Apply for Civic Center display permit

Applications are being accepted from nonprofit groups interested in setting up displays on the Civic Center grounds during the annual Honolulu City Lights exhibition.

The deadline to submit applications to the Customer Services Department is Sept. 18, at 530 S. King St., Room 302B, Honolulu 96813.

A lottery is scheduled for Sept. 23 to allot five permits for display sites. The annual lottery was started several years ago in response to a request from private groups interested in erecting displays at the same time as the holiday event, the city said in a news release.

Applicants must be bona fide nonprofit organizations and submit proof of their designation with the application.

Interested groups should contact Mike Freitas in the Complaints Office at 768-4381 to request a copy of the application and the rules.

Kailua-bound lanes of Pali to close

The Kailua-bound lanes of Pali Highway will be closed between Waokanaka Street in Nuuanu and Castle Junction on the Windward side from 7 p.m. tomorrow to 7 a.m. Sunday.

The Department of Transportation said crews will be doing maintenance work on the tunnels. Emergency vehicles and city buses will be allowed through.

Closure begins of Big Isle Prison

HILO » The state has begun transferring 123 prisoners from Kulani Correctional Center on the Big Island to prisons on Oahu.

Kulani, the only prison on the Big Island, is being closed to save money.

The state Department of Public Safety's deputy director, Tommy Johnson, said Wednesday that the first 35 prisoners were moved Aug. 13, and the next group is to be moved within 30 days. He says all of the inmates will be relocated by the end of September.

According to Johnson, 28 of the 35 went to Waiawa Correctional Facility because they need of substance abuse treatment. He says the seven others were transferred to Halawa Correctional Facility because they have special medical needs.

Johnson says none of the Kulani inmates are being sent to prisons on the mainland.

Boat tours can continue at Hanalei

LIHUE » A state judge has denied a request to issue a preliminary injunction to stop Lady Ann Cruises from operating commercial boat tours out of Kauai's Hanalei Bay.

The request came from Kauai County officials who contend the company lacks a necessary special management area use permit.

An attorney representing Lady Ann, Richard Wilson, told Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe at a hearing Tuesday that his client has the permit but actually does not need it because technically the company is not operating within the area. That is disputed by the county.

Wilson said yesterday's ruling clears the way for the company to continue operating.

He said the judge held the county failed to show it could prevail on the merits of its case or that continuing operations would cause irreparable harm.