Last year the state Board of Land and Natural Resources granted the company a conservation district use permit to build and operate the offshore portion of the system.
Waimea hospital receives clean audit
A recent audit of North Hawaii Community Hospital found no deficiencies in its Nuclear Medicine Department.
The facility audit, conducted by Gamma Corp., included performance of the operations and records of the NMD with respect to the receipt, storage, usage and disposal of licensed radioactive materials. In addition, the audit inspected patient scheduling practices, radiopharmaceutical prescriptions and written directives of patients receiving radioactive materials.
Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and determine the severity of or treat a variety of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, gastrointestinal, endocrine, skeletal and neurological disorders.
“The results of this audit demonstrate the commitment our staff and physicians have to providing the safest quality care in a highly regulated environment,” said Ken Wood, president and CEO of NHCH.
North Hawaii Community Hospital is a rural 29-bed acute care hospital located in Waimea. Nonprofit, community-owned and locally governed, the hospital opened in May 1996 and cares for Big Island residents and visitors.
Kona Toastmasters schedules meetings
Kona Toastmasters now meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m. at Suite Possibilities at 75-5737 Kuakini Highway. The public is invited. For more information, please visit www.konatoastmasters.com, call Lynn Bell at 989-7494 or Amadeus Shuller, at 280-3337, or email aloha@konatoastmasters.com.
Part of Toastmasters International, the group offers peer support and training in the art of communication. Members hone skills in organizing and expressing their thoughts through spontaneous sharing in meetings, writing, giving structured speeches and evaluating speeches.
“Members have opportunities to develop leadership skills by hosting segments of the meeting and taking on decision-making positions,” Bell said. “Come and sit in on a meeting and see what Toastmasters can do for you.”
On Tuesday, members will be hosting a special open house.
Hawaii electric bills outpace U.S. average
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s electric bills rose at nearly double the national rate from 2000 to 2010.
Electricity costs in Hawaii topped the nation at more than 25 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2010. That’s up nearly 80 percent from just over 14 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2000.
Nationally, the average price of electricity rose just over 40 percent during the same 10 years.
The figures come from a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a federal agency that gathers and analyzes information about energy.
The state’s two electric utilities, Hawaiian Electric Co. and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, have attributed rising electric rates largely to higher fuel costs.
Air conditioning biz wins permit
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii company that plans to pump cold water from the ocean to air condition downtown Honolulu office buildings has received a state permit to build a pumping and cooling station.
The permit also allows Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning, LLC to install underground piping in Kakaako.
The company said in a statement Wednesday it received the special management area permit from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The company expects to break ground during the first half of the year.
CEO William Mahlum says being granted the permit is a “major milestone” for the energy project.
Last year the state Board of Land and Natural Resources granted the company a conservation district use permit to build and operate the offshore portion of the system.