Local news

Gov. Linda Lingle suggested yesterday that the problem of Furlough Fridays in the state's public schools is a result of having an elected Board of Education.

Republican Gov. Linda Lingle went on the attack yesterday, charging that the Democratic-controlled state Legislature is not being truthful in dealing with the state budget deficits.

A 39-year-old California man was fatally injured yesterday morning in a one-car crash in the H-3 tunnel that may have involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A 31-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier will face a general court-martial, probably this summer, for allegedly killing a civilian contractor after a daylong standoff at a military base in Iraq last year.

A Schofield Barracks soldier has been awarded the Silver Star medal for saving the lives of five Iraqi policemen and other American soldiers during a 48-hour firefight in Iraq three years ago.

An endorsement of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann's gubernatorial campaign by the Hawaii union representing longshoremen has caused its former president to quit two union-affiliated boards in protest.

Some fishermen say proposed state rules to impose limits for recreational bottom-fishing are unnecessary and lack scientific studies. "They're trying to impose things on us without any scientific proof," said Basil Oshiro, president of the Maui Cooperative Fishing Association. "As far as I know, there's an unlimited stock."

Navy Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk, chief of staff and deputy for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, has been nominated for a third star and appointed as commander of the 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan.

A 35-year-old Hilo man is facing trial for sex assault.

HILO -- Don't look at the measure as a reduction of the county's 2 percent land fund; look at it as a safety net prohibiting the County Council from dropping the fund below 1 percent.

The Hawaii County Council's Finance Committee will consider a proposal to purchase three lots along Alii Drive through the county's 2 percent Land Fund.

The state Department of Transportation awarded Goodfellow Bros. Inc. the contract for the second phase of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway project.

A brush fire fueled by strong winds and dry conditions in South Kohala consumed more than 630 acres Friday and remained out of control as of press time.

Lanes on highway to be closed Lane closures are planned on Queen Kaahumanu Highway from Lako to Henry streets Monday through Friday, according to the state Department of Transportation.

State representatives approved a draft budget that includes $204 million in capital improvement projects for the Big Island during fiscal year 2010-11.

Lono Tyson, one of Mayor Billy Kenoi's first appointees in 2008, is resigning from his Environmental Management director post.

Two Keauhou residents convinced a majority of Board of Appeals' members that a neighbor's building plans required a Special Management Area permit and that the county's planning director erred in granting final plan approval for a proposed project.

Hawaii: They showed up by the hundreds — young, old, military and civilian. And they all had one thing on their minds: jobs. The occasion was the Marine Corps Base Hawaii Job Fair yesterday afternoon, offering opportunity at more than three dozen booths.