Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Saturday, June 7, 1997

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By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Miss Universe Brook Mahealani Lee is draped with leis and
showered with flowers as she arrives at Honolulu Airport
Friday night on her first trip home since she won the title.
She took part in Saturday's Kamehameha Day Parade.

Compromise on whale sanctuary
fails to settle the issue

Gov. Ben Cayetano's conditional five-year agreement with the federal government for a redefined humpback whale sanctuary in isle waters has not quelled the controversy over the issue.

Boating and fishing interests, which oppose the sanctuary, and environmentalists, who want the sanctuary expanded to the area proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, vow to continue their fight.

Maui Mayor Linda Crockett Lingle, a Republican who urged Democrat Cayetano to veto the sanctuary, had no immediate comment on the plan, which calls for a review after five years.

The sanctuary was established in 1992 and covered waters around Maui, Molokai and Lanai. The federal agency wanted to add 1,100 square miles, but only 600 will be added, said state Land Board Chairman Mike Wilson.

The sanctuary boundaries around the Big Island, Maui, Kauai and Molokai are reduced from what the agency sought. Only the sanctuary boundaries around Lanai and Oahu were unchanged from what the agency wanted.

Cayetano acknowledged yesterday that not everyone will be pleased with the compromise. The five-year limit on the agreement allows the state to discern if there are any benefits to having the sanctuary and if any changes need to be made, Cayetano said.

"I insisted that ownership and management of our state waters and natural resources remain within our sovereign control," Cayetano said. "This means fishing in state waters remains within the state's authority."

Kaimuki's top seniors
share name, ambition

The top two graduating seniors at Kaimuki High School this year share more than a few things.

They come from similar backgrounds and families with a strong sense of sacrifice. Both excelled academically and participated heavily in school activities and clubs. And they have the same name: Nguyen Phan.

He is 17. Classmates nicknamed him Wen - which is as close as most Americans can get to pronouncing Nguyen. He will be valedictorian at Saturday night's graduation ceremonies, with a grade-point average of 4.04.

She is 16. Call her Thao - her middle name - or Tina, she said. She's Kaimuki's salutatorian with a grade-point average of 3.97. No, they're not related.

Nguyen is a common Vietnamese family name, but is not usually a first name, she said. Wen's mother, a schoolteacher in Vietnam, named her oldest child after one of her favorite female students.

"Most of our top students are Vietnamese," said Bryan Pang, Kaimuki's senior counselor.

Citizens skate in-line
to fight park crime

A new breed of citizens patrol started Saturday at Ala Moana Beach Park.

A group of in-line skaters trained to spot criminal activity was to begin its weekend patrols after an inauguration by Councilman Andy Mirikitani this afternoon at Magic Island.

The patrol, the first of its kind in the state, "is aimed to fight the rising tourist crimes and purse snatchings," Mirikitani said.

Mirikitani also said crimes against residents, such as yesterday morning's stabbing of a man in the park, show the need for added patrols.

About 31 skaters wearing red T-shirts with the National Skate Patrol logo and equipped with cellular telephones will cruise the park every weekend during its busiest hours, Mirikitani said.

The park's maintenance supervisor, Chuck Allen, said about 5 million people, most of them residents, use the park each year.