Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Friday, November 19, 1999

Millennium Moments

Wine, beer arrive

ONE of Honolulu's oldest streets, Marin Street downtown, is named for Francisco de Paula Marin, a Spaniard who arrived in the 1790s, says "Place Names of Hawaii" by Mary Pukui, Samuel Elbert and Esther Mookini.

Marin introduced many fruits and vegetables to Hawaii, and made wine. Which, the authors note, gave rise to Vineyard Boulevard, another of Honolulu's oldest streets. This roadway ran to Marin's vineyard, which was there in the early 1800s.

The busy Spaniard also is believed to be the first island resident to brew beer, recording in his journal on Feb. 2, 1812, the making of "a barrel of beer."

Power line protest in Manoa

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Cars along Manoa Road drive past signs protesting a planned
Hawaiian Electric Co. power line project through Manoa Valley
to Waahila Ridge. The power company says the lines are needed
to improve the reliability of its system.

Remains of 11 soldiers will arrive at Hickam

The remains of 11 soldiers missing in action from two wars were scheduled to arrive at Hickam Air Force Base today.

Eight sets of remains from Laos and Cambodia were recently turned over by Hanoi officials, while three sets were repatriated from North Korea on Nov. 11. All of the remains were to be taken to the Army's Central Identification Laboratory at Hickam.

There are still 2,043 Americans unaccounted for in Indochina: 1,523 in Vietnam, 438 in Laos, 74 in Cambodia and eight in China.

Joint North Korea-U.S. recovery efforts to account for the 8,100 still missing from the Korean War began in 1996.

Tokens to be issued for Elton John tickets

Patrons wishing to buy tickets for Elton John's solo acoustic concerts Jan. 7 and 8 will be allowed onto the Blaisdell Center property no earlier than 6 a.m. tomorrow.

Random tokens will be issued beginning at 7:30 a.m., and the box office will open at 9 a.m. Each person can purchase a maximum of six tickets.

Tickets are $65 and $45 with a service charge of $1 a ticket.

Tickets are also available at Tickets Plus locations and can be charged by phone by calling Tickets Plus at 526-4400 or on the internet at www.ticketslive.com.

Kauai judge halts two tour boat shutdowns

HANALEI, Kauai -- A Kauai judge kept an injunction in place to allow two Na Pali powerboat tour operators to stay in business.

Judge George Masuoka also asked the state Boating Division to explain how its rules allowed the agency to shut down the tour boat operators simply because their craft are powered by engines.

The Boating Division refused to renew permits for Ralph Young and John White when they expired in September. The permit for a sail-powered tour boat was renewed.

Young and White contend the state did not follow administrative procedures to change rules and deny the permits.

Masuoka asked attorneys for the boaters and the state to submit written briefs on the issue within two weeks.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Skeleton identified by Army laboratory

The skeletal remains found Wednesday buried deep in a Waialua pineapple field were identified as murder victim John J. Wailehua-Hansen.

The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory made the identification through dental records, police said.

Wailehua-Hansen, 41, was last seen alive at a Waialua home in March 1997.

Gregory Peregil, 39, was indicted by an Oahu grand jury in connection with Wailehua-Hansen's death.

Police are also seeking the remains of three other men -- Steven Tozon, Tranquilino Bati Jr. and Paris France -- believed killed in 1997 in related murders that allegedly involved a large North Shore drug ring.

Two men have been charged with murdering Tozon and Bati. No one has been charged in the disappearance of France.

Seriously injured woman found near Magic Island

Police are investigating the discovery of a woman found unconscious and seriously injured near Magic Island this morning.

She was found barely alive and lying on some rocks on the Waikiki side of Ala Moana Beach Park at 6:59 a.m., a rescuer said.

The victim, believed to be in her mid-20s to early 30s, was taken to Queen's Hospital.

Elderly man hit by car in Pacific Palisades

An elderly man was seriously injured while crossing the street in Pacific Palisades this morning.

The man was in a marked crosswalk near Amoomoo and Aumakua streets when he was struck by a 1996 Nissan sedan at 6:13 a.m., police said. He was taken to Queen's Hospital in critical condition.

Man shot this morning on Aiea Heights Drive

Police were investigating a shooting of a man today in Aiea Heights near the 99-1000 block of Aiea Heights Drive at about 10:50 a.m. No information on his condition or the suspect was available this morning.

51-year-old man accused of robbing prostitute

Police arrested a 51-year-old man early this morning for allegedly robbing a prostitute.

The woman, 21, met with the suspect in Room 158 of the Pagoda Hotel on Rycroft Street at 1 a.m., police said.

He reportedly grabbed her and threatened to kill her, police said. She struggled and managed to open the door and scream, alerting hotel staff, police said.

Boy, 11, arrested in threat to 2 girls

An 11-year-old boy was arrested yesterday after allegedly pulling a butcher knife on two girls at his Kalihi home.

The two sixth-grade girls were at the boy's Gulick Avenue house to work on a school project when the boy pulled a butcher knife and stood in front of them laughing.

The girls, 10 and 11, reported the incident to their teacher the next day. The boy was arrested for first-degree terroristic threatening and released to his parents.

Gas leak in Kalihi forces evacuation of two homes

At least two homes were evacuated this morning when a gas leak was reported in Kalihi.

The leak was reported near Kalihi and Ohu streets at about 10:30 a.m., fire officials said.

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The Courts

Motive suggested in fatal shooting trial

The day Eleanor "Ellie" Wimberly was found slain in her Waiau home, Matthew Clement told an acquaintance he wanted to move in with a girl and was first going to kill her boyfriend.

Deputy Prosecutor Susan Won yesterday hinted at a possible motive for Wimberly's death in opening statements in the second-degree murder trial of Clement.

Clement, 29, who lived six houses from Wimberly, faces life with the chance of parole if convicted.

The night before she was shot, Wimberly, 43, told her boyfriend that a mutual acquaintance was pressuring her to have sex, but that she rebuffed him, Won said.

"I'd rather die than have sex with him," she told Duane Sato. The next day, she was found dead.

Man gets 20 years for manslaughter

A 21-year-old man is facing a minimum 15 years and a maximum 40 years in prison for killing a man and attempting to shoot another in separate incidents last year.

Circuit Judge Victoria Marks yesterday sentenced Tarval Webster to 20 years in prison -- with a mandatory minimum of five years -- for manslaughter in the death of Chih Kai Pan, 19, on Tantalus Lookout. He also received 10 years on a firearms charge.

Webster, charged with second-degree murder in the August 1998 slaying, reached an agreement with the state and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. He would have faced a mandatory life term with the possibility of parole on the murder charge.

Webster allegedly told others Pan had $900 and wanted the money so he shot the Kalani High School graduate, prosecutors said.