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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Tax agencies giving victims some leeway
Quake-rattled Hawaii taxpayers now have limited relief, courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service and the state Department of Taxation.
Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai and Maui taxpayers who were supposed to file returns or pay taxes this past Monday have received a one-week extension.
The IRS also will waive the failure to deposit penalty for employment and excise deposits due as long as deposits are made by Oct. 23.
Affected taxpayers will need to identify themselves as victims by writing "Earthquake, HI" in red ink at the top of their documents.
The state Department of Taxation also will consider requests for extensions to file and pay taxes and waivers of penalties and interest on a case-by-case basis.
Taxpayers whose Hawaii employer's withholding taxes were due this past Monday can file by Nov. 15. Each request to the state Tax Department must include a statement as to how the quake adversely affected the taxpayer, and all returns should be marked "2006 Earthquake Relief."
Taxpayers also can claim all casualty losses on business property as a result of President Bush's major disaster proclamation for Hawaii. The first $100 of un-reimbursed losses on nonbusiness property is not deductible.
The remaining loss is deductible if it exceeds 10 percent of the taxpayer's Hawaii adjusted gross income.
Damage closes back road to Hana
WAILUKU » Maui County officials have closed the back road to Hana from mile marker 35 near Kaupo Store to mile marker 45.5, including Paihi Bridge, where a crack has been detected following the earthquakes Sunday and torrential rain Monday.
County spokeswoman Ellen Pelissero said motorists are advised to avoid the area for the next few days to allow officials to conduct an assessment of roadways and bridges.
Paihi Bridge is on Hana Highway on the Kaupo side of mile marker 45.
Aid groups can get free storage space
AAAAA Rent-A-Space is offering free storage for the Red Cross, fire departments, churches and other emergency organizations to house supplies and tools for efforts related to the recent earthquakes.
Free storage for one month also is available for any residential or business earthquake victims who sustained property damage.
Each earthquake victim who applies for a free storage unit must have signed authorization from the Red Cross stating they are a victim of earthquake damage.
Quake hits during ranch church service
KAHUA RANCH, Hawaii » Along with ranch employees, Big Island rancher Monty Richards was in the little church on his Kahua Ranch in North Kohala on Sunday morning when the first big quake hit at 7:07 a.m.
"We hold services at 7 a.m. every third Sunday of the month," Richards said.
The ranch has 12 houses for employees and their families, and they were attending the service, too.
The earthquake caused some jitters, and when it was over, the pastor asked Richards, "Monty, what do you think we should do?"
Richard answered, "I think we should go home -- after we pass the plate."
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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LEEWARD OAHU
2 people are injured in morning car crash
A 39-year-old Waianae man was critically injured and a Waianae woman seriously injured yesterday morning in a two-vehicle crash on Farrington Highway.
The accident occurred at 8:38 a.m. on Farrington near Piliokahi Avenue in Nanakuli.
Police said the driver of a tan 1990 Honda Civic might have been speeding when the car crossed over from Waianae-bound lanes into the town-bound lanes and collided into a 2002 Ford Explorer.
The man was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition with a broken collarbone and multiple abrasions, and was later upgraded to serious condition, police said.
The driver of the Explorer, a 23-year-old Waianae woman, was in serious condition and later upgraded to good condition.
HONOLULU
Bicyclist is sought in parking-lot robbery
Police are looking for a bicyclist who allegedly robbed a 26-year-old woman yesterday at gunpoint as she opened her car door.
As the woman pulled into the parking lot at 949 Kapiolani Blvd. at about 8:30 a.m. yesterday, she noticed a man circling the parking lot on a bicycle.
The woman opened her car door, and the man allegedly approached her armed with a silver semiautomatic pistol, demanded money, took the money and fled, police said.
The man is described as in his early 30s, with a medium build, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds, with a brown complexion; short, dense, wavy black hair; brown eyes; and a black mustache. He was last seen wearing a maroon short-sleeved T-shirt, green khaki shorts and slippers.
1 suspect arrested in home invasion
Police arrested one of two male suspects in a Sept. 27 home invasion in Moanalua.
Two armed men forcibly entered the home of a 45-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, police said.
Yesterday, police arrested one suspect. Jeffrey Scott Andrezejewski, 37, was charged with first-degree robbery and kidnapping. Bail was set at $75,000.
NORTH SHORE
Copper piping stolen from Waialua High
Copper water pipes were stolen over the weekend from the girls' locker room at Waialua High School.
About 40 feet of three-quarter-inch copper pipe was stolen sometime between 10 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 a.m. Monday, when it was discovered missing.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Body is identified as homeless woman's
WAILUKU » The Maui woman whose body was found in a stream has been identified as 45-year-old Petra Evers.
A passer-by found Evers on Oct. 12. Evers, who was homeless, was lying face down and clothed in a stream near Ulalena Loop near Twin Falls in Haiku, Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said.
The body had been in the water for several days. He said the cause of death remains undetermined, and police have not ruled out the possibility of foul play.
Anyone with information about Evers is asked to call the Criminal Investigation Division, 244-6425.