Millennium Moments
FORMAL classroom education here can be traced back to May 23, 1820, when the first Protestant mission school in Honolulu opened. First school bell rang in 1820
Eleven years later, in 1831, Lahainaluna on Maui opened in 1831 as a mission school to train teachers and ministers, says "Firsts and Almost Firsts in Hawai'i" by Robert C. Schmitt. Today, it is Hawaii's oldest secondary school.
In October 1840, public education was mandated by a new law compelling the creation of public schools and requiring attendance by children ages 4 to 14.
Though public when it opened in 1895, Honolulu High School, the first of its kind, charged tuition until 1899, Schmitt says.
As for higher education, 1907 saw the creation of the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts at Thomas Square; in June 1912, its first commencement exercises awarded bachelor of science degrees to four seniors.
The college was renamed the College of Hawaii in 1911, then the University of Hawaii on July 1, 1920, Schmitt says.
Decomposed body found near Kunia Road
Police were trying to determine the identity of a man who was found dead near Kunia Road this morning.Workers from the Del Monte company found the man's decomposed body near a pineapple field at 7:30 a.m., police Lt. Allen Napoleon said.
The man was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed between 140 and 150 pounds. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, and had the words "Love always" tattooed on his upper right arm.
Police said the man had suspicious injuries, and the body had been there for several days.
Supreme Court upholds infant-killing sentence
The state Supreme Court upheld a 10-year prison sentence for a man convicted of suffocating his girlfriend's 3-year-old severely mentally handicapped son.Mikael Malakha was convicted of manslaughter a year ago for the 1991 death of Zachary Riviera. Malakha appealed the sentence with its mandatory minimum of three years and four months, contending his sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment in comparison to the sentence given to codefendant Gina Riviera, the victim's mother.
Riviera pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a sentence of probation.
The court wrote in its decision that Riviera's sentence did not render Malakha's sentence excessive. It also said that Malakha's sentence was not disproportionate to the offense and of such duration as to "shock the conscience of reasonable persons or to outrage the moral sense of the community."
The suffocation took place in Malakha's Ala Moana apartment. Malakha tied strips of cloth around Zachary's head and stuffed a sock in his mouth. Malakha said he was trying to stop the boy's crying and did not intend to cause his death.
Two people sentenced for welfare fraud
Circuit Judge Marie Milks has sentenced a Honolulu man to one year in jail and five years probation for welfare fraud.Richard E. Crapser, found guilty of first-degree theft, also was ordered to pay $28,378 in restitution to the state.
The state said Crapser fraudulently received that amount in welfare benefits from July 1, 1996, to Nov. 30, 1997.
He concealed the fact he had income and assets exceeding $51,511 during that time, the state said.
In another welfare-fraud case, Circuit Judge Melvin Soong sentenced Leann C. Matsukado to five years probation for first-degree theft. The sentence also requires her to pay $47,911.62 in restitution to the state, and perform 150 hours of community service.
Ala Moana road work to begin Monday
Night work on Ala Moana near Ward Avenue begins Monday.The Monday-through-Saturday work will go on from 8:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Work includes installing a water line and several electrical, telephone and communication ducts across Ala Moana.
Manoa Stream cleanup scheduled tomorrow
Volunteers will clean up Manoa Stream from 8 a.m. to noon tomorrow, National Make a Difference Day.The effort is part of the city's Adopt-a-Stream program.
More than 30 streams have been adopted by Oahu volunteers.
Interested volunteers should meet at Dole Street bridge near the University of Hawaii dorms. Participants are advised to wear covered shoes and sunscreen.
Correction
More than 800 Japanese Americans were killed in World War II. A story yesterday used the wrong figure.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Waianae man charged in taxi driver robbery
Police yesterday charged a 27-year-old man in connection with Wednesday's armed robbery of a taxicab driver.Mark Camacho of Waianae was charged with first-degree robbery, police said. He is being held on $50,000 bail.
A taxi driver, 32, picked up Camacho near North School Street at about 7 p.m., police said.
Camacho pulled out a knife and held it to the driver's throat, police said. The two struggled while the car was moving, resulting in a crash near Kalihi.
Man, 19, faces assault charge in car attack
Police charged a 19-year-old Waialua man for allegedly ramming a teen-age boy with his car at Leeward Community College on Tuesday.Justin Jiminez was charged with first-degree assault, police said. He is being held on $20,000 bail.
Police said Jiminez was apparently upset because the car the 17-year-old boy was riding in was traveling too slowly in the rain.
He allegedly rammed the boy, pinning him against two cars.
Break-in, sex assault attempt are alleged
A 23-year-old Maunalani Heights man was arrested yesterday for reportedly breaking into a Makiki home and attempting to sexually assault another man, police said.The victim, a 29-year-old man, went to bed at about 10 p.m. and later awoke to find a naked man lying next to him, police said. The suspect was allegedly trying to sexually assault him.
The resident detained the suspect until police arrived.
The suspect was arrested at 2 a.m. for first-degree burglary and attempted sexual assault.
Building at Hilo school maliciously set ablaze
HILO -- A maliciously set fire caused $18,000 damage to a wooden classroom building at Waiakea High School before dawn yesterday, the Fire Department said.Firefighters responding to the 4:12 a.m. call found fires at two spots along an outside wall of the building, they said.
The fires were under control within five minutes, and the main portion of the building, valued at $175,000, was saved.
Big Isle cops seek help in Hilo store robbery
HILO -- Police are looking for people who burglarized the Puhi Bay Store in the Keaukaha area of Hilo on Tuesday night or early Wednesday, getting away with more than $1,000 in liquor and tobacco items, they said.Anyone with information on the burglary should call police at 961-2311 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
