Stender agrees with report criticizing Bishop Estate's management
Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate Trustee Oswald Stender said he backs court-appointed master Colbert Matsumoto's highly critical report of the estate's management.But Stender stopped short of saying fellow trustees breached their fiduciary duties. He believes that's a matter for the attorney general and state courts to decide.
"What (Matsumoto) came out with is pretty much what I've stated before," said Stender, speaker at yesterday's meeting of the Institute of Real Estate Management at the Hale Koa Hotel.
On Monday, Matsumoto released his report for the estate's fiscal year ending June 30, 1994. The review chastised the estate for high-risk investments that resulted in up to $264.1 million in losses and loss reserves that year.
The report also faulted the estate's informal management system, which Matsumoto said divides trustees' duties in a way that may violate the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
Stender, named a trustee in 1989, has been a critic of the estate's management structure, which divides trustees' powers along the lines of subject matters.
Trustee Henry Peters is in charge of asset management, Richard Wong oversees government affairs, Gerard Jervis manages the estate's legal affairs, while Lokelani Lindsey heads the estate's educational programs.
Stender said he prefers a system which has a chief executive officer who manages the daily operations of an organization and a board of directors which sets the organization's policy.
New snag plagues libraries' book buys
Members of a Board of Education committee say they can't comply with a new law that returns book selection duties to librarians.The public library committee yesterday agreed with a proposed definition of "public service librarians" and approved giving them sole authority to select books. But they deleted a provision recommended by the attorney general's office to give branch library managers final say over selection.
This latest squabble is over who's authorized to select books for public libraries.
A new law signed by Gov. Ben Cayetano in June returns book-buying control to Hawaii's library system. Previously, mainland company Baker & Taylor was contracted to select and purchase books. But education officials say administrative rules need to be amended to enact the new law.
Replacement buoy also malfunctions
The replacement for a weather buoy that stopped working about 190 miles northwest of Kauai also isn't working.The new buoy stopped sending data to Honolulu forecasters after 1 a.m. yesterday, the National Weather Service reported.
The buoy was deployed Sunday.
National Data Buoy Center personnel handling the buoy problems believe a hardware failure may have occurred related to the antenna or power system.
The sophisticated buoy electronics are run by an onboard computer.
The buoy center will determine what is needed to correct the problem when the Coast Guard is able to return to the site.
Maui teacher pleads not guilty to assault
WAILUKU -- A Maui teacher has pleaded not guilty to charges that include 15 counts of second-degree sexual assault upon a high school student.Gregory Standish, 28, is scheduled to stand trial in Maui Circuit Court on Feb. 2, 1998.
Acting Maui Circuit Judge Douglas Ige Tuesday kept Standish's bail at $305,000 but scheduled a bail hearing for today.
Ige ordered Standish to have no contact with the student or any of her immediate relatives if he posts the bail and is released.
Standish is also charged with second-degree extortion, second-
degree theft and third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug.
KGMB says it honored Russ Francis' contract
Television station KGMB says charges made by former sportscaster Russ Francis "are completely without merit.""We honored the terms of Mr. Francis' contract and we give him everything he was entitled to under the contract when it was terminated," said General Manager Ray Depa yesterday.
Francis recently filed a wrongful termination suit.
The former sportscaster said he was fired in January without notice after he complained that the station's news director improperly used his position.
Depa called Francis' lawsuit "unfortunate," and said the station had hoped for an amicable parting.
"We intend to vigorously defend the integrity of KGMB," he said in a statement.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffBig Isle man arrested, charged with burglary
A 36-year-old Big Island man was being held by Hilo police in lieu of $7,000 bail after he allegedly was discovered burglarizing a Wainaku home by the occupant.Robert K. Reynolds of Puueo St. allegedly fled the residence and was arrested by police at 9:55 p.m. yesterday in downtown Hilo.
Police said the occupant identified Reynolds.
Reynolds was charged with two counts of burglary, including a charge for an earlier break-in of an apartment.
Sgt. Prentiss Moreno said no one was hurt in the Wainaku burglary and the items removed from the residence were recovered.
Students arrested for starting fire
Police arrested five students at Stevenson Intermediate School in Makiki for allegedly setting a small fire in a restroom yesterday morning.No one was injured from the fire, which was immediately put out by school security.
The students were arrested when the school conducted an investigation following the incident, police said. The five juveniles were arrested for second-degree criminal property damage.
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