Taiwan leader to meet Lingle on Hawaii stop

President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan will meet with Gov. Linda Lingle next week while in Hawaii on his way home from Central America, government officials said.

The 169-person delegation will leave Taiwan today, stop in San Francisco and head for Central America, where Ma will attend the inauguration Wednesday of Panamanian President-elect Ricardo Martinelli.

The trip will also take Ma to Nicaragua and Honduras, a release said. Plans to visit Honduras are in place despite yesterday's coup, Radio Taiwan quoted the presidential office as saying.

Ties between Taipei and Washington have improved since Ma took office in May 2008, and the U.S. government has not limited any activities, a release said.

UH graduate takes Miss Hawaii title

Raeceen Anuenue Woolford, a graduate of Iolani School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, was crowned Miss Hawaii 2009 Saturday night in ceremonies at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Woolford, 24, was Miss Ko Olina and is working toward her master's degree in public health and aspires to become a doctor. At UH-Manoa, she majored in health studies and played volleyball.

She will represent Hawaii in the Miss America pageant in January in Las Vegas.

Isle boats sail today in Transpac race

Two Hawaii boats are among 11 that will set sail today from Los Angeles in the start of the biennial Transpac race, this year certain to be dominated by huge high-tech “;supermaxi”; yachts.

Today's starters include Reed Bernhard's Bloodhound, a Hobie 33, and Lindsay Austin's 35-foot Addiction. The other isle-based boats are Gib Black's ROY's Chasch Mer, a Santa Cruz 50, and Maury Myers' Hula, a Santa Cruz 52, both of which start Thursday, and Philippe Kahn's Pegasus 50, which starts Sunday.

Among the faster boats starting Sunday will be Alfa Romeo, a 100-foot supermaxi that aims to beat the monohull record of six days, 19 hours and four minutes set by Morning Glory in 2005. Alfa Romeo and Pegasus 50 will compete in a new “;unlimited”; class this year that covers boats with power-assisted winches, ballast and keels.

In the race again this year is Roy Disney's souped-up Pyewacket, which crossed the finish line first in 2007 but failed to set a record.

Karamatsu may seek Aiona's post

State Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu (D-Waipahu, Village Park, Waikele) has authorized his campaign team to form an exploratory committee for the office of lieutenant governor for the 2010 election.

From a private e-mail account, he said he is “;excited to explore the possibility of serving this great state from its second highest office.”;

Karamatsu, in his fourth House term, serves as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

In October 2007 Karamatsu was vice speaker, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the House, when he was charged with drunken driving. Police said his blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

He stepped down from the leadership post and pleaded no contest to the charge.

Karamatsu was sentenced to 72 hours of community service and fined $750.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Haleakala quake shakes Valley Isle

There were no reports of injuries or damage after a 3.4 magnitude earthquake that hit near the southern flank of Haleakala last night, officials said.

The quake occurred at 8:39 p.m. about 3 miles from the summit and 15 miles west-southwest of Hana at a depth of 2.2 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Maui police received no reports of injuries or damages.

“;People are calling us and telling us, 'I felt a pretty good jolt,'”; said Stuart Weinstein, assistant director at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. “;It was a fairly small earthquake. It was probably widely felt over Maui island.”;

Big quakes are relatively rare on Maui. On Jan. 22, 1938, a magnitude 6.8 or 6.9 quake struck the central part of the Hawaiian island chain. The submarine earthquake, about 12 miles northeast of Keanae Point, East Maui, was felt widely on other islands, with pipes broken on Molokai and bottles thrown from shelves on Lanai.