Damp, drippy holiday

The National Weather Service is forecasting increasingly heavy showers for today and tomorrow as a cold front approaches from the west. Clouds and showers are expected to return by this evening with light winds coming out of the south. As the front nears, the possibility of heavy rain will increase, particularly over Kauai and Oahu. The rainy weather is expected to last through Tuesday.

Recycling of Christmas trees is urged

The city is reminding Oahu residents of their options for recycling their Christmas trees after the holidays.

In all cases, people should remove all ornaments, flocking and tinsel from their tree.

Households with green waste pickup should cut up their tree so it fits in their green waste cart with the lid closed.

For homes on a manual collection route, people should cut their tree into 3-foot sections, bundle it up and place at the curb on their refuse collection day.

Condominium dwellers should take their tree to any of the city’s nine refuse convenience centers or transfer stations, or to a Hawaiian Earth Products composting facility, in Kailua at 101 Kapaa Quarry Road (261-5877) or Campbell Industrial Park at 91-400 Malakole St. (682-5895).

For more information, go to www.opala.org/solid_waste/holiday_trash_tips.htm.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Tourists told to stay away from waterfall

A Kauai tourism official and a doctor are advising people to stay away from Kipu Falls after two visitors drowned and several others have been injured there in a little more than a year.

Last week a 26-year-old man from Oahu drowned at the falls near Lihue while trying to swim back to the edge of the pond after diving off its 20-foot rock face.

"It can be very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing," Kauai Visitors Bureau Director Sue Kanoho told the Garden Island newspaper.

Online travel guides describe the spot as a popular swimming hole with gorgeous scenery.

Kanoho has asked guidebook publishers not to mention Kipu Falls in their lists of attractions because it is unsafe for tourists and because the falls are on private land.

Dr. Monty Downs, a doctor at Wilcox Memorial Hospital and a longtime advocate of drowning prevention, estimates about 20 people a year end up in his emergency room because of injuries sustained at the falls.