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More than 40,000 uninsured and underinsured residents benefited from donated medicines to The Medicine Bank in the past fiscal year, according to the Hawaii State Primary Care Association. Medicine Bank helps some 40,000
More than $1 million (wholesale value) in donated medicines were distributed to 13 community health centers and other facilities, said the association, which operates The Medicine Bank.
The program cost less than $130,000, the center said.
The Medicine Bank, or La'au Makana, began in August 1997 with public and private partners, including the state Health Department. More than 250 physicians, hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers' representatives donate surplus medicines.
State and federally supported staff process the items and distribute them to health centers.
Aloha Air and Pacific Wings fly the medicines to neighbor island health centers at no cost, while the Hawaii Medical Association and foundations also provide support.
Alison Rowland-Ciszek, the Medicine Bank director, said someone without insurance or resources can walk into a community health center, see a health-care provider and, through the bank, "receive the same quality medicine as any insured person and have the same opportunity to get well and regain productivity."
For example, a health center was able to provide $400 worth of medications needed each month by a cardiac patient, whose insurance did not cover the drugs, said Rowland-Ciszek.
For information or to help with the program, call Beth Giesting, Primary Care Association executive director, at 536-8442.
Jurors will be allowed to visit Xerox Building
A Circuit Court judge today ruled that jurors can visit the Xerox Building to view the crime scene where Byran Uyesugi allegedly shot to death seven co-workers in November.Judge Marie Milks granted the state's March 15 motion, saying the design and layout of the building's second floor may be difficult for witnesses to describe and jurors to adequately visualize.
After a personal inspection, Milks wrote in her decision that using the visit to clarify evidence "will not be substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or by the presentation of cumulative evidence. The jury visit may in fact obviate the need for an undue amount of photographs or other items of evidence at trial and may result in the elimination of the risk of speculation by the jurors as to the actual physical layout of the second floor."
Milks also ruled that experts on the witness stand will not be able to testify about the opinions of other experts but must speak only about their own opinions.
Juror selection in the case is scheduled for April 24 with the trial to begin May 15.
Xerox killings Domestic water bill tax killed by Senate panel
The state Senate Ways and Means Committee yesterday rejected a $12 annual tax on domestic water bills to raise $3 million a year to protect Hawaii's vital watershed areas.Instead, the committee approved a measure supporting various state watershed protection projects with a general fund appropriation. The amount will be set by a House-Senate conference committee.
While the water tax is dead for now, Ways and Means Co-chairwoman Carol Fukunaga said another bill approved by the committee would allow the state's Commission on Water Resources Management to assess watershed protection fees.
Wedding chapel fines hearing postponed
Councilman John Henry Felix's appeal of fines levied against his Aina Haina wedding business was postponed until July 27.Attorneys for both Felix and the city agreed to the extension because they want more time to study the case. The original appeals hearing was supposed to begin this month.
Felix has been assessed a $100-per-day fine for operating a wedding service out of his Aina Haina home since late last year. He contends the operation is a home occupation and allowable under the city land use ordinance.
Attorney Ben Matsubara is being paid up to $20,000 to represent the city in the case after city attorneys cited a potential conflict.
Fund-raiser to help 4-month-old Baby Noah
A fund-raiser to help Noah Abrazado, a 4-month-old boy with a life-threatening brain tumor, will be held this Sunday at Keehi Lagoon.Noah needs help with medical expenses to fight the cancer that has affected his facial nerves, which make it difficult for him to close his eyes, move his mouth, eat or sleep.
Several local entertainers and celebrities will donate their time for the event, including Gavin Ka'ina, the Four of Us, Nakama, Koa & One Heart, Brother Sam and Harmony, A Touch of Gold, and Miss Hawaii 1999, Candes Meijide Gentry.
The fund-raiser will be held at the Disabled American Veterans Hall at Keehi Lagoon, off Nimitz Highway. The cost is $25 for heavy pupus and an open bar. Contributions may also be made to the Baby Noah Abrazado account at any First Hawaiian Bank branch. Call Adrienne Abreu at 421-0263 or Clem Stone at 384-8071.
Correction
"Fame: The Musical" ends its run Saturday. A listing in yesterday's Do It! section inadvertently included Sunday dates. Tickets are $29 to $65.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Trash haulers indicted in Hickam billing fraud
A federal grand jury has indicted a trash disposal company and three of its officers on charges that they defrauded Hickam Air Force Base by inflating the amount of industrial refuse it hauled to city waste sites.Technology Services International Inc. falsely billed the Air Force for $1,007,908.94, claiming reimbursement for disposal fees it paid to use the city's waste disposal sites, according to the indictment yesterday. Mark F. Dozbaba, president, Herve J. Cote, vice president and chief financial officer, and Dean D. Dierks, human resource manager, conspired to submit the fake claims between October 1994 and January 1999, the indictment charges.
At first, the company submitted monthly invoices that inflated the weight of refuse it disposed at the waste sites. When the government required the company to submit proof, the three officers created fake documents resembling the weight tickets issued at the waste sites.
The fake tickets included the weight of the trash truck along with the trash or stated fictitious weights.
Schools' right to lengthy suspensions challenged
Parents of two disabled children have filed a class-action suit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of a 1999 state law that calls for suspension or expulsion of public schoolchildren found to possess guns, drugs or alcohol on school grounds.Known as Act 90, the law authorizes immediate and long-term suspension or expulsion of students for more than 90 consecutive days for these violations.
The parents who filed the suit yesterday object that the sweeping authority granted school officials under Act 90 is not accompanied by a recognition that in some instances Act 90 does not apply.
Specifically, suspension or expulsion of public special-education children for more than 10 consecutive days is separately governed by an entire set of state and federal procedures, the suit says. It claims these specific mandatory procedures have been ignored by state officials in their efforts to enforce Act 90.
It says the most important protection special-education-needs children have under federal law is a mandatory provision for resumed services and appropriate education following any 10-day suspension or expulsion.
Act 90 has been misapplied to special-education-needs children, the suit says.
Such a child was wrongly suspended for three months, without provision or benefit of resumed services or appropriate education after the 10th day, as federal law requires, the suit says.
Examiner: Man in Waikiki apartment was strangled
A man found bloodied and lifeless Sunday in a Waikiki apartment was strangled, a deputy medical examiner has testified in court.Henry Kehau Paoa, 47, of Luawai Street, also suffered head and neck injuries that resulted from being struck with a blunt object or falling to the floor, Dr. Bani Win said yesterday. Win testified during a preliminary hearing for Kennard K. Montez, charged with second-degree murder in Paoa's death.
A neighbor, Vera Mitchell, testified yesterday that she heard a loud crash, followed by a voice loudly pleading "help me, help me" about 5:30 a.m. Sunday. Her daughters called the police and Paoa was found unconscious on the kitchen floor in Montez's 23rd-floor apartment at 469 Ena Road.
Montez, held in lieu of $250,000 bail, is scheduled for arraignment April 20.
OCCC guard sentenced for letting inmate leave
A former prison guard accused of allowing an inmate to leave the Oahu Community Correctional Center in exchange for money and drugs has been sentenced to five years in prison.Jason Pang pleaded guilty to charges of bribery, accomplice to escape, third-degree promotion of dangerous drugs and hindering prosecution. He was sentenced Tuesday and ordered to serve a minimum of one year in prison.
Pang and fellow correctional worker Steven McGuine, who had 17 years in the corrections system, were arrested in 1998 after helping an inmate escape twice. McGuine also pleaded guilty to similar charges and is scheduled for sentencing April 26.
Oceanic Cable sues six over use of 'black boxes'
Oceanic Cable has filed lawsuits in federal court against six Oahu residents it says illegally used and distributed unauthorized cable signal descramblers, sometimes referred to as "pirate boxes" or "black boxes."Oceanic said it will be referring these individuals to appropriate law enforcement officials for possible criminal prosecution.
The boxes allow users to receive premium and pay-per-view programming without paying for it, Oceanic said. Such individuals may be subject to civil penalties as well as criminal prosecution.
The complaints, filed yesterday, charge that the six possessed, used and/or sold pirate boxes. Oceanic is seeking damages of up to $200,000 and other relief.
"People who buy these pirate boxes think that it will save them money because they won't have to pay the monthly cable subscription fees," said Oceanic Cable spokesman Kit Beuret.
"But plain and simple, individuals who are using these boxes are stealing. Individuals using these pirate boxes should know that they will face lawsuits like these, not to mention possible criminal charges. Using a pirate box could end up being far more costly in the long run."
