NEW YORK >> Aviation authorities say dozens of flights were delayed at New York’s Kennedy airport after about 150 turtles crawled onto the tarmac in search of beaches to lay their eggs.

The parade of slow-moving diamondback terrapins began about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says that soon there were so many on one runway and nearby taxiways that controllers were forced to move departing flights to another runway.

The FAA says flight delays were averaging about 30 minutes.

The turtle migration happens every year at Kennedy. The airport is built on the edge of Jamaica Bay and a federally protected park. In late June or early July the turtles heave themselves out of the bay and head toward a beach to lay their eggs.

The final chapter in the story of the failed Hawaii Superferry is about to unfold as the owner of the two high-speed catamarans that were built to sail between the islands is attempting to find a buyer for the vessels.

The Alakai and Huakai are owned by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. The agency purchased the vessels last September for $25 million each at a foreclosure auction.

The Maritime Administration bid on the catamarans using the $150 million guarantee that the federal government made to Hawaii Superferry LLC to build the vessels. The Maritime Administration was owed more than $135 million by the bankrupt Hawaii Superferry.

The Alakai began sailing from Honolulu to Maui and Kauai in August 2007, but was shut down in March 2009 after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a state law exempting the Superferry from an environmental impact statement was unconstitutional. The Superferry and its parent company, HSF Holdings Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2009.

A second vessel, the Huakai, was built in Mobile, Ala., and was ready to be placed in service when the legal and financial troubles began. The Huakai never made it to Hawaiian waters.

Both vessels were used temporarily in January 2010 to provide aid to Haiti following a deadly earthquake there. Other than that, the Alakai and Huakai have been docked at Lambert’s Point Dock in Norvolk, Va.

Now, both 836-passenger catamarans are for sale.

The catamarans are being sold together, although the Maritime Administration said it will consider an offer for a single vessel if concurrent sale of both vessels can be arranged. A Maritime Administration spokeswoman said she was unsure if a minimum bid has been set for the sale of the vessels.

Those interested in bidding on the catamarans have until July 20 to submit an offer. For information, contact David Heller at (202) 366-1850, or email him at [email protected].

Reach Curtis Lum at [email protected]

(Report Provided by the Pacific Business News)

HONOLULU – A Coast Guard Station Maui rescue crew provided emergency medical treatment and assisted in evacuating a crewmember found unresponsive while snorkeling, in the vicinity of Molokini Crater, Maui at approximatley 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Sector Honolulu watchstanders received a call from the captain of the dive boat, Island Princess, informing them of a 26-year old male crewmember found submerged in approximately 50 feet of water. A nearby dive boat, Ale Nui, overheard the Island Princess’s distress call and sent crewmembers to assist in retrieving the snorkeler.

A Station Maui rescue crew launched a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium to escort the Island Princess to Maalaea Small Boat Harbor and embarked two crew members to assist in delivering medical care. Maui Emergency Medical Crews provided additional medical treatment at the harbor and transported the snorkeler to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Chad Sambrano

WAILUKU, Maui, Hawaii – The Maui Fire Department is pleased to announce the promotion of two firefighters to the rank of Fire Fighter 3 this month.

Firefighter Chad Sambrano has been with the department for nine years and was previously assigned to the Lahaina and Kahului stations. Chad’s new assignment will be at the Hoolehua Station on Molokai.

Firefighter Kaulana Kino has also been with MFD for nine years and previously held assignments in Hoolehua, Kahului, and in Lahaina. For the last two years, he was assigned to the Hazardous Materials Company in Kahului. His latest assignment will be with the Training Bureau.

Kaulana Kino

Both promotions take affect on July 1, 2011.

HONOLULU — In an effort to improve Hawai’i’s prisons and criminal justice system, Governor Neil Abercrombie announced today a collaborative effort called “justice reinvestment” to reduce the number of prisoners being sent out of state, lower recidivism and prevent crime.

The initiative is a partnership between the state, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, the Pew Center on the States and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The state’s Justice Reinvestment Working Group is comprised of state agency heads, legislative leaders, judges, prosecutors and police chiefs. The group includes Governor Abercrombie, Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, Senate President Shan Tsutsui and Director of Public Safety Jodie Maesaka-Hirata.

“We are committed to bringing Hawai’i’s prisoners home, and this partnership will help us develop a comprehensive, multi-faceted plan to see that this happens,” said Governor Abercrombie. “Justice Reinvestment will help us identify where our dollars are best spent on treatment needs that will reduce the likelihood of inmates offending again once they’re released.”

The Justice Reinvestment Initiative has a three-step approach:

· Analyze data and develop policy options. This includes a system-wide examination of the prison population, drivers of prison growth and strategies used by policymakers.
· Adopt new policies and put reinvestment strategies into place
· Measure performance of those strategies

Approximately one-third of Hawai’i’s prison population is housed in facilities on the mainland due to lack of prison space in the state. The state recently awarded a contract to Corrections Corporation of America that provides a short-term solution to house inmates in two facilities in Arizona. The state’s plan to bring Hawai’i’s prisoners home include expanding prison space in the state, creating alternatives to incarceration and reducing recidivism through community-based programs.

Chief Justice Recktenwald noted, “Hawai’i has a strong foundation to build upon. The Hawai’i Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program has been replicated across the country, and this will help us capitalize on that success by identifying ways to achieve similar outcomes in other parts of the system.”

Senate President Shan S. Tsutsui, Co-Chair of the Justice Reinvestment Working Group, said: “The Justice Reinvestment Initiative helps us as lawmakers to make better policy decisions that will increase public safety for all of the citizens of Hawai’i.”

“BJA is excited to make available intensive technical assistance to state officials in Hawai’i who have demonstrated an interest in using a justice reinvestment approach,” said Denise O’Donnell, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice. “Using this data-driven approach, leaders in Hawai’i will be able to identify and address challenges facing their state’s criminal justice system in order to increase public safety and hold offenders accountable.”

“State leaders across the country are recognizing that there are research-based strategies for nonviolent offenders that can cut both crime and corrections costs,” said Adam Gelb, Director of the Public Safety Performance Project at the Pew Center on the States. “With this bipartisan, inter-branch working group, Hawai’i has an excellent opportunity to craft reforms that will hold offenders accountable and give the state a better public safety return on its corrections dollars.”

On Thursday, June 30, 2011 at Ala Moana Hotel, stakeholders from across Hawai’i’s criminal justice system will gather to learn more about the Justice Reinvestment approach, including how it has been applied successfully in other states, such as Texas, North Carolina, and Ohio.

About the Council of State Governments Justice Center:

The Council of State Governments Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that serves policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels from all branches of government. The Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies—informed by available evidence—to increase public safety and strengthen communities.

WAILUKU, Maui, Hawaii – A Charter Commission meeting scheduled tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center has been canceled. The new Commission meeting is scheduled for July 13th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The Communications Office would like to request that this announcement be made repeatedly on radio and posted on your respective news websites.

Questions can be directed to Lisa Kahuhu at the Department of the Corporation Counsel at 270-7585 or Communications Director Rod Antone at 270-8222.