Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Wednesday, February 3, 1999

7,200 gallons of sewage spill from pump station

City Environmental Services crews posted warning signs about possible contamination along the Kaneohe end of Kaneohe Bay and Keaahala Stream after about 7,200 gallons of untreated sewage spilled from a pumping station.

The city shut down the Waikapoki pump station because of the Monday night break in a pressurized line. A backup of sewage in pipes leading to the plant yesterday resulted in an overflow from a manhole at Lilipuna Place.

City sewer tankers were used to intercept the flows and transport the sewage to Kailua Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Volunteers needed to count humpbacks

Time has come to count the humpback whales.

Volunteers are needed as site leaders for the Oahu Sanctuary Ocean Count on Feb. 27. Site leaders will provide leadership to other volunteers at 33 shore sites around Oahu.

Interested site leaders should call 397-2653 to register for an organizational meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Atherton YMCA.

Nominations requested for child care award

The public is invited to nominate candidates for the 1999 Early Childhood Professional of the Year Award. Candidates must have provided care for children under age 6 for at least five years in Hawaii. For information call the Good Beginnings Alliance at 531-5502

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$500 journalism scholarship offered

The Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter is offering its first $500 scholarship to a college journalism student.

The scholarship will be offered along with six full-time journalism internships this summer, each lasting 10 weeks and paying $2,700.

Applicants must be Hawaii residents, enrolled in an institution of higher learning in Hawaii or on the mainland, have completed at least their sophomore year by June 1999, and be interested in pursuing a career in journalism.

Those interested should send an application letter, samples of work and a college transcript.

Internships are being offered at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, KGMB News, Pacific Business News, Honolulu Publishing Co. magazines, Trade Publishing Co. magazines, and Alexander & Baldwin Inc. corporate publications and public relations.

Applications must be postmarked by Feb. 16 and mailed to John Black, Internship Committee, Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter, P.O. Box 3141, Honolulu, 96802. Call 521-8877, fax 521-8876 or e-mail lublack@worldnet.att.net.

CORRECTIONS Several paragraphs in our January 15 report on Final Fantasy originated from GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com), a leading online source of information about computer games, and were not attributed by the Star-Bulletin. Andrew Vestal wrote "The History of Final Fantasy" feature, which can be found at http://www.videogames.com/features/universal/finalfantasy_hs/. We apologize for the error. In a Jan. 29 editorial on the fatal shooting of Fortunato Barques III by Police Officer Mark D. Boyce, the last sentence should have read: "Proving beyond a reasonable doubt -- as required in criminal cases -- that Boyce did not believe deadly force was necessary to protect himself would have been impossible."

See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.

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Police, Fire



By Star-Bulletin staff

POLICE/FIRE

Halawa inmate found dead in bunk

Police said there are no signs of foul play in the death today of a 48-year-old Halawa Prison inmate.

The man was last seen alive at 2 a.m. by his cellmate, police said. During a head count at 4 a.m., the man was found dead in his bunk.

The case has been tentatively classified as an "unattended death."

Homemade bomb victim arrested

The Waipahu man who lost part of his hand after a homemade bomb exploded in December was arrested yesterday.

The man, 22, was arrested for first-degree reckless endangerment and prohibited explosives, police said. He has been hospitalized since the homemade bomb blew up Dec. 28.

In other news . . .

Police yesterday arrested a 36-year-old man who allegedly struck another man on the head with either a baseball bat or a club.

The victim, 32, told police he was asleep when he was assaulted. The incident at 1326 Piikoi St. was reported to police at 3:10 p.m.

Police yesterday arrested a 34-year-old Judd Street man for allegedly slashing his 50-year-old roommate with a pocketknife.

A 19-year-old woman from Japan was arrested for felony theft after she allegedly shoplifted $981 worth of items from the duty-free shop at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center yesterday, police said.

KAPAA, Kauai -- Shops along a one-block section of Huluii Road in downtown Kapaa were evacuated yesterday afternoon after a live mortar round and 40 mm shell were spotted beside the road by a tow truck driver. An explosive ordnance disposal team from Schofield Barracks collected the munitions and blew them up.

POIPU, Kauai -- An autopsy was scheduled today to determine the cause of death of an 86-year-old Petaluma, Calif., man whose body was recovered off of Poipu Beach Park yesterday. Kauai Police said a couple swimming at the beach heard cries for help, spotted the man struggling in heavy seas and went to his aid.

THE COURTS

Counterfeiters receive jail time, $550 fines

Two Kailua residents convicted of conspiring to make and pass counterfeit U.S. currency were sentenced yesterday to prison terms and ordered to pay $550 each in restitution.

Federal Judge Susan Oki Mollway sentenced Roy Castro Jr., 32, and Lannette DeReis, 29, to prison terms of 15 and 12 months, respectively. Co-defendent Kerstan Ho, 27, was sentenced earlier to 15 months in prison.

U.S. Attorney Steven Alm said the trio used an ink jet scanner/printer to make the fake bills.

Trial for three robbery suspects set for April

Three of four men charged in connection with a botched armed robbery attempt at a Wahiawa convenience store Jan. 8 have pleaded not guilty in Circuit Court.

Trial was set for the week of April 5 for:

Farrington Governor Santos, 25, of Kalihi;

Roland Ragasa, 32, of Pearl City;

Damien Kaahu, 26, of Hauula.

All were charged with first-degree robbery. Santos also was charged with two firearm offenses.

Tomas Quirantes, 20, of Kahuku, pleaded not guilty last month to first-degree attempted murder, two counts of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery and two firearm offenses.

He is alleged to be the man who shot Pok Cha Fithian when she walked in on the robbery attempt and the man who then tried to shoot her husband, Paul, owner of California Market.

See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.