Nakamura picked to be chief judge

Craig Nakamura, a five-year veteran of the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, has been nominated by Gov. Linda Lingle to serve as chief judge.

Nakamura was confirmed as an associate justice of the appellate court, the state's second- highest court, in April 2004.

“;He is a quality individual who is fair, has a strong legal mind and is well-respected by the legal community,”; Lingle said yesterday.

The nomination is subject to confirm-ation by the state Senate. Before serving on the intermediate court, Nakamura was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1986 to 2004. He is also a former director of the Hawaii State Bar Association.

Nakamura graduated from Harvard Law School and the University of Hawaii.

If confirmed, he will replace former Chief Judge Mark Recktenwald, who was sworn in as a justice on the state Supreme Court in May.

Neighbor island schools recycle tons of phone books

More than 50 schools on the neighbor islands recycled more than 16 tons of outdated Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages directories in May as part of the “;Think Yellow, Go Green”; Recycling Contest.

HYP Media Finance LLC, official publisher of the Yellow Pages, sponsored the contest and awarded cash prizes to schools that collected the most directories per student, a release said.

The phone books were transferred to participating recyclers on each island, then transported to Island Shell LLC in Honolulu, where they are being turned into usable materials such as insulation, roofing and mulch.

The 16 tons were combined with 19 tons of directories collected earlier on Oahu, totaling 35 tons collected so far this year.

Videos explain regulations on parking for disabled

The state Disability and Communication Access Board is providing three new videos on regulations for accessible parking spaces for people with disabilities.

The videos are entitled “;How to Apply for a Hawaii Disability Parking Permit; How to Design an Accessible Parking Space; and the Rights and Responsibilities of a Hawaii Disability Parking Permit Holder.”; They can be viewed at hawaii.gov/health/dcab/home/index.htm.

Printed and electronic copies can be obtained by calling William Nakamatsu at 586-8121 (TTY) or e-mailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).