Federal supervision to end at Oahu prison
Fifteen years of federal oversight of Oahu Community Correctional Center will end early next year.Gov. Ben Cayetano announced yesterday that the federal court has approved an agreement between the state and the American Civil Liberties Union. The court's supervision will formally end after an inspection by the court monitor in early February, he said.
Overcrowding and unhealthy conditions at the Kalihi facility were cited in an ACLU lawsuit, which led to the 1984 consent decree calling for monitoring of the prison.
More than 1,200 state inmates have been moved to mainland prisons, and 1,100 beds have been added in construction since the court order, the governor said in a release.
Also, the state has added 200 inmates to the drug treatment program and is planning a new, 2,300-bed prison on the Big Island.
OCCC houses about 1,200 inmates. A 168-bed annex is planned.
Earlier this year, the federal court ended 13 years of monitoring at the women's prison.
The state will remain free of federal supervision as long as it maintains present prison population levels and obtains reaccreditation of health programs at the facility, Cayetano said.
Probate Judge Colleen Hirai has set a March 1 trial date for Attorney General Margery Bronster's request to temporarily remove four Bishop Estate trustees. Bishop trustees' trial
postponed to MarchDuring a closed-door meeting yesterday with state attorneys and lawyers for the trustees, Hirai set the hearing date to avoid conflicts with other Bishop Estate-related trials now under way.
Bronster is seeking the immediate and temporary removal of trustees Richard Wong, Henry Peters, Lokelani Lindsey and Gerard Jervis, saying board members jeopardized the estate's tax-exempt status and mismanaged trust assets.
A separate petition by Bronster to permanently remove Peters, Wong and Lindsey is not expected to go to trial until next year.
The attorney general's office yesterday said it was disappointed with the March trial date, which it said would allow trustees to continue to cause harm to the trust and the estate-run Kamehameha Schools.
"The focus of request was to address the immediate harm that's ongoing," said Cynthia Quinn, special assistant to Bronster.
Bishop Estate Archive
President's plane to refuel at Hickam
President Clinton's Air Force One will stop at Hickam Air Force Base at about 4:55 a.m. Monday to refuel, but he is not expected to leave the aircraft.The plane is expected to leave Hickam at about 6:55 a.m.
Clinton is returning to Washington, D.C., after visits in Japan and South Korea, where he warned of increased U.S.-Japan trade tensions and said America's policy toward communist North Korea is being reviewed.
Coast Guard icebreaker open for tours at Pier 9
Polar Sea, a 399-foot Coast Guard icebreaker on its way to Antarctica, was to dock at Pier 9 today and be open for public tours from 1 to 4 p.m. today and tomorrow.
CORRECTIONS
An Associated Press story in yesterday's editions included an erroneous warning about the danger of mixing certain foods and medicines, based on information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that the antihistamines Claritin and Allegra should not be taken with grapefruit juice. The FDA said yesterday that only the prescription antihistamine Hismanal should not be taken with grapefruit juice, and that Claritin and Allegra are safe to mix with the citrus.
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Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffMan with shotgun robs City Bank branch
A bank robber armed with a 12-gauge shotgun took an undisclosed amount of money from the Kapalama branch of City Bank yesterday afternoon.The suspect entered the branch at 1535 Dillingham Blvd. at about 4:10 p.m. and verbally demanded money.
According to police, the suspect told the bank teller: "OK, give me all you got! Don't do anything stupid and no funny stuff."
The teller complied, police said. The suspect checked the money and fled the bank, warning the teller not to turn on alarms or he would return.
The suspect is described as tan, in his late 20s or early 30s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds. He was wearing a dark sweat shirt, blue jeans, sunglasses and a bandanna.
Police seek driver in fatal hit-and-run
CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department are searching for the driver responsible for a hit-and-run accident last Saturday that claimed the life of a 33-year-old woman.A newlywed couple and the husband's mother and nephew were traveling on the H-1 freeway from Waimanalo to the airport around 5:39 a.m. when their sport utility vehicle was hit from behind by a large, older-model American car with round headlights, similar to a Chevrolet Impala or Ford Torino.
The collision occurred on the Waianae-bound section of the freeway, just under the Liliha overpass. The sport utility vehicle lost control and hit a guardrail, and both the husband and wife were ejected.
The woman died a few hours later at Queen's Hospital.
Anyone willing to testify about the incident and identify the suspect can call HPD's vehicular homicide section at 529-3523.
19-year-old arrested in attack on girl, 16
A 19-year-old man was arrested yesterday on possible charges of kidnapping, terroristic threatening, third-degree assault and violating a temporary restraining order after he attacked his ex-girlfriend last Saturday.Police said the suspect at about 5:30 p.m. Nov. 14 convinced his ex-girlfriend, 16, and her friend to get into his car. Once inside, the suspect allegedly refused to allow the girls to leave.
He then repeatedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend and threatened her with a knife, police said.
Police arrested him on Keolu Drive in Kailua. He remains in custody pending charges.
Cop, bank customer injured; man held
A 30-year-old man remains in custody today after he injured a bank customer and a Honolulu police officer while trying to exchange a large amount of foreign currency for dollars.Police said the man, who has no local address, entered the Bank of Hawaii on Kailua Road at 5:32 p.m. yesterday to exchange the foreign currency. A bank employee called police, recalling a bulletin about a large amount of foreign currency stolen from a car in Makapuu.
After police arrived, the suspect allegedly punched the officer in an attempt to get away. A bank customer tried to detain the suspect but was thrown to the floor, police said. More officers arrived and arrested the suspect.
The police officer who was struck suffered a fractured left index finger. The 36-year-old male bank customer suffered a broken rib and ruptured spleen.
The suspect remains in custody pending two charges of second-degree assault.
Two men, 18 and 19, sought in robbery
Police are looking for two men, ages 18 and 19, who robbed and kidnapped an employee at Hawaii Catalog Sales on Wilikina Drive yesterday.Police said the suspects, whose addresses are unknown, approached a 39-year-old employee of the company just as she was opening the business around 8:22 a.m. yesterday.
Police said the two men told the woman they wanted to open an account. The suspects followed the woman into the building, where one of the men threatened her with a knife and demanded she open the safe.
The second suspect, who carried a pistol, acted as a lookout, police said. The victim gave the suspects an undisclosed amount of money. The men then locked her in a storage room and fled on foot.
An investigation continues. The suspects face charges of first-degree robbery and kidnapping.
Nene's death prompts warning to motorists
WAILUKU -- The National Park Service is asking motorists to exercise caution while driving up to Haleakala, following the death of a nene bird that was apparently struck by a motorist.The nene, an endangered species and Hawaii's state bird, was found dead on a road in Haleakala National Park yesterday at about 7:30 a.m., the park said.
Park wildlife biologist Cathleen Hodges said visibility has been poor, and she suspects the nene may have been hit by visitors traveling down from the summit after a sunrise visit to the crater.
Hodges said about 250 nene live at the park, most in areas inaccessible by car. But she said there are about 20 nene who live in places traveled by cars.
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