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A $190,000 federal grant has gone to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism for experimental technology to cool buildings. State gets $190,000 grant
for new ways to cool buildings
efficiently, healthily"More efficient buildings are not only very economical, but they also bring us closer to meeting clean air and climate change mandates," said department Director Seiji Naya.
Technologies under study are:
Specialized "low-e southern" windows specifically designed to admit daylight but reflect heat and ultraviolet rays.
For more information on this project, call Howard Wiig, energy analyst, 587-3811.
UH autonomy measure up for November vote
Hawaii voters in November will vote on a proposed state constitutional amendment to give the University of Hawaii system autonomy in internal structure, management and operation."With regard to the constitutional amendment, the University considers this to be a major action by the Legislature and the governor -- and we are aware that under the constitution a blank ballot cast is equivalent to a no vote," said Eugene Imai, UH senior vice president for administration. "We will be conducting an educational campaign to inform the voters of the importance of voting on that ballot."
The measure is a proposal for a constitutional amendment. Gov. Ben Cayetano filed necessary documents with the lieutenant governor's office to get the proposal on the November ballot.
If the measure is approved, the UH Board of Regents would have power to formulate policy and exercise control over the University with exclusive jurisdiction over its internal structure, management and operation.
Cayetano also signed a bill meant to give community colleges more flexibility in management of resources and operations and increase effectiveness and efficiency. Community colleges are part of the University of Hawaii system.
The bill Cayetano signed authorizes individual community colleges to deposit special fund revenues into the joint community college system special fund.
Southern Cross visible from isles this month
Islanders this month can get a good look at the Southern Cross (Crux) from locations with a good view of the south, says the Bishop Museum Planetarium.Mike Shanahan, planetarium producer, advised going out about 8:30 any night.
Waikiki "is a great place for Crux-watching, since it looks south over the Pacific Ocean," he said.
His advice: Look due south, then a little to the right. Use the bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri as guides, if there is a lot of haze, and go right.
Three of Crux's main stars are first magnitude, so it stands out in a clear sky, Shanahan said. The entire cross will be visible early this month until about 10:30 p.m., when its lowest and brightest star, Acrux, hits the horizon. It will set by 11:45 p.m.
Acrux will be close to the horizon by 8:30 p.m. at the end of the month and the Southern Cross will be gone by 10 p.m.
The lowest star in the constellation is only about six degrees above the horizon from Honolulu. But Southern Florida and extreme southern Texas are the only places on the mainland where the entire cross is visible, Shanahan said.
Ke Ola partnership disbands after 9 years
Ke Ola O Hawaii, Inc., formed nine years ago to create and sustain academic and community partnerships, is being dissolved.In a letter to members of the Ke Ola O Hawaii Ohana, board chairman John Morton and executive director Carol Murry said the board felt "the partnerships and working relationships developed through Ke Ola's efforts were strong enough to continue in the absence of a formal organization."
Also, with reduced grants and no apparent long-term replacement funds, they said it was felt administrative costs incurred by Ke Ola could best be used to support programs.
Ke Ola has brought more than $15 million to the state for education of health professionals, and aided minority and disadvantaged youth interested in health professions, they said.
Other achievements they cited included: Training more than 350 students in health professions, developing community partnership sites into learning environments, developing a curriculum for community-based, multiprofessional education, and connecting community health centers and the University of Hawaii through the Ke Ola fiber-optic network.
Boating skills course offered in Kailua
A June 15-July 24 "Boating Skills and Seamanship/Personal Watercraft Course" takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at Kalaheo High School in Kailua.The Coast Guard Auxiliary course will be in Room A2. Cost is $30 for manuals and study guide; instruction is free. Couples and families will receive a discount. Graduates will receive certificates, a 10 percent discount on safety items, one-year free membership to Boat/Us and a 10- to 15-percent discount on boat insurance.
Selecting a boat, federal regulations, boat handling, navigation, trailering, engines, lines and knots, weather and more will be included in the course.
Information: 247-3793 or 254-7955.
Former Miss Universe will co-host broadcasting's first Iolani Awards
Former Miss Universe Brook Lee will help host the March of Dimes' Iolani Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting Aug. 25 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.These first Iolani Awards will commemorate the 100th anniversary of radio broadcasting in Hawaii. The first broadcast was on June 16, 1900, from Iolani Palace.
The black-tie awards dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Monarch Room. It will recognize excellence in radio and television broadcasting and help create public awareness and support for the March of Dimes.
Awards will go for news, public affairs, sports, advertising, lifetime achievement in local radio and television and more.
The deadline for entries is June 15. Air time must have been from Jan. 1, 1999, to June 14, 2000.
For more information, call 973-2155.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
A prominent St. Louis School basketball and football player was indicted today by an Oahu grand jury for second-degree assault. St. Louis athlete indicted in assault
Eighteen-year-old Leslie Wong Jr., who is also known as Junior Wong, allegedly punched a then- 16-year-old boy at a Waikele residence on Aug. 8, 1999, breaking the victim's jaw.
The victim was at his girlfriend's house at 11:30 p.m. and noticed a car passing by several times, police said. Words were exchanged between others at the house and the occupants in the car, which allegedly included Wong, police said.
The victim went to check on an ensuing confrontation between the groups and told police he was "false cracked" by Wong, whom he did not know. Wong was later identified through photos in a school yearbook and was arrested on Oct. 1. He was released pending further investigation.
He was charged as an adult.
The incident occurred prior to the start of the 1999 Interscholastic League football season. Wong was a starting defensive back for the Crusaders. He also led St. Louis to the ILH basketball title and into the finals of the state tournament.
Federal agents raided the New Diamond Video Shop in Chinatown today and seized an estimated 15,000 videotapes that allegedly were illegally copied and rented. Video store raided for alleged bootlegs
Most of the tapes were Chinese-language soap operas from Taiwan and Hong Kong, said FBI special agent John Gillies.
The shop's owner, Manson Woo, 50, was arrested, and faces up to a $2 million fine and up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of copyright and trademark violations, according to Gillies. Woo was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court this afternoon.
Gillies said today's raid is one of the largest seizures of pirated videotapes in Honolulu during the last several years.
Red Cross assists couple after Hauula home blaze
Emergency Red Cross services were provided to a couple after a fire destroyed their home at about 3 a.m. today at 54-182 Hauula Homestead Road.They were taken to Kahuku Hospital where the man was treated for smoke inhalation and the Red Cross was called.
The Fire Department said an unattended candle was the cause of the fire in the structure, a 10-foot-by-10-foot shed.
The Red Cross provided the victims with support and vouchers for temporary housing, food, clothing and personal items.
Phony officer arrested after attempted robbery
Police arrested a man who posed as a police officer to allegedly attempt to rob a woman of her purse in Waikiki.The woman was sitting down near 2552 Kalakaua Ave. when she was approached by two men at about 1 a.m. yesterday, police said. One suspect grabbed her arm and demanded her handbag.
When she refused, the man said he was a policeman and demanded to look in her bag, police said.
While they were struggling, the second man grabbed her cellular phone from her hand and ran away. He has not been apprehended.
The woman kept struggling with the first man until he let go. He was arrested at the Eurasia Nightclub inside the Hawaiian Regent Hotel shortly afterward for second-degree robbery and impersonating a police officer.
Coast Guard takes fuel off grounded fishing boat
The Coast Guard began removing diesel fuel yesterday from an Oahu-based long-line fishing vessel grounded on the southeast side of Pearl and Hermes Atoll.Swells in the 6- to 8-foot range hampered the operation.
The 85-foot Swordman I, which went aground Monday, is carrying an estimated 6,000 gallons of fuel and 100 gallons of hydraulic oil.
The Coast Guard reported an unknown amount of fuel has leaked from a ruptured tank. Observers said there was a sheen about 150 feet long in the water near the disabled boat.
State Land and Natural Resources officials say the fuel and fishing lines aboard the Swordman I pose a threat to the environment of the atoll, which is part of the Hawaiian islands.
Makiki woman reports possible sexual assault
Police are investigating a woman's report that she was sexually assaulted at her Makiki apartment.The woman told police that at about noon yesterday, her boyfriend returned to the apartment and found that it had been broken into.
The woman told police she had been drinking for seven days and tried to sober up beginning about 1 a.m. yesterday. She said she realized she had genital pain and believed she was sexually assaulted. Police have no suspects.
