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Aina Haina family forced out by mud

East Honolulu police recommended that a family evacuate their Aina Haina home Monday night because of storm damage to their back yard.

Peter Hirai, Oahu Civil Defense plans and operations officer, said the property at 951 Ahuwale Place is being evaluated by the landowner, who has hired a private contractor to look at the property and determine what needs to be done.

Hirai said that according to the police officer on scene Monday night, the family's backyard was "crumbling with mud," and so he recommended that the family leave.

"They didn't have to leave, but they had somewhere else to stay, so they did," Hirai said.

Jellyfish expected over next 2 days

Honolulu ocean safety officials warn that the monthly box jellyfish invasion is expected today and tomorrow, with south shore beaches the most likely to be affected.

The influx often hits Ala Moana Beach Park, Waikiki Beach, Hanauma Bay, Pokai Bay and Makaha beach.

Early kindergarten registration urged

Parents with children born in 2000 may now register their kids for kindergarten.

Registration for the fall semester opened yesterday, and the University of Hawaii Center on the Family urged parents to call elementary schools in their area and start the process.

"Unfortunately, many parents wait until late summer or even the first day of school," said Grace Fong, principal investigator of the center's Learning to Grow Project.

She said an early start will benefit the family because they will be able to participate in the spring or summer transition programs that give children an opportunity to become acquainted with their new school and with others who might be in their class.

Parents are required to provide a birth certificate, documentation about immunizations and physical examination, and proof of current address. For information, call the nearest elementary school or see the Department of Education Web site at doe.k12.hi.us/parents/index.htm.

Program takes high school students to Seoul

The Pacific and Asian Affairs Council is accepting applications to its Travel Program to South Korea in June from public high school students.

Twenty students will be selected and awarded full scholarships to tour South Korea. Students will visit historical sites, including the ancient Silla capital of Gyeongiu and the Demilitarized Zone. They will stay in a temple, visit the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and interact with Korean high school students.

PAAC is able to continue its Travel Program over the next three years due to a $100,000 grant from The Freeman Foundation. Japan is scheduled for 2006, and Taiwan in 2007.

To apply for scholarships, contact Natasha Cappel at 944-7759. For more information, visit www.paachawaii.org.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

HONOLULU
Police arrest 2 men in alleged car theft

Police arrested two men under suspicion of auto theft for allegedly driving the same stolen car.

Police stopped the suspect vehicle for a traffic violation on Keeaumoku Street about 9:40 a.m. Monday. A computer check revealed that the car had been stolen.

Officers arrested the driver and then the passenger after he said that he also had been driving the vehicle and that he knew it had been stolen, police said.

Both men have since been released pending an investigation.

2 held in alcohol theft from Hawaii Theatre

Police arrested two homeless men who allegedly broke into Hawaii Theatre and stole alcohol from the bar early Monday.

Patrol officers were called to the theater at 1130 Bethel St. about 4:30 a.m. after a report of a man entering the building. They found the suspects, ages 46 and 42, inside.

Police said the suspects had stolen alcohol from the bar and arrested them for investigation of second-degree burglary.

LEEWARD OAHU
Estranged boyfriend accused in collision

Police arrested a 40-year-old man for allegedly causing a collision of his vehicle with the one his estranged girlfriend was riding in Monday afternoon.

Police said the victim, 28, was riding in the car of a male friend in Nanakuli around 2:30 p.m. when her estranged boyfriend chased them down in another car and caused a collision. Afterward, the suspect got out and tried to initiate a fight, police said.

He was arrested for investigation of first-degree criminal property damage.

WAIKIKI
Woman arrested after attack with beer bottle

Police arrested a 28-year-old woman for allegedly hitting another woman in the head with a beer bottle in Waikiki early yesterday.

Police said that around 2:40 a.m. the victim, 21, became upset that her boyfriend was dancing with her friend.

The victim told the suspect to back off, police said, but she later walked over and hit the victim in the head with a beer bottle, causing a laceration to her ear and bruises to her cheek.

Police arrested the suspect for investigation of second-degree assault.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Fugitive sex offender caught in Washington

A 26-year-old convicted sex offender who was wanted in both Hawaii and Washington state has been caught, according to Big Island police.

Carl William Lindsey was wanted for escape in Washington and for failure to appear in Hilo Circuit Court. He was arrested Jan. 23 in Cowlitz County, Wash., according to Washington Department of Corrections officials.

Lindsey is a convicted child sex offender and has convictions in three states for theft, shoplifting, burglary, felony assault and sexual assault.

South Hilo woman missing for a month

Big island police want help locating a South Hilo woman who has been missing since late December.

Lisa Thomas, also known as Lisa Schorrig, 38, of Pepeekeo, is described as 5-foot-4, about 140 pounds, with a medium build and a fair complexion, hazel eyes and blonde or red hair.

She is believed to be driving a green 1997 Honda Del Sol two-door coupe with Maui license plates MCV 775, in the South Kohala District or in West Hawaii.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Juergen Canda at 961-2381, the police non-emergency number at 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.

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Trial delayed for men accused of beating

A murder trial has been postponed to August for two men accused of beating a man to death near Ala Moana Center after he urinated in a truck belonging to one of his attackers.

Prosecutors had asked that the trial for Ulutunu Faumuina Jr. and John Wilfred Penitani, scheduled to begin next week, be continued because officials have been unable to arrest Penitani.

The two were indicted by an Oahu grand jury last May on charges of second-degree murder for the death of Mikiala "Keola" Kahalewai, who died of injuries received after he was punched and kicked on April 19 near the Pachinko Karaoke bar on Kona Street.

Penitani is believed to have fled Hawaii shortly after the incident. U.S. marshals are expected to assist in locating Penitani.

Family sues after girl dies in car crash

The family and estate of a girl who was killed in a Waimanalo car crash by an allegedly drunken driver is suing the city and various establishments for selling the driver alcohol.

Jaime Ann Singleton, 17, was killed Feb. 1, 2003, after the truck she and several others were riding in pulled over to the side of the road on Kalanianaole Highway and struck a cement culvert, sending the truck airborne into a utility pole, the complaint said.

The driver, Jonathan R.K. Namauu, allegedly was intoxicated and had been asked earlier to leave Bellows Beach Park by city officials who failed to alert Honolulu police, the suit said. The beach camping areas at Bellows are monitored by city staff on weekends.

The suit alleges that negligence by the city and the establishments that sold Namauu the alcohol despite his obvious intoxication caused Singleton's death. Namauu is not named in the suit, which names 7-Eleven Hawaii Inc., Kaneohe Shell Food Mart, Nanko Inc. and McCully Market as defendants.

City officials and representatives of the establishments either could not be reached or declined comment because they have not seen the complaint.

Namauu, 33, was indicted in December on two counts of manslaughter for allegedly recklessly causing the deaths of Singleton and Namauu's half-brother, Zebedee Leahy, 21, both passengers in the bed of his pickup truck. Two other passengers were also injured.

According to witnesses, Namauu, who had no driver's license at the time, had been drinking all day. He was driving erratically and passing other motorists near Kaiona Beach Park before the crash occurred, police said.

Leahy and Singleton were thrown from the back of the truck and died at the scene.