CHOPPING BLOCK

Library patrons lobby against closures

Public library patrons are gathering petitions, writing lawmakers and e-mailing the Board of Education to try to avert the closure of five branches due to budget cuts.

Friends of the Ewa Beach Library are particularly active, using a Facebook page to urge people to attend tonight's BOE meeting in an effort to save the library. It's the closest one to Campbell High School, which lacks a library of its own, and has after-school hours five days a week.

The other public libraries on the chopping block are Holualoa, Pahala and Kealakekua on the Big Island and Hana Public and School Library on Maui. The BOE's agenda tonight calls for a vote on the closures.

GROWING, GROWING ...

Gone to the farm fair

Moooooooove on down to this weekend's Hawaii State Farm Fair at Bishop Museum, where two sisters who operate Oahu's only dairy — Naked Cow Dairy — will be among the many local vendors. Go, get out and support hard-working farm folks at the Ag-Tastic Expo and farmers' market.

CREME DE LA CREME

Culinary collegians conquer cooking competition

Quick, someone, get Tom Colicchio and Padma and their “;Top Chef”; crew on the phone, see if they're interested in doing a college challenge.

If so, Hawaii would be proud to field its nationally grand-prize-winning team of Kapiolani Community College chefs to whoop some, er, eggs.

The student chefs won the cooking competition, sponsored by the American Culinary Federation, on Monday night in Orlando, Fla. Team Hawaii, mentored by KCC chef instructors Frank Leake and Alan Tsuchiyama, includes Anna Hirano, Keaka Lee, Tate Nakano-Edwards, team captain San Shoppell, Rena Suzuki and Ken Yi.

The team returns today. Way to bring home the bacon, team.