Humanities chairman to speak at UH

The University of Hawaii at Manoa says the chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities is scheduled to be the featured speaker at this month’s undergraduate commencement.

Jim Leach is the ninth chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He previously spent 30 years in Congress representing southeastern Iowa in the U.S. House. The former Republican lawmaker has also served as a public and international affairs professor at Princeton University.

More than 1,500 students from the Manoa campus are eligible to receive bachelor’s degrees at the undergraduate ceremony, scheduled for next Saturday at Stan Sheriff Center.

The school said Thursday that Gov. Neil Abercrombie will speak at a separate ceremony on the 14th for about 800 students receiving graduate degrees.

Gourmet grinds at lCC gala

Leeward Community College’s culinary arts program will hold its annual fundraiser, L‘ulu, the Leeward Culinary Arts Gala, today from 6 to 9 p.m. at the LCC campus. Thirteen of Hawaii’s top chefs will provide food, and there will be entertainment and a silent auction. Tickets are $125. Call 455-0300 or email fabiola@hawaii.edu.

HPOWER expansion halfway done

Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services says a $300 million project to expand the city’s waste-to-energy plant is halfway finished.

The city is adding a third boiler and making other improvements to its HPOWER plant at Campbell Industrial Park, which burns waste to generate electricity. HPOWER generates enough electrical energy now to power 50,000 homes.

The city said Thursday that workers expect to complete all mechanical work, including on the boiler and steam turbine generator, over the coming year.

186 isle schools will share Title I cash

Hawaii schools with a high proportion of needy students will share $47 million in federal funds, lawmakers in Washington announced yesterday.

The state will get $47,810,387 for the 2011-2012 school year, which is $5,211,565 more than the 2010-2011 school year. The funding, known as Title I education money, is for schools with an enrollment of more than 40 percent of students living at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are more than 80,000 students in Hawaii who meet that standard. The number of schools statewide eligible for the funds has increased to 186 from 161 in 2008.

The money is designed to help students meet state academic achievement standards.

"In order to break the cycle of poverty that afflicts so many of Hawaii’s working families, we have to educate our youth and provide them the tools necessary to provide for themselves and succeed in the future," U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said in a statement.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

State offers ID card aid on Lanai

Lanai residents can apply for state ID cards at the Lanai Community Center today from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The fee is $15, and $10 for people 65 and older. Only cash will be accepted. State ID cards will be proc-essed and mailed to applicants within 10 business days.

New applicants must provide an original Social Security card and a certified copy of their birth certificate (or resident alien card, if applicable). For people renewing an ID card, just the card is required.

Call 587-3111 or see www.stateid.hawaii.gov.