Native Hawaiian utility gets third loan installment
A native Hawaiian rural telephone company will receive $97.5 million of a federal loan for an underground fiber-optic cable system that will connect Hawaiian homestead communities across the islands.Sandwich Isles Communications Inc. will receive this third installment of a $400 million loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie announced yesterday that the funds were just released, though approved in October 2000.
Sandwich Isles, a subsidiary of utility company Waimana Enterprises, received the first installment of $27 million in 1997 to develop infrastructure on Oahu homestead developments, and $40.9 million in 1999 to develop infrastructure on Maui, Molokai and the Big Island.
The newest phase of the project will connect 3,948 new subscribers with 650 miles of underground cable and 900 miles of underwater cable. Additionally, infrastructure for Kauai and Lanai will be installed.
The service will provide fiber-optic service to some of the state's most underserved areas, Abercrombie said.
Work on the system is scheduled to begin on Kauai early next year. The work will continue to Molokai, the Big Island, Maui, Oahu and then Lanai.
Sandwich Isles has been providing telecommunications services to homestead communities under an exclusive contract signed in 1995 with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Specialists from Hawaii seek MIA remains in Asia
Seven Hawaii-based specialists are in Cambodia this week working to recover the remains of an American missing in action during the Vietnam War.The recovery team consists mostly of military and civilian specialists from Joint Task Force-Full Accounting and the Army's Central Identification Laboratory.
The team will be working through next Saturday in Sihounoukville, a southern coastal city in Cambodia's Kompong Som province, the Joint Task Force said.
Since 1973 the remains of 637 American service members who were listed as missing in action in Southeast Asia have been identified and returned to their families. There are 1,948 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, including 60 in Cambodia.
Congress approves funds to help Hawaii homeless
Congress recently approved funding that will help three Hawaii homeless projects.The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act will give federal assistance to the following projects:
>> Puamalia Group Home in Hilo, $33,385.
>> Transitions Project on Maui -- Women Helping Women, $232,608.
>> West Side Resource Center Lahaina, $400,000, to start construction of a new project.
UH will hold town meeting on building community
The University of Hawaii-Manoa will host a town meeting on building a campus community Monday at 4 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom."Town and Gown Meeting of the Minds" will feature a panel of students, faculty, neighborhood board members and community representatives who will present their views on building a campus community in Manoa.
Time will be provided for questions and comments from the public.
The event is an opportunity for members of the UH and outside community to participate in strategic planning for UH-Manoa. The public is invited to attend events or submit written commentary through the Listening Project Survey.
For more information on the UH-Manoa strategic planning process, to obtain a copy of the survey or post a message on the Internet bulletin board, visit www.uhm.hawaii.edu/vision.
At-risk residents urged to get flu shots
Residents at the most risk for complications from flu are reminded by the state Health Department to get a flu shot as soon as possible.The shot is free for most people with Medicare Part B insurance and offers protection 10 to 14 days after vaccination.
Urged to get flu shots right away are seniors; people who have diabetes, kidney disease, asthma or other lung disease, heart disease, cancer or HIV/AIDS; health-care workers; and women who will be at least three months pregnant during the flu season, which runs this month through March.
Addressing concerns about the flu shot, the Health Department said:
>> The vaccine is made from killed influenza viruses that cannot give you the flu.
>> The vaccine is not 100 percent effective, but vaccinated people who get the flu are likely to be far less sick than they otherwise would have been.
>> It is possible to get the flu even after a flu shot, but it protects most people. It will not protect against other viruses circulating during flu season.
For more information, talk to your doctor, go to a flu shot clinic or call Ask Aloha United Way at 275-2000. Neighbor island residents can call 877-275-6569.
The department's Immunization Program also will answer questions; call 586-8332.
Information also is available on the Department of Health Web site at www.state.hi.us/doh.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Managing Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com. Corrections and clarifications
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
WINDWARD OAHU
45-year-old man critically hurt in motorcycle crash
A 45-year-old man was in critical condition after crashing his motorcycle Thursday night in Kaneohe.Police said the man was riding his motorcycle south on Pookela Street near Windward Community College about 8:30 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle, which fell to the roadway.
The man was then thrown from the motorcycle, police said. He was taken to Queen's Medical Center in critical condition. Police said the man, who was not wearing a helmet, may have been speeding.
Hiker who fell is ID'd as a Kaneohe resident
The Honolulu Medical Examiner has identified the hiker who died after falling more than 200 feet of a cliff in Kaaawa on Sunday as Torry Joseph Bingham, 28, of Kaneohe.He was hiking with a relative behind a banana patch near Hauhele Road when he fell. Fire rescue personnel recovered his body Monday morning halfway up a sheer cliff.
NORTH SHORE
N. Shore man arrested on parole warrant
CrimeStoppers said Patrick Peletisara Molioo was arrested without incident yesterday morning on the North Shore by officers from the District 2 Crime Reduction Unit.Molioo was wanted for a parole revocation warrant dated Nov. 8. Police said he had been convicted of burglary, driving a stolen vehicle, and drug offenses.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Isle man is killed as dump truck overturns
A 58-year-old Puna man was killed yesterday afternoon after a dump truck he was driving went out of control and overturned on Waikoloa Road near the seven-mile marker in South Kohala.Police said the victim was Gordon Halsey of Mountain View.
The victim was driving a 1973 Kenworth dump truck heading down Waikoloa Road when he lost control of the truck, struck a guardrail and overturned off the right shoulder. Police said Halsey, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected during the crash and sustained head and body injuries.
Rescue personnel transported the victim to the North Hawaii Community Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead at 12:03 p.m. The truck had been loaded with gravel at the time of the accident, and the road was closed for about three hours after the accident.
Yesterday's traffic fatality was the 26th so far this year on the Big Island, compared with 34 at the same time last year.
HONOLULU
Police seek 8 suspects in the stabbing of 2 men
Police were looking for eight suspects after the stabbing of two men outside a University Avenue sports bar yesterday morning.The two men, ages 23 and 20, both of Honolulu, were involved in a fight with eight other males outside Players University at 1442 University Ave. just before 2 a.m. when they were stabbed, police said.
The 20-year-old man was stabbed once in the back while the 23-year-old man was stabbed three times in various locations on the back of his body. Both were taken to Queen's Medical Center where they are in stable condition. Police said the eight suspects fled in two cars.
Wahiawa man held in video store robbery
The suspect in Sunday's robbery of a downtown video store is in police custody.The 24-year-old Wahiawa man was arrested Thursday near his home. Police said the suspect entered the Alpha Video store at 70 Kukui St. on Sunday, handed the cashier a demand note, brandished a knife, then fled with an undisclosed amount of money.
