Millennium Moments
BEFORE the Reef Runway was ever built, before the "international" was added to today's Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii's main aviation facility was called the John Rodgers Airport. Airport once named for aviator
That was in the days prior to 1932, when the airport was named for Cmdr. John Rodgers, who had attempted the first flight to Hawaii from the mainland in 1925.
In those days, the airport comprised 885 acres, 766 of them underwater, says "Place Names of Hawaii" by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert and Esther T. Mookini.
On Aug. 31, 1925, Rodgers and four others left San Francisco aboard a two-engine Navy seaplane. They'd hoped to be the first aviators to cross the Pacific to Hawaii -- but ran out of fuel 300 miles from the islands.
On Sept. 10, the crew was rescued in waters off Nawiliwili, Kauai.
By 1947, the humble airport had grown into one of the largest in the United States and its territories, and was renamed Honolulu Airport, says "Place Names of Hawaii."
In 1951, having gained more traffic and land, the airport was renamed an "international" hub.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Hawaii Employers Council, who represent four stevedoring companies, have agreed to meet Saturday to try to avert a statewide waterfront strike. Story in Business. Dock talks to resume Saturday
Trio claiming immunity to be sentenced later
Three native Hawaiians who claim immunity from state and county laws because they are citizens of the Hawaiian kingdom aren't going to jail -- at least not yet.Marie Beltran, husband John Keawemauhili and Wendell Lucas appeared in Wahiawa District Court yesterday to challenge the sentences they faced for illegal camping, contempt of court and driving without current registration and safety inspection stickers. They will be sentenced later.
District Judge Christopher McKenzie yesterday denied their motion but stopped short of sentencing them to prison.
Their attorney, Ninia Parks, said her clients assert the United States did not legally acquire the Hawaiian kingdom and therefore the state does not have valid authority to prosecute them.
McKenzie said it was "awkward and inconvenient" to raise the annexation issue at the local level and sided with the state, which cited a state Supreme Court decision affirming that the state courts had authority over native Hawaiians.
"If you choose to live in Hawaii and drive cars on Hawaii roads, you're subject to the same laws as other Hawaii citizens," McKenzie said.
Sign-wavers support TheBus drivers
19-year-old arrested in road rage incident
A 19-year-old man, apparently upset by slow traffic in yesterday's rain, was arrested after ramming and pinning a teen-ager with his car, police said.The boy was riding in a car ahead of the man in Pearl City.
According to a detective's report, the man "apparently got angry because the victim and his friends were driving slowly due to the rain."
The two cars ended up in the parking lot of Leeward Community College at about 3 p.m.
When the 17-year-old boy got out of the car, the suspect drove forward, pinning him between the two cars, police said.
The man was arrested and is being held pending first-degree assault charges.
The boy was treated at a hospital for injuries to his right leg.
Judge leaving bench to take place in pulpit
Judge Elwin Ahu, 44, will leave the bench on Jan. 1 to join the staff of the New Hope Christian Fellowship.He will serve as executive pastor helping senior pastor Wayne Cordeiro.
He said he enjoyed being a judge, but God prompted him to follow a greater calling.
"I will be able to touch the lives of others, helping people to become all that God has designed them to be," he said.
Ahu was appointed a First Circuit judge by Gov. Ben Cayetano in 1997.
Previously he served as a District judge under Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon in 1994.
Correction
Iolani Luahine, hula dancer, chanter and teacher of Hawaiian culture, died in 1978. A photo caption Monday indicated she was still alive in 1982.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Police arrest felon trying to register gun
A 44-year-old convicted felon was arrested yesterday after attempting to register a gun with police.The suspect went to the police Firearms Section to register a gun on Monday, police said. But he left before the registration was completed.
Police discovered the man was a convicted felon.
Yesterday, the suspect returned and was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Construction worker arrested in assault
Police arrested a construction worker yesterday after he reportedly struck his co-worker.The men were working at a Kalihi site when they started arguing at 9 a.m., police said. The suspect, 32, lost his temper and struck his co-worker, 33, with a light fixture, causing a cut to the face.
The suspect was booked for second-degree assault.
Makakilo man charged in alleged sex assault
A 45-year-old Makakilo man was charged yesterday for an alleged sexual assault at his townhouse on Monday.Drew Wren was charged with third-degree sexual assault, police said. He is being held on $15,000.
Wren allegedly sexually assaulted a 57-year-old woman.
