Vote favors charter status

HILO » Parents and teachers have voted to seek charter school status for Laupahoehoe High and Elementary School on the Big Island.

The vote tallied Wednesday was 145-35.

Supporters say changing the regular public school into a charter school is the best way to keep it open.

Waning enrollment in recent years led the Department of Education to place the school on its closure and consolidation list.

The school has also failed to maintain adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law for two years in a row.

Department of Education Assistant Superintendent Randy Moore has said converting to a charter school would remove Laupahoehoe from the closure and consolidation list.

Burial Council rejects plan again

LIHUE » The Kauai/Niihau Island Burial Council has rejected the 16th draft of the burial treatment plan for a house being built by landowner Joseph Brescia in Naue.

Several ancient Hawaiian graves have been found on the property.

Under state law, when native Hawaiian remains are discovered, construction is supposed to cease until a burial treatment plan has been approved by the island burial council.

Council members said Thursday that the proposed burial treatment plan does not adequately address long-range maintenance and access issues.

Many native Hawaiians and their supporters are calling for the home to be torn down.

Isle-based cruiser to visit Hong Kong

The Pearl Harbor-based cruiser USS Chosin will visit Hong Kong on Wednesday as part of the nuclear powered USS Nimitz aircraft carrier group, according to the South China Morning Post.

Besides the Nimitz and the Chosin, the other ships in the carrier strike group that will be making the port call are the frigate USS Rentz and destroyers USS Sampson and USS Pickney. The Nimitz, Rentz, Sampson and Pickney are home-ported in San Diego.

The carrier last visited Hong Kong in 2008.

The Japanese-based carrier USS George Washington spent five days in Hong Kong in November.

While carriers have routinely visited Hong Kong, Chinese officials denied entry by the now-retired carrier USS Kitty Hawk in 2007 because of disputes over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

Beijing has charged that the package violated a U.S. pledge to reduce arms sales to the island, which China considers part of its territory, awaiting reunification.

The last U.S. arms package for Taiwan, announced under President George W. Bush in October 2008, led China to cut off military relations with the United States temporarily.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Pot protector convicted of manslaughter

HILO » A Big Island man who shot and killed a man while protecting his medical marijuana patch has been convicted of manslaughter.

A Circuit Court jury returned the verdict Thursday. It also convicted Kevin Metcalfe of using a firearm in the commission of a separate felony. Metcalfe had been on trial for murder.

The 49-year-old Metcalfe faces a possible 40-year prison term when he is sentenced in March.

Police and prosecutors say Metcalfe was guarding his medical marijuana when he shot Larry Kuahuia with a shotgun May 6. The jury decided the shooting was reckless rather than premeditated.

Defense attorneys William Reece and Vaughan Winborne argued Metcalfe should have been acquitted because he was defending himself against Kuahuia.