Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Thursday, May 2, 1996

Garcia fans force south Maui
beaches to close nights

The state will close two popular south Maui beaches overnight because of an increasing number of homeless campers.

Some officials refer to the homeless youth flocking to the island as "Jerry's kids" after the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead acid rock band.

Starting July 1, Big Beach and Little Beach in Makena will close from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Floyd Miyazono, state parks superintendent for Maui County, says a growing number of homeless people are staying at the beaches. He says they are leaving trash and excrement and generating complaints.

To some, the situation is reminiscent of the hippie squatters who settled on Maui in the 1960s.

Merchants say the young homeless people are not violent. But business people are upset because the campers are making customers feel uncomfortable and fearful.

Housing agency protests Council cuts

Employees and backers of the city's Department of Housing and Community Development aren't buying the City Council's argument that the public won't be affected by a proposed budget cut.

Housing Director Roland Libby testified at a Council meeting yesterday that the cut could require him to trim the department's operating budget by 25 percent and lay off as many as 30 of 115 employees.

Council members want to withhold the last three months of the department's operational funding for the coming fiscal year - about $863,000 - pending a study.

The department's role has long been a source of controversy. Some believe its policies have worsened the housing crunch by placing requirements on developers, while others feel it has not been active enough.

Mamala Bay pollution study is released

The final draft of the $9 million Mamala Bay pollution study of waters from Diamond Head to Barbers Point has both environmentalists and city officials claiming victory.

Recommendations of the four-year study, released yesterday, include upgrading waste-water treatment at the Sand Island and Honouliuli plants using chemicals and ultraviolet light; and taking steps to control nonpoint source pollution through the Ala Wai Canal.

For expanded versions of these and other stories,
see today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Police/Fire

By Star-Bulletin staff

Rental car crash passenger dies

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK - A Honolulu woman died early today at Hilo Hospital of injuries she suffered in a single-car accident yesterday in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, police said.

She was a passenger in a rented car that crashed at 2 p.m. on Chain of Craters Road, just uphill from the hairpin turn that descends from Holei Pali.

The male driver was in fair condition today at Queen's Hospital. A second female passenger was treated at Hilo Hospital and released.

Burn victim in critical condition

WAILUKU - A 30-year-old Kihei man was in critical condition in Straub Hospital today after suffering third-degree burns over 60 percent of his body in a house fire, Assistant Fire Chief Clayton Ishikawa said.

The fire occurred at 1:30 a.m. today at 171 Eleu Place in Kihei. "It was his brother who heard him yelling," Ishikawa said. "He (the brother) opened the bedroom door. The brother grabbed him. He pulled him out."

Ishikawa said the fire, under control in 25 minutes, caused $30,000 in damages.

Other headlines:

--Body found in Waialua ravine
--Man injured driving into truck

(See expanded versions in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

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