WASHINGTON -- When President Clinton makes his delayed trip to Asia tomorrow, both Hawaii House members will be with him. Abercrombie, Mink join
Clinton on trip to AsiaReps. Neil Abercrombie, D-Honolulu, and Patsy Mink, D-rural Oahu/neighbor islands, will be accompanying Clinton on his abbreviated, six-day trip.
The party, which also will include Rep. Robert Underwood, D-Guam, is to leave Dulles Airport tomorrow morning and fly to Japan for meetings with the Japanese prime minister and the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
The group then will travel to South Korea for meetings with President Dae-jung Kim, a round-table discussion on the economy, and a visit with U.S. and Korean troops at Youngsan Base and Osan Air Force Base.
On Sunday, Abercrombie and Mink are scheduled to take part in a joint news conference with Clinton and Kim.
The trip also includes a stop in Guam, where Clinton, Abercrombie and Mink will visit Government House and participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II memorial in Asan.
On their way home to Washington on Monday, Air Force One is scheduled to stop at Hawaii's Hickam Air Force Base for an early morning, two-hour refueling stop. Clinton is not scheduled to make a public appearance while in Hawaii, the White House said.
Clinton originally had been scheduled to fly to Asia this past weekend to participate in an economic summit, but stayed in Washington to monitor the situation in Iraq.
Planned Web site to give health officials more info
Hawaii's public health officials will have improved access to medical and health information through a Website being created to meet their needs.The Hawaii Medical Library and the University of Hawaii's School of Public Health received a two-year grant from the Partners in Information Access project to create the website.
Sharon Berglund, reference/education services librarian at Hawaii Medical Library, and Virginia Tanji, School of Public Health librarian, will conduct a training needs assessment to produce the website and provide training.
The site will link public health professionals to Hawaii-related health data sources.
An outreach service will provide training to search the Internet and the National Institute of Health's National Library of Medicine data bases.
Dr. Donald Lindberg, National Library of Medicine director, said, "Public health officials, as a group, have inadequate access to information services and technology."
"This new initiative will allow them to get training and the latest health information in order to respond more effectively to disease outbreaks and environmental health risks that affect the health and well-being of entire communities."
Breakfast with Santa raises funds for kids
Families are invited to join Santa Claus and his friends at PREVENT Child Abuse Hawaii's annual "Breakfast with Santa" fund-raiser on Dec. 6 at the Legends in Concert Aloha Showroom in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.Two seatings are offered: Breakfast is from 8:15 to 10:30 a.m., and lunch is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
All proceeds go to PREVENT Child Abuse Hawaii, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring children of Hawaii grow up in a safe environment.
Free shuttle service between the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and Kapiolani Community College's Diamond Head campus will be provided by Trans Hawaiian Services.
Tickets are $15 and include breakfast or lunch, photo with Santa and a Christmas goodie bag.
For tickets or information, call 591-3550. Seating is limited.
Youth conference focuses on environment
High school students interested in protecting and preserving Hawaii's delicate ecosystem are invited to participate in the third annual Youth Environment Conference this weekend.The conference at the YMCA's Camp Erdman begins after school Friday and lasts until 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Transportation, lodging and meals are free and there is no charge to participate. The conference is made possible through grants from the McInerny Foundation and George and Ida T. Castle Trust.
Youths will get help designing and planning their own environmental projects.
The featured speakers include Steve Montgomery, entomologist from the Conservation Council for Hawaii, Naomi Macintosh of the Hawaii Humpback Whale Sanctuary, and Gary Gill from the state Office of Environmental Quality Control.
For more information, call Youth for Environmental Service at 957-0423.
Measure grants Hawaii emergency oil supply
President Clinton has signed a bill that would guarantee Hawaii a supply of oil during an energy disruption.Daniel Akaka is the author of the measure that allows Hawaii energy companies to receive oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an emergency situation. The oil would be delivered to the islands on a priority basis, at a price equal to the average of successful bids for the reserve oil, an Akaka announcement said.
Mayor Jeremy Harris has floated for discussion a proposed rail system from the university area to either Aloha Stadium or Pearlridge center. A story in early editions yesterday incorrectly said the plan was discarded. CORRECTION
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Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffA Circuit Court judge this morning sentenced a 50-year-old man to 20 years in prison for manslaughter for running over another man he believed was having an affair with his wife. Driver to serve 20 years
in Kunia store killingMariano Espiritu Abad, originally charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty this year to the lesser offense in the Aug. 6, 1997, death of Rudy Saladino, 58, in the parking lot of Kunia Road Store.
Police said Abad accused his wife of having an affair with Saladino. He also told his wife that he wanted to kill Saladino.
Abad, through an interpreter, asked Circuit Judge John Lim for probation, describing himself as a hard-working, compassionate person who is not a danger to others. "I don't intend to harm anyone anymore," he said.
Defense lawyer Reginald Minn said that Abad had no prior criminal record and wasn't a troublemaker.
But Mark Bennett, a special prosecutor's assistant, said the killing was cold-blooded and premeditated and was committed based on rumors. "It was not an incident that was in the heat of the moment."
Abad lay in wait for Saladino and accelerated the truck to 30 mph without stepping on the brakes until after he struck the victim, Bennett said.
In sentencing Abad, Lim agreed with Bennett: "This was, it appears, at least a premeditated . . . killing. . . . And it did deprive a person of his life."
Police persuade man with rifle to surrenderin Aliamanu
Kalihi patrol officers yesterday persuaded a 21-year-old man armed with a rifle to surrender after a brief confrontation at a Hulaku Street home in Aliamanu.The man was booked on two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening against police and his girlfriend, then later released pending further investigation.
Police, responding to a domestic-argument complaint about 9 a.m., persuaded the man to surrender in 10 minutes, said Kalihi District Capt. Kevin Shigemitsu.
Fire causes $100,000 damage to farm bureau headquarters
A $100,000 fire charred the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation headquarters at 2343 Rose St. in Kalihi yesterday.The fire, believed to have been caused by a lit cigarette discarded in a trash can, caused $50,000 damage to the building and another $50,000 to contents. No one was hurt.
Three fire units responded to the 5:24 p.m. alarm; the fire was extinguished by 5:52 p.m.
Fire Capt. David Kawasaki said the fire in the two-story brick building was confined to the interior portion of a second-floor office, with some water damage to the first floor.
Man charged with a series of October motorcycle thefts
Police have charged 33-year-old Arnold Kassebeer with two counts of auto theft in connection with a series of motorcycle thefts that occurred from Oct. 22-26.Kassebeer, who has no permanent local address, was arrested Friday.
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