Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Friday, June 12, 1998

Waves keep lifeguards on the go

Sunshine, big surf and a holiday combined to create a busy time for lifeguards on Oahu yesterday.

Jim Howe, chief of operations for the city's Water Safety Division, estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 people were at Ala Moana and Waikiki beaches and said it was "so packed in some places, you couldn't even see the sand."

Ten-foot surf was reported in some areas between Portlock Point and Waikiki, said Howe.

City lifeguards yesterday reported 49 rescues and 14 assists, including 34 in Waikiki.

A jet boat and jet ski assigned to the area accounted for 20 rescues and 12 assists, Howe said.

In addition, 11 people were rescued on the Waianae Coast, where surf in the 6- to 8-foot range and good weather attracted about 5,000 people to five beaches where city lifeguards are stationed.

Seven of the rescues occurred at Yokohama Bay.

Lifeguards also rescued four people and had two assists at Sandy Beach.

No serious injuries were reported, Howe said.

Historic Waikiki hall to be razed

The Army today will begin to tear down the historic Maluhia Hall -- a Waikiki landmark that has served soldiers from World War II to the Vietnam War.

The Army says green space will replace the two-story wooden structure at Kalakaua Avenue and Ala Moana Boulevard.

Lauri Lucking, cultural resources manager for the Army, said the concrete slab at Maluhia Hall also will be removed and a commemorative plaque with the reminisences of six Army veterans will be placed on a tree planter.

Great care will be taken, Lucking said, to ensure that no archaeological sites will be disturbed during the demolition project, which is under a $242,677 contract and is supposed to take a week.

Lucking said that 71-acre Fort DeRussy used to be a marsh and the site of an old Hawaiian fishpond.

"It was later filled with coral rubble," she said.

She said the 26,047-square-foot building will be replaced by grass by the end of the month.

Man shot by police had spouse abuse record

HILO -- A man shot by a police officer Wednesday night when he pointed a handgun at the officer had a criminal record that included spouse abuse, police said.

Jon Webster Pavao, 38, of Ainaloa subdivision south of Hilo, was shot twice in the chest when the officer responded to a call about a domestic dispute, they said.

An autopsy yesterday confirmed that Pavao died of a gunshot wound.

Pavao had at least two prior convictions, police said, one for spouse abuse and a separate one for abuse of a household member. The one relating to the household member took place last year, they said.

The shooting occurred after the daughter of Pavao's girlfriend made an emergency call to police at 7:26 p.m. Wednesday.

The officer arriving at the scene, an 8-1/2-year veteran of the department, found Pavao confronting him with the handgun, they said.

The officer repeatedly ordered Pavao to drop the gun, but instead Pavao pointed it at the officer, according to police.

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Police/Fire



By Star-Bulletin staff

Two drivers killed in Big Isle collision

HILO -- Two people were killed and five others injured in a head-on collision on the Keaau-Pahoa Road south of Hilo last night, police said.

Both drivers were killed. They were identified as Elizabeth Johns, 71, of Nanawale Estates, and Russell Finn, 43, of Paradise Park.

The accident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. when Johns' car crossed the center line and hit Finn's multipurpose vehicle, police said.

Johns' grandson, Vincent K. Sipinga, 7, of Hilo, was riding with her in the back seat.

Riding with Finn were his wife, Janet Matsumura, 43; her mother Virginia R. Matsumura, 67; Mary B. Akana, Virginia's sister; and Finn's daughter, Jaimee K. Finn, 3, who was riding in a child safety seat.

Fire Department paramedics said all of the survivors suffered multiple injuries except for Finn's daughter.

Finn's vehicle was pulling a trailer loaded with cinders, police said. The accident blocked the highway for two hours, they said.

The deaths brought the Big Island traffic toll for the year to 18, compared with 17 this time last year.

Two men accused of shooting at third

Police this morning arrested two Kaneohe men accused of shooting at a 20-year-old man following an argument at the Enchanted Lake Safeway.

The victim was on the phone with his girlfriend at 2:10 a.m. when two suspects in a car drove up and exchanged words, police said. The man told police he started to run when he saw the suspects, 18 and 19, pull a rifle.

The suspects pursued the man to Alahaki Street and allegedly fired one round at the suspect and fled. No injuries were reported. One bullet casing was recovered, but the place the bullet struck has not been found, police said.

The susepcts were booked for attempted murder.

Police say man, 82, tried to stab wife, 81

An 82-year-old Nuuanu man was arrested for attempted murder yesterday after he allegedly tried to stab his 81-year-old wife who he thought was going to die.

While at Queen's Hospital, the man attempted to stab his wife with a kitchen knife at about 3 p.m., disturbed because she was in pain and was going to die, police said. He then tried to stab himself.

In other news . . .

Police are searching for three men in their 20s who robbed a man, 74, while he was sleeping yesterday. The victim was in his home on Ekekela Place and Liliha Street at about 12:20 p.m. when he was awaken by the three men, police said. They ransacked his home, then fled with cash and video equipment, police said.

FBI and police are looking for a man who at 12:39 p.m. yesterday held up the Central Oahu Community Federal Credit Union at 95-1249 Meheula Parkway in Mililani, at gunpoint. He is described as black, in his mid-30s, about 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds with a muscular build. He was wearing a uniform-style shirt, with a red clover-leaf pattern insignia on the right shoulder and a U.S. flag on the left shoulder.

HILO -- A Hilo youth, 18, died early today when his pickup truck drove off a Banyan peninsula street and landed in Hilo Bay at about 12:50 a.m., police said. He was identified as Jeremy Otake, the sole occupant of the truck.

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