Poke Nūhou - Newsbriefs

By Ka Wai Ola Loa Staff

Planned 12,000-home project fizzles

A plan by local homebuilder Gentry to develop O'ahu's Waiawa Ridge with up to 12,000 homes and amenities is pau for now. A 1987 agreement made between Gentry and landowner Kamehameha Schools to purchase the 3,700 acres was terminated because Gentry was not able to meet certain financing commitments. The project, nestled between Mililani, Pearl City, Waipahu, Waikele and Waipi'o, had been envisioned since the 1980s. As recently as 2006, Gentry entered into a joint-venture with Alexander & Baldwin to get the project moving, but the major hurdle to developing the site was financing the infrastructure – $40 million to expand the H-2 Freeway's interchange with Ka Uka Blvd., $25 million to extend Ka Uka Blvd. over Pānakauahi Gulch, and $30 million for a sewer line to Pearl City. As the agreement has been terminated, the land and the development rights revert to Kamehameha Schools.

October 27 proclaimed BJ Penn Day

Hawai'i County Mayor Billy Kenoi, left, declared October 27 BJ Penn Day, in honor of the Hilo mixed martial arts fighter who is in training for his next fight on Dec. 12. At UFC 107, Penn will defend his lightweight title against Diego Sanchez in Memphis, Tennessee. Kenoi lauded Penn as a "positive role model and mentor to youth in our community" at a ceremony in Penn's gym. Penn resides in Hilo, where he operates his gym and delivers anti-drug and anti-violence messages to Hawai'i Island youth. "He's a champion in our hearts in every way," Kenoi said. "He's the pride of the Big Island and we wish him the best of luck in his next fight." – Photo: Courtesy of the Office of Mayor Billy Kenoi

Study: Lifestyle changes stave off diabetes

A long-term national study that included Native Hawaiian participants highlights the importance of weight-loss, diet and exercise as a way to prevent or lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. The findings of the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study, published in the October edition of the The Lancet medical journal, provides evidence that a healthy lifestyle is key to diabetes prevention even in people at high risk for developing the disease. The recent study is a follow-up to initial research begun in 1999 on volunteer participants who were diagnosed with obesity and elevated blood glucose levels: major risk factors for diabetes. After three years of intensive lifestyle changes, including increased physical activity and dietary changes, a sub-group showed an incidence of diabetes that was 58 percent lower than a control group. A third sub-group received the diabetes prevention drug metformin and showed an incidence of diabetes 31 percent lower than the control group. The recent Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study re-visited the same participants to find out whether the reduction in diabetes rate could be sustained over a ten-year span.

Researchers found that the latest results mirrored the original study: Compared to a control group, the lifestyle group reduced its diabetes rate by 34 percent and also delayed the onset of the disease by two years; those taking metaformin had a 13 percent reduction in disease and two year delay in disease onset. The ten-year study included 60 residents from Hawai'i, of which 55 were either Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. According to Department of Health estimates, Native Hawaiian adults have the highest rate of diabetes 2, compared to all other major ethnic groups in the state. Diabetes is a disease in which the body produces insufficient amounts of insulin, preventing the proper metabolizing of food into energy. Potentially fatal complications from diabetes include kidney failure, heart disease and stroke.