Election ballots to be mailed starting Oct. 17

Sep. 19—Honolulu election officials said last week they will mail general election ballots to Oahu voters Oct. 17 and 18.

Honolulu election officials said last week they will mail general election ballots to Oahu voters Oct. 17 and 18.

In addition, ballot drop boxes at 15 locations across Oahu will open Oct. 18 through 7 p.m. Election Day, Nov. 8.

The Honolulu Elections Division, in a news release, encouraged voters to have a plan to return their ballot by mail using postage-paid envelopes or at any ballot drop box.

More information and locations of nearby ballot drop boxes can be found at honoluluelections.us.

Staffing issues close shooting complex The Koko Head Shooting Complex has been closed due to staffing shortages, and will remain closed for several weeks during a construction project.

City officials said Friday the range had been closed due to staffing issues but won't reopen until after completion of a berm renovation project, which is expected to begin in October and be completed in November.

For more information, go to bit.ly /kokoheadrange, call the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation at 808-768-3003 on weekdays from 7 :45 a.m. until 4 :30 p.m. or email parks @honolulu.gov.

Kure Atoll project needs volunteers The state and Kure Atoll Conservancy are looking for volunteers for remote habitat restoration work in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Volunteers would work at the Kure Atoll State Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Forestry and Wildlife is working with the conservancy to find volunteers who, over the course of six to eight months, would remove invasive plants, monitor wildlife and conduct native plant propagation and distribution, among other duties.

Holaniku (Kure Atoll ), part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, is 1, 400 miles northwest of Oahu, and habitat to the endangered Laysan duck and Hawaiian monk seal. Eighteen species of seabirds, including blackfooted albatrosses, nest there.

"Over the last 20 years DLNR has been working to transform Kure Atoll State Wildlife Sanctuary from a tangled mess of weeds to a resilient functioning ecosystem that supports over one million nesting seabirds, hundreds of shorebirds and 80 endangered Laysan ducks, " Kure Atoll Conservancy Executive Director Cynthia Vanderlip said in a news release. "This work was done by many hands who worked year-round to remove the most destructive weeds and plant native Hawaiian plants. These natives prevent erosion and increase the nesting success of seabirds."