A federal judge has criticized a report on prison conditions compiled by the state prison system's Internal Affairs Division. Judge rejects prison report
in abuse suitU.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor threw out a report that Halawa Correctional Facility inmate Antony La-Pierre said supported his allegations of abuse by former prisons doctors Kim Thorburn and Terrance Allen.
Gillmor said the report is full of hearsay, opinion and "allegations that raise questions about the care taken in screening the information."
She said there is no indication the information is reliable.
Attorneys for Thorburn and Allen had argued that the report should be inadmissible at trial.
LaPierre in June 1997 filed suit in federal court, accusing the two doctors of plotting to deny him medical care.
The internal affairs report said LaPierre was placed in retaliatory lockdown, was denied showers and toilet paper and was kept in a foul-smelling cell.
New admiral to assume U.S. Pacific Command
Adm. Joseph Preuher will step down as commander of the U.S. Pacific Command on Saturday and will be replaced by Adm. Dennis Blair.The 2 p.m. change-of-command ceremony will be held at Camp Smith and will be attended by U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Hawaii's U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
Haleakala park gains 1,500 acres of forest
WAILUKU -- Some 1,500 acres of native Hawaiian forest in south Maui have been turned over to Haleakala National Park.The land, known as the Ka'apahu ahupua'a, runs from the rocky coastline near Kaupo to the 4,000-foot elevation of Haleakala.
Officials with Trust for Public Land, which helped to transfer the land to the federal government, note the land has extensive stands of old-growth virgin koa and five clear streams with endangered species.
"The Ka'apahu property has been seen by many scientists as the most important biological area on the island," said Alan Front, senior vice president of the Trust.
Initial surveys indicate at least 11 archaeological sites, including a heiau, taro terraces, and the remains of the ancient King's Trail that once circled the island.
Solo sailor is rescued southeast of Hawaii
French solo yachtswoman Isabelle Autissier was picked up early this morning south of Easter Island after she sent a crackly message her yacht had capsized in the South Pacific near Antarctica.A spokesman for the Pacific Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu said Autissier was taken aboard the vessel Fila at 4:40 this morning, 4,935 miles southeast of Hawaii.
Autissier had launched distress beacons yesterday from her yacht PRB, which was buffeted by high winds and waves, though an earlier report said she may have taken to a life raft.
She was a competitor in the Around Alone race, a single-handed sailing race around the world.
UH talk for Hawaiians covers tuition waivers
Kahoonei Panoke, student regent of the University of Hawaii, will give a talk tomorrow on tuition waivers for Hawaiians in the UH system."Investing in the Hawaiian Future: Tuition Waivers, Ceded Lands and the University of Hawaii" is the title of his talk, which starts 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Center for Hawaiian Studies at 2645 Dole St.
University is accredited in special education
The University of Hawaii's graduate training for special-education teachers has received national accreditation from the Council for Exceptional Children.Experts from around the nation reviewed the college's program.
Randy Hitz, dean of the UH-Manoa's College of Education, said the college is also seeking national accreditation in mathematics, elementary education, science, language arts, early childhood, social studies, physical education and vocational education.
The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education is expected to visit in 2001.
American Red Cross will honor isle heroes
Nice guys finish first at the American Red Cross Everyday Heroes Breakfast 9 a.m. March 6.Thirteen good Samaritans, from a field of nearly 50 nominees, will be recognized at the event at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
City Councilman John Henry Felix will explain "What Heroes Are Made Of." Kimo Kahoano and Carole Kai will be the hosts.
Winners include Clark Hatch, founder of the Bark Park, a recreational site for dogs at Diamond Head Road and 18th Avenue; Flora Bettis, 86, who regularly works as a community volunteer and donates money raised by collecting aluminum cans to overseas church missions; and Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, whose numerous employee volunteers work at Honolulu Zoo, help clean up the Ala Wai Canal and help with the USS Missouri.
For tickets, $20 each ($5 of which are tax-deductible), call 739-8109.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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Police, Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffPOLICE/FIRE
Kahuku man held in boy's stabbing
Police yesterday arrested an 18-year-old Kahuku man in connection with last week's stabbing of a 14-year-old boy. The suspect turned himself in at the Kahuku Police station, said Detective Terry Bledsoe. He was booked for kidnapping and first-degree assault. He is expected to be charged today.The boy told police he accepted a ride from the man at Hauula Beach Park Friday, and the man took the boy to a dirt road across from the Turtle Bay Hilton and stabbed him twice in the back with a small knife.
In other news...
A 42-year-old man was arrested this morning, accused of striking a bar employee in the head with a metal pipe, police said.
Rescue boats resumed their search at about 9 a.m. today for Lance Cpl. Kenneth Abell of Bowie, Md.
The girl's mother reported that a 52-year-old man sexually assaulted her daughter during a sleepover at his home on Sunday, police said.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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