New hall may relieve crowded prisons
Groundbreaking was scheduled today for a federal detention center expected to save millions of dollars annually.With no such facility here and overcrowding in Hawaii's prisons, U.S. marshals have been taking their prisoners to the mainland and bringing them back for hearings and trials.
Among those who were attend the ceremony at the site at Elliott Drive and Aokea Street, near the airport, was U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
He obtained $100 million from Congress to build the 670-bed pretrial detention facility.
About 160 federal detainees must go before the courts here at any one time, while only 50 state prison beds are available for them, Inouye said.
Because of the crowded conditions, 13 federal prisoners have been housed in a cell designed for five, he said.
The federal center is expected to be operating in about three to 31/2 years after construction, retrofitting and staffing.
Its completion will free 50 spaces used by the U.S. marshals at the jammed Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Inouye supports a request from Gov. Ben Cayetano to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to ease the state's prison crowding by housing inmates at the federal facility on a contract basis.
Inouye expects the design, construction and operation of the federal facility to create jobs and general business for many Hawaii services.
The 4-acre site was condemned, and the state paid $9 million for the property.
U.S. attorney Steven S. Alm was the host of today's ceremony.
Gov. Ben Cayetano and Patricia Sledge, Department of Justice deputy assistant director, Community Corrections and Detention Division, Bureau of Prisons, were scheduled to speak.
Landing gear of FedEx plane collapses on Maui
WAILUKU -- A pilot was in stable condition at Maui Memorial Hospital this morning after the left main gear of the Federal Express light airplane he was flying collapsed after landing at Kapalua Airport and skidded into adjacent pineapple fields.The pilot appeared uninjured, said initial reports from state Transportation Department officials, but the Cessna 208 remained in the field in West Maui awaiting heavy equipment to lift it back onto the runway for evaluation.
Officials said the left main gear of the airplane collapsed after landing at 7:09 a.m. today and the airplane skidded through a perimeter fence.
The airport was reopened at 8:04 a.m. after debris was cleared and an inspection of the runway showed no damage, officials said.
Diploma mills by mail bring alert from BBB
The Better Business Bureau is warning against any mail-order, higher-education institution that awards college degrees within a few weeks or months without any kind of academic work.BBB President Anne Deschene said inquiries to the bureau this year on new colleges and universities operating by mail order have jumped by 40 percent. She said state law allows unaccredited agencies to operate in Hawaii and the number of organizations taking advantage appears to be growing.
"Any person with a laser printer can issue diplomas in Hawaii," Deschene said.
The state Legislature last year attempted to clamp down on these "diploma mills" -- which number more than 100 -- but the bill to do so stalled in House-Senate conference committee.
The bureau is advising students to be wary if there is no physical location and mail is received only at a post office box or mail-drop address. Students should also check out the institution's academic credentials and its faculty as well as question the payment of flat-fee tuition for a degree, as opposed by semester or course, or per quarter basis.
Other tips are to find out if the school qualifies for federal student aid programs and to review the promotional material for "too good to be true" offers.
For more information, call 536-6956.
Tiger shark bumps into snorkeler off Olowalu
WAILUKU -- A tiger shark bumped a visitor during a diving tour in waters off Olowalu near an area where a woman was killed by a shark several years ago.Trilogy Excursions co-owner James Coon said no one was injured in the Saturday morning incident at Olowalu.
He said Trilogy officials who were at the site notified the Coast Guard and divers in the area about the encounter.
Trilogy officials were getting divers out of the water when the shark bumped the tourist. Coon said he's never seen a tiger shark during a snorkeling dive. "It's not an everyday thing," he said.
Fed grants fight drugs at housing projects
The Housing and Community Development Corp. will use federal grants totaling $1.4 million to help police enforcement and drug prevention efforts at Hawaii public housing projects.Anti-drug strategies will be implemented at Kaahumanu Homes, Kalakaua Homes, Kalihi Valley Homes, Kamehameha Homes and Palolo Valley Homes on Oahu, and in West Hawaii at Ka Hale Kahaluu in Kona and Kealakehe in Kailua-Kona.
Cayetanos, Inouye will host benefit for youth
Parents and Children Together presents "Investing in Our Future," a benefit for this teen program Nov. 20 at Washington Place.Gov. Ben Cayetano and wife Vicky will be hosts.
Tickets for the 5:30-8 p.m. fund-raiser are $50 each. Corporate sponsorships are $600 for 10 guests.
For details, call PACT at 847-3285. The reservation deadline is Nov. 12.
The night will feature the international premiere of the Bally Spring '99 collection, plus hula, karate and musical entertainment by PACT youngsters.
A silent auction will offer a variety of goods and services.
Refreshments will be provided by restaurants and food suppliers.
PACT provides activities including sports, gardening and arts. The organization also has a program to encourage young entrepreneurs.
A program started recently with a number of businesses trains youth in employment skills.
Sen. Daniel Inouye is honorary chairman for the Washington Place fund-raiser.
Water projects awarded for Waipahu, Mililani
The Board of Water Supply has awarded a $431,611 contract to replace valves at Waipahu Wells I to Mega Construction Inc.The work is part of an overall maintenance project and will begin Nov. 16.
Completion of the project is expected in November 1999.
Hawaii Water Technology received a $379,000 contract to modify similar granular activated carbon facilities at Mililani Wells III and Waipahu Wells II.
Ash Painting Inc. has been awarded $79,000 to repaint various facilities on Oahu.
Book sale Saturday at Waipahu Library
Waipahu Library will hold a book sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.The library is at 94-275 Mokuola St., next to the Waipahu Civic Center.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffJapanese visitor robbed in Waikiki hotel room
A visitor from Japan told police he was robbed at gunpoint yesterday after he went to a Waikiki hotel room with a prostitute.The man, 25, said he was confronted by two men, one of whom was armed with a rifle, after entering the room at about 3:30 a.m.
The men tied him up, took his key and allegedly stole items from his room in the same hotel, police said. Police have no suspects in the armed robbery investigation.
Waipahu security guard beaten during robbery
A 45-year-old security guard suffered facial fractures when he was beaten during a robbery early yesterday morning at the Waipahu Town Center, police said.Police said they have charged two boys, ages 17 and 16, as juveniles with first-degree robbery.
A third suspect is still at large, police said.
The robbery at the Town Center, located at 94-050 Farrington Hwy., was reported at 1:15 a.m.
The juveniles repeatedly struck the security guard on his head and face before fleeing with his wallet, police said.
Woman critical after being struck by car
A 60-year-old woman struck by a car Saturday on Kaneohe Bay Drive is in critical condition in Queen's Hospital with chest and head injuries.Police said the driver of the car that struck the pedestrian at 2:30 p.m. apparently fell asleep at the wheel.
Big Isle man drowns fishing for lobsters
NORTH KOHALA, Hawaii -- A Big Island man drowned Saturday when he got stuck in an underwater cave while fishing for lobsters, police said.Penn Stanley Yates, 52, of Ainakea Village was diving with two friends from a boat 100 feet offshore from Kohala Estates about noon when he removed his tanks to reach the lobsters in the small cave.
He got stuck and couldn't be dislodged by his friends, who ran out of air in their own tanks.
The friends radioed to the Coast Guard, which called county rescue personnel.
The rescue workers later recovered Yates' body.
Several men sought in Kailua-Kona robbery
KAILUA-KONA -- Police are asking for the public's help in solving an attack on a man about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in a vacant lot across from the KTA store in Kailua-Kona.Police said the victim was attacked by five or six men who threw him to the ground and took $112.
The victim was treated at Kona Hospital for back pain, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 326-4208 or Crime Stoppers at 329-8181.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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