Millennium Moments
BLACK Point in East Honolulu always has been special, with a storied past spanning from Kamehameha the Great in the late 1700s, to modern-day exclusivity created by the rich elite. Black Point
Composed of ocean-swept lava rock, the area in ancient times was called Kupikipikio (Black Point). When Big Island warrior Kamehameha made his push to invade Oahu in 1795, his armada of war canoes was said to have stretched from Kupikipikio to Maunalua Bay in present-day Hawaii Kai.
More than 100 years later, around 1901, one of Black Point's first houses was built by developer Fred Harrison, who had built the Custom House a couple years earlier for $8,791, says "Hawaii: the Electric Century" by Carl Myatt and Deborah Uchida.
The mid-1930s saw a building boom by the wealthy, who turned Black Point into one of the world's most exclusive and expensive communities.
Laboratory, water project funds approved
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye announced that Congress has approved $1.5 million for the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority at Keahole Point on the Big Island and $2.7 million for various Hawaii water projects.The laboratory funds will go toward the study of ocean environments and global climate change.
"The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority is on the cutting edge of sustainable energy and ocean-related product development," Inouye said. "I am pleased the Congress shares my enthusiasm for the ground-breaking innovations occurring at Keahole Point and concurs with the need to provide federal resources to help advance the laboratory's efforts."
The funds for Hawaii water projects include $921,000 for Oahu and $616,000 for Maui.
"I am pleased to have the opportunity to support continued funding for improvements to Hawaii's ports and navigable waterways," Inouye said.
Tour officials indicted in employee fund case
Three officials of a Hawaii tour company have been indicted for stealing nearly $380,000 from the firm's employee retirement plan.In a federal indictment filed yesterday, Tetsuya Goto, Isaac Kuwamura and Randell Yamane, officers and shareholders of U-me Enterprises Inc., are accused of withdrawing or failing to deposit employee contributions to the plan's trust account from January 1992 to July 1995.
The 14-count indictment also charges them with transferring trust funds to the company's corporate checking account at City Bank to pay their salaries and operating expenses and various personal expenses, in violation of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Woman pleads guilty to bankruptcy fraud
Miyoko Mizuno has pleaded guilty in federal court to bankruptcy fraud.The U.S. attorney's office said she concealed her life estate interests in a Honolulu condominium and her home during her bankruptcy case.
U.S. Attorney Steven Alm said Mizuno, 52, was attempting to be relieved of about $185,000 in unsecured debt by filing a bankruptcy petition that claimed no interests in any real property.
While she had transferred a condominium and her home to her son, she had retained a life estate interest in both, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Mizuno will be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge David Ezra on Jan. 3, 2000. She faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Drought spurs closing of Big Island wilds
Effective Monday, part of Mauna Kea Forest Reserve on the Big Island and the Kaohe Game Management Area will close because of fire danger.Lack of rainfall has dried vegetation to hazardous levels. Portions of the forest reserve below 10,000 feet elevation that lie between Kemole Gulch on the northwest slope and Waikahalulu Gulch in the south, all of the Kaohe Game Management Area and nearby roads will be closed.
No public access will be allowed until drought conditions are relieved by rainfall.
H-1 lane, offramp near Kahala Mall to close
H-1 lane and ramp closings tomorrow and Saturday in Ewa-bound lanes near Kahala Mall make it advisable for motorists to take alternative routes.The right lane of H-1 and the Waialae offramp will close tomorrow from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon for maintenance.
Also, nighttime lane closures on the H-1 freeway go into effect tonight.
Two left Ewa-bound H-1 lanes from Pali Highway overpass to Liliha Street overpass close from midnight to 4 a.m. for crews to do maintenance work on electronic message signs at Liliha overpass.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Man, 39, charged with missing man's murder
A 39-year-old man arrested in August in connection with the disappearance of a North Shore man was indicted yesterday by an Oahu grand jury.Gregory Peregil was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of John Wailehua-Hansen. He is being held on $1 million cash bail on the murder charge.
Peregil is the third defendant to be charged in connection with the disappearance of four missing North Shore men.
Benjamin Tandal, 20, and Edward Vidal, 33, last month pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder for the deaths of Steve Tozon and Tranquilino Bati Jr., who have been missing since June 1997.
No one has yet been charged in the October 1997 disappearance of Paris France. Police believe the missing men, whose bodies have yet to be found, are connected to a North Shore drug ring that netted $2.5 million in drug sales during three months in 1998.
Alcohol may be behind Waikele solo car crash
Traffic investigators believe alcohol was a possible factor in a single-car crash in Waikele this morning which critically injured a 29-year-old man.The Waikele man was headed west on Lumiaina Street when he veered into the center median and slammed his 1999 Nissan Sentra four-door sedan into a tree at 1:12 a.m., police said.
He was transported to Queen's Hospital with injuries to his leg, arm and head. He was not wearing a seat belt, police said.
The crash is the third major accident on Oahu this week.
Enchanted Lake pair ID'd in fatal Kaneohe collision
An Enchanted Lake couple who died in a head-on collision on Kaneohe Bay Drive Sunday night has been identified.Iwasaburo Yoshikami, 93, died at the scene on Sunday. His wife, Mutsuko Yoshikami, 80, died Tuesday at Queen's Hospital.
A man, 22, injured in the same collision remains in critical condition in Queen's Hospital.
Mililani girl allegedly breaks student's nose
A 17-year-old Mililani High School girl was arrested yesterday for reportedly punching and breaking another student's nose, according to a police report.At 10 a.m. the suspect walked up to the girl, 17, on campus and punched her a few times, breaking her nose, police said.
She was booked for second-degree assault.
Man robs Kaimuki bank, flees on mountain bike
Honolulu police and the FBI are looking for a man who robbed the Kaimuki branch of American Savings Bank at 1139 12th Ave. at about 2:45 p.m yesterday and was seen fleeing on a light-colored mountain bike on Koko Head Ave.The hold-up man appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 11, about 160 pounds with a medium build and short black hair. Also, he wore a black baseball cap with red and white logo, black long-sleeved button-down shirt, black jeans and sunglasses.
It was Hawaii's 36th bank robbery this year.
In other news ...
A 22-year-old Pearl City man found dead at the base of the Pali Lookout earlier this month committed suicide, a city medical examiner said. He died from "self-inflicted injuries" he sustained jumping from a higher elevation.
