Parents have filed suit against the Board and Department of Education to stop Hawaii's first year-round, multitrack schedule at Mililani Middle School. Parents sue to stop
By Debra Barayuga, Star-Bulletin
year-round schoolLaura Brown, Jo Ann Inouye, Guy P. Ontai and Pennylynn Ontai -- parents of students who will be attending the middle school -- claim that the board and department did not follow rules by failing to conduct hearings on the multitrack policy.
The school board last week approved $296,480 as an additional budget item so Mililani Middle School can open to the first track of students June 17.
The suit, filed Friday, claims that the Department of Education, through its actions, has established but failed to properly set up a "student-centered school."
A student-centered school has its own school board, hires its own staff, adopts its own curriculum and establishes its own educational policies and goals.
The board adopted a policy in July 1995 to allow different groups of students to go to school at different periods as an alternative to overcrowding.
At Mililani Middle, students are divided into four groups, called tracks. Three tracks will be in a school at any given time throughout the year while the fourth is on vacation.
The parents and the Department of Education disagree on whether the multitrack policy should have been adopted as a rule that would have required public hearings, said Russell Suzuki, deputy attorney general. "The department's position is -- how the school is operated is a matter of internal management that doesn't require rule-making."
There are only two recognized student-centered schools in the state -- Lanikai and Waialae Elementary.
"This is a new school; it would not even be possible for it to even apply to be recognized as a student-centered school," Suzuki said.
The parents are asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to stop the school from opening.
Schools Superintendent Herman Aizawa in March announced Mililani Middle will open June 17 as scheduled to the first track of sixth-graders.
Until the middle school was built, intermediate students who reside in Mililani have attended nearby Wheeler Intermediate.
Ex-Kauai policewoman files harassment suit
LIHUE -- A former Kauai police officer has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Kauai Police Department and Chief George Freitas.Lisa Fisher alleges in the Circuit Court suit that Freitas ignored her complaints of sexual harassment by fellow officers and then retaliated against her for making a complaint.
Her court filing follows a determination by the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission that there is merit to the case.
Fisher was employed by the department from March 1994 until last December, when she says she was forced to resign because of a hostile work environment.
Assigned to the Hanalei substation as a patrol officer, Fisher alleges her supervisor, Sgt. Cecil Baliaris, repeatedly made sexually suggestive comments about her body parts and his genitals, both privately and in front of other officers.
That prompted other officers to do the same, with another supervisor, Officer Michael Kiyabu, grabbing her breasts in the police station, Fisher alleges.
The suit says no action was taken when she complained to supervisors, and she later complained to Freitas and Deputy Chief Paul Hurley about retaliation.
Fisher also alleges word of her complaints, which should have been kept confidential, was spread through the department and to the public, causing her to be met with hostility and ignored by other officers.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffA Coast Guard helicopter and cutter along with six civilian boats continued a search today for a missing Molokai fisherman. Search on for Molokai
By Craig Gima, Star-Bulletin
fisherman lost at sea"Molokai is a small island and everybody knows everybody," said Paula Friel who works at the Molokai Ice House and has been helping organize an unofficial search for 34-year-old Chad Petronave.
"None of us can sleep or rest until we find him."
Petronave and 35-year-old Don Dela Cruz were on the 25-foot "Hawaiian Sling" when it apparently hit an object in the water and sank shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday night on the way back to Kaunakakai Harbor.
There was only one life jacket.
Petronave wore it through the night while Dela Cruz kept afloat by holding on to a cooler.
At about 7:30 in the morning, after spotting search helicopters, Petronave reportedly decided to swim to shore from about two miles out and gave the life jacket to his friend.
A passing boat, the Maggie Joe, found Dela Cruz at about 10:30 in the morning about two miles off of Haleolono Harbor on the southwestern coast of Molokai.
The Coast Guard said he was in good condition when he was taken to the Queen's Medical Center yesterday afternoon after the Maggie Joe returned to Oahu.
Two Coast Guard helicopters and the Maui Fire Department helicopter searched in the air while Molokai police combed the beaches looking for Petronave. The Coast Guard Cutter Washington continued searching overnight.
The search was expected to resume this morning.
The official search effort was helped by 10 local fishing boats from Kaunakakai and at least one private helicopter pilot who donated his flying time.
Petronave and Dela Cruz left on a fishing trip Saturday morning. They called the Molokai Ice House shortly before 6 p.m. to say they were 40 minutes away from the Harbor. When the Hawaiian Sling did not return to port, the Coast Guard was called at about 9 p.m. Saturday night.
Word spread quickly and other fishermen joined the search.
Prostitutes allege 3 tourists robbed them
Honolulu police arrested three tourists for allegedly trying to kidnap and rob two prostitutes yesterday morning at the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel.But police say they are also investigating whether the women may have made up the story after an unsuccessful attempt to rob the Japanese nationals.
The prostitutes, ages 18 and 21, told police they solicited the men and went to their hotel room to have sex. The men then allegedly demanded their money back and robbed the women at about 2 a.m.
Two 29-year-old men and a 31-year-old man were arrested and released pending further investigation. The prostitutes were not arrested.
Driver cut in failed taxi robbery by teen
A teen-ager who allegedly tried to rob a female taxi driver at about 2 a.m. yesterday morning was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery and kidnapping.Police said the 17-year-old passenger pulled a knife on the driver, cut the woman on the right arm and demanded money.
The woman struggled with the suspect, and the taxi stopped near Nimitz Highway and Sand Island Access Road.
The woman and the suspect fled in opposite directions.
Police arrested the teen-ager at a nearby service station a short time later.
The woman was treated at the scene for a 2-inch cut.
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