State Senate will vote on judicial nominees

The state Senate will meet in a special session June 28-29 to vote on confirmations for judicial appointees Richard Pollack, who has been appointed to the Hawaii Supreme Court, and Peter Cahill, who has been appointed to the Circuit Court bench on Maui.

The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor will hold public hearings on Pollack’s appointment on Friday and Cahill’s on Tuesday. Both hearings are scheduled at 11 a.m. at the state Capitol. After submittal of the committee’s recommendations, a final vote by the full Senate will take place on June 29.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed Pollack on June 5 to serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. Pollack has been an Oahu circuit judge since 2000. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice James Duffy Jr.

The Judicial Selection Commission appointed Cahill on June 14 to fill a position opened by the recent retirement of Judge Shackley F. Raffetto from the Maui Circuit Court. Cahill is a partner at the firm Cahill & O’Neil.

Power lines suspected in Maui blaze

Maui fire investigators said Wednesday that arcing transmission lines may have started the six-acre Kula brush fire Monday.

Fire spokesman Lee Mainaga said residents heard popping sounds from the power lines and investigators think that strong winds may have caused arcing and the fire.

The fire was 100 percent contained Wednesday morning, but not extinguished by afternoon with hot spots remaining.

Damage of the roof of a house at 274 Cooke Road amounted to $50,000, officials said. Other houses were threatened but not affected.

"Fire crews did an outstanding job in protecting these structures and saving them from the approaching brush fire," Mainaga said.

Lecture to focus on ancient trails

History teacher Richard Stevens will give a lecture titled "Voices From the Edge: Hawai‘i’s Ancient Trails and Their Message Today" at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the West Hawaii Civic Center.

During a slide show featuring images by the late Hawaiian artist Wailehua Gray, Stevens, who teaches at the University of Hawaii Center at West Hawaii, will discuss ancient trails, their lessons for the present, their connections to the past and their imperiled status. Also on his agenda are access issues and the influence of these trails on land use decisions.

The lecture will be the sixth in the Kona Historical Society’s Hanohano O Kona series. They are free and open to the public. Further information is available at 323-3222.