Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Tuesday, November 16, 1999

Pauline faces trials for two other cases

HILO -- Two new trial dates have been set for Frank Pauline Jr., previously convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder in the 1991 death of Big Island newcomer Dana Ireland.

The pending charges are not related to the Ireland case.

Judge Riki May Amano yesterday set a two-week trial to begin on May 15 on first- and third-degree sexual assault charges against Pauline for alleged incidents in 1993. The trial was set to start yesterday but had to be postponed because of an ongoing trial in Amano's court.

Pauline also pleaded not guilty yesterday to a charge of terroristic threatening for allegedly threatening a jail guard in April.

Amano set a two-week trial in that case for June 19.

Becker Communications gets $94,000 UH pact

The University of Hawaii awarded a $94,000 yearlong contract to Becker Communications to work with senior administrators throughout the UH community on issue management and media training. The contract was signed Friday.

Bill Thomas with the University Relations Office at UH-Manoa said the public relations company will be meeting with the administration as well as faculty, staff and students about communication problems and how to approach them.

Becker Communications will "on a case-by-case basis, advise and help UH to develop better tools to broadcast information to key constituencies both on and off campus," Thomas said, "in response, partly, to comments the administration got on communication problems."

A company run by UH Regent Sharon Weiner originally bid on the contract.

UH general counsel Walter Kirimitsu had determined there was no conflict of interest as long as Weiner didn't take part in decisions regarding the contract.

But when the contract was put out for bid again, Stryker Weiner Associates Inc. did not enter the competition. Weiner said she would be faced with "reverse conflict" if the administration wanted to promote an issue she didn't agree with as a regent.

Maui woman killed in head-on collision

WAILUKU -- A 58-year-old woman died yesterday after the car she was riding in collided head-on with a van in central Maui.

Mathilda Valite, who lived in Kihei, was riding in the rear passenger seat when the crash occurred about a half-mile south of the Maui Humane Society's animal shelter at 6:06 p.m, police said.

Sgt. Mollie Cameron said the van was traveling south on Mokulele Highway when it went on the right shoulder then swerved left into oncoming traffic and struck the car carrying Valite.

Cameron said a truck and one other vehicle were also involved in the accident but no one else was killed or critically injured.

Joint Chiefs chairman here for conference

Army Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is in Hawaii today for a two-day conference at Hilton Hawaiian Village attended by the military leaders of 15 Asia-Pacific nations.

The Chiefs of Defense Conference is hosted by Adm. Dennis Blair, U.S. Pacific Forces commander.

Clarification The Hawaii International Film Festival's top honor is the First Hawaiian Bank Golden Maile Award, given to films for their "unique artistry, content and technical excellence, representing the best in new Pacific Rim cinema." The name of the award was incomplete in a story Saturday.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Police need information concerning man's death

Homicide detectives are looking for information on the slaying of Efnet A. Haro at Kuhio Park Terrace last week.

Police said 45-year-old Haro was killed in the housing's parking lot on Nov. 10 between 2 and 2:30 a.m.

Haro is 5 feet 7 inches tall, 145 pounds with black hair and a dark complexion. He also had a mustache and beard.

Police are asking anyone with information about the homicide to call Detective Mark Wiese at 529-3350 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.

Cops seeking witnesses in moped accident

Police are seeking witnesses to last week's moped crash near Waikane.

Meanwhile, the driver of the moped remains in critical condition at Queen's Hospital.

He was driving a red moped on Kamehameha Highway near Haupoa Street when he slammed into a city garbage bin on Nov. 9, police said.

If anyone has any information about the crash, call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.

Homeless man injured while crossing street

A 29-year-old homeless man was critically injured this morning while crossing the street near Ala Moana Center.

The man was crossing Ala Moana boulevard near Atkinson Drive when he was hit by a Ford Ranger pickup truck at 7:45 a.m., according to police and fire officials.

Investigators said he was not in a marked crosswalk and crossed against a red light.

Lab tests inconclusive on Halloween candy

Laboratory tests on Halloween candy believed to be tainted were inconclusive, police said.

A woman and child reported a burning sensation to their mouths after consuming Halloween candy they obtained trick-or-treating in the Waipahu area, police said.

In other news ...

Two teen-age boys were arrested yesterday for allegedly holding up two 12-year-old boys walking home from school near Kalhi and Beckley streets.

Police are investigating a reported sexual assault of a minor. A girl told police she was sexually assaulted at a party at a Kalihi home yesterday.

HILO -- A pot left on a stove caused a fire which did $41,000 damage to a house in the Paradise Park subdivision south of Hilo yesterday, the Fire Department said.