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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Memorial superintendent named
Paul DePrey, a seven-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent of the USS Arizona Memorial, which is visited by 2.5 million people a year.
DePrey, who was assigned to Joshua Tree National Park in California as chief of resource management, will take the Pearl Harbor post in October. He previously was acting superintendent of the Great Basin National Park in Nevada and chief of natural resources at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in California.
He will be involved in planning for the annual Dec. 7 commemoration of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and the groundbreaking for a new $38 million visitor center, according to the announcement by National Park Service Regional Director Jonathan Jarvis.
DePrey worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service in Washington and Oregon before joining the National Park Service. He has a bachelor's degree in history and anthropology from the University of Maine and a master's degree in anthropology from Western Washington University.
Mayor Kim moved to cardiac unit
HILO » Big Island Mayor Harry Kim's recovery from open-heart surgery is going well enough that he has been moved from an intensive care unit at the Queen's Medical Center to a less-intensive cardiac unit, his office announced.
Kim suffered his third heart attack in three years Thursday and underwent surgery on Sunday.
"He continues to recover and he's in good spirits," said his son Garrett Kim.
Kim is expected to stay in the cardiac unit for several days to ensure that he gets enough rest, his wife, Bobbie, said.
The family is requesting no visitors, and the hospital does not allow flowers.
Arboretum receives $105,000
Lyon Arboretum will be able to expand its efforts to grow culturally significant native Hawaiian plants with a $105,000 grant over three years from the Hawaii Community Foundation, which was announced yesterday.
"Because of our unique ability to propagate such plants, we will not only be serving as an important storage, or 'bank,' to safeguard culturally significant plants, but will also provide a distribution center for other organizations," said Christopher Dunn, arboretum director.
The University of Hawaii facility focuses on the unique plants of Hawaii and includes gardens, greenhouses, and seed and tissue culture laboratories. It covers 193 acres of rain forest in Manoa Valley and is open to the public.
Harbor parking to be discussed
The Department of Land and Natural Resources will hold a second meeting to develop a community advisory group for the Ala Wai Harbor parking plan.
The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at Jefferson Elementary School cafeteria, 324 Kapahulu Ave., in Waikiki. The first meeting was held last month.
The ad hoc committee is being formed to provide feedback from the community to the department regarding long-term management of parking at the boat harbor.
In May, board members approved a plan to provide 300 free public parking stalls, set parking meters elsewhere within the harbor, and develop an ad hoc committee to work with the agency to provide input on parking and enforcement issues.
Last month, board members approved a 12-month permit to allow a parking vendor to manage parking at the harbor. The permit is expected to be issued shortly.
Western Family oatmeal recalled
Ralston Foods is recalling more than 14,500 cartons of Western Family Variety Pack Instant Oatmeal cereal.
A small number of cartons bearing the "Best if Used By" date code "DEC0409N," which is found on the top of the box, contain an undeclared milk ingredient. Ralston Foods said people who are allergic to milk ingredients could suffer a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.
The oatmeal was distributed by Western Family Foods Inc. to stores in Hawaii and 10 other states. The product is packaged in cartons weighing 13.8 ounces containing 10 packets of instant oatmeal.
Consumers who purchased this product are urged to return it to the store it was purchased at for a refund. For more information, call Ralston Foods Consumer Affairs at (800) 725-7866.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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HONOLULU
Separate robberies target 3 victims
Police were investigating separate robberies Monday night that occurred about 20 minutes apart in the Makiki-Manoa area.
In the first robbery, a 42-year-old man said he was walking home about 9:15 p.m. when he was approached by another man who demanded money. But the suspect fled before getting anything, police said.
About 9:35 p.m., two men, ages 19 and 20, said they were approached by a man who brandished what they described as an automatic weapon and demanded money. The man fled on foot after getting money from the victims, police said.
In both robberies, the suspect was described only as a man in his 30s. Police said they don't know whether the same suspect was involved in both incidents.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Rescuers search for fisherman
The Kauai Fire Department, lifeguards and the Coast Guard searched for an 80-year-old Kauai fisherman reported missing at 4 a.m. yesterday off the Kilauea coast.
Robert Nakashima Sr. has been missing since Monday after he went fishing alone at Rock Quarry Beach in Kilauea. His fishing bag was found yesterday morning at Makapili Point near Secret Beach.
CENTRAL OAHU
School arson deals $12,000 in damage
Police yesterday were investigating an intentionally set fire that caused $12,000 in damage to a former Catholic parish school in Wahiawa.
Firefighters quickly put out the blaze that broke out about 8 a.m. inside a classroom at the former Our Lady of Sorrows School, at 1403 California Ave.
There were no students or staff in the classroom, fire officials said. The school closed in June 2003 because of declining enrollment, said office manager Janice Vannatta, who suspects someone broke into the two-story building by removing window jalousies.
"It happened just as I came in to work," Vannatta said. "There was smoke coming out of the classroom, and when the fireman opened the door, there was a closet that was on fire."
The building, which has nine classrooms, is scheduled to be used for a religious education program starting this weekend, Vannatta said.
Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Terry Seelig said investigators have determined the fire was intentionally set, and they turned the case over to the Honolulu Police Department.