Target will dedicate its third Hawaii store in Kailua-Kona with a soft opening on Wednesday, July 22nd, at 8 am. The Grand Opening is set for Saturday, July 26. The Kona Target Store will employ more than 300 team members in a store covering approximately 160,000 square feet
The 145th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Council will be held from July 22nd through July 25th at the King Kamehameha Kona BeachHotel. Part of the conference will be the “Fishers Forum” on Thursday, July 23rd, at 6:30 pm. The topic will be the past, present, and future of marlin fisheries in the U.S. Pacific Islands. For details, go to www.wpcouncil.org.
The First Maui Photo Festival and Workshop are planned for September 16th through September 20th at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa. Organizers of the state-wide event are asking for images of Hawaii by Hawaii photographers for the unique exhibition. Go to www.mauiphotofestival.com.
Hawaii’s public schools are reporting mixed results from recent assessments. On the Big Island, only 9 of 42 schools met benchmarks for reading and math, down from 11 in 2008 and 17 in 2006-2007. According to federal figures, some schools made steady progress, but that gain was not fast enough to keep up with federal requirements.
Kohala councilman Pete Hoffman is drafting a proposal calling for a voluntary pay cut in the salary of county council memgers. Hoffman tells the “Hawaii Tribune-Herald” he hopes to have the package before the council’s finance committee in August. Hoffman’s proposal calls for a vuluntary $5,000 yearly wage reduction.