Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Samoan soldier dies while in Iraq
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa >> A soldier from American Samoa has died in Iraq.Army Specialist Farao Kevin Letufuga, 20, of Pago Pago, was killed Tuesday when he fell from a roof while performing guard duty in Mosul, Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.
Letufuga was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. He entered the Army in September 2001, several months after graduating from Leone High School, and arrived at Fort Campbell in March 2002.
Board of Education praises superintendent
Schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto received a strong endorsement from the Board of Education yesterday, midway through her four-year contract to lead Hawaii's public schools."We are very, very confident in the work she's been doing," Chairman Herbert Watanabe said after the board met privately to evaluate Hamamoto's performance.
"She has a good staff, good communication with the board and the community, and respect by the rank and file and those who surround her in leadership."
Hamamoto became interim superintendent after Paul LeMahieu resigned in October 2001, and she was named superintendent two months later.
Her contract, at an annual salary of $150,000, runs through December 2005.
Attorney Shelton Jim On, recently appointed to the board by Gov. Linda Lingle, was sworn in yesterday and did not take part in the vote.
He replaced longtime member Lex Brodie, 89, who resigned in June for health reasons, and will serve until Brodie's term ends in November 2004.
Customs confiscates drug paraphernalia
Honolulu customs inspectors have seized six parcels originating from New Delhi containing more than 2,200 pieces of drug paraphernalia, including glass pipes commonly used to smoke crystal methamphetamine and metal pipes used to smoke marijuana.In connection with the seizure, federal prosecutors charged Uni Naomi Noguchi in a federal criminal complaint yesterday for conspiracy to import drug paraphernalia into the United States.
Noguchi is co-owner of a liquor store at the Waimalu Shopping Center.
The packages, addressed to Double Y Liquor Store in Aiea, arrived in Honolulu on Saturday via China Airlines, according to Derrick Lee, a special agent with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Coast Guard crew untangles sperm whale
The crew of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter based in Honolulu came to the rescue of an endangered sperm whale Wednesday in the North Pacific.Coast Guard officials said the whale was in a double bind: It was entangled in a fishing net, and the line of a large buoy was also wrapped around its body.
The cutter Jarvis launched its small boat, and crew members armed with boat hooks with rescue knives attached cut the exhausted whale free, the officials said.
Police, Fire, CourtsStar-Bulletin staff
WINDWARD OAHU
Man sought in theft of fanny pack in Laie
Police are looking for a man they say stole a fanny pack containing a large amount of money from a Laie bathroom last month.
CRIMESTOPPERS
Police believe this man stole a fanny pack that was left behind in a public bathroom.
Police said the suspect was captured on surveillance camera video entering and leaving the bathroom after the victim accidentally left the pack on a shelf at the Laie Shopping Center on July 10.
Police said the surveillance tape showed only one male entering and leaving the bathroom prior to the victim realizing he had forgotten it.
The suspect is described as in his 30s, 5 foot 8, about 180 pounds, having wavy black medium-length hair, a dark complexion and a goatee. He was last seen wearing sunglasses, a white T-shirt, dark shorts, white athletic socks and dark boots.
A possible suspect vehicle in the case is described as a flatbed diesel delivery truck with a white cab.
Anyone with information may call Detective Linda Blagrave at 293-7479 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
WAIKIKI
Drowning victim ID'd as Japanese visitor The Honolulu Medical Examiner has identified a 76-year-old woman who drowned Monday while swimming in the ocean fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village as Keiko Tokiwa, of Japan.
Tokiwa's niece told police her aunt went swimming about 10:30 a.m. About an hour later she saw firefighters on the beach performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her. Bystanders had started CPR before the firefighters arrived.
Tokiwa died at Straub Hospital.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Isle police seek 2 Hilo robbery suspects Big Island police are looking for two men who broke into a home and robbed an elderly Hilo couple early Monday.
Police said the men wore masks and entered the Kanoelani Street home through a window about 3 a.m. They went through the house and found a 93-year-old man and his 89-year-old wife in the master bedroom.
They threatened the couple with a handgun and tied up the husband before leaving with jewelry and cash, police said.
One man is described as about 5 foot 9, having a heavy build, wavy black hair and a beard. The other man is described as 5 foot 7 and 140 to 150 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Lucille Melemai at 961-2377, the police nonemergency number at 935-3311 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
