Airports on Kauai and the Big Island will receive almost $6 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Lihue Airport on Kauai will get $5.7 million in federal funding for improvements to its terminal building.

The grants are a part of the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, which provides money for planning, development and noise-compatibility projects at public airports.

Kauai is known as one of the safer vacation places in the world and even the residents agree with over 76 percent saying they feel very safe walking around at night on this incredibly beautiful island. Soon they will be even safer as Kauai policeman are getting special forensics training from some of the best forensic scientists in the world, thus putting away the bad guys in true CSI style.

Henry Lee who runs the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensci Science in West Have, Connecticut has brought specialists from his institute to train the Kauai officers.

Kauai is a place where vacationers love to visit, enthralled by the beauty of the place. It is also a place that along with the rest of America has a growing number of homeless.

Mayor Bryan Baptiste said that, due to non-profit and government agencies not being able to meet the need of the problem, the first emergency shelter will be opened on the island.

Kauai is the only county in Hawaii without a shelter.

“I think we’re getting some control over it. There are things that are taking place. We have just received $400,000 from the state to help deal with homelessness,” said Babtiste.

Creeper makes one think of a giant spider or huge snake creeping silently through the grass, but the Kauai creeper doesn’t look at all like its name. Small and delicate the bird was given the name Kauai Creeper due to its warbler-like appearance and since it gleans insects from tree trunks and branches. It is also known a the Akikiki.

The lovely bird may have a mismatched creepy name but there is something truly creepy about the sad decline of the species.

The all stone Hindu Temple being built on the beautiful island of Kauai, was started 32 years ago and is being built solely with the hands of masons using ancient long ago ways to carve the stone into a landmark that will be viewed by people vacationing on Kauai for thousands of years to come. That is if it is finished.

Six shipli, the specially trained masons, who were set to help with work on the temple were denied visas, due to new rules put in effect by Homeland Security Office which could effect many different religious endeavors worldwide.

Senator Gary Hooser who lives in Kapa’a, Kauai called in to the KSSK-FM radio show last Friday morning to talk about politics and found himself in a “hostile environment” that ended up being seemingly focused on a much more personal agenda.

Hooser started to say how the legislators had accomplished a lot of good things for the year and was then asked from talk show host Larry Price “”You keep using the word honest, Senator. Where are you from?” Hooser said he was born in California, educated on Oahu and now lives in Kapa’a Kauai.

It has only been four days since the tragic Heli-USA crash that killed four and injured three and now a second crash has claimed another life. The island of Kauai is in shock as this is only the fifth helicopter crash in four years and they are very rare even with the large number of Kauai vacationers taking the helicopter tours.

The crash happened around 1 p.m. as a Hughes 500 helicopter operated by Smoky Mountain Helicopters was flying near Tunnels beach on the north shore of Kauai. The 30-year-old pilot reported hearing a loud bang and then lost control of the aircraft.

Looking to spend the summer in Kauai and want a little extra money? Well, if you’re going to college or are in high school (16 or older), than you may be able to get a summer job with the county for the 2007 Summer Youth Employment Program.

Applications are currently being accepted and forms are available at the mayor’s office, any neighborhood center, the Department of Personnel Services in the Lihu’e Civic Center or can be downloaded at www.kuai.gov.

The application deadline is April 20th and the program typically runs from June 18th to July 31st .

Speeding is a problem throughout Kauai and all of Hawaii, and pedestrian accidents have been on the rise. AIG insurance company has identified 40 “speed problem” areas across the state, and has released five of their school zone hotspots for the island of Kauai.

The five hotspots are Wilcox Elementary, Kapaa Elementary, Koloa Elementary, Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School and Hanalei Elementary. Following the announcement, parents and students came out in force at Wilcox Elementary errecting signs and banners, trying to get the message out – “slow down”.

“There are big concerns,” said Sen. Gary Hooser (D, Kauai-Niihau), vice chairman of the Environment Committee, regarding the launch of the Superferry set to begin a daily service between Honolulu, Kauai, and Maui July 1, 2007.

A bill requiring a study of traffic, invasive species, harbor space and humback whale preservation was approved by a Senate committee yesterday, in spite of a previous bill being dismissed unheard by the House committee. Previous lawsuits attempting to force an environmental impact study have also been lost, as well as the Superferry being exempted from being required to do environmental studies, because no other ships coming into the harbor are required to do so. The senate bill however would enforce the study by law.