Newswatch
POSTED: Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Big Island resident hits it big
Joyce Nakasone of Kealakekua, Big Island, is $659,594 richer after investing only $20 in the Wheel of Fortune MegaJackpot at the Eldorado Hotel Casino in Reno, Nev.
She was playing the quarter machine when she hit the jackpot Sunday morning, a release said. Nakasone, retired at 62, only said she plans to enjoy life with her small fortune.
Her side trip to Reno was made on the spur of the moment while visiting the San Francisco area with her husband and a group of friends.
Absentee voting booths open
Voters across the state can avoid the rush on Election Day, Nov. 4, by voting absentee, starting today.
The city has set up five walk-in absentee voting sites across the island.
Voters can go to City Hall; University of Hawaii-Manoa Campus Center, Room 306; Aiea Shopping Center, Suite 2456, middle level; Kapolei Hale, 1000 Uluohia St.; or Windward Mall, across from Farrell's.
Voting times are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at all locations Monday to Saturday.
Hawaii to be honored by NASA
NASA will honor Hawaii by inviting the state's congressional delegation to watch the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on its 15-day mission to the International Space Station next month.
Hawaii is one of three states NASA will honor during the launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:55 p.m. (Eastern time) Nov. 14. State flags from Hawaii, Michigan and Indiana will be flown during the event.
Astronauts on the STS-126 mission will conduct repair work on the International Space Station as well as prepare the site to house six crew members for long missions. NASA plans to honor all 50 states before the shuttle retires in 2010.
Fall game-bird season nearing
Hawaii's fall game-bird hunting season will run from Nov. 1 through Jan. 19, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Game bird stamps and fees are waived under a Dec. 31 appellate court ruling, and only a hunting license is needed for all game bird hunting on public and private lands.
More information is available on the Division of Forestry and Wildlife Web site at http://www.dofaw.net.
Vignettes celebrate statehood
In celebration of Hawaii's 50th statehood anniversary, the ninth in a series of “;50 Voices of Statehood”; vignettes will run this week on local television and radio stations.
Featured in this vignette will be former newsboy Chester Kahapea, who was photographed while selling the Star-Bulletin's statehood edition on March 13, 1959. The photograph, taken by Murray Befeler of Photo Hawaii, also ran on the front pages of many national newspapers, including The New York Times.
The vignettes, recorded by Searider Productions of Waianae High School, feature interviews with 50 residents of diverse ethnic, religious, political and economic backgrounds and their perspectives on statehood and Hawaii's history. Different vignettes will run for a week during the next year on six television stations and 60 radio stations statewide, a release said.
An interactive online forum is available at http://www.seariderproductions.com/50. A schedule of events planned by the 50th Anniversary of Statehood Commission can be viewed at http://www.hawaii.gov/statehood.
