Flags at Half-Staff Thursday to Honor Late Senator

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has ordered that US and Hawaii state flags will be flown at half-staff Thursday, the day of memorial services for former state Sen. Cal Kawamoto.

Kawamoto served in the state Legislature from 1994 to 2004, where he was chairman of the Senate Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.

Prior to running for office, Kawamoto served for 20 years in the US Air Force and was a veteran fighter pilot.

Kawamoto, who represented the district around Waipahu, Oahu, died Sept. 22 in Honolulu at age 73.

“Cal was an unwavering advocate of the people of Hawaii and devoted to the Waipahu community and particularly Hawaii’s youth,” Abercrombie said. “From his service in the Air Force to the establishment of Hawaii’s plantation village, he remained committed to our island community.”