King Kekaulike auto team 14th in nation
DEARBORN, Mich - King Kekaulike High School's automotive team placed 14th out of 50 teams at the 2012 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals on Tuesday at Ford Motor Co. World Headquarters in Michigan.
Members of the team were Swayd Gomes and Robert Rivera, who recently graduated from King Kekaulike. They were coached by auto technology instructor Petar Kovacic.
The top finisher was a Kansas team. The teams competed by taking a written test as well as repairing a deliberately bugged Ford Fiesta.
In April, the King Kekaulike team won the Hawaii competition, beating out five other Hawaii high school teams at Leeward Community College on Oahu.
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West side highway work to be sped up
HONOLULU - Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced Tuesday that he has signed an emergency proclamation to expedite work on erosion-damaged portions of Honoapiilani Highway.
The proclamation was signed Friday and clears the way for the use of state funds for the repair work on a portion of the undermined highway at Launiupoko.
The Governor's Office said that wave action and heavy rains caused significant damage, and two-lanes of travel for motorists have been shifted 18 feet mauka of the eroded area.
The emergency proclamation predicts further damage from wave action, which requires the immediate repair and reconstruction of the portion of the highway and prevent its imminent collapse.
It says a closure of the highway for an extended period of time would isolate West Maui residents, visitors and businesses and would "endanger the health, safety and welfare of the people and the economy."
The highway's repair is expected to take a year.
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Two brush fires are put out on Molokai
Molokai firefighters extinguished two brush fires reported four minutes apart Monday afternoon in Kalamaula and Kaunakakai, fire officials said.
The first fire, reported at 3:40 p.m., was in the new Kalamaula subdivision off Likelike Street. Kaunakakai engine and tanker companies responded along with a Hoolehua engine company. Three acres burned, most within a gulch, before the fire was extinguished at 7 p.m.
A Pukoo engine company that had been on the way to the Kalamaula fire was redirected to another brush fire reported at 3:44 p.m. off Mohala Street in Kaunakakai, said Battalion Chief James Kino. He said the fire started in an abandoned vehicle and spread to vegetation in the immediate area, burning a 30-by-30-foot area.
The fire, which occurred in an area known to be a homeless encampment, was extinguished at 5:50 p.m., Kino said.
The cause of both fires was undetermined. No injuries or monetary loss were reported.
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Child neglect, abuse info at site
Information about techniques for preventing child abuse and neglect, as well as available services, is included at the website www.hooikaikapartnership.com.
The website also has downloadable brochures targeted for both adults and youth on how people can prevent child abuse.
The website for members of the public and service providers was developed by the Ho'oikaika Partnership, a network of agencies and individuals in Maui County with the mission of creating a seamless safety net of child abuse and neglect prevention services for children and their caregivers.
The website also includes upcoming events and links to partner agencies.
Support for the Ho'oikaika Partnership comes from the Hawaii Children's Trust Fund and the One Strong Ohana Campaign.
