Hanalei restoration project to prevent flooding complete ADVERTISING Hanalei restoration project to prevent flooding complete LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — State officials have announced the completion of a multi-million dollar project to prevent flooding and protect endangered species in the Hanalei
Hanalei restoration project to prevent flooding complete
LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — State officials have announced the completion of a multi-million dollar project to prevent flooding and protect endangered species in the Hanalei Stream.
Among those who celebrated the culmination of the state-sponsored restoration project Friday included taro farmers, state leaders and engineers.
Carty Chang, chief engineer of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the work on the Hanalei Stream has had a positive impact on the surrounding community.
“Without this work, to repair the streambank, flooding of adjoining properties would continue to be a risk, the taro loi would be in jeopardy due to insufficient water and habitat for endangered Hawaii waterbirds in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge would be negatively impacted,” said Chang.
The repairs were necessary in order to fix a breach in the Hanalei bank from 20 years ago. The break diverted water from the stream, often flooding nearby properties after heavy rains. It also reduced stream flow entering an intake pipe that funneled water to Hawaii’s largest taro growing complex and provided habitat for endangered native birds.
The state Legislature provided DLNR with millions of dollars for the project in 2011.
“There were many challenges in undertaking this project, however, by working closely with stakeholders and the community, we are confident the streambank restoration will restore adequate flows for farmers and the wildlife refuge, and reduce the amount of sediment flowing into Hanalei Bay,” Chang said.
DNLR will monitor the new improvements over the next three years.
Hanalei is one of only two Environmental Protection Agency National Heritage rivers west of the Rockies.
UH-Manoa report shows sex assault cases unchanged in 2014
HONOLULU (AP) — A newly released report says the number of forcible sex offenses on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus remained unchanged in 2014 compared to the previous year.
The university’s annual crime statistics report shows that there were eight cases of forcible sex offenses last year, including rape and attempted rape. The same number of complaints was reported in 2013, a decrease from the 11 incidents in 2012.
“Even one reported incident is way too many,” said Dee Uwono, UH-Manoa’s Title IX coordinator. “But it’s our hope that more people will actually feel safe to come and get the help that they need when these things happen to them.”
In an effort to boost UH’s response to reports of sex discrimination, Uwono’s stand-alone office was designated this summer as a central location to handle all complaints received on the Manoa campus.
Uwono said staff has recently been trained and certified as deputy Title IX coordinators to deal with the complaints. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
University officials acknowledge that the increased awareness and outreach surrounding sexual violence crimes on campus could cause an increase in the number of people coming forward to report crimes.
“It’s such an underreported phenomenon that if you see a rise in the reported numbers, it’s most likely indicative of greater awareness and greater willingness to report than some crime wave,” said Nick Chagnon, a UH-Manoa doctoral student studying feminist criminology and an at-large representative for the Graduate Student Organization.
The report also showed the number of domestic violence cases grew to four cases from two the previous year. Stalking incidents fell to eight from 10, while complaints of dating violence jumped to six from four in 2013.
The Clery Act requires universities to release data on crimes reported on or near campus.
