Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Friday, March 5, 1999

Sign denotes new express route. Kalihi-UH bus route to begin An express bus route from Kalihi to the University of Hawaii at Manoa will begin Monday. Nine buses will run continuously at 10-minute intervals along King Street, Kapiolani Boulevard and University Avenue. The return route will be along Beretania and King streets. Beginning in August, the route will extend to Pearlridge, city Transportation Director Cheryl Soon said. At that point the route will run 12 buses. By August the line will feature technology allowing drivers to pass through intersections by holding green lights, Soon said. The operation will cost an estimated $3.2 million a year. The city hopes to have as many as 9,000 travelers using the new route by this time next year. "These are the busiest sections of about four different routes," Soon said. The route also shadows, in general terms, the line proposed for a light-rail transit project now being studied by the city. As such, the data will be carefully monitored, she said. The Kalihi-UH service will run from 5:25 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The UH-Kalihi service will go from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays and 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. weekends.

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Retired botany prof
given federal award

Retired University of Hawaii botany professor Clifford W. Smith was recognized for 22 years of conservation work during ceremonies in Washington yesterday, the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Division announced.

By his retirement in 1997, Smith's contributions included 110 scientific reports on Haleakala National Park, feral goats and pigs, and non-native plants. Smith, of Kailua, was named the private-citizen recipient of the Conservation Service Award in ceremonies attended by President Clinton.

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Abuse shelter could sure use your help

Clothing, personal care, household and other items are needed by the Child and Family Service's shelters for abused spouses and children.

Donations may be left at the Fashion Consignment Center's site behind Cutter Ford Aiea, two blocks ewa of Pearl Ridge Center.

For information on the site, call 488-8110. For help, call the shelter hot line, 841-0822.

Clogged grease forces sewage into storm drain

Four manholes that overflowed Wednesday night near Ward Centre spilled an estimated 2,900 gallons of raw sewage into a storm drain leading to the Ala Moana drainage canal.

Clogged grease evidently caused lines to back up, resulting in the overflow at about 11:15 p.m. in the 1200 block of Ala Moana Boulevard.

City crews stopped the flow by 1:40 a.m. yesterday.

Warning signs were placed along the length of the drainage canal, which runs between Kewalo Basin and the Ala Wai Canal.

Car dealer urges others to 'give the gift of life'

Inspired by the successful transplant of his bone marrow to a 12-year-old girl in December, Morrie Stoebner is urging others to "give the gift of life."

Stoebner is owner and president of Honda Windward, which will be the site of a donor recruitment drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow.

The Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry is holding the drive for donors between 18 and 60 years old and in general good health. A small blood sample is collected for tissue-typing.

Potential marrow donors are listed on the Hawaii and National Donor Registries and are matched with island residents who need life-saving bone marrow transplants because of blood diseases such as leukemia.

For more information, call the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry at St. Francis Medical Center, 547-6154.

CORRECTIONS Honolulu Symphony Music Director Sam Wong is being considered for the music director position with the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston. The wrong name was given for the orchestra in a story that ran yesterday. Travis Lee of St. Louis was the 112-pound champion at the state wrestling meet. An incorrect winner was listed Wednesday. The U.S. unemployment rate for January was 4.3 percent. A Hawaii Inc. article yesterday had a higher figure.

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

Police arrest man, 24, in shooting of woman

Police last night arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with the shooting of his former girlfriend with a shotgun last month in Wahiawa.

The woman suffered numerous pellet wounds to the face and body when she was shot on Feb. 19.

In other news . . .

Five fire companies battled a house fire this morning in Waianae.

Nobody was inside the Wikolia Place home when the fire started at about 6:20 a.m., fire officials said. Investigators were examining the scene this morning for a cause of the blaze.

A 40-year-old man was arrested yesterday for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl. The girl reported that the man followed her on the bus and sexually assaulted her on Tuesday.

KAILUA-KONA -- Three men were arraigned in federal court in Honolulu yesterday after being arrested in Kona for drug offenses, police said.

Assisted by state and federal agents, police arrested William Hayes Ackerman, 35, of Honaunau; James Roland Stoudt, 46, of Keei Beach; and Roberto Montes-Carillo, 22, of Holualoa. Among the drugs found with the men were 11 ounces of cocaine and 3.5 ounces of crystal methamphetamine.

KAILUA-KONA -- Police arrested two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old yesterday in connection with a robbery Sunday in a garage at a home in Hawi, they said. They were released to their families while the investigation continues.

HILO -- Police are warning the public about a scam in which a phony company, Property Tax Reduction -- PTR, promises to reduce taxes for a fee of $59.50.

The offer is made in a letter that asks that the money be sent to Santa Ana, Calif. Police ask anyone receiving the letters to call 935-3311.

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See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.