HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Meeting to cover ocean conflicts
Advertiser Staff
Officials of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Outdoor Recreation will discuss ocean user conflicts at a public meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Wai'anae Community Center.
Topics will include community values, ocean resources, capabilities, conflicts, potential solutions and agreements.
Officials hope to document user conflicts and community experiences, make recommendations and identify solutions. The agency also seeks to work toward the protection of natural and cultural resources and to minimize or avoid conflicts.
PEARL HARBOR
MARINES TO HONOR 73 ON ARIZONA
A new flagstaff and plaques will be unveiled at 11 a.m. tomorrow to honor the 73 Marines killed aboard the USS Arizona when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Fifteen members of the Arizona Marine Detachment survived and will be honored at the unveiling, conducted by the trustees of the USS Arizona Marine Corps Remembrance.
The ceremony will be held harborside of the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center. Gen. Michael Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, and Col. John Earle, one of two surviving members of the Arizona Marine Detachment, will give remarks.
KAUA'I
ELECTRIC CO-OP TO ISSUE CREDIT
PUHI — The average residential electricity user on Kaua'i can expect a $50 credit on the December bill from the Kaua'i Island Utility Co-op, the result of approval of the give-back by the company's primary lender, the Rural Utilities Service.
The firm is returning $3.8 million in income that exceeds its budgeted expenses. The cooperative already has refunded to consumers $8.9 million since taking over the electric company in November 2002, and expects to credit customers with another $3 million in March 2006.
"This is how the nonprofit, co-op financial model works. When we do better than our budgets project, we return the money," said board chairman Gregg Gardiner.
O'AHU
ARMY GROUP HONORS PUBLISHER
The Hawaii Army Museum Society awarded its annual Ihe Award to Honolulu Advertiser President and Publisher Mike Fisch on Nov. 7.
Retired Gen. Herbert E. Wolff, society president, said Fisch was honored for his help in assembling an action committee that helped save the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard when it was threatened with closure earlier this year.
"Mike Fisch's outstanding leadership in support of Hawai'i's military has made a big difference for our community," Wolff said.
The ihe is an ancient Hawaiian spear that symbolizes constant readiness. The award is presented each year to a person or organization that has made outstanding contributions to Hawai'i's military.
FIRE CODE AFFECTS CHRISTMAS TREES
The Honolulu Fire Department wants individuals and businesses planning to display natural or artificial Christmas trees in schools, shops, institutions, lobbies and most other public areas to know that they are required by the 1997 Uniform Fire Code to properly treat all trees with an approved flame retardant.
The fire code also states that the fire chief may waive the flame-retardant requirement if a tree has been recently harvested and several other requirements are observed.
Among other things, those requirements include using secure support stands that don't damage the tree base, precise base cuts and watering conditions, and daily inspections.
For information, call 831-7764.
