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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
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Mayor looks to fill transportation slot
Wanted: a good manager, preferably an engineer, who has a background in transportation.
Those are some of the qualifications Mayor Mufi Hannemann is looking for as he searches for a replacement for city Transportation Director Ed Hirata, whose last day is today.
"These are obviously very big shoes to fill," Hannemann said.
Hirata, a former state transportation director and city managing director, came out of retirement to become the city's transportation leader with the understanding that the post would be temporary.
Hannemann credited Hirata with "putting us now on the path to bringing rail system to Honolulu." Hirata led the administration's charge to establish new taxing power to levy a 0.5 percent excise tax.
Swap meet fee could increase to $1
Stadium Authority members voted yesterday to recommend a doubling of the admission fee for the swap meet at Aloha Stadium.
The recommendation was to increase the fee to $1 from 50 cents for people 12 years old and older.
Aloha Stadium spokesman Patrick Leonard said the fee has not been increased in more than five years. Revenues from the fee increase will go toward maintenance of the stadium's parking lot where the swap meet is held three times a week.
Tents put up for the swap meet take their toll on the parking lot, Leonard said. More than an estimated 30,000 people shop at the stadium weekly.
The recommendation will undergo review and a public hearing.
Museum recalls 25th Infantry's history
The 25th Infantry Division's Tropic Lightning Museum will hold its annual living history beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow to celebrate the history of the infantry unit dating back to 1941.
Visitors will be able to see restored Army vehicles and crawl through a tunnel like those used in the Vietnam War.
The public is invited and should enter Schofield Barracks through Lyman Gate and will need a photo ID, current car registration, proof of insurance and a safety inspection sticker.
New home program to help Hawaiians
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has created the Home Ownership Assistance Program to help native Hawaiians prepare for homeownership opportunities.
The agency is planning to develop more homes in the next year and a half in Kaupea, Consuelo and East Kapolei.
Program officials will hold a free orientation session from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the Kapolei High School Cafeteria, 91-5007 Kapolei Parkway.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staff
HONOLULU
Kalihi man caught returning bank's cash
Police arrested a 58-year-old Kalihi Valley man Wednesday after he allegedly robbed a bank and then went back to return the money.
Police said the man entered Central Pacific Bank's Mapunapuna branch, 960 Mapunapuna St., about 9 a.m. and handed a teller a demand note. The teller placed a stack of money on the counter, and the man fled with a portion of it, police said.
Less than 20 minutes later the man tried to return the money, police said. Patrol officers found him in the parking lot and arrested him for investigation of second-degree robbery.
LEEWARD OAHU
1 caught, 2 sought in attempted robbery
Police arrested a 43-year-old Waipahu man and were looking for two other suspects after an attempted robbery early yesterday in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven store in Waipahu.
A 55-year-old man told police he returned to his car about 3:15 a.m. when the suspect reached into the victim's right rear pants pocket attempting to take his wallet. When the victim grabbed the suspect's hand, a second suspect, a male in his late 20s to early 30s, punched him in the back, police said.
Both suspects then fled on bicycles. A third male suspect fled on foot.
Police found the first suspect at Waipahu District Park about a half-hour later. He was identified by the victim and arrested for investigation of second- degree robbery, police said.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Man cleaning vehicle shoots himself in leg
A 46-year-old Hamakua man accidentally shot himself in the leg Friday while cleaning out his vehicle, Big Island police said.
The man was cleaning the inside of his pickup when he moved a rifle under the seat, causing it to go off.
The man was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital. He was last listed in stable condition.
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[ The Courts ]
Former bank teller sued over robbery aid
Bank of Hawaii has sued a former teller for more than $31,000, alleging she helped a friend rob the Ala Moana branch in 1999.
The robbery happened on March 12, 1999, when a man approached Rachel Arjona's teller window, claimed to have a gun and demanded cash. Arjona, also known as Rachell Bryant, gave the man $19,077.05 from her cash drawer, the suit says.
Later, Arjona told police and an FBI agent that she knew the bank robber and was his accomplice, according to the suit, which was filed yesterday in state Circuit Court. The bank asks for the principal amount taken, along with $12,342.99 in interest and $142.95 in "loss."
Family says police failed to aid detainee
The family of a 24-year-old man who died last year in police custody has sued the city and Honolulu Police Department, alleging officers should have taken him to the hospital earlier.
Kevin Silva was arrested on July 4, 2004, after getting in a fight in Kipapa Park. The suit says Silva was injured in the fight. Once it was broken up, police restrained Silva and took him to the Wahiawa police station.
When he got there, the suit says, officers realized his physical condition was deteriorating and called 911. He was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital, where he later died.
The suit, filed yesterday in state Circuit Court, said police should have taken Silva straight to the hospital. It also said the city and Police Department should have done a better job of training police officers.
An HPD spokesman could not be reached yesterday for comment.
Silva's family is seeking an unspecified amount of attorney's fees, general damages and punitive damages.