At the request of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Gov. Ben Cayetano has invited President Bill Clinton to stop over in Hawaii this summer when Clinton travels to China. Cayetano sends Clinton
invitation to visit islesThe White House says Clinton will head to China in late June or early July at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Kathleen Racuya-Markrich, Cayetano's spokeswoman, said a letter was sent to Clinton last week inviting him to visit Hawaii either on his way to China or on his return. As yet, there has been no response from the White House.
Clinton has made four past visits to Hawaii. He made a speech on the beach in Waikiki during his first visit in 1993, and spent several days on Oahu for ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of V-J Day in November 1995. He also visited in 1994 and 1996.
Illegal iguanas ready to depart isle scene
Two iguanas that arrived on Oahu yesterday first led a merry chase in Kona for Big Island Humane Society Manager Jack Cox.The iguanas, each two feet in length, were sighted Monday morning by gardeners working in the Kilohana subdivision. They called the Humane Society.
"When I got to the scene, one of the iguanas was crawling over the front lava wall of a residence," Cox said. "After catching the first one, I saw the other iguana sunning itself near a car parked on the street.
"I had to chase the second iguana for about 30 minutes before I was able to catch the animal."
State Department of Agriculture inspectors collected the animals Monday afternoon and sent them to Oahu yesterday morning. The iguanas now are awaiting possible shipment out-of-state.
State law prohibits possession of iguanas. If caught, violators are subject to stiff penalties with a maximum fine of $25,000 and one year in jail. People with illegal pets can turn them in under the state amnesty plan. Anyone who knows of illegal animals is asked to call 586-PEST (7378).
Sex assault information available at UH, malls
Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children will answer questions and distribute information on sexual assault throughout April, which is Sex Assault Awareness Month.Booths will be set up:
Tomorrow, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the University of Hawaii Campus Center.
For more information, call Penny Hirakawa at 535-7633.
British astronomer, cosmologist to lecture at UH
Sir Martin Rees, University of Cambridge professor, astronomer royal for England and one of the world's leading cosmologists, will give two lectures this month at the University of Hawaii.He will discuss the idea that the Earth's universe might be one of many universes in "Before the Beginning -- Our Universe and Others," a free lecture at 6:30 p.m. April 20 in the art auditorium, Manoa Campus.
"Gamma Ray Bursts," a more technical lecture, will be given at an Astrophysics Colloquium at the Institute for Astronomy Auditorium at 3:30 p.m. April 21.
Choir, band to perform at Punchbowl
The Honolulu Boy Choir, the Royal Hawaiian Band and the Sacred Dance Guild of Hawaii will perform at the annual Easter sunrise service at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl.The Rev. Phyllis C. Roe, executive director of the Samaritan Counseling Centers of Hawaii, will speak on "Easter People."
The service will begin at 6:15 a.m. Sunday. Gates will be open at 4:30 a.m.
City shuttle buses will leave the Monsarrat Avenue terminus in Waikiki at 5 and 5:15 a.m. and stop at the Kapiolani Boulevard stop fronting Hard Rock Cafe.
Buses will leave the Alapai Street express terminal at 5:15 a.m., 5:30 a.m., and 5:45 a.m. Return bus service will be available.
Regular fares and transfers will be accepted.
All shuttle buses will have lifts and bicycle racks.
Parking will be prohibited from 3 to 9 a.m. Sunday on Puowaina Drive from Hookui Street to the cemetery gates and on Hookui Street to accommodate the heavy traffic expected for the service.
One-way traffic will be in effect as needed, and no left turns from Hookui Street onto Auwaiolimu Street will be permitted during peak traffic times.
2nd new drug could fight breast cancer
A national osteoporosis study offers hope of a better drug to reduce breast cancer than the recently acclaimed tamoxifen.The study looked at raloxifene to fight osteoporosis or bone loss.
The group using the drug in clinical studies seemed to have less breast cancer, said Dr. Brian Issell, director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.
"It's very encouraging," he said. "What it says is we should do a study like we did for tamoxifen, to test if it might be even better for women at risk for breast cancer."
The National Cancer Institute already is planning to use raloxifene in its next studies to see if it is better than tamoxifen, he said.
One of the side effects of tamoxifen is that women may develop cancer of the uterine lining, he said.
The University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center participated in the tamoxifen study with about 113 women and is hoping to be part of the follow-up study on raloxifene, Issell said.
Libertarian Party back on the ballot
The Libertarian Party of Hawaii collected more than 5,800 signatures during a petition drive to be reinstated as a political party and will be included on this year's election ballot.The 25-year-old Hawaii chapter had to collect about 5,449 signatures, or 1 percent of the votes in the 1996 general election, to get back on the ballot because their candidates didn't get enough votes.
The party collected 5,884 signatures.
"Competition in the political arena is good," said Libertarian Party Chairman Roger Taylor. "We plan to always be there."
To remain on the ballot, the party's candidates must get 10 percent of the vote in either 26 House races, six Senate races or in a high-profile statewide race this election.
If their candidates fail to get votes, the party must again petition to stay on the ballot in the next election.
Libertarian Party spokeswoman Cynthia Powell said the party will focus primarily on state Senate seats, where they feel they can get the needed percentages.
Deer eating and trampling drought-stricken Kula crops
WAILUKU -- It's not enough just to have experienced a bad period in a drought. Some Kula farmers are suffering increasing crop losses from roaming wild axis deer with a discerning appetite for certain green vegetables.
"This year is the worst," said Henry Nihei, whose family operates a 20-acre farm in lower Kula.Nihei, 68, said the deer ate about one-third of his romaine lettuce crop. To guard against damage, the family has planted crops closer to the house.
Nihei said a herd of 15 deer also trampled his head cabbage, causing considerable losses.
"The damage isn't only what they eat," he said. "They go right through the field."
Kula farmers say the drought is driving the deer from ranch lands into agricultural areas.
"They've really started coming a lot," said Jamie Shishido, a farmer.
Shishido said the deer skipped his crop of mustard cabbage but ate his romaine lettuce and onion seedlings.
The deer grow to about three to four feet in height. A large buck may weigh about 225 pounds.
Some 18 people, mostly farmers, have been issued damage-control permits to kill deer on private property owned by them and others, said John Cumming, a state wildlife biologist.
Cumming said hunters with the permits must have permission to shoot the deer from private land owners. State officials also tour farms to verify there is crop damage from deer before issuing a permit, Cumming said.
Fewer than 20 axis deer were released more than 45 years ago on ranch lands to create a game population with permission from the state Legislature, Cumming said.
Since then, the population has grown. Some ranchers put the number of deer at about 2,000, he said.
Nihei estimates in the last 15 years, he's lost at least $50,000 because of deer eating and damaging his crops.
Nihei said he's written letters to the state complaining about the crop damage, and the state has responded in letters, but the damage has continued.
"They give you a nice letter and that's it," he said.
Nihei said he's tried hunting the deer but hunting is difficult.
"Sometimes, we wait and they don't come," Nihei said.
"I guess they know when to come into the fields."
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffCarvalho charged with sex assault
Convicted killer Alexander "Boy" Carvalho Jr. was charged this morning with several counts of rape following the apparent beating of his girlfriend.Carvalho, 47, was charged with 10 counts of first-degree sexual assault, four counts of third-degree sexual assault and one count of kidnapping, police said. He is being held in lieu of $570,000 bail.
Carvalho was arrested Monday night for an alleged assault on his 43-year-old girlfriend at a Waimanalo home, police said.
Police said Carvalho allegedly punched the woman in the left eye because she didn't "immediately obey" him. The woman suffered a fracture to a facial bone.
Carvalho was released from prison in December after serving his 10-year sentence for manslaughter in the beating death of his wife, Cathy.He was also acquitted in August 1996 of charges of beating his girlfriend Nora Pacheco while on parole.
Halawa crash victim identified
A 28-year-old Aiea man who was killed early Monday morning when he crashed his pickup truck into a utility pole on Halawa Valley Road has been identified by the medical examiner's office as Peter Spallone.Warden Eric Penarosa confirmed that Spallone was an adult corrections officer in training at the Halawa Correctional Facility. Spallone's work shift ended at 10 p.m. Sunday, about 51/2 hours before the fatal crash occurred.
Spallone attended a gathering after work with other staff who were unable to attend the funeral of a co-worker that was held earlier, said Penarosa. The gathering was held near the facility but not on state property, he added.
Man jailed for threat to kill wife
Police this morning arrested a Honolulu man for allegedly threatening to kill his wife.The wife, 41, reported that the man threatened her with a handgun last month during an argument about his girlfriend, police said. The incident was unreported.
This morning at 12:15 a.m., the man called the wife and reportedly threatened to kill her if she did not move out of their Loulu Street home. A first-degree terroristic threatening case was made and officers took the woman to a shelter.Police later responded to a call from the residence.
No trace found of lost fisherman
The Coast Guard has found no sign of missing fisherman Glen Gold of Hawaii Kai after four days of searching waters between Oahu and Kauai.Air and sea crafts were used yesterday. Gold, a commercial fisherman, failed to return Friday from an overnight fishing trip.
Big Island pot operation busted
HILO -- Police raided an indoor marijuana growing operation at a house in the rural Fern Forest subdivision south of Hilo yesterday, seizing 300 plants and a rifle, and arresting the 38-year-old suspected operator, they said. He was being held pending further investigation.
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