News, notes and anecdotes
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Whalen due back today
after an excused absenceSen. Paul Whalen (R, Milolii-Waimea) is expected back at the Legislature today after missing the first three days of the 2004 session.
Whalen, a former three-term House member, was attending an American Legislative Exchange Council conference on public health in Denver.
The health care meeting was scheduled for Friday and Saturday, and Whalen asked permission to attend the meeting, according to a spokeswoman for Senate President Robert Bunda. The 2004 Legislature opened Wednesday.
Whalen also attended a meeting of ALEC, a legislative think tank, this summer, according to Bunda's office.
Registration and hotel costs were paid for by ALEC, and Whalen's air fare was a combination of an ALEC scholarship and his daily legislative per diem, according to notes filed by Whalen with Bunda's office.
Whalen's three-day absence last week was marked as excused by the Senate president. Sen. GOP leader Sen. Fred Hemmings acknowledged that it is unusual for a lawmaker to miss the opening day of the Legislature, "but it is not unheard of."
Midway airfield funded
The U.S. Department of Transpiration is releasing $3.2 million to maintain Midway Atoll's Sand Island airfield as an emergency runway, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said last week."The emergency landing earlier this month, which ensured the safety of the nearly 300 people on board, dramatically underscores the importance of this runway," Inouye said.
A Continental Airlines Boeing 777 with 294 passengers made an emergency landing on the Midway airstrip Jan. 6 after the aircraft began losing oil pressure, an airline spokeswoman said. The aircraft was on a scheduled nonstop flight from Japan to Houston.
Candidate papers ready
Candidate nomination papers for the 2004 elections are now available.On Oahu, papers for state and federal offices are available at the Office of Elections, 802 Lehua Ave. in Pearl City, Monday through Friday between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. For City and County of Honolulu offices, nomination papers can be picked up at the Office of the City Clerk at Honolulu Hale.
On the neighbor islands, nomination papers for county, state and federal offices can be obtained at the county clerks' offices.
The deadline to file nomination papers for the Sept. 18 primary elections and other special elections held on that date is 4:30 p.m. July 20. The papers must be filed at the office from which they were obtained.
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