Hirono raises $200,000
for 2002 campaign

Officials with Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono's campaign for governor say Hirono raised at least $200,000 at a fund-raiser Friday at the Dole Cannery Ballroom.

Campaign coordinator Allicyn Hikida Tasaka said Hirono's event drew more than 3,000 supporters. It also attracted the attention of several lawmakers, including Sen. Ron Menor and Reps. Nestor Garcia, Sylvia Luke and Willie Espero.

Hirono, who is running for governor, did not make an official announcement at the Friday event, but instead talked about her leadership capabilities and desire to bring people together, and asked for support. She has further campaign rallies scheduled in August.

Judges of character: After spending 30 years with the state Judiciary, outgoing Deputy Courts Administrator Clyde Namuo knew exactly whom to call upon as character references for his new job as administrator of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Four state judges, including two who served on the Hawaii Supreme Court, told OHA trustees last week there could be no better person than Namuo for the job.

Retired Hawaii Chief Justice Herman Lum, in written testimony, said he is confident Namuo would measure up to OHA's mandate and expectations. Retired Associate Justice Robert Klein, who represented OHA in the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on the appeal of Rice vs. Cayetano, wrote that Namuo has the ability and manner to "to bring together varied viewpoints to reach a common goal."

Circuit Judge Marcia Waldorf added that Namuo has a flair for both attention to detail and "the big picture." Retired State Appellate Judge Walter Heen echoed their sentiments.

When asked his response to such high praise, Namuo pointed to his long career at the Judiciary, which began when he was just 18 years old.

"I worked hard," he said.

Expend to expand: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park would expand by another 115,000 acres if U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye gets his way.

Inouye has secured $7 million in funding in the Senate to allow the National Park Service to buy 115,000 acres of Kahuku Ranch on the Big Island to expand Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The ranch land -- which has elevations between 2,000 feet and 13,000 feet -- encompasses a wide range of native ecosystems, such as forests and shrub lands, an alpine desert, lava flows and tube systems, and a watershed.

The Park Service has been interested in the ranch land for decades, Inouye said.

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