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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff
and wire service
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Hawaiians with asthma get aid
Parents and guardians of native Hawaiian children who suffer from asthma can get help in managing the disease through a $24,999 grant to the American Lung Association of Hawaii from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Called the Maopopo Oli Hano (Understanding Asthma) program, it will help parents support their children better through early detection of warning signs.
They will learn how to identify and eliminate asthma "triggers" in their children's environments to prevent an asthma attack.
Asthma is the most frequent chronic health condition among Hawaii children and a leading cause of hospitalization, doctor and emergency room visits and school absenteeism.
Hawaiians are disproportionately affected by asthma, compared with state and national averages, according to the association. The asthma rate of Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian children is about twice the national rate, it said.
Jean Evans, ALA of H Hawaii executive director, said 139 children who signed up for the organization's Open Airways for Schools asthma management program identified themselves as native Hawaiian.
Dentists help Marshall Islanders
Free dental care is being provided to people of the Marshall Islands in the fourth dental mission to the remote areas of Kwajalein Atoll.
The mission began Wednesday and continues through next Monday.
Dr. Nora Harmsen and assistant Jinky Agtarap are conducting exams and providing services in the area hospital and schools with a portable, compressor-driven dental kit. Hawaii dentists donated toothbrushes, toothpaste, needles and other items, and dental wholesale companies contributed other supplies.
Various organizations and companies, as well as local Rotary Clubs, also supported the dental mission with donations of money, supplies and hard goods.
Continental Micronesia donated the airfare and waived extra baggage fees between Honolulu and the Marshall Islands.
The Ministry of Health in the Marshall Islands helped with scheduling, coordination and assistance, and the U.S. Army is providing transportation, lodging, food and other support for Harmsen and Agtarap.
The 2007 dental team provided $80,657 worth of dental work in 12 days, including 314 dental examinations, 293 fillings, 62 pulp caps, 382 sealants, 114 extractions and prescribed referrals for additional work.
UH endorses alert system
The University of Hawaii is asking more students to sign up for its emergency text message notification system for use during a crisis on or near UH's 10 campuses.
UH is planning a second test of the system this month.
"With over 3,100 faculty and staff signed up, UH is on par with other institutions," said UH Vice President for Information Technology David Lassner, in a news release. "But we can do better than the 2,300 students signed up so far. The more people we have participating, the better the chance we'll have of getting people critical information during any emergency that may occur."
"The text messaging capability is just one tool the university would use in the event of an emergency. Mass media, loudspeakers, e-mail and phones would also be used to reach people throughout the affected areas. Plans are also under way to install emergency sirens on UH campuses.
Sign-up for emergency notifications is available to those who have a UH user name and password. Members of the UH community can sign up online at www.hawaii.edu/alert.
UH holds Earth Day celebration
The University of Hawaii at Manoa will hold its seventh annual Earth Day celebration April 18 on the lawn in front of Hawaii Hall, the university said in a news release.
The event is free and open to the public and will feature an open-air marketplace with art and plant sales, technology demonstrations, educational booths, a recycling drive and 12 hours of entertainment from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.
Performers include Makana, Millicent Cummings, Pressure Drop, Quadraphonix and Go Jimmy Go.
There will also be food and an organic beer and wine garden.
The event is sponsored by the Associated Students at the University of Hawaii and Waste Management of Hawaii.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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LEEWARD OAHU
Teens hospitalized in 2-car collision
Speed and alcohol might have been factors in a two-car collision involving teenage drivers yesterday on Farrington Highway in Waianae, police said.
At 1:14 a.m. an 18-year-old Waianae man driving a 1995 Toyota Camry southbound pulled over and started to make a U-turn near Makua Valley Road, police said.
An 18-year-old Waianae man driving behind in a 1994 Honda Accord broadsided the car, police said. A 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were passengers in the Honda. The Honda front-seat passenger was taken to the Queen's Medical Center with critical head and leg injuries. The others were hospitalized in serious condition.
HONOLULU
Pedestrian killed in accident named
A 69-year-old woman who died in a pedestrian accident a week ago has been identified as Jacinta Yuzon of Honolulu, officials said.
Yuzon died of a cranial cerebral injury due to a motor vehicle collision, the Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office said.
On March 29 at 7:20 a.m., Yuzon was crossing Salt Lake Boulevard in a crosswalk near Bougainville Drive against the red light when a compact sedan hit her, police said. The woman driving was not injured.
Yuzon was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition. She died at the hospital March 30 at 12:50 p.m.
