Two nabbed in Kailua for alleged mail theft
Police have made two arrests in Kailua in a 12-hour period involving two men allegedly stealing mail.One of the suspects was found with hundreds of items from all over Oahu.
The 32-year-old Kaneohe man was arrested at 3 a.m. today at 186 Alala Road, after officers saw him driving with expired license tabs.
When police attempted to stop his car, the suspect tried to elude officers by turning off his lights, police said.
Police said when the man pulled over, piles of mail were found in the back and passenger seats of the car.
"There were hundreds and hundreds (of items)," said Kailua police Sgt. Allan Silva. "Most of it was treasury checks, blank checks, credit cards and child-support checks."
The suspect is not believed to be a U.S. Postal Service employee, officials said. Most of the mail was from the Kaneohe and Kailua areas; however, some came from from Kalihi, Hawaii Kai, Honolulu and Haleiwa, Silva said.
Police have turned over all the seized mail to U.S Postal Service inspectors.
Inspector Raleigh Copeland said all the mail will be sent to the sender or addressee as soon as possible.
Another man was arrested at 3:45 p.m. yesterday when a witness reported he saw a man on a bicycle removing mail on Kainui Drive, police said.
He was found with three large envelopes containing materials valued at more than $300.
Detectives and postal inspectors are still investigating the incidents and don't believe they are related.
Wahine softball season spared
The season has been saved, but you still may have trouble seeing the games.University of Hawaii and state officials yesterday agreed to go ahead with the softball season at the new $1.2 million Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, even though most of the 1,200 seats don't have a clear view of the field.
Hugh Yoshida, UH athletic director, yesterday said the season would open as scheduled on Jan. 31.
The problem with the seating will remain, but the field is in good shape and it is the only softball field available that meets the National Collegiate Athletic Association specifications. Hawaii Pacific University has a park that would fit the requirements, but it is in use.
The question of who is going to pay to either fix or rebuild the stadium was not answered at yesterday's meeting with state officials, Yoshida, softball coach Bob Coolen and the stadium architect Bryce Uyehara.
The architect was not available to answer questions about the stadium yesterday.
Sam Callejo, director of the state Department of Accounting and General Services, which approved hiring Uyehara to design the project, said he didn't know much about the architect, but said he had done other state work.
Campaign spending records show that Uyehara had also been a campaign contributor to Gov. Ben Cayetano, giving him $1,000 in December 1995 and another $1,000 last April.
Callejo said he considers the stadium to have a design fault.
Governor to propose private firm build prison
Gov. Ben Cayetano says he will be proposing that a private firm build the state's new medium-security prison in Hawaii and that it be leased to the state with an option to buy.He declined to say precisely where the facility, with 1,000 to 1,500 beds, would be constructed, but the state has considered several sites on the Big Island and a feedlot in Ewa on Oahu.
On the Big Island possible sites include 300 acres of government land in Panaewa four miles south of Hilo, former sugar lands in Kau and Hamakua, and expanding Kulani Correctional Facility.
Public Safety Director Keith Kaneshiro has maintained that a 2,000-bed medium-security facility -- 1,500 for men and 500 for women -- needs to be built.
Cayetano once considered Panaewa an ideal site but ruled it out as a possibility because of resistance from area residents and Big Island politicians. He also ran into similar opposition to the Leeward Oahu proposal.
Only the Kau site seems to have regional support where supporters say they have gathered 800 signatures endorsing the proposal because it would create jobs lost when Big Island sugar plantations went out of business. However, water, sewer and other utility lines as well as roads would have to be built.
Cayetano intends to unveil his prison plans during his State of the State speech Monday.
Union: Early retirements could offset sugar layoffs
WAILUKU -- The layoff of 38 union employees at Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. may be offset by workers taking early retirement, an ILWU union official said.William Kennison, the ILWU business agent at Hawaiian Commercial, said under the contract with the union, employees 60 years or older can retire early with the same benefits as if they retired at age 65.
Kennison said more than 60 employees are eligible for early retirement.
"If we can get enough employees to retire, that would offset it," Kennison said.
Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., yesterday announced it was planning to cut 58 jobs, including 38 employees and 20 supervisors.
Stephen Haladay, the company's general manager, said the layoffs represent 5.8 percent of the 1,008 employees at the company.
Haladay said several factors have caused a substantial drop in sugar yields and production, and the company is trying to identify the problems. "This is farming. It is not a perfect science," he said.
He said the company has been producing 200,000 tons of raw sugar annually for the past four years while operating with a cost structure of a plantation producing 225,000 tons.
Kennison said the problem stems from the company changing to new varieties of sugar cane to cope with pest and bacteria problems.
He said the new varieties have produced lower yields.
Rumors of 'mad cow disease' unfounded
A rare case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease at Queen's Hospital stirred false rumors that "mad cow disease" appeared here, according to health officials.Patrick Johnston, state Health Department spokesman, said the Queen's case involves an older woman who has a variant of the disease, which has been around a long time.
It is not the strain associated with the fatal brain infection in cattle believed to be transmitted to humans in Great Britain, Johnston said.
Only about one case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease occurs per million people worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease is a progressive neurological disorder that attacks the brain and causes it to deteriorate and appear spongy under a microscope.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffFatal accident cuts area electricity
A fatal traffic accident knocked down a utility pole and interrupted electrical service for about 1,400 customers on Wilhelmina Rise last night.The 9:06 p.m. accident at 16th Avenue and Claudine Street affected residences on those streets and sections of Paula, Lurline, Matsonia and Sierra drives, as well as parts of Maunalani Circle, Mikahala Way and smaller intersecting streets.
An occupant of the vehicle, a 23-year-old man, died in Queen's Hospital at 9:56 p.m.
Crews cleared downed wires and prepared to re-
energize the surrounding area once the lines were removed. About half the customers had power restored at 10:45 p.m.; the other half got power back at 11:05 p.m., Kobashikawa said.
Woman hit by vehicle; purse taken
Police are searching for two men who allegedly hit a woman with their vehicle and then took off with her purse.The Kalihi woman was walking to work at 6:30 a.m. yesterday when she was struck at 2131 Bachelot St., police said. The passenger of the suspect's vehicle then took the purse from the injured victim.
Woman terrorized at Heeia school
Police yesterday arrested a man who terrorized a woman in the parking lot of a school in Heeia.The woman pulled into King Intermediate School when she was approached by the suspect on a motorcycle who unsuccessfully attempted to enter her car, police said.
The suspect allegedly ripped off both side mirrors from her Honda Accord and threw one at her rear window, causing it to shatter, police said.
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