Haleakala plans project to eradicate miconia
WAILUKU >> Haleakala National Park plans to contribute between $500,000 and $1 million annually for several years to assist in the eradication of an alien plant.Park Superintendent Donald Reeser said the commitment is important because miconia is a major threat to Maui's natural environment.
Reeser said he had planned to use money from entrance fees to Kipahulu toward the miconia eradication in and outside the park but a federal law prevents the funds from being used beyond park boundaries.
He said he plans to use the fees to improve park trails and build restrooms and will shift money obtained from other sources to assist in the miconia eradication.
Biologists note that miconia is a major threat to tropical native forest and has spread quickly in Tahiti.
"The sooner we get it the less costly it's going to be," Reeser said.
Kona sociologist sues to challenge new districts
KAILUA-KONA >> A Kona sociologist has filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to order the Hawaii County Reapportionment Commission to redraw the boundaries of County Council districts.Honolulu attorney Jack Schweigert, on behalf of David Holzman, filed a request for the order directly with the state Supreme Court, as provided by the state constitution.
The commission approved new council district lines in December after months of considering alternatives.
Although they shifted unpopulated areas from one district to another, there was little change regarding populated areas. The primary change was the addition of the lower-income Orchidland area in Puna to one of three Hilo districts where residents presumably have higher incomes.
Holzman's suit says that violates the state constitution, which prohibits "submergence" of one socio-economic area in another "where practicable."
Holzman, who expects others to join the suit, also objects to lower-income North Kohala being in the same district with higher-income South Kohala, although the two districts have been joined for a decade.
>> The Feb. 15 reception for the Japan Craft Artisans Program at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii is not open to the public; a brief on Page D4 Monday said incorrectly that it would be a public reception. Corrections and clarifications
>> Sisters Offering Support is a nonprofit organization that helps teenagers and adults trying to get out of prostitution. The organization was misidentified as Save Our Sisters in a story on Page A6 Monday.
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 staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Hilo police seek help in Domino's Pizza theft
HILO >> Police need the public's help in identifying two men who robbed the Domino's Pizza restaurant in Hilo on Saturday.Police released two sketches based on witness descriptions. Both men wore gray-hooded sweatshirts, but one was described as taller than the other.
One had a handgun and the other a machete, police said.
They escaped on foot with cash, and no one was injured.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 961-2377 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
South Kona crime wave brings police warnings
KAILUA-KONA >> Thefts from homes and cars in Keopuka, South Kona, prompted police to warn residents to lock their homes and cars.Capt. John Dawrs credited community policing officer Stanley Haanio with solving the burglary of seven homes with the arrest of a 16-year-old youth. Haanio still is working on thefts from 13 parked cars.
The North and South Kona Districts recorded a 29 percent increase in auto thefts and a 21 percent increase in burglaries and thefts last year, he said.
HONOLULU
Woman arrested Sunday charged in stabbing
Police charged Shelbie Akana, 38, with attempted murder yesterday for allegedly stabbing a taxi driver in the back.The 43-year-old driver picked up Akana at the corner of Keeaumoku Street and Wilder Avenue about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The drive told police Akana directed him to the McDonald's office building at 1060 Young St., where she stabbed him, then fled after a brief struggle.
Akana, who allegedly dropped her handbag in the struggle, was later arrested at her Kewalo Street apartment. She is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
H-1 pedestrian fatality identified by examiner
A homeless woman who was struck and killed by a vehicle on the H-1 Freeway on Saturday has been identified as 65-year-old Beverly Llacuna.Police said she was walking on the freeway near the airport viaduct around 4:30 a.m. when she was struck by a car driven by a 64-year-old Kapolei man traveling toward town.
Woman, 2 men arrested in attack on police officer
Police arrested three more suspects yesterday in connection with an attempted murder of a police officer in Hawaii Kai on Monday.A 20-year-old Aiea woman turned herself in at Honolulu police headquarters and police arrested a 20-year-old Pearl City man and an 18-year-old Aiea man at an Aiea Heights home.
The Pearl City man was booked for first-degree attempted murder, auto theft and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle. The other two were booked for auto theft and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.
Police said the Pearl City man tried to run over a police officer with a stolen car after he saw them allegedly removing tires from another stolen car. The officer jumped out of the way and was not seriously injured. The three suspects fled in one of the stolen cars. A fourth suspect, a 21-year-old man, tried to flee on foot but was arrested for auto theft and then released.
LEEWARD OAHU
Woman accused of hurling knife at husband
A 26-year-old Makaha woman was arrested last night for assault for allegedly injuring her 32-year-old husband with a knife. Police said the couple was arguing at their Kiana Place home about 9 p.m. when the woman threw a knife at her husband, striking him in his upper left thigh and causing a small cut.
Teenager fights intruder in Ewa Beach home
A 30-year-old man was arrested for robbery, burglary and assault yesterday after he allegedly broke into an Ewa Beach home and tried to force his way out when the residents arrived.Police said a 34-year-old woman and her 16-year-old son arrived at their Kalapu Street home about 1:40 p.m. and found the man sleeping in the son's bedroom. The son confronted the man, who then pushed the boy in an attempt to leave, police said. The boy told police he hit the man with a bat and held him until they arrived.
[COURTS]
Family of Big Isle man shot by cop files lawsuit
The family of a Big Island man fatally shot by a police officer in December when he refused an order to drop the dagger he was wielding has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer and the county.Santiago Vasquez, 39, was killed December 22 after Officer John Weber responded to a disturbance call at Vasquez' Leilani Estates home.
Three members of another family apparently had forced their way into Vasquez's home and attacked him and a woman.
Weber arrived at the home to find Vasquez fighting the intruders with a knife.
He was shot allegedly after ignoring orders to drop the weapon.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court yesterday, alleges the County of Hawaii failed to properly train Weber, 37, and that he used excessive force when he shot Vasquez twice.
The family claims Vasquez was acting in self-defense from his attackers and that the shooting was reckless and unjustified.
Couple accidentally took gun to airport, lawyer says
A couple who was arrested last month for carrying an unloaded handgun in a carry-on bag through a security checkpoint at Honolulu Airport apparently had forgotten they had it, their attorney said.Rodger Sears, 23, formerly of Maui, last week pleaded guilty to possession of an automatic firearm under a plea agreement and was fined $2,500, said his attorney, Guy Matsunaga.
Sears was also granted a deferral of his guilty plea, partly because he has no criminal record.
If he stays out of trouble and complies with the court's conditions for the next five years, he can move to have the charge removed from his record.
Charges against his wife Althea, 25, were dropped.
The couple was arrested Jan. 19 after Rodger Sears placed the duffle bag with his wife's name on it containing the .25-caliber semiautomatic on the X-ray machine.
The couple lived on Maui and were moving back to the mainland for a short time.
They had already sent some of their belongings in boxes and at the last minute threw whatever remained into their bags, including the bag containing the gun, Matsunaga said.
Sears was very apologetic and wanted to apologize to the state and everyone for the inconvenience he caused, Matsunaga said.
"It wasn't intentional at all and I think the state realized it," he said.
The couple has since left the state.
The deputy attorney general handling the case could not be reached for comment.
