Appeals court reinstates suit against Maui police
SAN FRANCISCO >> A former policewoman will get a new trial on her federal court lawsuit charging sexual and racial discrimination against the Maui Police Department.The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway should not have allowed "highly prejudicial" testimony about Bonnie Burke's past sexual activities.
In May 1999 a jury rejected Burke's complaint against Maui County that she had suffered discrimination because she was a woman and Caucasian.
She was one of five policewomen to file such complaints.
Four reached settlements with the county, but Burke rejected a proposed settlement.
Burke testified during the trial that former Deputy Chief Lanny Tihada sexually assaulted her on several occasions. She said she feared she would lose her job if she did not acquiesce.
Tihada testified that his relationship with Burke was consensual, and said he never threatened to have Burke fired if she did not have sex with him.
Burke's attorney Gerald Johnson says he is pleased with the ruling in favor of his client, who now lives in the mainland.
Johnson said he believes the pattern of discrimination against Maui policewomen has ended under Chief Thomas Phillips' new administration.
LUCKY TO BE ALIVE
|
Island woman heads diabetes group
Jane K. Kadohiro, University of Hawaii-Manoa assistant professor of nursing, has been named president-elect of the American Association of Diabetes Educators for 2001-2002.She was installed during the association's recent annual membership meeting in Louisville, Ky. She will continue as president for the 2002-2003 term.
A diabetic for 47 years, Kadohiro has dedicated her life as a "public healer," serving in various capacities as a manager, administrator, teacher and nurse.
She was a founding member and facilitator of the Hawaii Association of Diabetes Educators as a local affiliate of the AADE, the Hawaii chapter of the American Diabetes Association and the state Health Department's Diabetes Control Program.
She has been a member of the AADE Board of Directors since 1997 and served as first vice president in 2000-2001.
She has worked in many volunteer positions with the national organization and has been a key participant in its continuing education initiatives. She served in many capacities, including chairing the Continuing Education Committee in 1999-2000.
Diabetes educators are trained professionals from many areas who specialize in teaching diabetes management skills. The AADE has more than 10,000 health professionals striving to improve the quality of diabetes education and care.
Sewage spill forces closure of Kauai beach
A treated sewage spill will keep Kalapaki Beach closed at least through today.A pump failure at the Lihue Wastewater Treatment Plant caused an estimated 250,000 gallons of effluent to spill, with an estimated 50,000 gallons entering Nawiliwili Stream and Kalapaki Beach, said Eric Agena, civil engineer of the Kauai County Wastewater Division.
The spilled effluent had undergone secondary treatment, including chlorination, Agena said.
Bacteria levels are being tested in the bay and at the mouth of the stream by the state Department of Health and the Kauai Wastewater Division.
The spill occurred about midnight Sunday.
Diagnostic method gets national accreditation
A diagnostic technique used at Maui Memorial Medical Center to detect and manage various types of heart disease has received national accreditation.Kaiser Permanente Hawaii's Echocardiography Department in the medical center is one of the first two Hawaii facilities to receive accreditation for the noninvasive imaging technique.
Dr. Dennis Rowe, Kaiser Permanente cardiologist, said accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography laboratories "is the culmination of a long process to assure the highest level of echocardiography care for patients at Maui Memorial Medical Center."
The Kaiser Echocardiography Department, established in 1987 at the Maui hospital, performs an estimated 5,000 echocardiograms and stress echocardiograms annually for Kaiser Permanente members and nonmembers.
UH care program given transportation coupons
The Hawaii Area Health Education Center has donated 225 interisland coupons to a University of Hawaii program aimed at enhancing health care in rural areas.The Quentin N. Burdick Rural Health Program, co-sponsored by the UH-Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, the Kauai Rural Health Association and University Health Group, provides UH students the opportunity to participate in spring seminars and a summer practicum on neighbor islands.
Last year, 23 students from the schools of nursing and dental hygiene, medicine, social work, psychology and medical technology participated in programs on the Big Island, Maui, Kauai and Molokai.
The coupons provided by the Area Health Education Center will provide transportation for a year.
The center, based in the UH medical school, works with communities in Hawaii and the Pacific Basin to improve the health of the underserved population through education.
Free kidney screening offered by foundation
Free kidney screening will be offered by the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Waipahu United Church of Christ, across from the Waipahu Public Library.Residents with a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes or both are at high risk for kidney disease and are urged to get checked.
For more information about the free test, call the Kidney Foundation at 589-5922.
Participants must be 18 or older. Appointments are recommended.
>> Aloha Airlines earned $5.6 million in the third quarter of 2001. A headline on Page C4 yesterday said incorrectly that the airline lost $5.6 million during the period. Corrections and clarifications
>> The "shimenawa" is a straw rope at the entry of a Shinto shrine. Its tightly bound strands represent strength and unity. A Jan. 2 article on page A3 incorrectly defined the term.
>> Steve Wynn purchased and is rebuilding the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. A Dec. 30 Travel story on F1 said he bought the Sahara. The Sahara remains open for business.
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.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffNORTH SHORE Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Man, 38, dies when SUV smashes his pickup truck
A 38-year-old Waialua man died last night when a sport utility vehicle ran over his compact pickup truck.Police said the victim was traveling north on Kaukonahua Road at about 8:20 p.m., and was a half-mile past Thompson Corner when an SUV traveling in the opposite direction crossed the center line and collided with his truck.
Police said the right front tire of the SUV, which has a raised chassis, climbed up onto the pickup, crushing the truck's left side. The driver of the pickup was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said alcohol use was a factor in the collision.
The 24-year-old Pearl city man driving the SUV was arrested for first-degree negligent homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol. Neither he nor his two passengers was injured in the crash.
CENTRAL OAHU
Mililani man, 21, accused of trying to run over biker
A 21-year-old Mililani man was arrested for attempted murder Tuesday after he ran over another man's bicycle in front of a home on Kaulia Place in Mililani.The victim, a 23-year-old man also from Mililani, told police the suspect tried to run over him just before 9 p.m., but that he avoided injury by jumping off his bicycle.
The suspect told police the victim put his bicycle on the ground in front of his truck, blocking his way, and refused to move it.
Police said the two men have known each other and have been feuding since high school.
WAIKIKI
Man stabbed after fight near Century Center
A man in his 20s was taken to Queen's Medical Center in serious condition this morning after he was stabbed in the neck with a broken beer bottle near Century Center.Police responded to a call at 2:06 a.m. that two men were fighting in the parking lot of Century Center at 1750 Kalakaua Boulevard and discovered the victim.
Another man is in custody in connection with the stabbing.
HONOLULU
Police seeking downtown bank-robbery suspect
Honolulu police and CrimeStoppers are looking for a male suspect who robbed the Financial Plaza American Savings Bank, located at 915 Fort Street Mall, yesterday.
Police said the suspect entered the bank at noon, waited in line and passed a note to the teller that stated he was armed and demanded money.
Police said the suspect then fled from the bank and was last seen walking on Fort Street Mall.
The suspect is believed to be the same bank-robbery suspect from the Central Pacific Bank Kaimuki branch on Dec. 13.
The suspect is described as a man in his late 30s to early 40s, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 140 pounds, with a slim build, fair complexion, dark hair, a graying mustache and beard.
Police said the suspect was last seen wearing dark sunglasses, a light-colored baseball cap, a dark T-shirt and a dark-colored watch on his left wrist. Though the suspect told bank tellers that he was armed, police said at no time was a weapon seen.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to call 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Kapahulu man charged with attempted murder
Police charged 32-year-old David A. Harraway with attempted murder and two firearm violations Tuesday for a shooting that occurred outside his Kapahulu home last November.A 26-year-old woman was hit in the eye when Harraway fired a shotgun into her vehicle, police said.
The woman, her brother and others had gone to Harraway's home on Brokaw Street to collect on a loan.
Police arrested Harraway on Monday at his home.
Man arrested in threat at Pauoa residence
A 40-year-old man is in custody this morning for burglary after he allegedly entered a Pauoa home, threatened the residents with a knife then fled.Police said the man entered a home on Stillman Lane about 2:15 a.m., asking for a person with whom he had a dispute over money. The residents told police the man repeatedly stabbed their couch and when they tried to call for help on the telephone, he cut the line. Police said the man fled but was arrested nearby.
LEEWARD OAHU
Police arrest 2 men in Pokai Bay robbery
Police arrested a 23-year-old man and a 21-year-old man, both from Waianae, and are looking for two other suspects in connection with a robbery Tuesday at Pokai Bay Beach Park.Police said the victim, a Waianae man in his 40s, was sitting in his vehicle when the first suspect entered, sat in the passenger seat and asked for money owed him.
The second suspect was standing outside the driver's window and asked for the victim's watch, police said. The man told police he put his watch on the dashboard and that a third suspect reached into the vehicle and took it.
Police said the first two suspects then threatened the victim with handguns. The victim told police he pulled out a knife, got out of his vehicle and walked away.
Ammonium chloride leak sends worker to hospital
Employees and staff at Courier Corp. of Hawaii evacuated yesterday evening after one worker felt light-headed while unloading a shipment of ammonium chloride.
Fire officials said the shipment contained liquid ammonium chloride, a chemical used for cleansing, which can cause respiratory problems if inhaled. They said the ammonium had leaked out of the box it was in.
The victim was taken to Kaiser Medical Center, where she was treated and released.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Island police seek missing Puna teenager
Big island police are looking for 16-year-old Puna girl who has been missing from her Keaau home since Nov. 15.
Dayna Nozaki is of Japanese descent and described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, 125 pounds, with midback-length brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information as to her whereabouts is asked to call Officer Peter Kualii of the Juvenile Aid Section at 961-2373, or the police nonemergency number at 935-3311.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
