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Seniors can gain Congressional status, peek inside D.C.
Older residents are invited to apply for the Congressional Senior Citizen Intern Program in Washington D.C.The program is conducted by the nonprofit Close Up Foundation, the nation's largest nonpartisan civic-education organization.
It offers participants a look at public-policy issues through discussions with members of Congress, administration officials, Washington press corps members and other experts.
The program will be held May 20-26. Tuition is $1,159 and includes six nights' lodging. Application deadline is April 14.
For information, call 800-363-4762 or visit the organization's Web site at www.closeup.org.
975 gallons of sewage overflows in Kalihi
An estimated 975 gallons of raw sewage overflowed onto the street and sidewalk at 1030 Horner St. in Kalihi yesterday, fronting the Kalihi Child-Care Preschool.An 8-inch sewer line clogged with grease overflowed from a manhole and entered a storm drain that discharges into Kalihi Stream, according to the city Department of Environmental Services.
The department's sewer maintenance crew responded within 20 minutes of the 9 a.m. report of the spill, and cleared the blockage at 9:45 a.m. The site was cleaned and disinfected. Warning signs were posted near affected waters, which are being tested for contamination.
Kalaupapa air service resumes after subsidy
WAILUKU -- The air carrier that flies into the remote rural community of Kalaupapa has resumed service under a federal subsidy.U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink said the subsidy was necessary because of Kalaupapa's isolation and dependence on air travel.
Kalaupapa is located on a peninsula on northwest Molokai, where 2,000-foot cliffs prevent access by motor vehicles. It formerly served as a place of confinement for Hansen's disease patients, and now is the site of the Kalaupapa National Historic Park.
Forty-nine patients, cured of the disease, have chosen to remain at the settlement.
Under the subsidy program that continues through Feb. 22, 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation will pay 50 percent of the cost of air service by Pacific Wings. The cost of the air service was $272,807 a year, an aide to Mink said.
A total of 7,847 passengers rode on flights out of Kalaupapa in 1998, the aide said. Pacific Wings has been serving Kalaupapa since Oct. 1, 1999, but suspended service on Feb. 10 due to costs.
Myron Caplan, chief executive officer of Pacific Wings, said the subsidy will enable the airline to fly two one-stop round trips to Honolulu daily from Monday through Friday and one on weekends.
Road-widening project in Kunia is under way
A ground-breaking on Kunia Road near the H-1 Freeway last week marked the start of road widening project there.The project will should help traffic flow at the H-1 and Kunia Road interchange.
Kunia Road will be widened from two to four lanes from Anonui Street to the southern end of Kupuna Loop. The project is expected to be completed in late 2001.
A stoplight eventually will be added at the intersection of Ananui Street and Kunia Road.
Leaders in genetics holding conference
Leaders in human genetics and molecular biology research will discuss advances in the field during a conference sponsored by the Queen's Medical Center that began today at the Hilton Hawaiian Village."From Discovery to Practice: Genetics and Molecular Biology" is the theme of the second annual conference focusing on medical genetics.
Among key speakers at the sessions will be Dr. Alan Guttmacher and Dr. Michael Blaese. Guttmacher is senior advisor to the director for clinical affairs at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
Blaese, the conference chair, is retired chief of the Clinical Gene Therapy Program at the National Human Genome Research Institute. He is now chief scientific officer at Kimeragen Inc., a biotechnology firm in Newton, Pa.
The two will discuss some of the major issues in the field of genetics and biotechnology and public policy, health and economic implications.
The Queen Emma Distinguished Science Award will be presented to Blaese Wednesday by Arthur A. Ushijima, president and chief executive officer of Queen's, and Dr. Edwin Cadman, dean of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Armed robber hits Waikele Kmart
Police are looking for a man armed with a gun who robbed the Kmart store at the Waikele Shopping Center yesterday.The suspect is about 5-foot-5 and 120 pounds, and was wearing a white and yellow T-shirt and camouflage pants.
He allegedly brought items to a checkout counter at 6:20 p.m. and demanded money from the register. The suspect displayed a gun tucked in his pants at the waist.
When the clerk told him the register could not be opened until sales are rung up, the suspect fled the store with the items he had brought to the counter.
The case is not related to a recent series of convenience store robberies in the area, police said.
Man, 42, fair after Kaimuki bar fight
A 42-year-old man who was beaten unconscious in a Kaimuki bar fight early yesterday morning is in fair condition today at Queen's Hospital.The man, taken to the hospital in critical condition, suffered closed head injuries in the 1:35 a.m. fight at 3579 Waialae Ave. He was punched and kicked by a suspect who left the scene, police said.
The case is classified as a first-degree assault.
Suspect arrested in Waipahu break-in
Police arrested a 33-year-old man yesterday for first-degree burglary, kidnapping and abuse of a household member in connection with a reported break-in yesterday in Waipahu.The suspect allegedly entered the residence of his former girlfriend, 19, without permission and held two of her roommates captive. He demanded that one of them to contact his former girlfriend and tell her to return home.
No one was injured. The man later surrendered to police after he was located at a Kunia residence.
