Big Island to hold tsunami exercise

HILO » Hawaii County will conduct an islandwide tsunami response exercise from 8 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, Big Island Mayor Bill Kenoi announced yesterday.

Although “;table top”; exercises have been done before, this is believed to be the first one where police, public works staff and others will be assigned to the posts they would cover during an actual tsunami, Kenoi said.

Barricades will be carried to 150 to 160 roadblock locations islandwide, but no roads will be closed, said county Civil Defense official John Drummond.

Instead, motorists will get leaflets explaining what to do in a real tsunami emergency.

Girl Scout cookies are deemed safe

Girl Scout peanut butter cookies are not affected by the recent nationwide salmonella scare, Girl Scouts of the USA said in a statement reassuring customers that its cookies are safe.

It said the licensed bakers who supply the cookies do not use peanut butter from Peanut Corporation of America, the supplier recently implicated in the Food and Drug Administration's investigation of a salmonella outbreak.

Little Brownie Bakers, Hawaii's Girl Scout Cookie supplier, said on its Web site that peanut butter used in Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos cookies does not come from Peanut Corporation of America.

Girl Scouts are taking advance orders for cookies this month. Booth sales will be from March 6-29. Cookies will be delivered starting March 6. Cookies may be purchased and sent to Hawaii's troops overseas through Operation: Girl Scout Cookies.

For more information, call 675-5512 or log on to www.girlscouts-hawaii.org.

State looks at salt in restaurants

The state Department of Health is investigating whether Hawaii restaurants and food producers are using nonfood-grade salt as a seasoning.

The salt is made by Morton, which also makes table salt.

But the nonfood-grade salt is supposed to be used as a cleaning agent or to absorb grease. Sometimes hotels add it to swimming pools to extend the life of the chlorine.

The department began its probe after a routine inspection revealed a local food manufacturer was using nonfood-grade salt as an ingredient.

The agency has started contacting about 200 companies that ordered the same salt from a mainland distributor. It found some were using the salt properly, but others were not.

The agency does not believe the salt poses a health risk.

Portion of stimulus funds released

The state has released $625,080 for improvements to five public health facilities on the Big Island, Kauai and Oahu, as an addition to a $1.87 billion economic stimulus package for construction unveiled in December, the Governor's Office announced.

On the Big Island, the improvements include $248,000 for part of a remodeling project at Kohala Hospital, $202,000 for repairs to Hale Ho'ola Hamakua and $77,770 to improve air conditioning at Kona Community Hospital.

Some $66,000 will be used for plumbing repairs at Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital on Kauai, and $31,310 to replace hospital doors at Leahi Hospital on Oahu.