Abercrombie returns home from Asian trip

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has returned to Hawaii from a two-week trip to Japan and China.

A spokeswoman said Abercrombie landed Thursday in Honolulu. He’s expected to hold a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday to discuss his trip.

Abercrombie was among a delegation of six governors who participated in a National Governors Association U.S.-China Governors Forum in Beijing.

The Governor’s Office said the forum focuses on economic development and job creation.

The governor says building Hawaii’s relationships with Japan and China is important not only for the state’s visitor industry, but also for long-standing cultural connections.

Senate OKs naming post office for Heftel

The Kahala Post Office would become Cecil L. Heftel Post Office Building under a bill passed unanimously Thursday by the U.S. Senate and sent to President Barack Obama for consideration.

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa sponsored the bill that changes the name of the post office at 4354 Pahoa Ave. to honor Heftel, who died in 2010 and served five terms in Congress.

Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, called Heftel "an extraordinary businessman and a visionary who always placed the public, the people and his constituents first."

Memorial set for Mid-Pacific graduate

A memorial service for Mid-Pacific Institute graduate Sascha Franzel will be held Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the school.

Franzel, 19, daughter of David and Sonia Franzel, died from an asthma attack and overuse of her asthma inhaler on Sept. 10 in Fort Collins, Colo. She was a Colorado State University sophomore, graduating from Mid-Pacific in 2009.

Friends said she wasn’t feeling well at a party and left early. She was found in her apartment, where roommates tried to revive her using CPR. She was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Tuesday’s service will be held at Bakken Hall.

Plane engine’s malfunction investigated

Air Force officials are still investigating what caused an engine to malfunction, forcing a military KC-10 to return to Honolulu for an emergency landing with 20 people on board Saturday instead of flying on to Guam, Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Alysia Harvey said. Because the investigation continues, Harvey said he could not say whether fuel was dumped into the ocean before landing.

The aircraft, which suffered a malfunction in one of its three engines, landed without incident at 11:48 a.m. Saturday but did not experience a fire, Harvey said. It was reported that the Federal Fire Department responded to a report of a KC-10 with an engine fire.

Meeting focuses on LGBT youth

Two hundred people are expected to attend a conference in Honolulu today focused on improving services for Hawaii’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.

The LGBT Youth Safety Net Conference, sponsored by the state Department of Health, will take place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Japanese Cultural Center of Honolulu in Moiliili.

It will provide people working in social service, health, education and juvenile justice with information about providing services to LGBT clients, many of whom are at risk for drug and alcohol abuse or becoming suicidal, the state said in a news release.

For information, go to www.equalityhawaii.org/conference3.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Laws outline banned actions

Urinating, defecating or drinking alcohol in public in Lihue’s Historic District is subject to a $1,000 fine and up to 30 days in jail, under newly approved bills.

The Kauai County Council unanimously approved the bills Wednesday, the Garden Island newspaper reported. The ordinance against drinking also includes possession of an open container of an alcoholic beverage.

According to one bill, "no person shall urinate or defecate within the boundaries of the parking lots and grounds to the Historic County Building, County Annex and Lihue Civic Center unless in a portable toilet or restroom."

Some community members are concerned the new ordinances target the few homeless people in the area. "We cannot ignore them and expect that this problem will disappear," Kapaa resident Glenn Mickens said in written testimony.

Exempt from the ordinance against urination and defecation are those with a verifiable medical condition.

Hawaii isle hit by aftershocks

A series of small aftershocks continued on Hawaii island Thursday morning, a day after a 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the northern part of the island.

Wednesday’s quake struck 13 miles southeast of Waimea, followed by dozens of smaller temblors.

The U.S. Geological Survey said residents across the island reported feeling light to moderate shaking. There were no reports of damage, and no tsunami alert was issued.

Seismologist Weston Thelen says it’s normal for the aftershock sequence to continue for several days.

There were about five small quakes ranging in magnitude from 2.1 to 2.5 Thursday morning.

Boating office moves to harbor

The state has relocated the Kauai District office of the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation to Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor.

The office was until last week in a $50,000-per-year leased space in Kukui Grove Executive Center. The state spent $300,000 to build a new office on state land at the harbor.

"In six years, the move and purchase of the structure will have paid for itself in rent savings," William Aila, chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, said in a news release.