Whale council seeks applicants

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking volunteers to fill seats on its advisory council, which represents a broad range of the public interest.

The council is accepting applications for primary and alternate seats that represent business/commerce, citizen-at-large, commercial shipping, conservation, ocean recreation, tourism and whale watching. It also needs applicants for alternate seats to represent fishing and native Hawaiian interests.

Candidates are chosen based on their expertise and experience, community and professional affiliation, and their views on protection and management of marine resources.

Applications are due by Nov. 15. For information or an application, contact council coordinator Christine Brammer via e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); by phone at 397-2651, ext. 252; or visit the sanctuary Web site at hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov. The sanctuary is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Forum to discuss Con Con

A forum on the “;Implications of a Constitutional Convention”; will be held next Wednesday at Niu Valley Middle School, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Voters will decide on Nov. 4 whether to hold a Constitutional Convention, where delegates could propose revisions or amendments to the state Constitution.

The panelists at the forum are former state Reps. David Hagino and Annelle Amaral, JoAnn Maruoka of the League of Women Voters, and attorney Lehua Kinilau. The event is hosted by Rep. Lyla Berg (D, Hahaione Valley-Aina Haina).

Orionid shower hits peak Oct. 21

Meteor watchers can look for the annual Orionid shower to peak after midnight Oct. 21.

“;It should be a decent show, but it's hard to tell,”; said Mike Shanahan, Bishop Museum education, exhibit and planetarium director.

“;Sometimes it's incredible and sometimes it's nothing.”; Hopefully, the activity will be as good as in 2006, when there were three times as many meteors as normal, he said.

The streaks radiate from the constellation Orionid, which isn't up until 11:45 p.m., he said, so they should be high in the sky after midnight.

Binoculars and telescopes aren't needed for meteor watching, but Shanahan advises watchers to “;make sure you are comfortable (with a lawn chair for example) and scan the skies for streaks of light.”;

The Orionid shower occurs every October as the earth passes through debris from Halley's Comet. The comet won't return until 2061.

Ocean-related bills head to Bush

Two ocean-related bills by U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye await the president's signature, Inouye's office announced last week.

One bill would reauthorize the University of Hawaii's National Sea Grant Program through 2014. The program conducts research on aquaculture, marine biotechnology and coastal protection.

The other bill would make amendments to the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act, which would help ongoing work to update nautical charts for areas around Hawaii. Both bills passed in the House last Monday, and have been sent to the White House for approval.

$3.4M to boost airport facilities

The Honolulu Airport is expected to receive more than $3.4 million for improvements to its access control and video systems and other infrastructure projects.

Of that amount, $2.2 million will go toward improving the access control system used to restrict access to sterile and secured areas at the airport. According to Gov. Linda Lingle's office, the current system was installed in the early 1990s. The money would also go toward expanding video monitoring. The existing analog system will be replaced with digital systems.

Also, $1.2 million will go toward installing more steel support beams at the second-level Diamond Head and Ewa bus turnaround areas to increase their load capacity.