LIHU‘E — State Attorney General Mark Bennett was three for four in state court Wednesday, prevailing on all but one defense pre-trial motion in the James Pflueger manslaughter case.

Today HOW TO START A BUSINESS ON KAUA‘I — 9 to 11:30 a.m., at the Kaua‘i Community College Campus. Presented by the Hawai‘i Small Business Development Center Network. Call 241-3148 for more information.

PO‘IPU — A part-time elderly Kalaheo resident nearly drowned Tuesday afternoon on the South Shore, a county news release states.

LIHU‘E — The first meeting of the Stakeholder/Technical Advisory Committee for the Important Agricultural Lands Study is scheduled for Jan. 21 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Lihu‘e Civic Center, Mo‘ikeha Building, Room 2A-2B, a county news release states.

LIHU‘E -- The state Department of Land and Natural Resources will hold a public information meeting on Jan. 21 to provide information to the community about planned rockfall mitigation at the Kalalau Beach section of Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park.

Nelson Secretario recently attended a three-day training event in Topeka, Kansas, to learn more information about veterans benefits.

LIHU‘E — Even state Department of Transportation officials acknowledge that the next eight weekdays are going to be trying times for Eastside drivers.

LIHU‘E — For the second time in as many months, the Kaua‘i Planning Commission on Tuesday rejected a petition arguing North Shore landowner Joseph Brescia has not complied with permits in building his single-family residence on top of multiple known burials at Naue.

LIHU‘E — The partnership between Lihu‘e bookseller Borders and its in-house Starbucks location has dissolved. The bookstore will start working toward opening its own in-store coffee shop in coming months, officials for both companies say.

LIHU‘E — Making his second court appearance in two days, Lii Kaimana Cook, 25, of Kapa‘a, pleaded not guilty in two cases on Tuesday.

“I think that’s a lot. It’s way too much. People are already starting to conserve.”

National Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly’s adoption of Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Jan. 16, 1786. This vital document became the basis for the separation of church and state, and led to freedom of religion for all Americans as protected in the religion clause in the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

The Hawai‘i Youth Conservation Corp will have a service day on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, from 8 a.m. to noon, at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens in Lawa‘i.

LIHU‘E — County officials would like to remind Kaua‘i property owners that the second installment of real property taxes for the 2009-2010 tax year is due by Feb. 20.

Army Pfc. Carlos W. Sepulveda has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C., a news release states.

An excited crowd gathered at the Lihu‘e Library last Wednesday evening for the Lihu‘e Library Film Club’s premier and a screening of the 1959 film “Some Like It Hot,” starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, a news release says.

KAPA‘A — These are trying times. Challenges in finances, relationships, and mental and physical health abound fostering tension, alienation, anxiety and of course stress. When the outer life is under such turmoil it is especially important to cultivate the inner life. Such is the topic of a three-day spiritual retreat to be held here this weekend, a news release states.

PORT ALLEN — A Sunday night fire in a Port Allen warehouse bay leased by Mana Divers caused an estimated $250,000 in damages but no injuries, the Kaua‘i Fire Department announced Monday.

LIHU‘E — A 51-year-old Lihu‘e man admitted in court Monday morning that he killed his wife last March, pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

PUHI — No major problems greeted more than 1,250 students starting their first day of the spring semester at the Kaua‘i Community College, Monday.