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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Tunnel cleaning closes Pali
Pali Highway will be closed in the Honolulu-bound direction between Kamehameha Highway and Waokanaka Street from 7 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday for tunnel cleaning.
The state Department of Transportation advises Oahu motorists to allow for extra travel time and use caution while taking alternate routes.
Makaha Bridge lane to close for painting
The state Department of Transportation will close one lane of Makaha Bridge No. 3 and contra-flow the other lane from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today for painting.
An arson fire damaged the wooden bridge last month. Crews continue work to strengthen the bridge's foundation to accommodate heavier vehicles. In the meantime, buses and vehicles weighing more than 12,000 pounds will continue to use the Makaha Valley Road detour.
Motorists are advised to allow for extra travel time and to use caution when traveling through the contra-flow and detour.
2,000 shipyard workers asked to retire early
The Navy is asking 2,000 Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workers to consider taking early retirement because ship repair work is expected to drop by 11 percent next year.
Pearl Harbor spokesman Kerry Gershaneck said the Navy hopes to woo 300 workers eligible for early retirement to accept its offer, which in some cases come with one-time bonuses of up to $25,000.
"The workload will be going down, as it will have at every public shipyard," Gershaneck said. "(What) we are now trying to do is intelligently shape the work force."
He estimated that 25 percent of the 4,300 workers at the state's largest industrial employer are of retirement age.
The Navy intends to keep workers with critical trade skills, including sheetmetal specialists and mechanics. It will try to get administrative workers to participate in the voluntary retirement plan, Gershaneck said.
"We are shaping the force to keep critical skills needed to repair vessels," Gershaneck said.
It was just a year ago that the 98-year-old Pearl Harbor shipyard was allowed to remain open after being targeted by the Base Realignment and Commission for closure.
At the time, Pearl Harbor labor leaders said landing on the closure commission was a wake-up call, and they were told to become more efficient.
SHINING STARS
Iolani grad wins national scholarship
Garland Tang of Iolani is one of 35 high school graduates in the nation chosen for an innovative scholarship program, and he'll be among the first class given a free college education.
Without the scholarship, Tang said he would not have been able to attend Iolani School, take private violin lessons or travel to the mainland for academic trips.
Tang's parents emigrated from Canton during China's Cultural Revolution to Hawaii, and "for a better life for me and my brother," he said.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program started five years ago with 50 students selected in a national contest from each state. It was founded on the idea of giving high-achieving students what they need to succeed at an early age.
Tang's father gave up his career in Canton as an engineer, and his mom as an accountant, to become a cook and hotel housekeeper, respectively, in Honolulu.
His parents were really excited when they first heard of the scholarship and "relieved" when they learned the foundation would pay for his education at Occidental College in Los Angeles this fall, Tang said.
He chose Occidental because he wanted a smaller school and because it had a good pre-med program. Tang wants to become a doctor.
In early August, he is attending a ceremony to officially inaugurate the foundation's "first breed of college scholars," he said.
"Being a Young Scholar taught me the world outside of Hawaii," Tang said.
Iolani math teacher Michael Park, Tang's math club advisor, said Tang "took the highest calculus class we offered and got the highest score possible." He was an instrumental part of winning the team's last championship, a trophy the club has held for the past 14 years, said Park, who was unaware of the scholarship.
He described Tang as "shy and quiet," but someone who "likes to challenge himself. He took a lot of difficult courses, and (spent) most of his time doing homework or preparing for a test."
The foundation was established in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke, a businessman and philanthropist who owned the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Redskins, and the Chrysler Building in New York City. He died in 1997.
"Shining Stars" runs Sunday through Thursday.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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HONOLULU
Crash victim identified as Makiki man
The Medical Examiner's Office identified the 23-year-old victim of Thursday's car crash on Date Street as David Joshua of Makiki.
Joshua was a passenger in a Ford Mustang convertible that crashed early Thursday. He was pinned under it when it flipped over after hitting two parked vehicles.
Police said drugs, alcohol and speeding contributed to the crash.
The driver, a 32-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree negligent homicide and released, pending investigation.
Man, 21, allegedly has sex with 14-year-old
Authorities charged a 21-year-old unemployed Honolulu man last night who allegedly had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl.
Alex Keoni Laurino was charged with first-degree sexual assault. He was being held last night in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Police said the girl met the man at a youth club and they began dating.
The girl's family disapproved of the relationship and got a temporary restraining order against the man, police said.
Police said the girl ran away with the man about 2 a.m. Monday and they spent the night at Auwaiolimu Neighborhood Park in Papakolea.
Police arrested the man about 8 p.m. Monday.
CENTRAL OAHU
Theater goer attacked while washing hands
Police arrested a 32-year-old homeless man who allegedly slashed an 82-year-old man inside the Mililani 14 Theatres yesterday.
Employees of the theaters rushed to the aid of the man after hearing a cry for help coming from a washroom, police said.
The employees found the elderly man, who had been washing his hands, and the suspect, police said. They held and detained the suspect until officers arrived, police said.
Police said the man was slashed several times with a knife about 2:35 p.m.
The elderly man was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital with minor injuries, an Emergency Medical Services spokesman said.
Police said the suspect is unknown to the victim.
He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Brush fire burns 15 acres at Schofield
A brush fire broke out about 12:15 p.m. on the East Range at Schofield Barracks yesterday, burning 15 acres.
The fire was contained by 6 p.m., an Army spokesman said.
The Honolulu Fire Department and a contracted helicopter assisted with air drops, with each dumping about 10,000 gallons of water.
Eight federal and city fire engines responded.
No buildings, personnel or endangered species were threatened, an Army spokesman said.
No cause has been determined yet.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Driver in crash might have had health issue
Police said a 57-year-old Hilo man, who died after a motor vehicle accident in Hilo on Monday, may have suffered from a medical condition.
Police said the man was driving a 1998 pickup truck heading north on Kilauea Avenue and crossed the center line on Palai Street in Hilo.
The truck then clipped a utility pole and hit two parked cars shortly before 12:29 p.m., police said.
The Fire Department ambulance transported the man to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08 p.m.
Police said the crash may have been caused by the man's medical condition.
The man's identity has been withheld pending notification of his family, police said.
An autopsy was scheduled yesterday to determine the exact cause of death.