Agreement reached on education travel for state’s teachers ADVERTISING Agreement reached on education travel for state’s teachers HONOLULU (AP) — A teachers union reached an agreement with the state’s Ethics Commission on new guidelines for teachers who receive free travel
Agreement reached on education travel for state’s teachers
HONOLULU (AP) — A teachers union reached an agreement with the state’s Ethics Commission on new guidelines for teachers who receive free travel to serve as chaperones on school-related trips.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association announced Tuesday it worked out a resolution to the long-standing dispute about the matter.
Under the agreement, teachers will still be allowed to plan trips and serve as chaperones with private tour companies, which typically allow one chaperone to travel at no cost for every eight or 10 students who pay for the trip.
But teachers who travel for free now are required to inform students and their families that their travel costs are being paid for. They also are prohibited from accepting any personal perks for leading the trip.
The school trips must be in line with state Department of Education policies, which require all trips to have educational benefits “that are clearly linked to and support ongoing standards-based classroom studies.”
Honolulu patient gets new kidney from Colo. donor
HONOLULU (AP) — A nurse working in a Honolulu pediatrician’s office helped the mother of one of her young patients get a kidney transplant from a donor in Colorado.
Cherish Matautia, 25, became the first trans-Pacific kidney transplant patient last month at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. The procedure was set up through the National Kidney Registry, the country’s largest organ exchange program.
Nurse Elizabeth Lehman initially offered her own kidney to Matautia, the mother of two boys, ages 2 and 3. But doctors discovered antibodies would likely cause Matautia to reject Lehman’s donated kidney.
Lehman’s kidney was removed and flown to a patient awaiting a transplant in Colorado, while a Colorado donor’s kidney was flown to Queen’s for Matautia.
Hospital officials say the surgeries thousands of miles apart were done simultaneously to ensure successful transplantation.
Fishing rules changed to protect endangered tuna
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The federal government is changing some of the rules about how fishermen harvest tuna in an attempt to protect one species.
The National Marine Fisheries Service said the rule change is designed to steer fishermen who catch yellowfin tuna and swordfish via longline away from bluefin tuna.
Globally, Atlantic bluefin tuna are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Domestically, the U.S. government considers the species to be overfished.
The fisheries service said the new rule will modify the way the agency handles the distribution of quota transfers in the longline tuna fishery. The rules also will assist with the goal of accounting for all bluefin tuna that get caught.
The new rules go into effect Jan. 28.
