E Ala Voyaging Academy Open House 5/31/15 – Photos

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E Ala supporters gathered at the canoe halau for an open house on 5/31/15. Attendees included: Mele Worthington, Anela Cantrell, Georgette Stevens, Kaina Holomalia, Don Ford, Keoni Ford, Karen Young, Dr. Fred Dodge, Sen. Shimabukuro, Keani Kaonohiokalanikoholua, Jaedyn Sakoda, Gregory Morales, Gregory Gushiken, Ruby Maunakea, Jennifer Mahuka, Mariah Fernando, Racquel Moniz, Amy and Thomas Zizzi, Stephanie Kawelo, Cynthia Enriquez, George Kawelo, Sage Kawelo, Malia Mahi, Samuel Kapoi, and others.

The E Ala Voyaging Academy at the Waianae Boat Harbor provides hands-on learning opportunities in canoe restoration, ancient Hawaiian navigation techniques, and other maritime subjects. For more information, call 339-6445, 479-8231, or 492-7161, or visit waianaehcc.org.

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Wai’anae Library ‘Puppet Times’ 7/18/15 at 10:30am

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Wai’anae Library ‘Saturday Storytime’ 2015: July 11, 18, 25 at 10:30am

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‘The Incredibles’ – Wai’anae Library 7/8/15 at 5:30pm

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Wai’anae Library Book Club: Ka`a`awa by Bushnell 7/15/15 at 6pm

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10 Things You Always Wanted to Ask Your Vet – Waianae Library 7/22/15 at 6pm

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Wai’anae Public Library Summer Reading Program 2015: June 1-July 18

Waianae Public Library
85-625 Farrington Hwy.
697-7868
July 2015
All programs are free of charge

SUMMER READING PROGRAM

June 1-July 18

Waianae Public Library continues the Summer Reading Program through July 18th. It is not too late to sign up. There are still 3 weeks of reading fun in July for all ages. Participants who visit the library and read at least one book per week are eligible to receive a free reading incentive, while supplies last. You can also enter your name to win a Special Weekly prize. In addition to reading, the library will feature programs for all ages.

SATURDAY STORYTIME

Saturdays at 10:30 am

Stories, songs, games, simple arts and crafts. Recommended for ages 0-5, and their caregivers.

July 11 at 10:30 – Under the Sea

July 18 at 10:30 – Puppet Times with Christy Lipps

July 25 at 10:30 – Ready for School

MOVIE NIGHT: The Incredibles

Wednesday, July 8 at 5:30 pm

“Every hero has a story” continues with a showing of Pixar’s The Incredibles. Join us for the movie and enjoy light snacks while supplies last.

BOOK CLUB: Ka’a’awa: a novel about Hawaii in the 1850s by O.A. Bushnell Wednesday, July 15 at 6:00 pm

PUPPET TIMES with Christy Lipps

Saturday, July 18 at 10:30 am

Help us wrap up the Summer Reading Program with this extra special storytime. Professional puppeteer Christy Lipps will present favorite children’s stories in a lively puppet show with beautifully handcrafted puppets, fingerplays, and songs in this program recommended for families with children ages 3 and up.

Ten Things You Always Wanted to Ask Your Vet
Wednesday, July 22 at 6:00 pm

Dr. Anya Yushchenko will present a program on natural pet health care, disease prevention, home-made nutrition, and parasite control followed by a Q&A session.     Dr. Yushchenko, holistic veterinarian and PhD of veterinary medicine has more than ten years of experience, including holistic pet care, customized nutrition, and disease prevention.

Digital Magazines available on Zinio: With your HSPLS library card, you can checkout and download full digital copies of your favorite magazines on a computer, tablet, or mobile device using the free Zinio Reader app.   Log on the the HSPLS website (www.librarieshawaii.org) and create an account (it’s free with your library card), browse the collection and checkout a magazine. Then install the Zinio Reader App on your device and viola you can read current, full digital copies of magazines. Stop by the Waianae Public Library for a brochure or to get personalized help.

UPDATE: Farrington Highway Intersection Improvements – Night Work

From: Ed Sniffen/DOT Highways Division:

The flyer below  was sent to the community previously to inform of the night work schedule for the project that was set to begin yesterday (Sunday) evening, June 21.

Due to the Father’s Day Regatta, this past weekend, the contractor did not perform the closures on Sunday evening. Instead, they will start closures on Monday (this evening, June 22).

Although DOT had disseminated information to the area residents and posted information on their websites, the contractor will be reaching out to the area residents living near Farrington Highway, especially between Nanakuli Ave and Helelua Road to remind them of the upcoming activities.

DOT will be pushing the start time of the closures back to 8:00 pm nightly to reduce the traffic impacts on the area residents.

A minimum of 1 travel lane will be open in each direction at all times during the closure.

Special duty police officers and/ or flaggers will also be in place at affected intersections and throughout the lane closure to maintain traffic flow and safety.

The Contractor will be utilizing the closure to refresh the striping, including re-black out the white stop bars at the intersections of Nanakuli Avenue, Haleakala Avenue, Helelua Street, and the cross walk in front of the Ka Waihona o ka Na auao Charter School, and to repaint the edge stripe in the Honolulu bound direction between Helelua Street and Haleakala Avenue.

HART Traffic Advisory – Week Ending June 27

Dear Senator Shimabukuro,

Please find attached the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s traffic advisory regarding lane closures as related to the rail project, to occur next week in the East Kapolei/Ewa and H-1 Freeway Waiawa Interchange areas.

Thank you,
Joyce Oliveira
Director of Government Relations
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation

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Update: Army completes investigation of April 6 UXO accident

From: Bugala, Amy L CIV USARMY USAG (US)

Aloha Senator Shimabukuro,

We wanted to provide you with an update on the April UXO incident at Makua Military Reservation.

———————————————————

Officials with U.S. Army Hawaii, the United States Army Technical Center for Explosives Safety and the Army Combat Readiness Center have completed the accident investigation surrounding the April 6, 2015, injury of two contractors at the Makua Military Reservation (MMR).

Two vegetation maintenance contractors with NuGate Group, LLC, were injured when an unexploded round from an anti-tank weapon exploded in the area where the two contractors were working.

The workers were conducting routine grass cutting nearly a mile inside the south side of the valley at Makua as part of the Army’s environmental requirements when one contractor unknowingly contacted the round.

Investigators determined the round to be a 66mm High Explosive Anti-Tank

(HEAT) fired from a M72 Series Light Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW). The LAW was developed in the 1960s and was fired on the range until the 1980s.

Investigators could not determine when the round had been fired at MMR or by what unit or organization.

“The safety and well-being of our Soldiers, Army civilians, contractors and public visitors to our ranges and facilities is one of our highest training priorities,” said Maj. Gen. Charles Flynn, commander, U.S. Army Hawaii.

“With the investigation complete, we will redouble our hazard awareness and safety procedures to prevent tragic incidents like this from occurring again.”

Regular vegetation maintenance is required to protect natural resources in the valley and prevent wildfires, while supporting military training.

Vegetation maintenance occurs at MMR on a continual basis.

When the incident occurred, Army personnel at MMR provided life-saving measures to the injured contractors until emergency responders from the Honolulu Fire Department arrived on scene. An Army-contracted medical evacuation helicopter transported the injured to Queens Medical Center.

NuGate Group, LLC, has held the vegetation maintenance contract since July 1, 2013. Per the contract, workers are required to attend a high explosive and fire prevention safety briefing, which includes training on safety and accident reporting.

The Army will continue to respect the privacy of the contractors involved in the incident. Questions regarding them or their medical status are being directed to their employer, NuGate Group, LLC.

MMR has been closed to all Army training and public access since the incident occurred. Training and cultural access activities will resume at MMR after mitigation measures are implemented addressing the investigation report’s findings and recommendations.  MMR is anticipated to reopen within 60-90 days.

For questions contact U.S. Army Hawaii / U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii, Public Affairs Officer, Dennis Drake, at 656-3154 or dennis.c.drake.civ@mail.mil.

________________________________________

U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii and U.S. Army Hawaii Public Affairs Office
usaghi.comrel@gmail.com

HDOT West Oahu Lane Closures: Week Ending June 26

From: <Patricia.B.Wong@hawaii.gov>

Aloha,
For your planning purposes, listed below are weekly roadwork updates for HDOT projects that may affect traffic to and from the West Oahu region.  The list includes lane closures over the weekend and the upcoming week.

For up-to-date information, please visit our HDOT roadwork website.

To view current traffic conditions and images from over 200 traffic cameras around Oahu, please visit our GoAkamai traveler information website or download the GoAkamai mobile app available for iOS and Android devices.  In addition, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter (DOTHawaii).

Roadwork is weather-dependent, subject to change and items may be added without further notice.  If you have any questions about these lane closures, please call the HDOT Public Affairs Office at 587-2160.  Thank you for your interest in West Oahu traffic and mahalo!

— H-1 FREEWAY —

1) AIEA (NIGHT WORK)
Two lanes closed on the H-1 Freeway in the eastbound direction at the Kaamilo Street Overpass on Monday night, June 22, through Friday morning, June 26, from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., nightly, for the rail project.

For more information, please visit the project website for The Rail at http://www.honolulutransit.org/.

2) PEARL CITY (NIGHT WORK)
Lane closures on the H-1 Freeway in the eastbound direction at the Aiea Pedestrian Overpass between the Kaamilo Street Overpass and the Aiea/Kaneohe/Honolulu Off-Ramp (Exit 13A) on Monday, June 22, through Friday morning, June 26, from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., nightly.
 
·        Three lanes will be closed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
·        Four lanes will be closed from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Construction will replace approximately 10,000 square feet of deteriorated pavement on the H-1 Freeway in the eastbound direction. The concrete deck will be replaced by approximately 84 precast panels.  

3) PEARL CITY TO WAIPAHU
One right lane closed on the H-1 Freeway in the westbound direction between the Pearl City/Waimalu Off-Ramp (Exit 10) and the H-1/H-2 Split on Monday, June 22, through Friday, June 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for deck widening.

For more information, visit the project website at www.pmcontraflow.com or call the project hotline at (808) 945-1144.

4) PEARL CITY (WEEKEND/NIGHT WORK)
Up to three lanes closed on the H-1 Freeway in both directions between the Kamehameha Highway Overpass and the Waiawa Road Overpass for the rail project.

·        Lanes closed on Sunday night, June 21, through Friday morning, June 26, from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The number of lanes closed will vary depending on the location of the roadwork.

For more information, please visit the project website for The Rail at http://www.honolulutransit.org/.

5) WAIPAHU
Shoulder closure on the H-1 Freeway in the westbound direction between the Waikele/Waipahu On-Ramp (Exit 7) and the Kunia/Waipahu/Ewa Off-Ramp (Exit 5) on Monday, June 22, through Thursday, June 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for utility installations.

— FARRINGTON HIGHWAY —

1) NANAKULI (NIGHT WORK)
Roving lane closures on Farrington Highway in both directions between Helelua Street and Nanakuli Avenue on Monday night, June 22, through Friday morning, June 26, from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., nightly, for utility installations and road striping work.

2) WAIANAE
Lane closure on Farrington Highway in the northbound direction between Ala Poko Street and Bayview Street on Friday, June 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for manhole repairs.

5) WAIPAHU (WEEKEND WORK)
Honolulu Rail Transit will be working on Farrington Highway this week at various locations. Please visit The Rail’s project website for more details at http://www.honolulutransit.org/.

— KAMEHAMEHA HIGHWAY —

1) PEARL CITY TO AIEA (WEEKEND/NIGHT WORK)
Honolulu Rail Transit will be working on Kamehameha Highway this week at various locations.

·        24/7 lane closures in both directions between Waiawa Road and Acacia Road.
·        24/7 lane closures in both directions between Acacia Road and Waimano Home Road.
·        24/7 lane closures in both directions between Lipoa Place and Pali Momi Street.
·        Lane closures in the westbound direction between Pali Momi Street and Honomanu Street, Monday through Friday.
·        Lane closures in both directions between Puu Poni Street and Kaonohi Street, Monday through Friday.
·        Lane closures in both directions between Salt Lake Boulevard and Honomanu Street, Monday through Friday.

Please visit The Rail’s project website for more details at http://www.honolulutransit.org/.

2) PEARL CITY
Two lanes closed on Kamehameha Highway in the westbound direction between Kuleana Road and Puu Poni Street on Monday, June 22, through Friday, June 26, from 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., daily, for bridge deck widening of the H-1 Freeway.

For more information, please visit the project website at www.pmcontraflow.com or call the project hotline at (808) 945-1144.

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