A Friday news recap is now a regular feature of this site. This inaugural issue contains two weeks worth, to catch us up to date. Full text of these excerpts is available through the web. Where access is granted to the public, there is a link.
3 Oahu elementaries named as Hawaii Blue Ribbon Schools
The state Department of Education announced [May 12, 2015] that Hahaione, Kaelepulu and Palisades elementary schools are Hawaii’s 2015 Blue Ribbon Schools nominees. . . Hahaione Elementary in Hawaii Kai has an International Baccalaureate World?School program. During the 2013-14 school year, Hahaione’s student proficiency, growth, readiness and achievement gap rates ranked in the top 5 percent in the state’s public schools system.
Sugar cane still vital — for rum
Dave Flintstone, owner of Island Distillers, a Honolulu-based maker of vodka and okolehao (a cane spirit with ti root), said he plans to relocate his distillery in industrial Kalihi Kai to 2 acres of farmland in Hawaii Kai, where he plans to grow hybrid sugar cane to make rum that people can sample and buy in a tasting room.
Issues below road’s surface complicate repair work
Question: Work on Kalanianaole Highway in the block near Aina Haina Shopping Center hasn’t been resurfaced in over a month. It’s hazardous with the wet weather and the fact that the road isn’t smooth. What’s going on?
Question: What’s the status of the rehabilitation of Kalanianaole Highway in East Oahu? It’s been going on for some time. On the mauka side of the highway, there is a 2- to 3-inch discrepancy between the gutter and highway along much of the course. It’s quite dangerous if you are riding a bicycle. Why is it taking so long and only half completed in sections?
Answer: The repaving part of the work along Kalanianaole Highway is targeted to be completed in June, but the entire project isn’t slated for completion until February.
The block near the shopping center required more reconstruction work than other segments because of concrete slabs situated below the surface, said a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
Group empowers residents to spruce up natural sites
Last month 808 Cleanups partnered with Rep. Gene Ward to clean up more than 600 pounds of bonfire debris — nails, pallets and broken glass from the Ka Iwi shoreline. [Interested volunteers can find 808 Cleanups on Facebook at fb.com/groups/808cleanups, Twitter and Instagram at @808cleanups or at 808cleanups.org]
Tenants may buy as church sells lion’s share of Niu Valley Center
[Note: this article is particularly information-filled. Reading the full text through the library database (or if you have a subscription to the Star-Advertiser, directly on the site) is recommended.]
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King’s Cathedral has agreed to sell the portion of the [Niu Valley Shopping Center] property that it doesn’t occupy to local developer Peter Savio for an undisclosed price. . .Savio met with tenants Wednesday informing them of his plan to offer them the spaces as commercial condominiums that they could own instead of rent. . .Prices range from about $600,000 for a 744-square-foot unit to $5.2 million for a 6,719-square-foot space. . .If tenants decline to buy their spaces, Savio will try to sell the spaces to investors who would have to honor existing leases. . .Savio said the church, which occupies 37,570 square feet in the 66,786-square-foot center, is looking for a smaller home elsewhere in East Oahu. If that happens, Savio has an option to buy the church space at Niu Valley Center, which he said he would try to sell to a grocery store. A drugstore would be an alternative, as would dividing the space into smaller pieces for sale.
NO JULY 4TH FIREWORKS FOR HAWAII KAI, AGAIN
HAWAII KAI, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) – For the second year, there will be no fireworks celebration on the 4th of July at Maunalua Bay in Hawaii Kai.
Fundraising for the community event fell short again, according to Maunalua Communities Foundation, sponsors of Independence Day at Maunalua Bay Festival.
Even with holdover donations from the canceled 2014 event and new donations this year, funding was $35,000 short, according to organizers.
east oahu NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD RESULTS POSTED; to be certified may 26, 2015
Unofficial 2015 results have been posted to the Neighborhood Commission Board website.
HAWAII KAI NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD
GARVIN, Rene´ M.,; IWASA, Natalie; KNUDSEN, Greg; REILLY, Elizabeth; CLARK, Robert E.; GREY, Marian; MAKINO, Carl H.; RUTKOWSKI, Maxine A.; JAXON, Carol; SCHREINER, Herb ; SALBOSA, Lasha; LOCKARD, Liza S.; MAYOR, Roberta A.; ALTONN, Paige
KULIOUOU-KALANI IKI NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD
YAP, Melvin M.L.; CARROLL, Paula S.; SPANGLER,; Sheridan R.; BOLTZ, Bernie; GREIG, Joshua D.; HIGA,; Kathryn T.; LUM, Heather; MORI, Martin; STAMM, Jessica; STARR, Linda W.L; AKIONA, Malia A.; LAJALA,; Kurt W.; MULKERN Kevin J.
WAIALAE-KAHALA NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD
FUKUDA, Lester; SCHILLER, Martin; AU, Marianne H.; CHANG, Kenneth C.C.; PYLES, John R.; TURBIN, Richard; DUDGEON, Peter A.; HIMEDA, Sylvia S.
KAIMUKI NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD
KANG, Brian A.; MONIZ-KAHO’OHANOHANO, Marilyn; PAIK, William A.; ROSS, Walt; BULLOCK, Lyle G. Jr.; HAGADONE, Mark, R.; SCHNEIDER, Sharon; YAMADA, LORI K.; HOE, Paul D.; PERALTA, Liberty K.; TAM, Vernon H.
DIAMOND HEAD/KAPAHULU/ST LOUIS HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD
ALLEN, Julia E.; ARMENTROUT, Barbra J.; MANFREDI,; Lee; MILLER, Barbara C.; NARITA, Bert T.; NAHOOPII,; Bertha S.J.; PERALTO, Keolu Jacob; VILLERS, Bryn; WAIALEALE, George; WEST, George N.; HOSHIKO, Carol A.; MATSON, Michelle Spalding; PERSONS, DON A. ; ST. DENIS, Laura; WONG, Linda
hawaii kai NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD april 28, 2015 minutes POSTED
Minutes from the April 28, 2015 Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board meeting were posted 5/20/2015. Topics included updates from the Water, Police, and Fire Departments, confirmation of Subdistrict 8 position by of Britney Taamu-Miyashiro, concerns by residents, (e.g. overflow parking near Hanauma Bay, rifle range ordnance, LED lighting and light pollution) Maunalua Bay recreational usage-meeting recap and declaration, and Kalama Hokupa‘a‘s plan for 14 new residential units in Hawaii Kai.
Next Board Meeting: The next regular meeting for the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood No. 1 is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 7:00 p.m. at Hahaione Elementary School cafeteria.
HAWAII KAI CEMETERY CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES TO DRAW RED FLAGS FROM RESIDENTS
The construction of a cemetery in Hawaii Kai, located in Kamilonui Valley has been in the works for more than a decade, but never seems to get started. Along the way residents have raised questions about the project and the materials being dumped there.. . .The city says they will be sending an inspector out to the property each week and if the stockpile material does not meet approval they will be issuing a notice of violation. The city also say no new stockpile permits will be issued to the property owners until a cemetery master plan is submitted for the site.
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