Rhonda can barely make it up the stairs to her second-floor apartment without stopping every few steps to take deep breaths. An elderly widow, Rhonda suffers with asthma and arthritis. Widow needs TV,
dresser for family
But those are only the beginning of her problems. Her son, Peter, and his wife and their three children live in the small apartment with her. Peter has a learning disability and can only find part-time work. Her daughter-in-law has major epileptic attacks, so she can't hold a job.
Rhonda would like a TV for the family so she doesn't have to go downstairs to watch her neighbor's set. She also asks for a bed for her daughter-in-law, who needs it especially when she is having a seizure. A dresser and toys for her grandchildren would also be appreciated.
If you can help, send a check to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin's Good Neighbor Fund, P.O. Box 2019, Aiea 96701. Or you can donate items to the Community Clearing House in Building 914 at the Kapalama Military Reservation on the left of Sand Island Access Road. Call 845-1669 for information.
Striking cab driver OK after collapse
By Suzanne Tswei, Star-BulletinA taxicab driver on a hunger strike against Charley's Taxi collapsed last night in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, after three days of having nothing but water.
Ehsan Reza, 38, was treated at Straub Clinic and Hospital and released.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Reza said he couldn't breathe, said Siddiq Shaik, another driver also on a hunger strike. Reza became unconscious and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, he said.
Shaik said he was feeling fine and plans to continue the hunger strike by himself. About 35 drivers last night protested in front of the Hilton, from which Charley's Taxi operates, he said.
Shaik and Reza began their hunger strike at 9 a.m. Monday after they were terminated by the taxi company. Shaik said they were fired after speaking out against the company's fees.
Some Honolulu police officers will be wearing new stripes on their uniform sleeves starting early next year. 23 HPD officers named
for promotions by chief"Metropolitan Police Officer II" is equivalent to a corporal and officers holding that rank will have two stripes on their sleeves, said Honolulu police spokeswoman Jean Motoyama.
Chief Lee Donohue yesterday announced the promotions of 23 officers, effective Dec. 16.
Capt. Paul Putzulu, Training Division executive officer, has been promoted to major and will command District 8 (Kapolei-Waianae).
Putzulu succeeds Maj. Cary Tokunaga, new Internal Affairs commander. Maj. Roland Sambueno moves from Internal Affairs to District 4 (Windward Oahu) to replace retiring Maj. Rapplee Fitzsimmons.
Pearl City Capt. Karen Kaniho is the new Training Division executive officer, while Capt. Darryl Perry replaces her as second in command in District 3 (Pearl City-Waipahu).
Other promotions announced yesterday:
Sergeants: Raynor Ikehara (Central Receiving), Renold Itomura (Informational Resources), Peter Mau (Downtown Honolulu).
As officials labored last month to set up a contest at Maili Point to hold the first Triple Crown of Surfing event on the Leeward side, Triple Crown Executive Director Randy Rarick cast an appreciative glance along a crescent of sand that stretched for a mile toward Waianae. Triple Crown director donates
ATV to lifeguards"Gee, this is a big beach for you guys to patrol," Rarick said to the city lifeguards stationed at Maili. "Yeah, and we don't have a vehicle to help us," one replied.
They can't say that any longer. In a ceremony at Maili Point on Monday, Rarick presented the Hawaii Lifeguard Association with a new Honda TRX 300 all-terrain vehicle, to thank the community for allowing the Triple Crown to hold a contest at their beach.
The nonprofit organization will donate the vehicle to the Leeward section of the Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division, but it is no longer a new ATV. At the ceremony, City Councilman John DeSoto couldn't resist taking Sen.-elect Colleen Hanabusa for a ride on the sandy shore.
"Every year we spend $10,000 in donations on the North Shore," said Rarick. "This year, because we were at Maili, we felt we should distribute some of that here, too."
"This is a wonderful thing," said Ocean Safety chief Ralph Goto. "Rarick realized the importance of what the water safety people are doing for his contests.
"It is a win-win for everybody. If the Triple Crown gives something back to the people who work to help make the beaches safer, it helps the community and the equipment is greatly needed."
Month's tax income up 10.7% from year before
Gov. Ben Cayetano was cheered yesterday by a report that state tax revenues are up, indicating strong economic growth.Tax collections for November were $220.9 million, which is a 10.7 percent increase from the year before. Collections for the first five months of the current fiscal year are 4.6 percent ahead of the same period last year, according to state tax figures.
Since January, the state's overall tax income has increased 5.8 percent, but Cayetano said that was helped by lower tax refunds and higher payments.
"This indicates a fairly good growing economy," Cayetano said.
Tax Director Ray Kamikawa said general excise tax revenues rose in November because October ended on a weekend, pushing a lot of the tax collections that month into November.
Midnight deadline looms for Hawaiian delegates
Ha Hawaii, the nonprofit group conducting a native Hawaiian convention in 1999, said 138 people have signed up so far to run in next month's election for convention delegates.The deadline to file nomination papers as a delegate is midnight today. Ha Hawaii is expected to release the names of the delegates tomorrow.
The Jan. 17 election is scheduled to take place at polling places throughout Hawaii.
Candidates are required to be Hawaiian, live in the district they want to represent, be at least 18 years old and have the signatures of 15 Hawaiians eligible to vote in the election. They also pay a filing fee of $25.
Eight-five seats representing Hawaiians here and abroad are up for grabs by those who want a firsthand say in the reconstitution of a Hawaiian government.
The proposed native Hawaiian convention, scheduled for sometime next summer, is expected to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million, with private grants shouldering the costs.
Coast Guard to evacuate injured man from vessel
The Coast Guard last night was planning to evacuate by medical helicopter a National Marine Fisheries Service observer injured at sea to a Honolulu hospital for treatment.Eric Sandberg has a cracked pelvis and broken rib.
He and two other men were transferred yesterday from the disabled Honolulu-based fishing vessel Red October to a passing container ship about 740 miles north of Oahu, the Coast Guard said.
The two other people were suffering from shock, a Coast Guard spokeswoman added.
Five of the six people on board the Red October are accounted for.
A search yesterday failed to turn up any trace of a crewman who fell overboard in rough seas without a life jacket.
9th-graders to assist Diamond Head project
Eighty-seven ninth-graders will be assisting the Hawaii Army National Guard and Youth for Environmental Services with a restoration project Saturday on the north-facing slope of Diamond Head.The students are among 100 scholarship winners of the Bank of Hawaii 2nd Century Scholars Program. Thirty-five of them are being flown in from the neighbor islands to work on the project.
The students will clear scrub brush and plant 200 to 300 native Hawaiian shrubs in and around historic Battery Harlow, which overlooks Kapiolani Community College.
A story Monday on the monitoring of volcanoes by University of Hawaii researchers did not include the online address for the project. It is http://volcano1.pgd.hawaii.edu CLARIFICATION
Bravo Battery of the 487th Field Artillery, Hawaii Army National Guard, fired the 19-gun salute during Gov. Benjamin Cayetano's inauguration Monday. A story Monday included incorrect information. CORRECTION
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Police, Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffPOLICE/FIRE
Waialua boy's death under investigation
Police are investigating the death of a 3-year-old Waialua boy who was found unconscious by his grandmother.Police said the boy had some minor injuries which may have been caused by neglect. However, none of the injuries caused his death.
The case has been tentatively classified as an unattended death.
Police hunt suspects in Chinatown shooting
Police are looking for four or five men involved in a Chinatown shooting.Police said the masked men forced their way into a suspected gambling hall at 1153A Maunakea St. at about 6 p.m. yesterday. The men, armed with handguns, ordered the patrons to the ground and robbed them.
A woman was shot twice before the suspects ran away with an unknown amount of money and personal items, police said. She was taken to Queen's Hospital; she is in stable condition.
In other news...
THE COURTS
Contractor in tax case gets 5 years' probation
A Hilo contractor who entered a guilty plea to a tax charge has received a sentence of five years' probation, state Tax Director Ray Kamikawa said.Herbert P. Ishibashi also must repay the state $36,091 -- money he failed to turn over from employee state tax withholdings which led to the first-degree theft charge against him.
Additionally, Ishibashi was granted a deferred acceptance of guilty plea by Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura.
From April 1, 1994, through Jan. 15, 1996, Ishibashi withheld state taxes from employees of his business, Aloha State Electric, and failed to make the required payments to the state Taxation Department.
Kamikawa encouraged taxpayers to voluntarily file returns.
The department generally will not initiate a criminal investigation when taxpayers voluntarily come forward to report failure to file or other omissions, he said.
Maui indicts boater in dumping of diesel fuel
A Maui grand jury yesterday indicted a 45-year-old Big Island man for "knowingly releasing a hazardous substance" into Maalaea Harbor.Jack Furtado allegedly dumped at least 25 gallons of diesel fuel from his boat into the harbor on June 3-4, said Deputy Attorney General Daniel Morris.
Furtado will be tried on Maui on March 8, 1999.
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