Last looks at Endeavour, Mir over isles this week
Hawaii residents may see the space shuttle Endeavour and the Mir space station tonight and Thursday night if clouds don't interfere."If you're lucky, you'll be able to see it," said National Weather Service lead forecaster Tim Craig.
However, a weak cold front will be in the area and it's not a static weather pattern, he said. "Anything could happen," he said, including clouds and a few showers.
The space shuttle and Mir will rise from the southwestern horizon starting at 7:22 tonight, the Bishop Museum Planetarium said.
At 7:26 p.m., the space station will be nearly over Oahu and Molokai.
A lower passage may be visible to Kauai, Maui and Big Island residents if skies are clear.
The shuttle and the space station will be undocked Thursday and, weather permitting, the shuttle will be visible at about 6:59 p.m., followed by Mir rising low from the southwestern horizon.
Kauai residents will have the best view at 7:03 p.m. with the highest passage about halfway above the northwestern horizon, the planetarium said.
It will be lower for Oahu and Big Island residents.
Telescopes and binoculars aren't needed to see the man-made objects, planetarium officials said. Moving across the sky, they will appear as bright as Venus, or brighter.
The space shuttle and space station will vanish at 7:06 p.m., just above the northern horizon. This is the last time they will be visible in Hawaii during this mission. The Endeavour will land at Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday.
Judges don't rule on popularity, Moon says
Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon launched his State of the Judiciary speech today with a strong reminder that judges must make decisions based on facts and laws -- not popular opinion.He said the public has a serious misunderstanding about the judicial process, demonstrated by threats to impeach judges and target elected judges for unpopular decisions.
Moon also said proposed federal legislation to limit the authority of the federal courts and congressional hearings on so-called judicial activism reflect such misunderstanding.
"While we judges must keep in mind that our decisions will affect the lives of the individuals who appear before us, we are obliged to set aside our emotions and concerns about our popularity and render our decisions based on the facts in evidence and the laws in effect at the time," Moon said.
He cited Brown v. Board of Education as an example of a controversial decision that abolished school segregation.
Moon said the judiciary, executive and legislative branches need to work together to maintain public confidence in the judicial system because without it "court orders and judgments would be rendered meaningless, legislative intent would be undermined, chaos would reign and our system of government would surely deteriorate."
Regarding legislation, Moon said the Judiciary was profoundly disappointed that a judicial salary bill did not become law.
He cited a Legislative Reference Bureau report that the "pay issue extends beyond the connection between compensation and judicial excellence, striking at the very heart of judicial independence."
A new $45 million oceanographic research ship for Hawaii sparks a debate
WASHINGTON -- The Navy has picked the University of Hawaii to operate a new $45 million oceanographic ship, perhaps saving UH's ocean research program from slipping into second-rate status.But the decision also has reopened a debate on politicizing the nation's oceanography research programs -- specifically on whether influential lawmakers, rather than scientists, should decide who gets the coveted research vessels.
"My own view is that, generally speaking, this congressional route is not the best way to do this," said Robert Knox, associate director of the respected Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.
"There's a somewhat different flavor to this one."
Questions about the ship arose in part because the funding was pushed through Congress by Sen. Daniel Inouye. Hawaii's influential senior senator made no secret that he wanted the new ship to replace UH's current ship, the quarter-century-old Moana Wave, which is to be retired within the next year or two.
That debate started 18 months agowhen Inouye's proposal began making waves in political and oceanographic circles.
The Navy called the proposed ship "excessively costly and potentially risky," UH's competitors complained that it was both unnecessary and unfairly earmarked for Hawaii, and budget-conscious critics dismissed it as pork-barrel spending.
But few objections surfaced in Congress, which adopted the proposal with little debate, then turned the details over to the Navy.
Medical waste going to mainland
Oahu's 10 hospitals are negotiating with two local companies to begin shipping medical waste to an Oakland, Calif., disposal facility starting next week.Castle Hospital has been burning medical wastes from other hospitals but is stopping that Feb. 1 because of community concerns.
A task force headed by Sue Slavish, Queen's Medical Center's infection control coordinator, explored options and presented recommendations to the executive committee of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii board.
Richard E. Meiers, association president and chief executive officer, said the committee evaluated all local alternatives and felt none would work "either operationally or politically."
A letter was sent to the hospitals Thursday telling them to negotiate with NCNS Environmental Inc. or Hawaii Bio-Waste Systems Inc. to crate the waste and ship it to Oakland, Meiers said.
The hospitals were split 5 to 5 in voting for one of the two local vendors, so they can choose which they want, he said.
Meiers said the hospitals are capable of safely storing waste for a period until it can be shipped.
The task force will meet again the week of Feb. 9 to search for a long-range solution, he said.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffBurglary victim catches neighbor in his home
Police this morning arrested a Mililani man for allegedly breaking into his neighbor's home.The victim told detectives his Ulukoa Street home was burglarized on several occasions, police said. At 12:30 a.m., the victim awoke to noises and reportedly found his neighbor in his bedroom.
The victim detained the suspect until police arrived.
Maui police to display hundreds of stolen items
WAILUKU -- Maui police plan to display $100,000 worth of stolen items seized in an investigation, in an effort to have victims identify and recover their belongings.The thefts went as far back as 1994.
Hundreds of items -- mostly smaller power tools, hand tools, stereos, cameras, and video cameras -- will be displayed at the Lahaina police station from 9 to 11 a.m. tomorrow.
Large industrial tools, mopeds and bicycles will displayed from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the Wailuku police station.
Police arrest woman for threatening spouse
Police yesterday arrested an Ewa Beach woman for allegedly threatening her husband with a knife.The couple, of Pohakupuna Road, got into an argument at 3:15 p.m., police said.
When the husband ordered his wife to move out of the house, she apparently slapped and bit him, police said. She then chased him with a 12-inch knife.
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