All public schools in Hawaii have been told to stay closed on Fridays, in an effort by the state to reduce costs.

The state's education department has cut the school week to four days for the remainder of the academic year.

Parents are angry at the move, which shortens the school year by 17 days and forces many to find alternative child care arrangements.

The school system says it is the only way it can save the $468m (287m) needed to close a state budget deficit.

Computer technology is making it harder for Hawaii residents and businesses to skip out on their taxes.

The state collected more than $50 million in delinquent excise taxes since June 30, 2008, thanks to a computer program that links data from federal tax returns to state tax filings.

The state Department of Taxation has been checking federal tax returns of Hawaii residents to see if they claim business income. If they do, the state then looks to see if the same residents filed state excise tax returns. Those who didn't were sent warning letters, and many responded by paying what they owed.

The boost in delinquent tax collections comes at an opportune time for the state, which is facing a budget deficit of about $1 billion through June 2011.

People fearful of the H1N1 flu vaccine should know the benefit is greater than the risk, said Maui District Health Officer Dr. Lorrin Pang.

Health officials have been speaking out in support of the statewide immunization effort since a Hawaii County Council committee voted earlier this month to support a resolution expressing concern about the safety of the vaccine.

Pang said he was asked for his opinion by the Hawaii council and another group opposed to the vaccine. Both groups were dissatisfied with health officials who had endorsed the vaccine, and turned to Pang for a different opinion. But he told them: "Go with the vaccine."

"Nothing is perfectly safe," he said Wednesday. But he added, "we have studied it, and know it's safe enough to know the benefits outweigh the risks.

WAILUKU - Maui health care providers have begun to receive the first shipments of H1N1 flu vaccine - but it's still too soon for many people to get the shot.

Health care workers and emergency services responders are at the top of the priority list. Others in the "tier one" group who are first in line for the vaccine include pregnant women, caregivers for infants under 6 months old, people between ages 19 and 24, and adults up to age 64 with underlying medical conditions that put them at high risk of complications from flu.

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii was one of 25 states and metropolitan areas in the country to order the new swine flu vaccine on Thursday, the first day orders could be placed.

About 60 states, cities and territories are eligible to place orders with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state Department of Health said that based on Hawaii's population, 14,400 doses of the vaccine were ordered. They are expected to arrive next week, with additional shipments arriving in the coming weeks.

HONOLULU (AP) - The state is in worse financial shape than previously thought.

Gov. Linda Lingle said Wednesday that a recently discovered recording error means the state has an additional budget shortfall on top of a previously identified $884 million shortfall over two years.

''With the recent discovery of the recording error, we have an additional $36.8 million shortfall, and the need for immediate solutions to close the budget gap becomes more urgent than ever,'' Lingle said.

True general fund revenues for the fiscal year that ended June 30 were discovered to be $44 million below the amount reported by the state's Financial and Accounting Management Information System, and a similar overstatement of $800,000 also occurred in the previous fiscal year, she said.

WAILUKU - A Vietnam War veteran lost his house and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine after police found 5 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car three years ago.

The veteran received an honorable discharge after serving one year in Vietnam, Covich had used alternative medicine to treat a medical condition, said Deputy Public Defender Adriel Menor.

"It's clear he's a tireless advocate for veterans," Menor said. "He's also a family man. He's close to not only his family but the families of these veterans he works for."

Tate said it might have been appropriate for Covich to experiment with marijuana after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but the amount of the drug seized by police exceeded amounts for personal use.

WAILUKU - A woman who was arrested when authorities seized about 130 pounds of marijuana sent from California to Maui last month is being held in lieu of $1 million bail after being indicted in the case.

Cindi Sylva, 37, of Kula, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree commercial promotion of marijuana, first-degree promotion of a detrimental drug and two counts of possessing drug paraphernalia.

A Nov. 16 trial is scheduled for her in 2nd Circuit Court.

University of Hawaii economists have titled their latest quarterly economic forecast "Recovery Still Around the Corner."

"Things are looking up for the U.S. and global economies," but in Hawaii the prospect is for more tough times, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization said today.

Since the last quarterly estimate, UHERO has brightened a bit on three fronts. The numbers remain negative, but not as negative as a few weeks ago.

The visitor industry is forecast to lag the reviving overall economy, and UHERO does not expect arrivals to reach 7 million again until 2012. Hotel-occupancy rates, now around 66 percent, are not expected to reach 70 percent through 2011.

HILO (AP) — The Hawaii County Board of Ethics has found Big Island Councilwoman Emily Naeole violated the county’s ethics code by making thumbs-down gestures to people she disagreed with while they testified about a proposed council reorganization.

HONOLULU (AP) - The waiting lists for homeless shelters throughout Hawaii are growing as the economic downturn continues.

The Hawaii Public Housing Authority said there were 472 families on waiting lists for homeless shelters in August, an increase of 65 families from May.

At the same time, there were 1,637 single people on waiting lists last month, up from 1,278 singles in May.

Utu Langi, who manages the state's Next Step homeless shelter in Honolulu, called the people seeking shelter ''victims of the economy.''

Doran Porter of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance said the situation is going to get worse as people's unemployment benefits and other resources run out.

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii's state budget deficit grew larger Thursday, and Gov. Linda Lingle emphasized that savings will have to come from government employees.

The Department of Taxation reported that tax collections fell 5 percent in July and August, a steeper decline than the 1.5 percent dip forecast by the Council on Revenues for the current fiscal year that began July 1.

''We simply cannot continue to spend beyond our means,'' Lingle said in a statement. ''The reality is we can no longer afford to maintain the current level of labor expenses.''

The drop represents an additional $36 million loss from the state budget, on top of the existing two-year budget deficit of about $900 million.

Hawaii's major roads and highways are some of the roughest rides in the nation, according to a new report, which estimates that rutted thoroughfares cost each Hawaii driver about $500 a year in vehicle repairs, accelerated wear and tear and increased fuel consumption.

The report highlights how roadway conditions cost drivers, businesses - and lives. The study warns that the situation will only get worse unless the state can secure more funding to address backlogged repairs and an aging roadway system.

PAHOA, Hawaii - The U.S. Geological Survey's 35-year-old maps of lava danger zones in this southern corner of the Big Island are a tableau of earthy colors and odd shapes originally meant for scientific and planning purposes.

The maps have also long been used by the home insurance industry to assess lava hazard risks. But in the last year or two, the maps have become a source of contention as insurers have hiked rates or completely abandoned areas that are deemed to be the most dangerous.

Fannie Mae, the huge backer of home mortgages, recently declared it would no longer do so in the two most hazardous zones. That has residents pointing fingers of blame at the charts that even the Geological Survey acknowledges are outdated.

MARK GOLDBERG / MauiGuidebook.com

Huelo resident Mark Goldberg photographed law enforcement officers in a helicopter operation Thursday morning near Hoolawa Stream in Huelo in a marijuana-eradication program known as “Green Harvest.” Maui police confirmed there was a Maui operation Thursday, but no information on what was seized was available Friday. Goldberg said crews were in the area for several hours uprooting marijuana.

More than 100 protesters gathered outside the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center on Saturday afternoon to speak out against what they see as over taxation and a government that has exceeded what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

The event was held by the Maui Taxed Enough Already Party, with another sign-waving on Maui earlier in the day in Lahaina.

As the leader of a religious organization, Ohtani does not believe in declaring "good wars" and bad ones and takes no specific position on the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The monshu does observe, though, that following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that Americans "were not able to logically reason what happened and jumped into war."

He noted that the U.S. was attacked by individuals and not by a nation, yet it went to war against the countries of Afghanistan and then Iraq "without cool-headedly reasoning what had happened. That is regrettable."

HONOLULU (AP) -- Pius Henry fears his adopted government will kill him, that the United States won't live up to a health care obligation to people from Pacific islands where it tested nuclear bombs.

Henry, a diabetic from the Marshall Islands, has received free dialysis treatments three times a week for years, but the cash-strapped state of Hawaii has threatened to cut off him and others to save money.

Like thousands of legal migrants to Hawaii from independent Pacific nations, Henry believes the United States has a responsibility to provide health care to compensate for the radioactive fallout of 67 nuclear weapons tests from 1946 to 1958.

HONOLULU - All of the Hawaii inmates who were housed at a Kentucky prison where authorities say women were sexually assaulted by staff have been relocated.

Officials say 128 inmates returned to Oahu on Tuesday night. One inmate was transferred directly to another out-of-state prison, and 40 previously made the trip back to Hawaii.

The transfer happened after 23 female inmates, including seven from Hawaii, alleged they were sexually assaulted at the Otter Creek Correctional Center, a private prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America.

Six prison workers have been indicted in the case.

HONOLULU (AP) - The state Department of Health says Hawaii's swine flu death count rose by four between June and August to 10.

Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said Friday that one of the four was a 5-year-old. She says the case marks Hawaii's first swine flu death involving a child.

Okubo says the other new cases included two adults with underlying health issues. She says the child and another adult who died had no underlying medical conditions.

The deaths from swine flu were confirmed by state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park.

Officials aren't releasing additional details because of patient privacy.

The novel H1N1 Influenza A, or swine flu, is a new virus that was first reported in the United States in April.

Residents who want flu vaccinations have a variety of options, including visiting their family doctors or a number of clinics.

Children attending Hawaii elementary and middle schools can receive free flu shots or nasal sprays through the state Department of Health's "Protect Hawaii's Keiki: Stop Flu at School" program.

The program is a partnership among the Health Department, the state Department of Education, the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools and the Hawaii Catholic Schools.

Park recommended everyone - healthy or vulnerable, young or old - get a flu vaccination early in what's now the beginning of the annual flu season.

The reason to act quickly is simple: A flu vaccination takes time to work. One doesn't get a flu shot at a doctor's office and walk out immune from the disease.

A flu shot injects a protein of the virus into a person whose body is then alerted to a foreign infection. That triggers the body's immune system to build up a defense for the next time the disease pays a visit. But it takes at least two weeks for the body to build up a sufficient defense against a new strain of the flu virus, Park said. And it takes even longer - four to six weeks - to reach the peak of immunity.

HONOLULU - The first in a series of binding arbitration hearings over a new labor contract between the state and its largest public employee union began Friday after journalists were told they could not observe.

Dozens of people remained in the audience, such as rank-and-file members of the Hawaii Government Employees Association and top state agency heads.

They were joined by lawyers for HGEA and the state who will present their arguments to the three-member arbitration panel.

But Philip Tamoush, the neutral member of the panel, said it decided in executive session that journalists could not stay because the hearings are a continuation of private negotiations. The panel also includes one representative each from HGEA and the state.

KAHULUI - Environmentalists and farmers lashed out Thursday night at the announced layoffs of state agricultural inspectors, arguing that the move planned by the Lingle administration would uproot efforts to preserve the island's agricultural industry and pristine environment.

Close to 100 people turned out at a Senate Ad Hoc Committee meeting held in the Maui Waena Intermediate School cafeteria. The crowd applauded those who spoke against the layoffs, some even attacking Gov. Linda Lingle.

HONOLULU - Gov. Linda Lingle on Thursday warned Hawaii residents of a ''fundamental restructuring'' of state government, including layoffs and cuts to public assistance benefits, because of the state's continuing budget woes.

The governor said in a webcast that she plans to decrease payments to social service program beneficiaries and eliminate programs that can effectively be provided by federal or local agencies, or by volunteers.

Lingle said some state offices must be closed and some administrative duties consolidated in areas of government she oversees, which include health and welfare, business and economic development, transportation, and land and natural resources.

KAHULUI - The recession is probably over, and the recovery probably has begun, although you'd hardly notice.

The message from Thursday's First Hawaiian Bank Maui Economic Outlook Forum at the Maui Beach Hotel was encouraging, tepidly.

Hawaii Pacific University professor Leroy Laney presented his 20th annual review on behalf of the bank, and it was better than last year.

"The year 2010 may be a relatively flat year," he told about 120 invited guests of the bank at a breakfast meeting. "It will not be a snapback, but just modest growth."

However, tourism is still the main economic factor in the county's economic vitality, and it was clobbered directly by the worldwide recession.

HONOLULU (AP) - Scientists using the Subaru telescope on the Big Island reported the discovery of a giant galaxy surrounding the most distant supermassive black hole ever found.

The galaxy located 12.8 billion light-years from Earth is as large as our own Milky Way galaxy, the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy said Wednesday. The universe itself is thought to be 13.7 billion years old.

''It is surprising that such a giant galaxy existed when the universe was only one-sixteenth of its present age, and that it hosted a black hole 1 billion times more massive than the sun. The galaxy and black hole must have formed very rapidly in the early universe,'' University of Hawaii astronomer Tomotsugu Goto said.

Makena Resort and its hotel, the Maui Prince, are now a toxic asset with creditors including the Swiss government.

UBS, the Swiss banking giant, put together the financing for the eye-popping sale of the resort for $575 million in 2007, using the commercial real estate version of the mortgage-backed residential real estate securities that caused so much grief in the housing market.

Only in this case, according to Barry Sullivan, the Honolulu attorney handling the foreclosure, there was no Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to purchase the bonds created to fund the deal.

In this case, the lenders foreclose, the court appoints a receiver and eventually the receiver will hold an auction. If anybody bids, then the lenders get back some or all of their money.

KAHULUI - Hawaii Carpenters Union members are staging protests on Maui and Oahu to raise public awareness about contractors who don't pay Hawaii area standard wages and benefits.

On Maui, the protests are targeting construction sites in Kahului and Lahaina where Walgreens stores are under construction.

"We're trying to raise public awareness," said Lance Yoshimura, the union's assistant business representative, from his Oahu office Monday.

HILO (AP) - Big Island police report that a marijuana eradication effort this month led to the destruction of 5,500 plants ranging from seedlings to 8 feet tall.

Lt. Richard Sherlock of Hilo Vice Section said that the ''Counter Cannabis'' missions were conducted using the Big Island's $159,000 portion of a statewide federal grant provided for the fiscal year ended June 30.

He called it ''leftover money'' secured before passage last November of a ballot initiative directing the Hawaii County Council to decline state and federal money for marijuana eradication.

The initiative also made personal use of marijuana the lowest priority for police.

HONOLULU - Gov. Linda Lingle, blasting state employee unions for what she called ''completely unacceptable'' responses to her latest contract offer, on Friday called an ''emergency'' meeting of top aides this weekend to discuss more cuts to state spending.

Lingle said that the reductions will likely include layoffs of an undetermined number of state workers beyond the nearly 1,200 that her administration has already notified.

KAHULUI - In addition to causing delays in food shipments and ending flower shipments to the Mainland, the layoff of state agricultural inspectors could result in a shortage of Christmas trees in Hawaii this year.

Carol Okada, manager of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch, said her division would likely not have the resources to inspect the nearly 200 containers of Christmas trees imported to the state, and she would not allow them to enter unchecked because they are considered very likely to contain nasty invasive pests including snakes and tree wasps.

"We know Christmas trees are wanted by families; it's just such a high-risk commodity," she said.

PUKALANI - Plant quarantine officials said last week that laying off more than half the state's agricultural inspectors would create such a logjam at Hawaii ports that it could cause shortages similar to those seen during shipping strikes.

Carol Okada, manager of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch, said she has not been able to develop a plan for how her department will continue its core functions after it loses 52 employees, 50 of them inspectors, to layoffs planned for November.

"There's such a reliance on imports," she said Thursday. "When this is impacted, it's just like having a dock strike, but in Hawaii. It's a shutdown."

HONOLULU - A lack of construction and worries about swine flu caused Hawaii's economic seers to forecast that tax revenues will continue to drop before bouncing back next year.

The Council on Revenues predicted Thursday that revenues will decline through June, but the islands are set for a sharp rebound afterward.

''We're taking notice of some improvement,'' said Paul Brewbaker, the council's chairman. ''But at the same time, there are lingering challenges, primarily in the form of construction.''

WAILUKU - A 30-year-old former Transportation Security Administration worker was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years' probation Thursday for stealing jewelry, gift cards and other things out of tourists' bags as the items were undergoing security screening at Kahului Airport.

MAKENA - As Maui County Council Member Mike Victorino put it a day after news broke about the impending Makena Resort foreclosure, "it wasn't exactly a military secret, you know?"

Back in November, it was Victorino who resurrected the proposal for what was to be an 1,800-acre development with 1,100 luxury condos, apartments and homes, a new beach club and a rebuilt Maui Prince Hotel, as well as a host of other improvements that $800 million or so can buy.

MAKENA - Skittish lenders and real estate buyers apparently accomplished what hundreds of protesters couldn't: halt the massive Makena Resort development in South Maui.

A least for now. Everett Dowling, the Wailuku developer who spearheaded the project, said on Tuesday that he hopes to be back on board with new investors in six months.

However, on Monday, Honolulu attorneys for the resort's trustee, Wells Fargo Bank, filed a complaint in 2nd Circuit Court alleging that the partnership of Dowling Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Real Estate, together called Makena Land LLC, defaulted on the original $192.5 million loan to purchase the 1,800-acre Makena Resort.

To hear local business leaders tell it, there are few places in the sink-or-swim world of private business where the waters are as uniformly forbidding as Hawaii.

The litany of grievances is familiar to even casual observers of Hawaii's business community: interminable waiting periods for permits; onerous taxes; regulatory processes that seem designed to suffocate rather than promote enterprise; layers of bureaucracy that make it readily apparent why government is Hawaii's largest employer.

HONOLULU - Hawaii welcomed its entry as the 50th state with a new postage stamp Friday, but independence supporters marked the day with passionate protest - including an effigy of Uncle Sam being beaten and Hawaii's star cut out from the U.S. flag.

The Honolulu Police Department has launched its own investigation into the actions of two officers who were charged with marijuana possession during a weekend softball tournament in Las Vegas.

''If these allegations are true, these individuals should not be police officers, and they should not be supported by their fellow officers or their union,'' Police Chief Boisse Correa said.

WAILUKU - As Hawaii observes a half century of statehood Friday, some Maui County Native Hawaiian activists remained steadfast that the achievement only cemented the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.

It is an irritating reminder, they say, that statehood further fortified existing government- and business-created ramparts against native sovereignty. With statehood, Native Hawaiians lost property ownership rights as well as native control of natural resources, such as unfettered access to shorelines, fishing and hunting, and fresh water.

Two Honolulu law enforcers in Las Vegas to play in a softball tournament for police and firefighters were arrested on marijuana charges after leading authorities on a short chase.

Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling said officers Kevin Fujioka, 37, and Shayne Souza, 47, were arrested Saturday night near Desert Breeze Park, about six miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.

Scott Wilson, a 38-year-old social worker from Honolulu, also was arrested, Welling said Monday.

Maui police and federal agents confiscated more than 130 pounds of high-quality processed marijuana and arrested a 37-year-old Kula woman this month in what police called Tuesday the largest processed marijuana seizure and investigation in Maui County history.

Hawaii has several groups and as for me I am the descendent of a Confederate Cavalryman.