Danger abounds in isle waters

A 70-year-old swimmer died yesterday after he was pulled from the ocean unresponsive in Kakaako, police said.

At about 9:40 a.m. surfers retrieved the man from the water, and bystanders began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, said Bryan Cheplic, city Emergency Services Department spokesman. Paramedics took the man in critical condition to a hospital, where he died at 10:34 a.m.

Also yesterday, paramedics took an infant boy in critical condition to a hospital after a near drowning in the ocean off Sand Island Beach Park, Cheplic said.

Meanwhile, a 44-year-old opihi picker who apparently drowned Saturday off the Big Island was identified as David Kawika Magallanes.

Police said Magallanes, of Kailua-Kona, was found motionless in the water about 25 yards from shore near Kona International Airport. He was pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital at 3:30 p.m.

2 libraries closing for renovation

The Liliha and Waikiki-Kapahulu public libraries are closing temporarily this month for renovation projects, the library system said in news releases.

The Liliha library will close starting today for a week while its floors are renovated. It is tentatively scheduled to reopen on Sept. 22.

The Waikiki-Kapahulu library is scheduled to close next Monday and reopen on Sept. 25.

Book drops at both libraries will remain open.

Patrons may also visit the public library Web site, http://www.librarieshawaii.org, to browse for book titles, eBooks, digital audio books and EBSCOhost, which provides full-text materials from magazines, newspapers, journals and other publications.

Also, patrons with brief reference questions may use the “;Ask-a-Librarian”; e-reference service on the Web site.

Volcanoes park tapped for quarter

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will be featured on quarters in 2012 under the U.S. Mint's America the Beautiful Quarters Program, the mint announced.

The design will be the 14th issued under the program, which will feature 56 national parks or national sites in each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.

The quarters will be issued sequentially, five each year, in the order the parks or sites were first established.

“;The designs will help reinvigorate interest in our national parks, forests, fish and wildlife refuges, and other national sites, as well as educate the public about their importance to us and our history,”; Mint Director Ed Moy said in a news release.

The first coins will be issued next year and will feature Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon.

The process to design the Hawaii Volcanoes coin will be similar to the process used to design Hawaii's state coin.

Swift gets U.S. Pacific Command post

Rear Adm. Scott H. Swift will be assigned as director for operations at the U.S. Pacific Command, based at Camp Smith.

Swift is currently commander of Carrier Strike Group 9 at Everett, Wash.

He also commanded Carrier Air Wing 14 and was deputy commander of naval forces at U.S. Central Command, which includes the Middle East.

A San Diego native, Swift graduated from San Diego State University and received his commission in 1979 through the Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate Program.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

WMD training is under way on Kauai

Kauai residents should not be alarmed to see more emergency vehicles and National Guard troops moving around the island this week, during the annual, weeklong Weapons of Mass Destruction training exercise, Kauai County warns.

The goal of the exercise, according to a county statement, is to ensure Kauai's first responders are prepared in the event of a terrorist attack. Federal, state and county agencies will join in the exercise.

Classroom training will be today through Wednesday, with field training on Thursday around Nawiliwili Harbor and the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands.

The public is asked stay away from these areas to avoid interfering with the training, the news release said.

For more information about the exercise, call the Kauai Civil Defense Agency at 241-1800.