58 degrees chills out Honolulu

It's time to bring out the sweatshirts and extra blankets this week.

While residents on some parts of the mainland are experiencing below-freezing temperatures, Hawaii residents are getting their own version of a chilly winter.

At Honolulu Airport yesterday, the low in the morning was 58 degrees - just one degree shy of a record low in 1963 - with a high of 76 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. It is expected to warm up slightly later this week - with the highs of each day hovering around 80 degrees but the lows in the high 60s. Today the high forecasted for Honolulu Airport is 79 degrees, but the temperature can be as low as 63 degrees.

Tomorrow the National Weather Service forecast the temperature to be a high of 79 degrees and a low of 66 degrees.

Engine problem forces plane down

A 79-year-old man injured his finger in a small plane crash yesterday near the Hilo drag strip, a Big Island news release said.

Thomas Downey of Hilo was flying his home-built experimental single-engine biplane at 2,500 feet when the engine failed at 7:10 a.m. He tried to land at the drag strip but made a hard landing outside the fence, police said. He hurt his finger in the accident but did not need to go to a hospital.

Police notified the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board about the crash.

Candidate for UH post to visit

An additional candidate to become the academic leader at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is visiting the campus next Monday and Jan. 27, the university said in a news release.

Reed W. Dasenbrock is one of four people being considered for the position of vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Three other candidates visited the campus last year. The vice chancellor search resumed last month after UH-Manoa Vice Chancellor for Research Gary Ostrander removed himself from consideration and Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw removed herself from the search committee.

Dasenbrock is currently the Cabinet secretary for New Mexico's Department of Higher Education.

A public meeting with Dasenbrock is scheduled for next Monday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Architecture Auditorium.

Information on the candidates can be found at www.hawaii.edu/executivesearch/vcacademicaffairs.

Civil-rights group hands out awards

The Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights is honoring Maya Soetoro-Ng, half sister of President-elect Barack Obama, and three others for their commitment to civil rights and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Soetoro-Ng, a schoolteacher, will be recognized Sunday for her efforts to promote multiculturalism and racial inclusion during Obama's campaign. Also being honored are:

» Bob Nash, head basketball coach at the University of Hawaii, for his consistent support of racial, ethnic and gender diversity.

» Kat Brady, chairwoman of the Honolulu County Committee on the Status of Women and coordinator of the Community Alliance on Prisons.

» The African American Lawyers Association, which advocates for justice and combats negative stereotypes of minorities.

The awards event in downtown Honolulu is sold out, and no more reservations are being taken, according to Faye Kennedy, co-chairwoman of the Friends of Civil Rights.