Naval explosive found at Fort Shafter

An unexploded World War II-era shell prompted an evacuation at Fort Shafter yesterday, but was removed safely by an ordnance disposal team.

Construction workers repairing a retaining wall found the ordnance about 7:30 a.m., a U.S. Army Garrison news release said.

The garrison’s Directorate of Emergency Services and the post police evacuated the surrounding area as a precaution.

A team from the 706th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company identified the item as a World War II-era, 12-inch naval shell and took it to Schofield Barracks for disposal.

All areas were cleared by noon and reopened.

Head meteorologist retiring

The National Weather Service’s Honolulu meteorologist-in-charge and the director of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center is retiring.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Jim Weyman is due to retire today after 15 years in Hawaii and 40 years with the federal government.

Raymond Tanabe, the office’s director of operations, will succeed Weyman in an acting capacity.

Weyman was an Air Force meteorologist for 20 years before he began working for the National Weather Service in the 1990s. He assumed his current post in 1996.

NOAA says Weyman successfully guided the office through numerous notable weather events, including Hawaii’s infamous “40 days and 40 nights” of rain in 2006 and the Halloween or Manoa Flood of 2004, which caused extensive damage to the University of Hawaii.

Wildman rejects bench nomination

Judicial nominee Joe Wildman has withdrawn his nomination to the Maui Circuit Court, the governor’s office announced last night.

Wildman was nominated for the seat by Gov. Neil Abercrombie from a list of candidates sent to him by the Judicial Selection Commission.

“I’m grateful for Gov. Abercrombie giving me the opportunity to serve,” Wildman said in a news release issued by the Governor’s Office. “However, because of an unresolved situation with my law firm, I have decided to withdraw my nomination to prevent any distraction for the Abercrombie administration and disruption for my family.”

Big Isle worst in state for healthy living

HILO >> Hawaii County residents continue to lag behind the rest of the state in healthy living.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported yesterday that a recent study found the island has the state’s highest percentage of adult smokers, highest premature death rate, highest motor vehicle crash death rate, highest rate of children living in poverty and highest rate of teen pregnancies.

The study by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation compared 28 statistics for the counties.

Honolulu rated the highest, followed by Maui and Kauai.

2 Kauai men arrested for dumping car

Since the beginning of the year, Kauai police have investigated 76 cases involving abandoned or derelict vehicles in the Waimea area.

On Sunday, two Kekaha men were arrested for illegally dumping a vehicle on private property. A 51-year-old man was arrested for criminal littering, second-degree criminal trespass and defacing a serial number. His 18-year-old son was arrested for criminal littering and second-degree criminal trespass. They were released with pending court appearances.

On March 19, police responded to a complaint of two men attempting to abandon a vehicle at the Russian Fort in Waimea. A witness told police the men were confronted by a citizen and left with the vehicle. Later that afternoon, police received a second complaint of a vehicle dumped on private property in Makaweli.

An investigation revealed that it was the same two men who had attempted to abandon their vehicle at the Russian Fort.