Boaters warned of channel dredging

State officials are warning boaters to be cautious during channel dredging at Waianae Small Boat Harbor, which begins today and runs through the end of February.

Boat ramps and half of the entrance channel will remain open while the work continues, officials said.

The entire channel will be open on Saturdays and Sundays and on Feb. 15, Presidents Day, officials said.

The work involves removing about 2,000 cubic yards of sediment from the entrance and the inside breakwater.

Trade West Construction Inc. was contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers to do the work at the Waianae and Haleiwa harbors.

About $700,000 of the $1.7 million contract was provided through federal economic stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Nisei sought for oral history project

The Center for Oral History would like to interview Hawaii-born Japanese-Americans whose education or employment was interrupted when relocated to internment camps during World War II.

Hawaii-born nisei are being sought to participate in the center's project titled “;Captive on the U.S. Mainland: Oral Histories of Hawaii-born Nisei.”;

They or anyone who knows someone willing and able to participate in this project may call center director Warren Nishimoto at 956-6260 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The goal of the project is to inform the public that the impact of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the relocation camps, was not limited to the older, more established Hawaii Japanese and their families, a release said.

The project is funded by a grant from the National Park Service.

There were more than 3,000 Japanese-American students enrolled in California, Washington and Oregon colleges who were incarcerated after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Also relocated were Hawaii nisei living with relatives, completing their high school education, entering vocational schools or working.

Free class to focus on diabetes

Attention Plus Care will hold a free “;Diabetes Care”; class from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow at 1580 Makaloa St., Suite 1060.

“;People with diabetes can take steps to control the disease and lower the risks of complications through treatments and a healthy lifestyle,”; Akiko Petko, licensed registered nurse at Attention Plus Care, said in a news release.

Petko will lead the class, covering treatment, health tips, effects of blood glucose levels and how to prevent diabetic emergencies.

The class is part of a series from an “;Aging in Hawaii”; community educational outreach program.

To make a reservation or obtain more information, call Krista Groothuis at 440-9372 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Vehicles drop on Big Island

HILO » After more than a decade of growth, the number of registered vehicles on the Big Island has fallen for the second year in a row.

Lee Lord, manager of Hawaii County's Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division, says the overall number of vehicles registered on Hawaii island last year fell by nearly 3,800, to 171,700. The drop includes 2,300 fewer cars and trucks.

Lord suggests the bad economy may have triggered the decrease in the number of registered vehicles, that residents are looking for more economical forms of transport.

The decline means less money for the cash-strapped county. Lord says its share of registration fees fell by nearly $73,000, to $1.4 million, in 2009.