laysan albatross birds there. Associated Press.

Honolulu-based Hawaii Oceanic Technology Inc. has withdrawn its permit application for a 12-cage submerged ahi farm offshore of Malae Point, North Kohala, and plans to seek permission for just one cage instead. West Hawaii Today.

Kaua‘i’s beaches and surfbreaks are usually clean. Some are cleaner than others. Garden Island.

Despite the rhetorical fireworks between gubernatorial candidates Neil Abercrombie and Mufi Hannemann, the longtime Hawai‘i Democrats appear to be more ideologically alike than they let on to be. Associated Press.

According to the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle’s (HFC) recent Primary Election poll, former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie holds a commanding lead over former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in the race for governor among registered Filipino voters, 45.2 percent to 13.7 percent. Filipino Chronicle.

The Hawaii Venture Capital Association said it is outraged that another organization using a very similar name on Thursday endorsed Mufi Hannemann for governor when the HVA two months ago endorsed Neil Abercrombie. KITV.

When a political endorsement doesn’t go your way, why not just start a new group with almost the same name and have it endorse you so people think that the group you wanted to be endorsed by actually endorsed you in the first place. Hawaii Reporter.

The two major Democratic candidates for governor are set to participate in a debate sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the Hawaii Medical Assurance Association. Associated Press.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie is accusing the campaign of his rival, Mufi Hannemann, of using religion to divide voters and attack his character. Associated Press.

Civil Beat sent the three leading candidates for Honolulu mayor the same questionnaire. Civil Beat.

The two leading candidates for Honolulu mayor are running television ads that look and sound pretty similar. KITV.

It was not a typical Maui County mayoral forum Friday night at the Iao Theater. Maui News.

The Garden Island asked the Kaua‘i candidates running for mayor, Kaua‘i County Council, state Senate and state House of Representatives to respond to three general questions about their decision to seek elected office. Garden Island.

More than half of the traffic deaths on the Big Island have been blamed on drunken driving over most of the last decade, according to a study released by the North Hawaii Outcomes Project. KITV.

Impaired driving has killed more Big Island motorists than any other cause, according to a recent report aimed at drawing attention to DUI deaths. Tribune-Herald.

Honolulu Police are stepping up enforcement to keep drunk drivers off the road. KHON2.

The owner's representative of the 670-acre Honua'ula development in South Maui asked members of the public and Maui County Council on Thursday to take a close look at the project's voluminous cultural resources preservation plan - a condition for its construction - before making any more judgments. Maui News.

West Maui lawmakers announced that the long-awaited Lahaina Harbor Improvement Project has been successfully awarded and finalized. Lahaina News.

Take a walk down Manako Lane in Kaunakakai on any given weekday and you will notice an unassuming green house nestled in the corner, buzzing with traffic. Several days a week, mental health patients gather at this spot – known as the clubhouse – which they describe as a place of solace and understanding. Molokai Dispatch.

Kauhola Lighthouse coming down, US-Japanese missile tests off Kauai, H1N1 slow coming to islands

The U.S. Coast Guard has determined that the best course of action for a lighthouse sitting on a rapidly eroding site on the Big Island is its removal.

Honolulu needs to improve the way it documents commuter rail contract awards to improve transparency and public confidence in the project, according to a study by city auditor Les Tanaka.

George Lanakilakekiahiali'i Naope, co-founder of the Merrie Monarch hula festival, died yesterday in Hilo after a lengthy illness.

Three warships from the Japanese and U.S navies will attempt another midflight missile interception today with the destroyer JS Myoko scheduled to launch an SM-3 missile from waters off Kauai's Barking Sands missile range.

A Japanese navy ship with a state-of-the-art, American-built, missile-defense system will attempt to shoot a target missile out of the sky this afternoon.

State health officials said it is just a matter of time before there is a swine flu outbreak in the islands.

Hawaii County is hoping to give sagging Big Island employment numbers a lift by helping to deliver people to job sites and worker-training classes.

You know you’ve reached Kamilo Nui when you pass the last California-style subdivision and have to brake suddenly when an entire family of feral pigs walks calmly, in single file, across the road that leads up the tiny, picturesque valley in the back of Hawaii Kai.

Top Hawaii Headlines: Friday morning edition

The U.S. military is positioning more missile defenses around Hawai'i as a precaution against a possible North Korean launch across the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday.

Hawaii's Pacific Command, closely monitoring events in North Korea, says it is "in good position" to respond if called upon by the Pentagon.

The U.S. military is tracking a ship from North Korea that could be carrying illicit weapons, the first vessel monitored under tougher new U.N. rules meant to rein in and punish the communist government following a nuclear test, officials said yesterday.

The state Board of Education last night voted 8-4 to approve controversial changes to the public school system's disciplinary rules, including allowing for suspicionless locker searches and drug-sniffing dogs.

If the courts don't stop her, Gov. Linda Lingle will set in motion two years of "furlough Fridays" for at least 15,600 state employees

Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday rolled out the details of her furlough plans for state workers, announcing that many state departments would close on three Fridays a month starting in July while others would modify or adjust operations to minimize the disruption to the public.

Many state workers are upset about the furloughs, since they amount to essentially a 14-percent pay cut, but they also worry the public will face service reductions when departments and offices are closed three days a week.

West Maui state Rep. Angus McKelvey said he wants the Legislature to go into an emergency special session to deal with the state's $2.7 billion revenue shortfall and Gov. Linda Lingle's plan to furlough state workers beginning July 1.

In a cost-savings measure, the state office of elections plans to close a little more than 60 polling places, with all of them being on Oahu.

The state Office of Elections is proposing eliminating 66 voting precincts statewide for next year's elections in an effort to cut costs

More than 150 people heard impassioned speeches Wednesday night in Hilo on a proposal to bring the Thirty Meter Telescope to the Big Island.

The Hawaii County Council's controversial reorganization has triggered an investigation and one lawmaker's allegation that the leadership change was illegally orchestrated.

For schoolchildren, the game of "telephone," is an amusing party pastime. But when county council members employ it as a pre-meeting meeting, it violates state Sunshine Laws.

The draft environmental assessment for the proposed midlevel Kona road is out, charting a route from Henry Street to Hina Lani Street, skirting a burial site and shifting makai near the northern end to avoid bisecting a dryland forest.

A family feud simmering since last year’s mayoral election boiled into a Carvalho-versus-Carvalho harassment arrest, with the father of Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. turning himself in at Kaua‘i Police Department headquarters in April.

A Kalihi man is in police custody, accused of sexually assaulting three elderly women at a senior living complex.