Newswatch
POSTED: Monday, February 22, 2010
| This story has been corrected. See below. |
Hawaii still tops as gas cost dips
Honolulu retains the dubious distinction of having the highest gas prices in the nation even as the national average declines.
That is according to the national Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released yesterday in Camarillo, Calif.
The average price of regular gasoline in the United States was down 3.29 cents over a two-week period to $2.63, the survey said.
Analyst Trilby Lundberg says the average price for a gallon of midgrade was $2.77. Premium was at $2.88.
Among cities surveyed, Cheyenne, Wyo., had the lowest average price at $2.32 a gallon for regular. Honolulu was the highest at $3.33, no change from two weeks ago.
In California the average price for a gallon of regular was $2.87. Los Angeles was the steepest at $2.90.
Mayor's State of the City address will cover progress, challenges, new plans
Mayor Mufi Hannemann will deliver his sixth State of the City address this evening on the Diamond Head Side of the Mission Memorial Building on the Fasi Civic Center Grounds. Hannemann will provide a detailed overview of Honolulu's progress and challenges, and outline new plans and proposals, a city announcement said.
The 6 p.m. address is expected to touch on key issues of the economy and the environment, job creation, public safety and infrastructure.
The public is invited to attend, but seating outside the Mission Memorial Building is limited and invited guests will have first priority. The speech will be carried live on Olelo, Channel 54.
This could be Hannemann's last such address; he is widely expected to run for governor this year.
Abercrombie says isle nonprofit will get $5.6M for electric health records
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie says a Hawaii nonprofit is to receive $5.6 million to increase the use of electric health records in the islands.
The Democrat says the money for the Hawaii Health Information Exchange will allow patients to have their doctors at different health care providers access their records.
Hawaii Health Information Exchange Inc. is a nonprofit formed by Hawaii hospitals, health insurers, physician organizations and other health care providers.
Nationally, the federal government is awarding some $750 million in grants to expand the use of electronic health records. The funds come from the economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed by the president last year.
Senate panel to consider legislation allowing HTA to withhold public info
A state Senate committee is scheduled to consider legislation that would allow the Hawaii Tourism Authority to withhold more information from the public.
The measure, SB 2187, would allow the agency to hold back information that could place businesses at a competitive disadvantage or impair the authority's ability to gather data.
It also would allow the authority's governing board to meet behind closed doors in order to obtain information necessary to protect Hawaii's competitive advantage as a visitor destination.
The state Office of Information Practices has said the bill's language should be more narrow.
It will be heard in the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee tomorrow.
Big Island's Kim has been selected Ho'oulu Leadership Award winner
The Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs is awarding its annual Ho'oulu Leadership Award for government to former Mayor Harry Kim of Hawaii County.
The group is giving its culture and arts award to the co-founders and co-editors of Bamboo Ridge Press, Eric Chock and Darrell Lum.
The Honolulu-based nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy institute plans to present the awards Wednesday at a banquet ceremony in Waikiki.
The group is also due to give awards to labor, business and community leaders.
It is posthumously honoring state Sen. Nadao Yoshinaga with its lifetime achievement award. Yoshinaga died late last year at the age of 90.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Traffic fears addressed for UH Center
A proposal to move the University of Hawaii Center from the corners of a converted shopping plaza in Kealakekua to 500 acres of state land near Keahole Airport now includes plans to build two roads to alleviate traffic congestion.
The traffic mitigation efforts are outlined in a 424-page draft environmental impact statement detailed yesterday in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
Before the report's release Friday, police and the state Department of Transportation raised concerns about increased traffic on Queen Kaahumanu and Mamalahoa highways as a result of the new campus. Because Kaiminani Drive provides the only existing mauka-makai roadway near the new site, two additional roads are being constructed to help alleviate the increased traffic flow, the report says.
Two archaeological sites and one archaeological preserve could be affected by the development, and exterior lighting might disorient birds, the report says.
The public has until April 9 to weigh in on the proposed relocation.
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