Honolulu is 11th for 'liveability'

Honolulu ranks as the world's 11th “;most liveable city”; and is the only U.S. city to appear in the top 25, according to a survey from Monocle Magazine featured in the Financial Times newspaper.

The magazine's global liveability survey ranks quality of life by looking at salaries, school performance and health care costs along with soft qualities such as technological connectivity, tolerance, strength of local media and culture, and late-night eating and entertainment.

This year the survey also measured the independence of the cities' stores and restaurants, the ease of starting a business, and planned infrastructure improvements.

The top three cities in descending order were Zurich, Switzerland; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Tokyo. Honolulu placed after Berlin and before Madrid, Spain. Monocle's liveability rankings are available in the July/August issue.

UH regents approve new chancellors

It's official.

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents earlier this month approved the appointments of chancellors to lead Honolulu and Windward community colleges.

Michael Rota, the interim chancellor at Honolulu Community College, will become the chancellor on July 1 under a two-year contract. He will make $177,600 a year.

Douglas Dykstra, currently vice chancellor for academic affairs at Hawaii Community College, will become chancellor at Windward on July 1 under a two-year appointment. He will make $145,008 annually.

Event to honor Filipino-American vets

Filipino-American veterans will be honored at a fundraising dinner July 2 for the Hawaii Foodbank.

Guest speakers will be U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who authored the Army report on abuse of detainees held at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The dinner will begin at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom.

The event will honor soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, Philippine Scouts, and other Filipino-American veterans who fought in World War II.

Taguba's father was a member of 45th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division (Philippine Scouts), who fought in the Battle of Bataan and later survived the Bataan Death March. Taguba's son, Sean, is an Army lieutenant currently deployed in Iraq.

Individual seats are $250 per person. For reservations, contact Hawaii Foodbank Special Events Coordinator Tiffany Hilton at 836-3600, ext. 244; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); or visit www.hawaiifoodbank.org.

Panel pursues nominees for Water Commission

A committee is seeking nominations for a position on the seven-member Commission on Water Resource Management.

The candidate must have “;substantial experience in the area of water resource management,”; according to a news release.

The position is unpaid, except for reimbursements for job-related expenses.

The Water Commission has jurisdiction and final authority on matters relating to implementation and administration of the State Water Code.

Nominations and resumes must be sent by June 30 to the Nominating Committee, Commission on Water Resource Management, P.O. Box 621, Honolulu, HI 96809.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

UH-Hilo tries to increase its recycling

The University of Hawaii at Hilo will implement a “;mixed recycling program”; that will emulate the County of Hawaii's new guidelines.

“;This was a very important initiative for the committee as well as our student government and it's not hard to see why given the substantial amount of waste it will divert from the landfill,”; said Debra Fitzsimons, vice chancellor of administrative affairs, in a prepared statement. “;We're talking about 132,000 cubic yards over the course of a year, which would be enough to fill the entire Student Services Building to the brim.”;

Compared to its current “;sorted recycling program,”; the UH-Hilo Sustainability Committee estimates that the change will cut nearly twice as much waste from the county landfill each week.

For more information, contact Kolin Kettleson at 974-7750 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).