A 79-year-old man was killed and four others injured in a two-car traffic accident today in the town-bound lanes of Likelike Highway near Kahekili Highway in Kaneohe. Kaneohe crash kills
elderly man; 4 others hurtPolice dispatch reported a two-car accident at about 9:48 a.m., and city ambulance dispatchers said five people were injured. Three people in one of the vehicles were sent to Queen's Hospital, where they remain in fair condition.
A Castle Hospital nursing supervisor said a 79-year-old male passenger in the other vehicle died. The driver, an 84-year-old woman, remains in stable condition at the hospital.
Firefighters at the Kaneohe Fire Station, who responded to the alarm, said a sports utility vehicle carrying a family of three apparently collided with a passenger car carrying the elderly couple.
Two lanes of Likelike Highway were closed while traffic investigators remained at the scene.
Grand Wailea Resort getting a new owner
WAILUKU -- The 781-room Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa is in the process of being sold to a California firm.KSL Recreation Corp. yesterday announced an agreement to purchase the 40-acre south Maui property, which employs about 1,200 people.
The corporation operates and owns several properties in the United States, including the La Quinta Resort & Club and PGA WEST in California, and the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami.
The Grand Wailea was operated as a Grand Hyatt Hotel when it opened in 1991 and continued under the same management until 1993.
The New York-based International Hotel Acquisitions, an affiliate of Credit Suisse First Boston and Secured Capital Corp., has controlled the resort since a financial restructuring in June.
The sale is expected to be completed in December. The sales price was not disclosed.
Cha gets college post on permanent basis
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents has named Peggy Cha as provost of Kauai Community College.Cha had served as interim provost of the college since February. Yesterday's appointment is a homecoming for the Stanford University graduate to the campus where she worked between 1982 to 1991.
Federal agency, chief busy during fiscal '98
HILO -- The Rural Development agency of the U.S. Agriculture Department helped 500 rural people in Hawaii and the Pacific area become homeowners in fiscal year 1997-98, and created or saved 2,600 jobs, the agency announced.Francis Blanco, head of the Hawaii State Office located in Hilo, said the agency invested $100 million in loans and grants in rural Hawaii, American Samoa, and the western Pacific. Nationwide, the figure was $9 billion.
Besides housing, the agency -- formerly known as the Farmers Home Administration -- also funded work on water and sewer systems, telecommunications and electrical systems, and schools, medical facilities and day-care centers.
Programs and businesses in Hawaii ranged from the Hilo Residency Training Program for doctors, to the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park on Oahu,
Blanco was also one of eight state directors nationwide to receive an award for policy and planning programs.
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Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffCrash near Palama exit narrows H-1 westbound
Police this morning closed off a portion of the mauka lanes of the westbound H-1 Freeway near the Palama Street exit due to a traffic accident.Police dispatch said it received a call at 5:39 a.m. of an accident involving two vehicles. Four people reportedly were injured, with two women taken to Queen's Hospital. Both were in critical condition, according to a Queen's nursing supervisor.
Traffic investigators remained at the scene this morning.
Suspect arrested over West Loch 'relocations'
A 52-year-old Ewa Beach man is the latest person arrested in the city's Ewa Villages relocation scandal.Police arrested the man, who has 25 prior arrests, at his Kilinahe Street home at 9:32 a.m. yesterday on possible charges of first-degree theft, money laundering, bribery and illegal ownership of a business between 1988 to 1992.
According to a complaint filed by the city, the suspect in one transaction allegedly submitted a relocation bill to the city for $40,000.
City officials told police the suspect claimed to have moved his business to Pearl City from various Leeward Oahu locations.
After an investigation, however, the city said it discovered that the business was never moved to the site he claimed.
Police said the suspect was allegedly working in conjunction with city officials and two other business owners in the West Loch relocation project.
They said many other fraudulent transactions still are being investigated.
West Loch relocations are being checked as part of the Ewa Villages scandal, in which city housing officials and others allegedly filed claims to pay for moves that were never made.
The suspect was released pending further investigation.
State Hospital inmate escapes; may be violent
Police are searching for an escaped State Hospital inmate who is described as having violent tendencies and is considered dangerous.Israel Gilo, 43, who was at the Kaneohe hospital on a court commitment, walked off the grounds without permission at about 9 a.m. yesterday, according to police.
He is described as 5 feet 5, 143 pounds, well-groomed with wavy black hair, with a medium build, tan complexion and mustache.
He has tattoos on his interior upper chest and left upper arm. He was last seen wearing a black jacket and black pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call 955-8300. CrimeStoppers will pay a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to Gilo's apprehension.
All calls are confidential and anonymous.
Japanese tourist robbed of camera in Waikele
A man allegedly stole a camera yesterday from a Japanese tourist at the Waikele Shopping Center in Waipahu.Police said the adult victim was walking in the center's parking lot at 10:20 a.m. yesterday when the suspect, an unidentified male, attacked him.
The suspect attempted to yank the camera off the man but the victim resisted, police said. The tourist then let go of his camera and the suspect ran with it to a waiting car.
An investigation continues. The suspect faces charges of second-degree robbery.
Honokaa home burns after fire starts in shed
HONOKAA, Hawaii -- A single-story Honokaa home burned to the ground after a fire in a wood shop spread to the house yesterday, the fire department said.The 3 a.m. fire spread when the resident opened the door of the house and smoke started pouring in, officials said.
The house was owned and occupied by Marion A. Jordan and his family of 11 people.
Damage was estimated at $240,000.
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