Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Thursday, September 19, 1996

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But the children get through it and, if anything, grow stronger from it, said Dr. Robert Bidwell, director of adolescent medicine at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Hawaii medical school.

"I don't know of any teen-ager who has not gotten through intact," Bidwell said before Circuit Judge Kevin Chang. "Yes, I think there was pain and there might have been tears. But this is what I think we call growing up."

Bidwell was the final witness for the three couples who sued the state in 1991 seeking the legal right to marry. Chang will hear closing arguments tomorrow but is not expected to rule until later this year.

Under cross-examination by Deputy Attorney General Rick Eichor, Bidwell said he testified before the state Legislature that he favored same-sex marriages.

But the revised bill, given initial approval yesterday by the Parks, Health and Safety Committee, also ensures that adults over 21 can continue using such products for legitimate reasons.

The measure is up for a final vote before the Council next Wednesday.

Councilman Duke Bainum, a physician, said he introduced the bill because he wants to get rid of ephedrine-filled products that target youths by claiming to induce energy boosts, sexual highs or other sensations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reported 400 nationwide cases of adverse effects, including 15 deaths. Potential effects range from mood swings and increased heartbeats to heart attacks and strokes.

Bainum said he's troubled by reports that the products are often passed around or sold in popular nightclubs, including those in Hawaii.

The bill also would ban over-the-counter products that make such claims, such as Herbal Ecstasy and Ultimate Euphoria.

Police/Fire


By Star-Bulletin staff

The suspects, wearing dark clothing and armed with a handgun and a knife, burst into the Pupukoae Street home at 10:22 p.m. while five family members played mah-jongg in the kitchen. Two other family members were elsewhere in the home.

The suspects bound the residents with duct tape and demanded money, police said. A few family members freed themselves and a struggle ensued. The suspects fled.

One family member suffered a cut on his head, another suffered a black eye.

The girl was pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m. yesterday at Kapiolani Hospital.

Witnesses told police she apparently darted into the street into the path of the truck, driven by a 41-year-old Pearl City man.