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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Ka`u News Briefs July 21, 2012

Helen Wong Smith Photo from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park
HELEN WONG SMITH, archivist for Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, has been elected to the Nominating Committee of the Academy of Certified Archivists for a two-year term. 
      The Academy is a national independent, nonprofit certifying organization of professional archivists. Individual members qualify for certification by meeting a series of defined professional standards.
      Archivists can become certified only by meeting educational and experience requirements and passing the archival certification examination. Individual members demonstrate continuing professional commitment that goes beyond education and experience.
      “Helen is one of only 12 certified archivists in the entire state of
 Hawai`i,” said Laura C. Schuster, chief of Cultural Resources Division for Hawai`i Volcanoes. “Her highly specialized skills include making sure historical and modern records and data are retrievable and searchable. She serves a vital function not only for the Park and the Academy, but also to future generations.”
      Wong Smith holds a Master’s of Library and Information Science and is the lead archivist for a multi-year backlog cataloging project for all national parks in the Pacific Island Network, including Haleakala National Park, Kalaupapa National Historical Park and parks in American Samoa, Guam and Saipan.
      Wong Smith has been a certified archivist since 2001. She has been a member of the Committee on Education and the Nominating Committee for the Society of American Archivists, and has served twice as the president of the Association of Hawai`i Archivists.

THE STEP UP CAMPAIGN has drawn more than 5,200 students statewide from the Class of 2015 to earn the state Board of Education’s Recognition Diploma. The Hawai`i P-20 Partnerships for Education made the announcement, noting that more than 14,200 students from the Classes of 2013, 2014 and 2015 have pledged for the Step Up campaign over the past three years. 
      Step Up is an initiative of Hawai`i P-20 Partnerships for Education and encourages Hawai`i public school students to “Step Up” to the challenge of career and college readiness upon high school graduation and sign a pledge form to earn the BOE Recognition Diploma. 
Students participate in the Step Up campaign.
      This optional diploma, which requires credits in specific math, science and English courses and the completion of a senior project, is designed to prepare high school graduates for successful entry into college or a living-wage job. Students who earn this diploma are rewarded with incentives such as special consideration for scholarships and job application advancement with various employers.
      The Class of 2015 was the final class eligible to pledge to earn the BOE Recognition Diploma. Starting with the Class of 2016, all Hawai`i public school students will be required to earn a single college and career-ready diploma that was passed by the Board of Education in September 2011. 
      Karen Lee is executive director of Hawai`i P-20, a collaboration of the Early Learning Council, state Department of Education and University of Hawai`i. “College and career readiness is at the top of the state’s education agenda, and the BOE Recognition Diploma gives students a clear pathway to preparing themselves for life after high school, whether they choose to enter college or the workforce,” Lee said. 
      She said that Hawai`i P-20’s partners share a sense of urgency about the need to improve educational outcomes in an increasingly global economy and have established a goal of 55 percent of Hawai`i’s working-age adults having a two- or four-year college degree by 2025.

ISLAND AIR has launched an image and brand overhaul, as well as new fleet of energy-saving ATR 72 prop jets in August. The ATRs carry more passengers than Dash 8 aircraft, which will be replaced. “We’ve been working on our new business model for well over a year,” said Lesley Kaneshiro, CEO of Island Air. “We will be the first to operate this comfortable ATR72 Jet-Prop aircraft in Hawai`I, and with additional aircraft delivery on the horizon, we’ll be Hawai`i’s fastest growing interisland carrier.” 
      Charles Willis IV, chairman of Gavarnie Holding LLC, the parent company of Island Air, said, “This affirms our ongoing dedication to commercial aviation in Hawai`i and our focus on innovation coupled with steady growth.” 
New look and larger planes for Island Air.
      Mark Neely, vice president of Marketing and Sales for ATR North America said, “We are pleased to support Island Air with their plan to introduce the ATR product into the Hawaiian Islands. With the complete family of ATR42 and ATR72 aircraft, Island Air will be able to serve any major airport, with the lowest cost and greatest level of passenger comfort. We congratulate Island Air on their accomplishment.”
      For over 30 years Island Air has served residents of Hawai`i and inbound tourists for interisland travel needs. “Island Air has always maintained an unwavering commitment to its strategic partners, investors, over 250 employees and, most of all, the local community and sees this as a golden opportunity to expedite a business plan it has had in the works for some time,” says a statement from the company.
      Founded in 1980 to provide scheduled service between Princeville and Honolulu, the airline offers 352 weekly flights between Honolulu, Kahului and West Maui, Molokai, Lana`i, Kaua`i and Kona. See www.islandairgroup.com.

IMPROVEMENTS AT BOTH MAJOR AIRPORTS serving the Big Island received funding this week when Gov. Neil Abercrombie released $14 million for a new cargo terminal at Hilo International Airport. For Kona International Airport, he released $4.875 million for the design of improvements at the terminal building to enhance capacity, efficiency and security, including a centralized security check-in, baggage handling system, common-use passenger processing systems, flight information displays and other items. Another $2.329 million was released for construction of a new and relocated Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Station to meet FAA requirements.

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