State briefs for July 25

State works to curb opioid overdoses

WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — An upward trend in opioid overdoses has state health care providers working with Native Hawaiian healers in an effort to find alternative ways to treat pain and help wean addicts off opioids.

Opioid pain relievers have contributed to about 40 percent of drug overdose deaths statewide throughout the past decade. This includes substances such as OxyContin, fentanyl and other synthetics, but excludes heroin.

Hamakua-Kohala Health on the Big Island submitted a proposal to insurance company Hawaii Medical Service Association for Native Hawaiian healing to be included in health coverage. If it is accepted, other clinics statewide would be able to make the same request. Community health centers hope to gain insurance coverage for Native Hawaiian healing treatments in the next couple of weeks.

Gov. David Ige also took notice of the problem. He introduced a $10 million initiative earlier this month to fight opioid addiction. The initiative includes distributing 20,000 opioid overdose rescue kits. The state Legislature enacted a bill to better control opioid prescriptions in response to the growing epidemic.

According to the state Department of Health, in 2016, 59 people died of an opioid overdose compared with 25 in 2000 statewide.

Historic trail on Maui will reopen

WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — A resort is being redeveloped as luxury condominiums, and a historic trail will be reopened as part of the concessions agreed upon by the project developer.

ATC Makena Holdings LLC plans to convert the Makena Resort on Maui into condominiums and add residences and commercial space on the 2.7 square-mile property.

A major portion of the Old Makena-Ulupalakua Road in Maui would be reopened as a historic trail under an out-of-court settlement.

Community group Ho’oponopono o Makena says the road, extending several miles, was commissioned as a trail during the reign of Kamehameha III in the mid-1800s and was a way for breadfruit growers who lived in Ulupalakua to trade with fishing people in Makena.

UH president aims to boost enrollment

HONOLULU (AP) — After five consecutive years of declining enrollment at the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, university President David Lassner set a goal to keep enrollment flat for the upcoming fall and boost it back up to 20,000 students by 2020.

Manoa’s student count plummeted by 12 percent during the past five years, with the drop in students growing steeper each year.

As interim chancellor for the campus, Lassner says he’s determined to turn around the trend. Soon after taking on the chancellor role in September, he assembled a special work group to begin tackling the problem.

Lassner says part of the reason enrollment has trailed off is because the University of Hawaii is graduating more students on time.

Coast Guard: Missile test could happen soon

KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — The United States will conduct as soon as this weekend another test of a missile defense system meant to counter threats from North Korea.

The launch from Alaska’s Kodiak Island is scheduled to occur at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, according to a U.S. Coast Guard notice. Mariners are advised to remain clear of swaths of ocean between Kodiak Island and Hawaii through the weekend.

U.S. Army soldiers are stationed temporarily at the launch complex for U.S. Missile Defense Agency testing of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency successfully completed a Flight Test THAAD-18 operation from Kodiak earlier this month.

A second test from the site, called the FTT-15, will test the system’s ability to intercept a medium-range ballistic missile within the earth’s atmosphere.

THAAD, which currently has a 100 percent success rate in 14 tests, uses a direct hit to intercept a target in its final phase of flight. THAAD systems were placed in Guam and South Korea to counter missile threats from North Korea.