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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Pacific educators to hold annual conference
Teachers and school administrators from Pacific islands will come to Honolulu for the 24th Annual Pacific Educational Conference this summer.
The conference, from July 9 to 12 at McKinley High School, is expected to attract more than 1,000 educators from Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
The annual conference, the largest of its kind in the region, is a major source of professional development opportunities. The 2007 conference theme, "Language Acquisition: Knowledge that Empowers," will discuss language arts, English as a second language, world languages and language immersion programs.
There will also be workshops on science, math, social studies, the arts, assessment, accountability, leadership and educational policy, among others. Special workshops will address the cultural and educational integration of Micronesian students in Hawaii.
Dermatologist charged in fraud
A prominent Honolulu dermatologist is accused of overbilling the Hawaii Medical Service Association more than $178,000 for acne procedures he allegedly did not perform.
Norman Goldstein, M.D., Inc., a Hawaii corporation, was named in a felony information filed yesterday in U.S. District Court with one count of health care fraud.
Goldstein, an adviser to the National Skin Cancer Foundation and a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine, could not be reached for comment.
From about Jan. 1, 1997, to Dec. 31, 2000, Goldstein allegedly billed HMSA for about 20,000 acne surgery procedures when in fact, his patients had been administered cryotherapy -- a procedure where liquid nitrogen is applied to the face with an aerosol spray for treatment of acne, according to the information.
Acne surgery requires "opening or puncturing the patient's skin" by a physician. Cryotherapy can be performed by non-physician medical staff and costs $9.30 less than the surgery.
Obama has $20M for race, so far
Aides to presidential candidate and Punahou graduate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said yesterday that he had collected more than $20 million in donations in the first three months of the campaign, enough to ratchet up the anxiety in the Clinton camp, which announced it had raised $26 million.
Obama's campaign has yet to release precise information on its donations.
A look at his 2004 Senate race shows how he laid the foundation for his current fundraising drive.
Landfill's magnet will find metal
The city's landfill operator will begin using a giant magnet this week to pull metal scraps from trash hauled to Waimanalo Gulch Landfill so that it can be recycled as part of a 60-day pilot project.
The announcement of the demonstration program comes as the city kicked off a new campaign called "21st Century Ahupuaa" to bring public awareness to environmentally friendly initiatives. Among them: stepped up use of alternative energy and biofuels, protecting the forests and reefs, and recycling.
Waste Management Hawaii will use the large electromagnet to pick up metal scraps arriving from the city's refuse convenience stations and bulky item pick up.
Metal recycler Schnitzer Steel will then transport the metal to its facility in Campbell Industrial Park.
First Micronesian president dies
Tosiwo Nakayama, the first president of the Federated States of Micronesia, died Thursday in Hawaii Medical Center West at age 75.
In issuing a news release yesterday, the government of the Federated States of Micronesia said Nakayama devoted his life to public service, holding various prominent positions and roles during the United Nations' administration of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. He served in the Congress of Micronesia and the interim Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia.
"Nakayama's leadership, commitment and guidance during the nation's early efforts toward self-government earned him the respect of his colleagues and the people of the Federated States of Micronesia," the news release stated. "He is one of the nation's highly revered and deeply respected Founding Fathers."
After the FSM gained independence as a sovereign nation, Nakayama became its first president in 1979 and served two terms.
Big Isle court gets 2 nominees
Chief Justice Ronald T. Moon appointed Anthony K. Bartholomew and Harry P. Freitas to serve as judges of the District Family Court of the Big Island.
Bartholomew fills a vacancy left by Family Court Judge Ben Gaddis. Freitas takes Judge Matthew Pyun's position.
Bartholomew is a deputy public defender in Hilo, and formerly was an associate with Hart and Wolf, and a solo practitioner before that. He is a 1983 graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law.
Freitas has been with the corporation counsel for the County of Hawaii, specializing in civil litigation, since 2002.
Freitas was a solo practitioner, and from 1999 to 2001 served as a deputy prosecuting attorney with Hawaii County, and deputy public defender from 1994 to 1999 in the Hilo office. He graduated in 1990 from Hastings College of Law, University of California.
The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate.
SHINING STARS
AlohaCare awards scholarships to UH
Twenty-two low-income students attending University of Hawaii campuses on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island received a total of $40,600 in scholarships through the "AlohaCare Believes In Me Scholarship" program. Recipients of the $1,000 to $2,500 scholarships include:
Oahu: Latoya Alimoot; Frank Alvarez III; Barry Brandt; Cheyenne Chavez; Kanani Garcia; Lianne Kimoto; Roshanda Laurel; Maile Morales; Jenna Nihipali; Ronalyn Reyes; and William Soares;
Maui: Terri Eismann; Joyce Manuel; Tisha Paet; Tarrah Tokishi; and Sarah Uno;
Kauai: Sheri Majewski; Emmalani Makepa-Foley; and Ember Rose;
Big Island: Makaila Meeks; Muliufi Tuimalealiifano; and Kahealani Wakinekona.
To obtain applications for the coming school year, go to www.AlohaCareHawaii.org. On Oahu, call 973-0804. Neighbor island residents can call (800) 434-1002.
Dr. Maeona Mendelson, adjunct professor of human services at Hawaii Pacific University, has been named Social Worker of the Year in Gerontology by the Hawaii Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Most recently she served as executive director of the Hawaii Intergenerational Network. Mendelson is past president of the state AARP branch and a member of its national board.
"Shining Stars" runs Monday through Thursday.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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NORTH SHORE
Search on for man, 71, missing in Laie
Friends, family and law enforcement continued searching yesterday for a 71-year-old Laie man missing since Saturday.
Tevita David Mohetau was last seen at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the Laie McDonald's restaurant's parking lot at 55-400 Kamehameha Highway.
Friends and family will continue to search today for Mohetau, who is well known in the community.
The search began Sunday, but police conducted a more extensive search yesterday using its helicopter and Specialized Services Division's canine unit, focusing on the area in which he was last seen, the shoreline and Malaekana State Recreation Area, where there was an unconfirmed sighting of him.
According to his family, Mohetau has been showing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease such as forgetfulness and confusion, police said.
He is Tongan, stands 5-foot-9, weighs 160 pounds, has gray hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a pair of khaki baggy shorts, a red aloha shirt and a pair of slippers.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 911 or 529-3115.
WAIKIKI
Unexplained attack gets man arrested
Police arrested yesterday a 21-year-old man who allegedly assaulted a 22-year-old man in Waikiki.
The incident happened about 6:30 p.m.
Police said the suspect attacked the victim for no apparent reason.
The victim was taken to the Queen's Medical Center. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault near the corner of Nohonani Street and Ala Wai Boulevard.
WINDWARD OAHU
Police use Taser on abuse suspect
Police shot a Taser gun at a 21-year-old homeless man who struck two officers responding to a case of abuse at Windward Mall in Kaneohe yesterday.
Police said the man allegedly abused his girlfriend at the mall. When police approached the man, he allegedly struck both officers, causing undisclosed injuries.
Police shot a Taser gun at the man, and the man was taken to Castle Medical Center. He was in good condition, police said.
Police arrested the man about 5:50 p.m. for suspicion of abuse of a household member, resisting arrest, two counts of assault on a police officer and two contempt warrants.
LATE / BREAKING
Police seek driver in hit-and-run
Police were looking for the driver of a vehicle that ran down a pedestrian in Wahiawa early yesterday and fled the scene.
Police said a 42-year-old Wahiawa man was looking through discarded items on the shoulder of Wilikina Drive near Lake View Circle at about 5:33 a.m. when he was hit by a vehicle that was headed toward the H-2 freeway.
Police said the vehicle is believed to be a white pickup truck and it is likely to have damage to its right front fender and the right side of the hood. Police said the truck veered off the road and hit the man, then took off.
The man suffered a broken leg and broken pelvis and was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in serious condition.