Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Thursday, August 20, 1998

By Barry Markowitz, Special to the Star-Bulletin
The North Shore Paddlers bid farewell to the Feathered Serpent III,
which left Haleiwa Harbor earlier this month. Yesterday it capsized
and broke apart 500 miles from Christmas Island. The seven
crew members were rescued this morning.

---

Vessel on historical quest
capsizes; crew safe

Star-Bulletin

The seven crew members of the Feathered Serpent III, a catamaran inspired by the design of the vessels of several ancient cultures, are on their way to Japan aboard a rescue vessel today after their catamaran capsized and broke apart yesterday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

A Coast Guard plane from Barbers Point found crew members of the vessel yesterday afternoon in a life raft 500 miles south of Christmas Island.

The Coast Guard said there has been no word on why the 75-foot catamaran capsized and broke apart on a voyage from Haleiwa to Brisbane, Australia, via Fiji.

One Big Island man and a former island resident were aboard the boat when it left Hawaii. Solomon Aragon of Honaunau, a wood carver and experienced sailor, joined the expedition on Oahu Aug. 5 after learning the Feathered Serpent needed a crew member.

Peter Foust, a former house painter on the Big Island, was part of the expedition when it began last December in Peru under under Capt. Gene Savoy.

An explorer and researcher, Savoy had discovered several ancient cities in the jungles of Peru over a period of several decades.

He developed the theory, not widely accepted, that the ancient Peruvians had ocean sailing contact with Hawaii.

To illustrate that point, and how other sailing people may have had ancient contacts, he planned a seven-year voyage to sites of the world's ancient civilizations.

The Coast Guard C-130 plane found the seven members of the crew after it was dispatched to find the source of an emergency radio locator beacon.

The Coast Guard C-130 dropped an additional raft and radio to the survivors. The container ship Ever Victory was in the area and asked to pick up the stranded crew.

The Coast Guard said the crew was picked up at 8:12 a.m.

There are no reports of injuries, but the Coast Guard has not been able to question the crew, so it is not aware of details.

Hawaiians to discuss 'two days of infamy'

A coalition of native Hawaiian groups will hold a discussion on Hawaii's admission into statehood tomorrow at Iolani Palace.

The program, "Two Days of Infamy," will examine Hawaii's annexation, the move toward statehood and the case for peaceful decolonization under international and indigenous cultural law.

The two-hour potluck talk will begin at noon on the palace grounds.

The event is sponsored by the Kanaka Maoli Treu Self-Determination, Ka Pakaukau, Na Mamo O Hawaii, Pro-Kanaka Maoli Independence Working Group, Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike and the Ahupuaa Action Alliance.

For more information, call 595-6691.

Navy postpones blasts for Kahoolawe signs

Detonation of four 32-pound charges on Kahoolawe's south coast this week to install warning signs has been postponed.

A Navy team scheduled to do blasting was called on another assignment, said Petty Officer William Goodwin of Pearl Harbor Public Affairs.

The Navy plans more than 30 detonations through spring 1999 on Kahoolawe, used for 50 years as a military bombing target and training range.

Sixteen warning signs will be placed along the coast to warn the public that the island and surrounding waters are dangerous because of possible unexploded ordnance.

Because the coast is hard rock, Goodwin said high explosives will be used to blast narrow 5-foot-deep holes for signposts.

Straub part of national study on diabetes drug

Straub Clinic & Hospital is one of 12 medical institutions selected for a national study to test a drug for patients with non-insulin dependent (Type 2) diabetes.

The Joslin Center for Diabetes at Straub is recruiting patients for the study who are overweight, whose blood glucose levels aren't well controlled and who have no major health complications.

A drug called Leptin, a synthetically manufactured substance, will be tested for effects on body weight, fat and blood glucose levels.

Dr. Leonard Kryston, medical director for Straub's Joslin Center, said it will test Leptin's effectiveness in helping patients lose weight and improving their sensitivity to their insulin levels and glucose control.

The Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug for general use will depend on the study's outcome.

For more information, call 522-3755.

Judiciary interested in improving jury service

The state Judiciary wants to know what you think about ways to improve jury service in Hawaii.

Some of the proposals being considered include allowing jurors to question witnesses during trial, juror note-taking, increases in jury pay, elimination of exemptions from jury service and instructing the jury about the law at the beginning of the trial.

The Judiciary History Center is hosting three lunch-hour sessions on some of the jury changes being considered by the Judiciary.

They will be at noon on Fridays, Sept. 11, 18, and 25 in the center's courtroom on the ground floor of the Supreme Court Building.

If you cannot attend the lunch sessions, you can send comments to the Judiciary History Center, 417 S. King St., Honolulu 96813.

Aina Haina library will be closed Mondays

Aina Haina Public Library will be closed for asbestos removal Mondays.

Book drops will be open.

Asbestos removal is the initial phase of a reroofing project that will last until early October.

See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.

---

Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Man faces felony charge with report of new abuse

Felony abuse charges are pending against a 33-year-old man who allegedly assaulted two household members Tuesday at their Kalihi residence on McNeil Street.

The women, ages 20 and 31, are the ex-girlfriend and sister, respectively, of the suspect.

Police are seeking a felony charge, since the suspect has more than two prior convictions for misdemeanor abuse of a household member.

In other news...

KAILUA-KONA -- Police charged Rodney Somalinog, 19, of Kailua-Kona with robbery yesterday after he allegedly stole a handbag from a 62-year-old man from Germany as the man walked near the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel about 10:30 p.m., they said.

WAIMEA, Hawaii -- Firefighters today continued battling two brush fires that have blackened hundreds of acres in the northern part of the Big Island, they said. The fires are in North Kohala and Waimea.

KAILUA-KONA -- Police arrested four people and confiscated marijuana and four firearms during a raid on two houses three miles mauka of Kailua-Kona on Tuesday, they said.

See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.