Agriculture dean leaves position at UH-Manoa

Longtime University of Hawaii at Manoa Dean Andrew “;Andy”; Hashimoto is stepping down as the leader of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources after serving for about a decade in the job.

Hashimoto will return to a faculty position on or before June 30.

In a university news release, Hashimoto said his original plan, on taking the post in 2000, was to serve up to a decade as dean.

“;I am not sure if there ever is the perfect time to change positions,”; he said in the release, “;but increasing family needs require that I have more flexibility and control over my time and schedule than I currently have as dean.”;

Hashimoto will remain as dean during the search for his successor. An 18-member search advisory committee composed of campus and agriculture industry representatives will help select candidates.

Finalist visits are tentatively scheduled for February or March, with a tentative start date for a new dean to start in July or August.

For more information on the Search Advisory Committee, position description, timeline, and advertisement that will run in the Chronicle of Higher Education go to http://www.hawaii.edu/executivesearch/ctahr/.

Space station to offer sky show over isles

If the clouds cooperate, the International Space Station will appear in Hawaii skies tonight.

The station will rise under the Big Dipper in the northwest a few minutes before 7 p.m. and will move to the right over the North Star. Appearing as a bright, steady light, it will reach its highest point in the sky in the northeast about 7:01 p.m., then blink out of sight about 7:04 p.m. below the moon near Jupiter tonight.

The space station, at an altitude of 220 miles, circles the earth at 17,000 mph and is visible in the hours before and after sunset when it is illuminated by the sun.

The space station crew will be joined Friday by space tourist Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, who will ride up aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at a cost of $35 million.

Comments on Big Isle plan sought

Hawaii island residents are invited to comment on a draft agricultural development plan due later this month.

The plan, being prepared for Hawaii County by Agricon Hawaii LLC and the Kohala Center, is intended as a guide to revitalize agriculture on the island, according to a news release.

The draft plan will be available for review by Oct. 10 at kohalacenter.org/agplan.html. The public is invited to comment at islandwide meetings:

» Oct. 20, Kohala High School cafeteria
» Oct. 21, Kona Outdoor Circle
» Oct. 22, Waimea Community Center
» Oct. 27, Pahala Community Center
» Oct. 28, Aupuni Conference Room, County Building, Hilo
» Oct. 29, Paauilo School cafeteria
» Nov. 4, Pahoa Community Center.
All meetings are from 6-9 p.m. A final draft will be sent to the county in December. Comments can also be e-mailed to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 887-6411.