Teamsters, Times 'moving closer' to deal
Times Super Market meat cutters are in the fourth day of picketing today outside 13 Oahu stores as representatives of their union and the company continue labor negotiations.Times personnel manager Clifford Hayashi said talks were expected to resume at noon today with Hawaii Teamsters Local 996. "We've kept the talks going. We're moving closer together."
Hayashi said a pension issue has been resolved, and wages remain the key subject.
He said the stores remain open, and "we are working with our vendors to bring product in."
Local 996 President Mel Kahele was not available to comment. The union offices were closed for the Thanksgiving weekend.
The union represents 105 meat cutters who set up picket lines Wednesday. Their labor contract expired at midnight Tuesday.
Ill cruise passenger airlifted to hospital
A cruise ship passenger who was stricken while at sea is in Hilo Hospital after being airlifted yesterday aboard a Coast Guard helicopter.Clayton Wilkie, 79, was in critical condition last night, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The liner Staatendam was about 500 miles from the Big Island Wednesday when Wilkie became ill. He was suffering from abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding and an irregular heartbeat, according to a Coast Guard release.
The ship increased speed until it came within the flying range of the HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter. The gap had closed to 150 miles when Wilkie was hoisted up from the deck at 2 p.m. yesterday.
He boarded the ship in San Diego, bound for a stop at Kailua-Kona.
Peters still waiting to take the stand
Repair may hamper Kapolei water flow
Kapolei residents may experience low or no water pressure between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday while Board of Water Supply and other crews fix a broken valve to a water main.Crews will repair a 12-inch gate valve at Kealanani Street and Farrington Highway that was damaged during the recent road expansion of the highway.
Residents are warned there is a possibility that low or no water pressure may affect water availability.
For more information, call Delta Construction at 682-1315 or the Board of Water Supply at 527-5206.
HPD TV show to focus on unsolved murder
An unsolved murder will be among the featured topics on "Inside HPD," a 30-minute Honolulu police TV show that will air 7:30 p.m. today on KITV.The murder victim is 8-year-old Roiti Dias, who was killed in 1980.
Other features in the show include a look at HPD's museum, the JPO program and the reasons why police have to shut down streets and highways while investigating a traffic fatality.
Lane closures to affect Harding Avenue, H-1
Harding Avenue lane closures begin Monday in Kaimuki.A Koko Head-bound lane past Kapahulu Avenue will be closed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for roadwork.
An H-1 freeway lane also will be closed beginning Monday for resurfacing under a $3.7 million Grace Pacific Corp. contract.
The H-1 Waianae-bound left lane from the Waikele Stream Bridge to the Kunia Interchange will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Work includes reconstructing weakened pavement areas, resurfacing, and constructing gutters, culverts and drainage structures.
It also includes replacing signs and reflector markers and installing pavement markings, a highway lighting system and guardrails.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Moped driver critically injured when hit by car
A 32-year-old man on a moped was critically injured when he was hit by a car yesterday near Punchbowl.The moped driver was heading east on Iolani Avenue when he was struck by a westbound car making a left turn onto Queen Emma Street at 7:42 p.m., police said.
He was taken to Queen's Hospital with head injuries.
Man rams wife's car at eatery drive-through
Police have arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly ramming his wife's car.The woman, 27, drove to the Wahiawa Jack in the Box after an argument with her husband, police said. While in the drive-through lane, she was rammed by her husband at 2:05 a.m.
She drove away, but he slammed into her again on a nearby street, police said. He was arrested a short time later.
Police seek suspect in Waipahu shooting
Police have released a photograph of a man they are seeking for questioning in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Gercel C. Ong of Waipahu last Saturday during a car chase.Edwin Alexandre Kim, 23, is 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information can call police Detective Allan Castro at 529-3166 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
Ong was shot in the chest while in a car with friends. The shot was fired from one of three vehicles that chased and surrounded his car on Fort Weaver Road near Renton Road at 12:54 a.m.
Police said the incident began with an altercation between the two groups in Ewa Beach.
The Courts
Maximum sentence given in welfare fraud
A woman convicted of welfare fraud received a maximum 10-year sentence after Circuit Judge Sandra Simms revoked probation yesterday.Arieta Ato and co-defendant Falelatai Talili each received five-years' probation for welfare fraud Jan. 6, 1997.
Attorney General Earl Anzai said the state asked for resentencing of Ato and Talili because they failed to live up to terms and conditions of their probation. The attorney general's office did not specify the terms Ato failed to carry out.
A revocation hearing for Talili will be held Jan. 18.
Anzai hailed the court, saying it recognized the seriousness of the case in imposing the maximum sentence for Ato. Talili and Ato were convicted of welfare fraud in making false representations about their living arrangements.
Under terms and conditions of their probation, Talili and Ato were ordered to pay $38,381 in restitution, maintain gainful employment or educational or vocational training, perform 100 hours of community service and undergo drug and/or alcohol testing.
"The true victims of this crime are the honest public assistance recipients and the taxpayers of the state," Anzai said.
"This conviction reflects well on the hard work of our deputies and the Department of Human Services investigators to address the problem of welfare fraud."
State Judiciary 'well-prepared' for Y2K
As of Sept. 30, the state Judiciary is Y2K compliant, said Michael Broderick, administrative director of the courts.The Judiciary operates five case management systems:
The Hawaii Judicial Information System manages records of the Circuit Court and adult Family Court cases statewide.
All other computer systems that deal with juror selection, financial accounting, payroll and employee status have been tested, modified and tested again, said Broderick. "As a result, we believe that technologically, the Judiciary is well-prepared as we approach Jan. 1, 2000."
