Vehicle blamed in car crash

Mechanical failure was the cause of a car crashing into a utility pole in St. Louis Heights and causing a power outage shortly before noon yesterday, police said.

The car was unable to stop and struck a utility pole, causing it to break in two and knocking down lines, police said.

No one was injured in the crash.

The outage affected 1,200 customers initially, a Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman said. Most of those customers had their power restored by 4 p.m. But HECO crews were working to replace the pole and were expected to restore power late last night to the remaining 120 customers.

Varroa mites turn up on Big Isle

State agriculture workers found varroa mites in two bait stations near the Hilo Airport Post Office.

At one bait station, 155 bees were collected with one mite detected. Five mites were detected in the other station from a collection of 335 bees.

Since the first detection of varroa mites, which feed on honeybees, on the Big Island in August, Department of Agriculture personnel have found 52 mites from a total of about 300,000 bees collected.

All of the detections have been within about a one-mile radius. Hilo residents are asked to report wild beehives and bee swarms to the state's toll-free Pest Hotline at 643-PEST (7378).

More information on varroa mites, including previous news releases, is available on the department's Web page at: http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/pi/ppc/varroa-bee-mite-page.

Seminar to tackle rising seas

WAILUKU » Rising sea levels and coastal erosion will be among the subjects discussed at a public seminar Friday on Maui.

The seminar is scheduled to be held between 2 and 5 p.m. at the Pilina Building at Maui Community College in Kahului.

Speaking about “;Sea-level rise in the 21st Century”; will be Charles “;Chip”; Fletcher, chairman of the University of Hawaii's Department of Geology and Geophysics.

Zoe Norcross-Nu'u, an extension faculty member of the university's Sea Grant College program, will be talking about Maui's beach management plan.

State conservation administrator Sam Lemmo is scheduled to speak about future beach conservation efforts.

Other guest speakers associated with the Sea Grant program include Dennis Hwang and Dolan Eversole.

For more information, contact Cindy Knapman, (808) 956-7410.

Capitol hosts emissions hearing

A public hearing on greenhouse gas emission levels that will be used to determine reduction levels the state must meet by 2020 will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at the state Capitol auditorium.

Residents and businesses are invited to attend and comment. Information will be presented and questions answered informally from 5 to 6 p.m.

A state law (Act 234) passed last year to combat global warming calls for Hawaii's greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by year 2020 to the levels in 1990. The state Department of Health and Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism is administering the law.

It is expected to impact the amount of electricity and gasoline used by isle residents and visitors since most greenhouse gases in Hawaii are caused by burning fossil fuels for electric power generation and transportation.

The 1990 baseline level of greenhouse gas emissions in Hawaii was updated by a state contractor for comparison with future emission amounts.

For more information, call 587-2676 or see http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/energy.

Free divorce seminar offered

A free seminar on Hawaii divorce laws will be held tomorrow.

The seminar begins at 1 p.m. and will be at the Supreme Court courtroom on the second floor of Aliiolani Hale on 417 S. King St.

Attorney William Darrah will provide an overview of divorce law, including custody and visitation, division of property and debt, child support and alimony. He has practiced divorce law in Hawaii for more than 30 years. For more information, call 539-4448.