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Sick Japanese student plucked from ship
A 17-year-old Japanese student with lung problems was taken by helicopter to Oahu from a fishery-training vessel 100 miles south of Oahu.He was in stable condition yesterday at Kuakini Medical Center.
The Coast Guard hoisted Hiroshiki Okonai out of the Aomori Maru and took him to Coast Guard Air Station-Barbers Point shortly before 2:30 p.m. Okonai was experiencing lung problems Saturday night.
The ship's agent called the Coast Guard at 9 p.m. when the ship was 300 miles south-southwest of Oahu.
The Coast Guard conferred with flight surgeons from the Coast Guard and Tripler Army Medical Center. They determined the student probably had a collapsed lung and needed immediate treatment.
The Aomori Maru diverted toward Oahu, positioning itself within range of the Coast Guard rescue helicopter.
Civil Defense conducts test of sirens Thursday
State Civil Defense will conduct its monthly test of sirens and the emergency alert system on Thursday, the agency said.The siren test is the attention/alert signal, a steady 45-second tone on all sirens.
Man shot by police faces theft charges
A 34-year-old man who was shot in the neck by a police officer on Jan. 14 has been arrested and charged with theft of a motorcycle and two drug offenses.Kelly Donnarumma, 34, was arrested Wednesday after he was released from Queen's Medical Center, where he was recuperating from the gunshot injury.
His bail was set at $40,000.
Donnarumma was standing behind a dirt mound in Mililani Mauka when he was asked by the officer to come out. He had been pursued there by the officer because he was riding a stolen motorcycle, police said.
Police said the man reached into a fanny pack and the officer, thinking Donnarumma was reaching for a gun, fired one shot into his neck. The 29-year-old officer, a nine-year veteran of the force, was placed on administrative leave while a standard internal investigation into the matter was conducted.
The fanny pack turned out not to contain a gun but did contain drugs and more than $1,000 in cash.
Missing Calif. tourist found OK at bus stop
An 85-year-old tourist from San Francisco who suffers from mild dementia was located around midnight last night after family members reported him missing yesterday."He's in good spirits this morning," said Diane Quinn, the daughter of John Joseph Bregante. Police found Bregante at a bus stop near the Honolulu Airport. They received a call from a city bus driver describing a man who was disoriented.
Quinn said her father was last seen by a Halekulani employee near the beach about 4:30 a.m. yesterday near the beach. He suffers from mild dementia and periods of confusion. She said he slipped quietly away from their Halekulani hotel room.
"We are greatly relieved and highly appreciative," she said of all the help she received from Halekulani personnel, hotel security, police and fire personnel and Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH).
Last helicopter crash survivor leaves hospital
Pfc. Michael A. Welch, the last of the survivors of the Black Hawk helicopters crash, was discharged Friday from Tripler Army Medical Center.Welch, a native of Kenner, La., is a mortarman with the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. The Feb. 12 accident between two Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters during a field training exercise left six dead and 11 injured.
Health grants available for community projects
AlohaCare is offering grants of $1,000 to $5,000 for projects to promote the physical or mental health or general well-being of communities.March 9 is the deadline for applications.
Eligible groups must be nonprofit and community-based, have limited access to financial resources and complete a project with a health-related benefit within one year.
John McComas, AlohaCare chief executive officer, said, "We're demonstrating our commitment to helping Hawaii's communities by returning some of our income back to the community and empowering the people to improve the quality of life in their own neighborhoods."
Projects such as the American Lung Association's Hamakua Asthma Camp have been funded in the past.
A nonprofit health plan that serves QUEST members exclusively, AlohaCare is interested in supporting health-related projects that are sensitive to community issues and appropriate for the cultural mix of a community.
For more information or to receive an application, call AlohaCare at 973-1650 or 1-800-434-1002 on the neighbor islands, or visit your nearest community health center.
Stop-smoking program now online
The American Lung Association program Freedom from Smoking now is online as part of a national effort to help people stop smoking in their homes.The association for six years has offered Freedom from Smoking clinics in Hawaii and other states, helping thousands of people to break the smoking habit.
The online program takes smokers through modules that compare to weekly sessions in a live clinic. Assignments are completed between lessons to reinforce messages and help participants quit smoking.
Participants progress at their own pace and are able to communicate with each other through message boards that remain available after the program is completed.
People interested in the free program may register by calling the association's Honolulu office, 537-5966. For more information, call Debbie Odo at that number, ext. 305.
Seminar looks at rules for play areas
Guidelines for play areas for children with disabilities will be discussed at a workshop from 9:30 a.m. to noon today at the Department of Health Laboratories auditorium, 2725 Waimano Home Rd.William Botten, access specialist from the U.S. Access Board, will conduct the workshop. The topic is "Access to Play Areas for Children with Disabilities: An Overview of the Final Design Guidelines."
The U.S. Access Board has issued final guidelines for new construction and alteration of play areas, including play equipment, surface of play areas and route within play areas. Schools, parks, child care centers and other facilities with play equipment will be affected.
The workshop is sponsored by the state Disability and Communication Access Board, the state Department of Education and Pacific Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center. The cost is $15 per person, including materials.
For more information, call the Disability and Communication Access Board, 586-8121.
Courts
Kaimuki homeowners seek halt to construction
Several Diamond Head View Lots homeowners filed a Circuit Court lawsuit Friday against a number of individuals, the state and city over home construction at 3857 Poka St. that they allege exceeds height restrictions.The suit seeks a halt to any further construction there and that the court order removal of any construction that violates regulations of 12- to 15-foot height limits.
Plaintiffs include James D. Granzow, Stratford L. Whiting, Albert S.L. Wong and Clark G. Hatch.
Named defendants include Aaron Kazuo Nada, Dawn Lynn Kishi and Loretta Goo Kishi.
Big Isle man ruled mentally unfit to stand trial
HILO -- A Big Island judge has declared murder suspect Oliver White mentally unfit to be tried for the 1994 slaying of rodeo rider Vernon Joseph Souza.Souza's body was found partially burned off Saddle Road. He died of blows to the head and a cut throat.
At White's arraignment in October, his attorney Stanton Oshiro said head injuries in a 1995 car accident left White unable to understand the charges against him.
After hearing from three doctors last week, Judge Riki May Amano agreed. She set a hearing for May 24 on what to do with White. In the meantime, he remains jailed in lieu of $350,000 bail.
White's co-defendant, Jason Santos, is also being examined for head injuries allegedly suffered from being hit with a baseball bat in 1991 or 1992. The results of those exams will be heard by Amano March 8.
Tomorrow
Some events of interest
7 p.m., Hahaione Elementary School: Hawaii Kai No. 1 Neighborhood Board meeting, 595 Pepeekeo St. For information, call 527-5749.
Corrections
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Man stabbed, beaten by pair at Pearlridge
A 23-year-old man was stabbed and beaten with a baseball bat during an early morning fight today at Pearlridge Center.Two males are in police custody after one cut a 23-year-old man on the arm and the other struck the victim with a bat in Aiea.
Police said that at about 12:17 a.m., the victim drove up to a bus stop in front of Sears Roebuck and Co. at Pearlridge Center when he was confronted by a 23-year-old man brandishing a knife.
The 23-year-old suspect allegedly cut the victim's right arm and dragged him out of his car. Police said the suspect began beating the victim, and a 15-year-old boy hit the victim with a bat. The victim's car windshield was also smashed with the bat, police said.
Police caught the suspects after an officer arrived at the scene and gave chase. The victim was taken to Queen's Medical Center. No condition was released.
The two males are being held under suspicion of attempted murder, robbery, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and criminal property damage.
Car seller allegedly threatened by buyer
Police arrested a 37-year-old Kailua man after he allegedly threatened an acquaintance with a hammer over a car payment.On Friday, the suspect agreed to purchase a vehicle from the 28-year-old victim. When the victim was unable to collect payment for the vehicle, he went to the suspect's home on Kainalu Drive. Police say an argument erupted and that the victim was punched in the face and threatened with a hammer.
Suspect caught after early morning burglary
A burglar woke a 25-year-old McCully woman when he allegedly grabbed her purse a few feet away from her bed early yesterday morning.The woman was asleep in bed when the man entered her unlocked Waiola Street apartment at about 2 a.m., police said. She saw him taking her purse and screamed. Police located the suspect three blocks away from the apartment and were able to recover a purse containing the woman's possessions nearby.
The woman identified the 44-year-old McCully man, the purse and its contents.
Man arrested after gun fired during argument
Police arrested a 47-year-old man after he allegedly shot an acquaintance during a heated conversation in Wahiawa Saturday afternoon.The man was pointing his .44 magnum revolver in the direction of his acquaintance during the conversation when the gun discharged, police said.
The victim, a 43-year-old man, was grazed by the bullet, which ricocheted off a wall and fell to the floor, police said.
The suspect, who has no local address, was later found and arrested for attempted second-degree murder.
The public's help is sought to find the robber of the airport branch of Hawaii National Bank on Friday. He walked into the bank at 540 Lagoon Drive just after noon and told a teller he had an explosive device. He was last seen running from the bank. The robber was in his mid-20s, about 6 feet, thin, 160-175 pounds, fair-complexioned and cleanshaven. He had a khaki baseball cap with the letter "D," a green and off-white striped shirt, a white T-shirt and khaki pants. He had a black watch on his left wrist and a large black backpack. Call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
