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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
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HFD suggests getting fireworks permits now
The Honolulu Fire Department is urging residents to get their fireworks permits early.
Permits are available year-round for a $25 fee at satellite city halls. Fireworks sales begin Dec. 26 and end at 1 a.m. on New Year's Day. Fireworks may only be set off between 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 1 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Vendors are not allowed to sell fireworks permits, which are only good for the year and the holiday for which they are issued. Permits are not sold at Oahu fire stations.
Unemployment rate in isles stays below 3%
Hawaii's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.8 percent in November, marking the ninth consecutive month the rate has remained below 3 percent, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said yesterday.
The 2.8 percent was 0.1 percentage point above October. The national month-to-month rate remained stable at 5 percent.
In November 2004 the state rate was 3.1 percent, and the national rate was 5.4 percent.
Trade, transportation and utilities gained 4,800 jobs; construction, 3,400; leisure and hospitality, 3,000; and education and health services, 1,700.
Hawaii's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has been at least two percentage points lower than the national rate since January 2004.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, there were 630,900 employed and 18,350 unemployed in Hawaii in November for a total labor force of 649,250, department officials said.
Compared with November 2004, the number of employed rose by 31,650, or 5.3 percent, while the number of unemployed declined by 550, or 3.0 percent, with the labor force as a whole growing by 31,050.
Flood-damaged bridge to be removed Monday
City crews will take down the footbridge over lower Manoa Stream at Kanewai Park on Monday.
The bridge was damaged in last year's Halloween eve flood in Manoa. University of Hawaii officials have asked that it be removed, calling it a health and safety concern.
The bridge connects the city park with the University of Hawaii at Manoa. UH officials fenced it off and posted warning signs after it was damaged, but some people continued to use it.
TAKING NOTICE
Grant aids program for dementia patients
The
Office of Hawaiian Affairs has awarded $71,644 to support the
Alzheimer's Association Kako'o Corps, a demonstration project to serve native Hawaiians affected by dementia in underserved communities.
The Kako'o Corps will use trained kupuna volunteers to provide outreach, education and access to support services for those affected by Alzheimer's and related dementia.
The Kako'o Corps will draw on the strengths, wisdom and knowledge of the kupuna to create understanding about the disease and related disorders, Alzheimer's Association programs, and services and community resources.
For more information about the Kako'o Corps or Alzheimer's disease, call 591-2771, 800-272-3900 toll-free from the neighbor islands, or visit www.alzhi.org.
Academic Awards
» Nine college students from Hawaii who are interested in medical careers took part in Straub Foundation's eight-week Summer Student Research Program, under the mentorship of physicians in the community.
Selected from more than 50 finalists, the students included Tracie Ann Chong, attending Rice University; Kacy A. Church, Willamette; Kara Ishikawa, Cornell; Torey Kikukawa, Washington State; Franklin C.H. Lee, Santa Clara; Kara E.M. Luerson, Colgate; Cedric K. Ng, Washington; Randi Ozaki, Boston; and Victoria Scott, Scripps College.
» Kaitlin Luther, a recent graduate of Baldwin High School on Maui, was one of two delegates representing Hawaii at the 42nd annual National Youth Science Camp in West Virginia this summer. She is now studying journalism and creative writing at the University of Hawaii.
» Maryknoll School honored three of its alumni with achievement awards for their community service. They are:
Madge Goto Watai, class of 1945, a retired Superior Court judge, and a hearing judge in the State Bar court of California;
Charlene Wong Lum, class of 1960, a grade-school teacher at Maryknoll for more than 35 years, and a teacher in California and Massachusetts;
Dr. Richard S.K. Young, class of 1965, now a faculty member of Yale Medical School, and current chairman of the pediatrics division at the Hospital of St. Raphael in Connecticut. He is also a lieutenant colonel in the Medical Corps of the Connecticut Army National Guard who recently returned from a one-year tour in Iraq.
» The Rita Thompson Music Scholarship Fund has given scholarships to pianists Evan Lin of Momilani Elementary; Michelle Morimoto, home school; Sandra Tang, Moanalua High; and Blaise Tom, Saint Louis; and to percussionist Casey Kawahara, Highland Intermediate.
» Julie Ogilvie, a Punahou graduate, was one of 50 artists nationwide to receive a Presidential Scholar Medallion at the White House in Washington, D.C. She was nominated through the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.
» The University of Hawaii at Manoa has awarded its 2005 Chancellor's Citation for Meritorious Teaching to Sun-Ki Chai, assistant professor of sociology; Jason Maddock, associate professor of public health sciences and epidemiology; John Rieder, professor of English; and John Zuern, an associate professor of English.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staff
HONOLULU
Suspect is sought in airport bank heist
Police are looking for a suspect who robbed the airport Hawaii National Bank branch at 2:40 p.m. yesterday.
Police said the man entered the bank at 540 Lagoon Drive and presented the teller with a demand note.
The suspect fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.
He is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing between 150 and 160 pounds.
LEEWARD OAHU
Shopper is arrested in fake jewelry switch
Police arrested a 32-year-old woman after she allegedly switched a piece of fake jewelry for the real thing at a Pearlridge Shopping Center store on Thursday.
The suspect allegedly switched the fake for an authentic piece of jewelry worth more than $300 while store personnel were not looking.
Police said the store manager figured out the switch and later discovered that the same suspect had stolen a piece of jewelry from the store earlier.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
3 men are charged in 'near riot' in Hilo
Big Island police have charged three men in connection with what they call a "near-riot situation" early Thursday morning.
Hilo officers responded to a report of a fight involving several men in an apartment complex parking lot on East Kawili Street.
A crowd of about 20 gathered around the officers as they tried to disperse the crowd. Three men in the crowd allegedly attacked police, injuring four officers.
Police charged Samuelu Aulava, 22, and Edwin J. Smith, 23, with two counts each of first-degree assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. Bail was set at $4,500 for each.
Jason Crichton of Hilo was charged with attempted first-degree assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $2,500.