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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Kauai shrimp farm quarantined
KAPAA, Kauai » The Hawaii Department of Agriculture quarantined a Kauai shrimp farm after finding a disease that is fatal to crustaceans but has no effect on humans.
Tests on Monday confirmed that shrimp at the Limaloa Farm in Kekaha have white spot syndrome virus.
Workers at the farm noticed a problem in one of their four ponds on June 12, and tests of the shrimp were sent out the next day.
The quarantine means no shrimp can leave the farm without veterinarian approval, agriculture officials said.
But owners of the farm had voluntarily halted shipments when they first noticed the problem.
It is the second time the location has had problems with white spot syndrome.
The farm, previously owned by Ceatech, went into bankruptcy after the syndrome was found in its ponds in April 2004.
Limaloa Farms reopened the farms in January 2006 after the ponds all tested negatively for the virus, agriculture officials added.
Lingle signs 3 new drug laws
Three new laws fighting illegal drug use are now on the books in Hawaii.
Gov. Linda Lingle signed the bills into law yesterday.
The first measure requires pharmacies and retailers to keep electronic logs of sales of pseudophedrine, a precursor chemical necessary for the production of crystal methamphetamine.
Those logs are then submitted to the Department of Public Safety monthly.
Another law allows police to seize vehicles and money from those involved in the transfer or sale of chemicals used to manufacture illicit drugs.
The third law tightens drug prescription and dispensing requirements to curb prescription fraud.
Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona says the laws will help decrease the number of clandestine drug labs in Hawaii.
$1.2M to help fix Kauai trail
KAPAA, Kauai » The state has released more than $1.2 million in grants to restore the Kalalau Trail and to rebuild camp houses in Kokee State Park.
Kauai Planning and Action Alliance Inc., a private nonprofit organization, has formed a Parks Action Team to determine what improvements are needed and what they can do to help.
The funds will be used to restore portions of the first two miles of the 11-mile Kalalau Trail from Kee Beach to Hanakapiai Beach, the most heavily used section of the park and subject to erosion and wear and tear.
The group will also be responsible for renovations to the 11 wood-framed structures at the Conservation Corps Camp at Kokee State Park.
The camp, which community volunteers have been working to fix for a number of years, also needs engineering upgrades and wiring, plumbing, carpentry repairs, and stabilization and reconstruction of historic rock walls, state officials said.
Kauai drug testing is expanded
KAPAA, Kauai » Kauai County officials announced they signed an alcohol and controlled-substance testing supplemental agreement Tuesday with the United Public Workers union.
The agreement, which affects 300 blue-collar workers, allows the county to conduct random and reasonable-suspicion alcohol and controlled-substance tests.
Previously, only employees with commercial driver's licenses were subject to federal laws regarding drug testing.
In April 2007, 94.5 percent of the membership in UPW's Bargaining Unit 1 (nonsupervisory blue-collar employees) voted statewide in favor of implementing a drug testing program as part of their two-year agreement with the county and state.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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HONOLULU
Punch alleged in fast-food tiff
Police arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly punching a man outside a fast-food restaurant early yesterday.
Shortly after midnight, an 18-year-old man was eating in his car parked at the restaurant on South King Street. Only the drive-through window portion of the restaurant was open for business. Police said the suspect approached the teenager and asked for a ride through the drive-through to order food. When the victim refused, the suspect punched him twice in the face, causing a cut, police said. Police arrested the suspect on suspicion of second-degree assault.
Killed pedestrian ID'd as 80-year-old
An 80-year-old man who died Friday from injuries suffered in a pedestrian accident in January has been identified as Florentino Noveno of Honolulu.
Noveno had been hospitalized in critical condition at the Queen's Medical Center since Jan. 14, when he was hit by a vehicle when he stepped into a crosswalk at Ahonui and School streets in Kalihi. Noveno is the seventh pedestrian killed on Oahu this year, compared with 12 at this time last year.
EAST OAHU
Woman accused of identity theft
Police arrested a 31-year-old woman at a Kahala hotel for alleged identity theft.
The woman checked into the Kahala Hotel & Resort for a few days. At about 7:45 p.m. Monday, she was confronted by management regarding outstanding charges she was accumulating. The woman produced a copy of a credit card and photo identification of a man she claimed was her brother, police said.
Hotel management became suspicious and called police. Hotel management then learned that the man the woman identified as her brother had reported a car break-in a few days earlier.
The woman was arrested on suspicion of two counts of identity theft and second-degree theft.
LEEWARD OAHU
Pipe called weapon in attack on wife
Police arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly hitting his wife in the leg with a pipe.
Police said the suspect believed that his 23-year-old wife was having an extramarital affair with a co-worker. On Monday the suspect drove her to Barbers Point and allegedly hit her in the leg with a pipe in an attempt to have her tell him the truth.
The woman reported the incident to police, who later arrested the man on suspicion of second-degree assault. The pipe was not recovered. The woman suffered minor injuries, police said.
WINDWARD OAHU
Dead bicycle rider was Kaneohe man
The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office has identified the 63-year-old man who was killed when a car rear-ended the bicycle he was riding Tuesday morning. Kenzie G. Thompson of Kaneohe died of multiple blunt force injuries from the accident.
Police said Thompson was riding on the sidewalk when the driver of a Ford Thunderbird veered off the roadway onto the sidewalk and struck the bicyclist from behind.
The driver, an 85-year-old Kaneohe man, was arrested for allegedly failing to render aid. Police said the man continued driving north on Kamehameha Highway in Kaneohe after he struck the bicyclist.
The accident occurred near the intersection of the highway and Pua Inia Street at 9:48 a.m. Tuesday.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Kona thief heists half-ton of coffee
Island police want help in finding a man wanted after a Kailua-Kona burglary in which more than 1,000 pounds of green coffee beans were stolen.
Police said the burglary occurred when someone entered a home in the Kailua View Estates subdivision between May 27 and 29 and took several items, including the coffee beans packaged in 100-pound burlap bags.
Police are looking for Donimic Brooks, 24, who has no permanent address but is believed to be living in Mountain View. Brooks is 6 feet 3 inches tall, 165 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.
People with information on anyone trying to sell 100-pound burlap bags of green coffee beans, or with information on Brooks' whereabouts, are asked to call police at 935-3311.