Pony Express-marked envelope to be sold

A former Hawaii publisher is set to auction what is believed to be one of three known surviving historic envelopes postmarked on the first day of the Pony Express.

The envelope is among 63 items owned by 88-year-old Thurston Twigg-Smith, former publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser.

Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries in New York will conduct the auction. The auction house estimates the collection's value is $2.5 million or more.

The envelope is postmarked April 3, 1860, and is valued at $300,000.

Twigg-Smith also will auction one of two surviving Pony Express letters that originated in Hawaii. It is valued at $500,000.

Isles could see battering waves

A high-surf warning is in effect today for the north and west shores of Oahu, Kauai, Molokai and Maui.

The National Weather Service said surf with 20- to 30-foot faces was possible on the north shores, while surf with 10- to 20-foot faces could break along the west shores.

The surf was generated by storm far northwest of the islands several days ago, the weather service said.

A high-surf warning indicates that dangerous, battering waves will pound the shoreline, creating unsafe conditions and deadly rip currents.

The warning is in effect until 6 a.m. tomorrow.

6 Big Isle workers file complaint over layoffs

Six employees at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center on the Big Island have filed a complaint against the state and their labor union with the Hawaii Labor Relations Board.

Attorney Ted Hong represents the employees. He says laid-off workers at the Kulani Correctional Facility in Hilo were supposed to fill vacancies around the state.

Instead, Hong says, they displaced employees at the community correctional center, which also is in Hilo.

The complaint alleges the state violated a labor contract by forcing the correctional center employees from their jobs.

Heavier holiday traffic near airports predicted

Thanksgiving weekend travelers should expect traffic congestion on the ground at island airports.

The state Department of Transportation suggests that travelers arrive at airports at least 30 minutes earlier than the recommended two-hour preflight arrival.

Additional parking will be available at all island airports, according to a news release. Besides the new parking structure adjacent to the Honolulu Airport interisland terminal parking garage, Economy Parking Lot J on the Diamond Head side of the lei stands is open, with a $10-per-day parking rate. The self-parking rate elsewhere is $13 per day.

The Transportation Department has other suggestions to make driving near airports less stressful:

» Valet parking is available on the fourth floor of the Honolulu interisland terminal parking structure between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. The parking rate is $20 per day.

» Drivers who are picking up travelers may use cell-phone waiting areas, open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., at Honolulu, Kona, Hilo, Kahului and Lihue airports. In Honolulu the Ewa-side waiting area is accessible from Aolele Street, and the Diamond Head side from Paiea Street.

Coastal path will run along Wailua Beach

Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. has decided that a planned multiuse coastal path on the island's eastern side should extend along Wailua Beach.

Carvalho announced his decision in a statement released Monday evening.

The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs and other native Hawaiians oppose that route because Wailua Beach is considered sacred. Protesters held a 24-hour vigil near the beach Nov. 13.

The Sierra Club's Kauai group also opposed the beach path. A statement from the group Monday said constructing the path would be environmentally and procedurally wrong.

Carvalho said in his statement that the potential impact to remains of native Hawaiians is less significant along the route closest to the ocean.