Isle Guard jet tankers to stay here for now
There are no immediate plans to send any of Hawaii's nine Air National Guard jet tankers back to Europe to aid in the NATO strikes against Yugoslavia.Nearly 200 Hawaii Air National Guard members of the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base returned home April 3-5 after spending several weeks in Istres, France, refueling fighters and bombers involved in the air operation over Kosovo.
Capt. Chuck Anthony, Hawaii National Guard spokesman, said "there are no plans at this time to send any of our folks there."
The Hawaii Army National Guard last year deployed a public affairs team and artillery specialists to Bosnia. In 1997, the Pacific Army Reserve command sent 35 medical specialists from Hawaii and Alaska to Germany to help in the Bosnian relief effort.
At Pearl Harbor, the cruisers USS Chosin and USS Lake Erie and nuclear attack submarines USS Olympia and USS Santa Fe have been alerted for possible early duty in the western Pacific as part of the carrier battle group USS Constellation.
Roosevelt won't make science olympiad
Roosevelt High School will not be sending a team to the National Science Olympiad in May.Despite a recent appeal for support, though, money was not a factor, says school Principal Dennis Hokama, noting that First Hawaiian Bank and the Pacific Region Educational Lab offered a total of $7,000 in matching-fund donations toward the $10,000 needed for the trip.
After consulting with science team coach Prisca Lee, Hokama refused the invitation because of organizational and training problems.
"A lot of this involved commitments that couldn't be met in a short period of time," Hokama said.
Senior Jonathan Ige said: "There was a lot of miscommunication between all parties and I don't think everyone understood everything that was going on.
"There's nothing we can do and I'm disappointed. But we'd like to thank all the people who supported us."
Jewish service will mark Holocaust, bless sacred scroll
A special service commemorating the Holocaust, the killing of 6 million Jews during World War II, will be held Friday at Temple Emanu-El.The congregation will reconsecrate its Holocaust Torah scroll, one of hundreds gathered by the Nazis, in the 8 p.m. Yom Hashoah remembrance. The scroll is one of 1,564 ransomed by Jews from Great Britain, repaired and distributed to Jewish communities throughout the world, said Rabbi Avi Magid.
The memorial service is open to the public.
Maintenance slows traffic on highway
Traffic was snarled along the downtown-bound lanes of the Pali Highway yesterday as state road crews trimmed trees and did regular highway maintenance.But the state will be adjusting its starting time for the rest of this week, according to Marilyn Kali, state Transportation Department spokeswoman.
She explained that the road crews usually start without any traffic congestion at 8:30 a.m., but because of yesterday's snarl, the starting time would be moved to 9 a.m.
The state did more extended road maintenance last weekend, shutting down the Kailua-bound tunnel late last Saturday and early Sunday.
This weekend the state will close the town-bound lanes.
But Kali explained that the work done near residential areas can't be done at night, so it is scheduled for during the day.
Daffy Duck goes postal in a nice kind of way
A new 33-cent U.S. postage stamp bearing the likeness of Daffy Duck goes on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at Wal-Mart stores in Mililani, Waipahu, Hilo, Kailua-Kona and Lihue."As the Postal Service seeks to broaden the appeal of the stamp program, the Looney Tunes stamp collection has helped introduce a new generation to the entertaining and educational hobby of stamp collecting," said Edward Broglio, Honolulu District manager/postmaster.
Teen Fest '99 to be held Saturday at Magic Island
Youths aged 13-17 are invited to the city's fourth annual Teen Fest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Magic Island.Teen Fest '99 will promote healthy lifestyles for all youth.
Entertainment will include dances by Tihati Productions, inflatable games featuring a giant slide and obstacle course, and an interactive cultural display by a Hawaiian canoe association.
Materials on healthy lifestyles also will be available.
Registration is required. Participants can register by calling 547-7883.
For more information, call 527-6035.
State Bar Association sets up legal hot line
Get free legal advice starting today by way of a call-in hot line.Volunteer attorneys from the Hawaii State Bar Association will provide information on law and referrals every Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. Call 537-1868.
Correction
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Police, Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffIN COURT
Man guilty in shooting spree
By Susan Kreifels
Star-BulletinA man who shot up a Sunday family barbecue over a soured relationship with a former girlfriend has been found guilty of intending to kill three people at point-blank range.
Norman Montira faces a mandatory term of life without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced July 12 by Circuit Judge Melvin Soong.
A jury yesterday found Montira guilty of intending to kill more than one person. Jurors were told that if they found Montira guilty of that count, they did not have to return verdicts on one count of murder in the second degree and two counts of attempted murder in the second degree, according to Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter. Montira, then 47, went to the Nanakuli home of former girlfriend Cheryl Botelho on April 27, 1997. Montira was out to get her brother, Glenn Botelho, who the defendant felt was meddling in the relationship.
Instead, Montira shot three men who tried to stop him. David Eli, 24, died. Timothy Calderon, then 56, was hospitalized from a life-threatening gun wound. Ronald Botelho, 44, was shot in the arm.
The defense contended Montira didn't intend to kill anyone.
Foul play ruled out in death of inmate
Police have tentatively ruled out foul play in the death yesterday of a Halawa inmate, 52.The man died at about 7:27 p.m. at Kaiser Hospital, police said. He was under a doctor's care.
Computers worth $40,000 found in trash
Parishioners at Moanalua Community Church and Preschool usually find items left on their property that they don't want: tattered clothes and bags of smelly trash.So they were surprised to find 19 brand-new Compaq laptop computers worth more than $40,000 by the church's dumpster last night.
But this time, the parish won't get to keep them.
Police yesterday recovered the computers and are trying to determine whom the merchandise belongs to, or if they are stolen.
The computers will be taken to police headquarters, where they will be held for several months. If no one claims them, the computers will be auctioned, and the money will go to the state, police said.
Child with matches caused $100,000 fire
An unsupervised child playing with matches started yesterday's blaze that caused over $100,000 damage to a Waianae apartment.The 3-year-old was alone inside a bedroom closet playing with matches at about 8 a.m, fire investigators said. The child, his brother and his mother escaped the Waimaha Apartments on McArthur Street unharmed.
In other news ...
A 12-year-old girl was arrested yesterday for allegedly beating her 8-year-old sister with a hammer the evening before.A teacher noticed bruises on the younger girl yesterday and notified police.
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