48 public schools list summer session

Interested students may take summer school at any of 48 public school campuses in Hawaii this year as well as the online eSchool.

The sessions typically run for four weeks, starting in mid-June. Tuition is $160 for the full 120-hour program and is prorated for shorter sessions. Some schools have already begun registration.

A list of summer school sites, dates and times is available online at doe.k12.hi.us.

Farrington Highway traffic will slow

Weekday traffic on Farrington Highway will be slowed beginning Tuesday while Board of Water Supply crews replace 48-year-old water pipes.

Two town-bound lanes in Nanakuli will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays for the three-week project. The deteriorating transmission main carries about 60 percent of the water used by Leeward Coast residents and businesses, according to a release.

4 finalists seek HCC chancellor's job

Four former community college administrators are finalists to become the chancellor at Honolulu Community College, the University of Hawaii announced in a news release.

The finalists are UH-Manoa Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Peter Quigley, a former chancellor at Leeward Community College; Arizona and Nevada businessman Robert Anderson Jr., former president of Colorado Northwestern Community College; businessman and consultant Larry Christiansen, a former president of Mesa Community College; and Marnie Fischer, former chief executive officer of Minnesota Community and Technical College, Worthington Campus.

All four finalists will be on campus next week for interviews and meetings with students, staff and the public.

Caltech maps Big Isle telescope's end

A Mauna Kea telescope will be taken down from its near-summit home within the next decade, ending more than 30 years of astronomical observations.

The California Institute of Technology will begin decommissioning the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in 2016, returning the site to its natural state by 2018, a Caltech news release said.

The 10-meter radio telescope will be replaced by a 25-meter telescope in the high Andes region of northern Chile.

The new observatory, called the Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope, will open before the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory shuts down.

Caltech operates the observatory under a National Science Foundation grant, partnering with other universities, including the University of Hawaii.

Built in 1986, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory is one of the easiest telescopes to use for astronomical observations.

When the Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope goes online, it will be used to study fundamental questions of the universe, including the origin of galaxies, formation of stars, and history of planetary systems.

Neighbor island watch

WAILUA » The owner of the Coco Palms resort in Wailua, Kauai, got a three-year extension to rebuild the once famous hotel, according to the Garden Island. The Kauai Planning Commission granted the extension until January, 2013, earlier this week. The hotel has been closed since it was ravaged by Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

HILO AND KONA » Gov. Lingle released $200,000 for improvements to two harbors on the Big Island. Half of the money will be used to for preparation work to remove sand from the entrance channel to Wailoa Small Boat Harbor in Hilo. The other half will be used to replace an existing cesspool with a septic system and leach field as well as other improvements to Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kona.

WAILUKU » A Maui resident donated $1.5 million to Maui Community College, the largest gift ever received by the school, according to a news release. The donor, who was not named, wanted to help the school create Web-enhanced classrooms and new learning experiences, the release said. MCC has asked Seton Hall University to help it shape a plan to best use the money.