Regent nominees sought for UH

The committee that screens candidates for the University of Hawaii Board of Regents is calling for nominations for three vacancies next year.

The Regents Candidate Advisory Council is asking for nominations for a Honolulu, Maui and student regent.

The terms of regents Chuck Gee, Jim Haynes and Grant Teichman expire on July 1.

The advisory council will recruit and interview candidates and recommend to the governor up to four names for each position. The governor must nominate someone from the list provided by the council and the nominee must also be confirmed by the state Senate.

Application materials and other information is available at http://www.hawaii.edu/rcac. Materials may also be requested by calling 692-1218 or by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Applications will be accepted through Nov. 2.

E-W Center gets $1.4M disease grant

The East-West Center has received nearly $1.4 million from the National Science Foundation for three years to investigate emerging infectious diseases.

The researchers will examine interaction of urbanization, agricultural and habitat change with outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry in Vietnam.

“;Studying the role of societal development in disease transmission is urgent and critical for improving the prediction and control of disease,”; said Jefferson Fox, East-West Center senior fellow and member of the team heading the project.

Three waves of avian influenza in Vietnam between December 2003 and August 2005 resulted in 45 million bird deaths, 106 confirmed human cases and 52 deaths.

Specialists from the East-West Center, the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hanoi University of Agriculture in Vietnam will participate in the study, along with graduate students.

$11.5M for 'affordable' housing

More than $11 million in federal money is being made available to local organizations and nonprofit agencies for affordable housing projects, Mayor Mufi Hannemann's office announced.

Applications are being accepted for $8 million in Community Development Block Grants and $3.5 million in HOME Investment Partnership funds, the Mayor's Office said.

Both programs are funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Community Development Block Grants are available for projects that primarily benefit low- and moderate-income individuals.

The HOME project funds community housing development organizations and nonprofit groups to develop affordable rental housing projects and support home ownership affordability. Community housing development organizations seeking to develop multifamily rental housing are given top priority, the city said.

The request for proposals is available at the Division of Purchasing, Honolulu Hale, 530 South King Street, Room 115, or online at http://www.honolulu.gov/pur. The deadline for applications is 4 p.m., Oct. 2.

An informational meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 15 at Mission Memorial Auditorium on the Fasi Civic Center grounds.

Molokai men earn Hawaiian Health Award

Two Molokai men have received the 2009 Hawaiian Health Award from Papa Ola Lokahi for significant contributions to improving the health status of native Hawaiians.

They are William Akutagawa Jr., a social worker and community organizer, and Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli, physician and community activist.

Akutagawa, executive director of Na Pu'uwai, the native Hawaiian health care system for Molokai and Lanai, was recognized for community leadership and improving health conditions on Molokai.

He and others began working to improve Molokai's health conditions in 1995, and he co-founded Na Pu'uwai with Aluli.

Aluli, a member of the first graduating class of the University of Hawaii's medical school in 1975, is “;a model and mentor”; to Hawaiians pursuing a medical career and to those serving rural communities, Papa Ola Lokahi said.

He co-founded “;Ahahui o na Kauka, the Association of Native Hawaiian Physicians, now with nearly 300 physicians of Hawaiian ancestry around the world.