|
Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
|
Meteors may put on a show in Hawaii's early morning sky
Up to 100 meteors an hour may be visible during the Geminid Meteor Shower, expected to peak from midnight tonight until dawn, says Carolyn Kaichi, Bishop Museum Planetarium manager.
How many meteors are seen will depend on the shower and whether the weather is clear and the sky dark and cloudless, she said.
Kaichi said the radiant -- or spot the meteors seem to come from -- will rise in the northeast by the time it's dark. The Geminids are from an object scientists believe is an asteroid, called 3200 Phaethon, Kaichi said.
Scientists aren't sure how the object is responsible for the meteors because asteroids don't have the same volatile gases that produce the "tails" associated with comets, she said.
UH-Hilo graduation nears
Graduation ceremonies for the University of Hawaii at Hilo are scheduled for Saturday at the UH-Hilo New Gym beginning at 9 a.m. Business reporter Howard Dicus will deliver the keynote address. Melvin Jadulang, a communication major from Kapaau, will be the student speaker. For more information about commencement, call 936-1193 or e-mail
commence@hawaii.edu.
[ COURT BRIEFS ]
Hotel room invader escapes jail time
A former Navy man who was captured after breaking into a Waikiki hotel room while the occupants were inside will serve no time, provided he abides by the court's orders.
Circuit Judge Steve Alm granted Brandon M. Riester's request Monday for a deferral of his no contest plea to first-degree burglary and allowed him to return to Wisconsin.
Riester, 20, who has no prior record, had earlier admitted entering a lanai glass door of a fifth-floor room at the Doubletree Alana Hotel on Ala Moana on Aug. 6. The room was occupied by Jeff Tucker, lead singer of rock band Rock Kills Kid and Natasha Melnick, an actress who has starred in "Hillside Strangler" and the TV series "Boston Public."
Tucker confronted the suspect, who hopped over the lanai and fled, but not before making off with a laptop computer, wallet and other items belonging to Tucker.
He was later spotted by Tucker's manager in the hotel. Tucker and his manager captured him after he had jumped a wall at the Waipuna and then fled down Ena Road.
Prosecutors objected to the deferral, asking that he receive a year in jail and five years' probation. Deputy Prosecutor Franklin Pacarro Jr. had argued that Riester's conduct was a serious matter that could have escalated, particularly since the occupants were in the room at the time of the break-in.
2 charged in case of 'ice' possession
Federal prosecutors charged two people with conspiracy for possessing with intent to distribute 2 pounds of methamphetamine for $80,000.
Rudy Alcosiba Generalao and Rhonda Kamalii were charged via information in U.S. District Court Monday in connection with a July 12 and July 13 transaction in the parking lot of Home Depot.
Kamalii allegedly transported methamphetamine to Generalao for distribution, according to court documents.
In connection with the drug transaction, Generalao was also charged with carrying a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun with its serial number obliterated.
Meth lab figure gets 10 years in prison
A federal judge sentenced a 44-year-old woman, who was manufacturing methamphetamine with her boyfriend at their Mililani home, to 10 years in prison.
Holly Koliopoulos was convicted Aug. 31 by a federal jury on one count of attempted possession of iodine, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine, and one count of conspiracy to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office after Monday's sentencing.
Edward Kubo Jr., U.S. attorney for Hawaii, said evidence at trial showed Koliopoulos and her boyfriend, Steven Echols, ordered methamphetamine ingredients over the Internet and received them at a mailbox Echols rented in Kaneohe.
On March 4 Koliopoulos picked up a package at the mailbox containing 500 grams of iodine, which could make more than 150 grams of methamphetamine.
Koliopoulos also purchased cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine, a precursor chemical for methamphetamine.
Echols was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Kubo commended the joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Honolulu Police Department and the state Narcotics Enforcement Division.
SHINING STARS
Great American Bake Sale generates $5,000 for the Hawaii Foodbank
The
Hawaii Foodbank received a $5,000 grant from
Share Our Strength and
PARADE Magazine, sponsors of the 2005 Great American Bake Sale. The third-annual bake sale was a national campaign that encouraged individuals or community groups to help eliminate childhood hunger in America by hosting bake sales. A portion of this year's bake sale grants will fund ongoing recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, which suffered devastating hurricanes in 2005.
Friends of Hawaii Charities, the event host of the Sony Open in Hawaii, awarded $5,000 to the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific for a bariatric bed system to support obese patients weighing 350 to 500 pounds or who are 6 feet or taller.
American Savings Bank provided $8,000 to the Hawaii Opera Theatre to support expanded service to the Kahuku Complex Schools. The grant will also support a six-week opera residency program at Hauula Elementary to help students produce and perform an opera.
"Shining Stars" runs Monday through Thursday.
THE GOOD NEIGHBOR FUND
Monetary gifts may be sent to:
Honolulu Star-Bulletin's
Good Neighbor Fund
c/o Helping Hands Hawaii
P.O. Box 17780
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-0780
Clothing, household items and gifts can be donated at the Community Clearinghouse, 2100 Nimitz Highway.
You may also participate in the Adopt-A-Family program, in which businesses, employee groups, social clubs, families or individuals can help a specific family.
Call 440-3804 for information about the program or to arrange for pickup of large items.
|
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
|
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
4-hour standoff ends peacefully on Kauai
A 58-year-old Kapaa man is facing multiple charges of terroristic threatening and attempted assault of a police officer following a 4 1/2-hour standoff with Kauai police at his home.
Robert Appley was expected to make his initial court appearance on the charges this morning.
Police said they went to Appley's home after his neighbor called 911 about 7:30 a.m. Monday and reported Appley was throwing items out of his two-story residence onto their shared driveway and around the home.
When police arrived, Appley began throwing knives and other objects at them and threatened to shoot them with a shotgun and automatic rifle, police said. When the Kauai Police Department's Specialized Services Team and crisis negotiators arrived, Appley brandished a sword, police said.
At about 1 a.m., the SST officers entered the home and took Appley into custody.
He also faces charges of criminal littering for throwing objects onto a county road.
Reef shark sighting closes Kekaha beach
Ocean safety officials closed "Inters" beach in Kekaha after a 6- to 8-foot-long whitetip reef shark was spotted in the area yesterday.
The beach was to remain closed until officials deem it safe to return to the water.
WINDWARD OAHU
Crash of stolen car lands boyfriend in jam
Police arrested a 23-year-old man who allegedly crashed a stolen car and then fled on foot without helping his injured ex-girlfriend, who was in the car.
Police said the man crashed into a fixed object at Kamehameha and Kahekili highways in Kahaluu at about 11:56 Monday night. An officer responding to the scene saw the man run away, police said.
The ex-girlfriend told police the name of the driver.
The man was later arrested for investigation of auto theft, failure to render aid and driving without a license.
The ex-girlfriend was in good condition at Castle Medical Center, police said.
HONOLULU
Alleged choking leads to boyfriend's arrest
Police arrested an 18-year-old Kalihi man who allegedly choked his 19-year-old girlfriend during an argument over their infant son.
Police were called at about 5 p.m. Monday to the couple's Kalihi Valley home and arrested the man for investigation of felony abuse of a family member.
Juvenile arrested after BBs hit friend's neck
Police arrested a juvenile who allegedly shot a friend in the neck with a BB gun.
Police said the friends were playing with the Airsoft brand handgun near Downtown Honolulu at about 4:30 p.m. Monday when the suspect shot the friend twice.
The victim suffered minor injuries, police said. Police found the suspect at his home and arrested him for investigation of felony assault.
Stolen IDs and checks turn up after crash
Police found stolen identification and checks in the possession of a 29-year-old Makakilo woman who allegedly crashed a stolen car into a wall in Aiea on Monday.
Ambulance personnel found the ID cards, which did not belong to the woman, inside her backpack, police said. Other ID cards were found in the car.
Police, armed with a search warrant, recovered stolen checks from the woman's backpack and identification for four different individuals, police said.
Police said other possible victims who live outside the state are being contacted.
At the main police station, where she was being held on unauthorized control of a car, the woman was arrested yesterday on suspicion of unauthorized possession of confidential personal information.