Case among 4 applicants filing to run for U.S. House

Former U.S. Rep. Ed Case and three others have filed papers to run in a special election to fill the vacant U.S. House seat that Neil Abercrombie once held.

Abercrombie resigned Sunday to seek the Democratic nomination for governor, leaving Hawaii's 1st Congressional District open.

Case, who represented the 2nd Congressional District from 2003 through 2006, filed his papers yesterday. He is one of two major Democrats who are running in the May 22 all-mail election. The other is state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa.

The sole well-known Republican seeking the seat is Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou.

Three other lesser-known candidates also filed papers yesterday: Republican Charles Amsterdam and Democrats Rafael Del Castillo and Philmund Lee.

Mechanical problem forces detour for Hawaiian flight

A Hawaiian Airlines flight bound from Phoenix to Honolulu with 216 passengers was forced to divert to San Francisco yesterday morning when an indicator light disclosed a problem with the aircraft's hydraulic system.

Hawaiian Air flight 35 took off from Phoenix just past 8 a.m. and was 2 1/2 hours into the flight to Honolulu when it was diverted to San Francisco, said Keoni Wagner, Hawaiian Air spokesman.

On the ground, crews found that one of the aircraft's modules had sprung a leak.

It was replaced.

The jet was delayed for more than 90 minutes in San Francisco and landed in Honolulu at 6:05 p.m.

Pearl Harbor shipyard takes applications for 175 jobs

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, which employs about 5,000 men and women, will hire about 175 more by year's end.

The shipyard needs to fill apprentice, engineer, engineering support and various other positions to help repair and maintain Navy ships and submarines.

As part of the hiring effort, the shipyard will hold a job fair from 8 a.m. to noon March 27 at Honolulu Community College, 874 Dillingham Blvd.

The shipyard will hire a minimum of 100 apprentices who will begin employment in January. The shipyard also wants to fill about 75 engineer and various other positions.

Eligible applicants must be at least 18 years old by Jan. 15, U.S. citizens and have a high school diploma or equivalent. Applicants must pass a physical exam and academic skills test and be able to obtain a security clearance. Males must be registered with the Selective Service System.

Only online applications for apprenticeships will be accepted from March 27 to April 9 at https://acep.hawaii.navy.mil.

Those interested in engineer and engineering support positions should e-mail their resumes to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) by April 23.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Baking soda considered in coqui fight

A Big Island official wants baking soda examined as a potential way of controlling noisy coqui frogs, which have inundated the island's lower elevations.

Councilwoman Brenda Ford says she wants city or state authorities to look into getting baking soda approved as a pesticide. A number of methods have already been tried, such as chemicals, sprays and traps, but the frogs have survived.

Residents told a Council meeting on Tuesday that chickens and baking soda seem to work.

However, baking soda can kill grass and other plants. And the Council was told baking soda manufacturers are not keen on their product being used as a pesticide.

But Ford says she wants the federal Environmental Protection Agency to allow the powder to be used to kill the frogs.