Judge Chang accepts Wong's resignation
A state judge has accepted the permanent resignation of former Bishop Estate chairman Richard "Dickie" Wong.Probate Judge Kevin Chang finalized Wong's resignation yesterday, saying it is "in the best interest of the trust."
Wong resigned as a $1 million-a-year trustee of the Bishop Estate yesterday, avoiding a six-week trial over his permanent removal, which was scheduled to begin next week.
Chang removed Wong on an interim basis in May after the Internal Revenue Service threatened to revoke the trust's tax-exempt status.
Janice Cockett asks to be freed from prison
A Honolulu woman serving a life term for murdering her husband is asking to be released so she can pursue her case further.Janice Cockett yesterday filed a writ of habeas corpus in federal court here, calling her imprisonment "unconstitutional."
Cockett was convicted in 1995 of killing her husband Frank, a Habilitat executive whose body was found in the trunk of his car at Ala Moana Center in 1986.
In her petition, Cockett contends she was denied the right to confront her accuser and to cross-examine him.
The petition says her previous attorneys failed to object to hearsay testimony, which became the basis for the state's case and prejudiced the jury.
Cockett is serving a life term in an Oklahoma prison with the possibility of parole.
Harris announces Cabinet changes
Mayor Jeremy Harris announced a number of Cabinet changes yesterday.Jan Naoe Sullivan is stepping down Jan. 2 as the director of the Department of Planning and Permitting to return to private law practice.
Sullivan joined the Cabinet in 1997 when Harris named her land use director.
Sullivan will be replaced by Randall Fujiki, who currently heads the city's Department of Design and Construction.
Fujiki's replacement will be Gary Yee, who is an executive assistant to Managing Director Ben Lee.
Brewer Environmental revises response plan
Brewer Environmental Industries, which spilled 35 tons of sulfuric acid on Thanksgiving Day at Campbell Industrial Park near Kapolei, announced a number of improvements to its emergency response plan.In a press release sent out yesterday, the company said the revised plan will include a clearer description of requirements to work with public response agencies, including the Honolulu Fire Department and Department of Health.
Employees and representatives from public agencies will be trained in emergency response conditions.
Training will include protective clothing employees should wear, and equipment they should use to clean up spills.
Respirators and other critical equipment will be inspected more frequently. And emergency drills will be held between Brewer employees and public response agencies, according to the company
Clarification
NoeNoe Silva is an assistant professor of Hawaiian language at the University of Hawaii-Manoa and not a Hawaiian historian, as stated in a story Tuesday.
Corrections
Alissa Masutani of Iolani School produced yesterday's "Moke an Ornament." An incorrect name was listed in an early edition.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Man faces deportation for alleged Viagra sales
A Japanese national may be deported for allegedly selling the anti-impotence drug Viagra illegally.The state turned Hideyuki Kubota, 36, over to the U.S. Immigration Service following his arrest for operating a pharmacy without a license and money laundering.
Kubota reportedly sold over 5,000 Viagra tablets in the past year, realizing a monthly income of about $7,000, the state Department of Public Safety said.
Narcotics investigators began checking on him in July after the U.S. Customs Service disclosed Kubota's company, Zodiac International on Iolani Avenue, was illegally sending Viagra to Japan.
Investigators said they discovered evidence in a Tuesday search of the business and Kubota's Hawaii Kai home confirming sale of Viagra to customers in Japan and in Hawaii.
About $17,500 in Kubota's local bank accounts was seized. About $7,000 worth of computer and other electronic equipment also was seized for state forfeiture action.
Student, 18, may have threatened 'Columbine'
A Kaiser High School student was questioned by police yesterday after he allegedly told another student, "I'm going to pull a Columbine."The boy, 18, was not arrested but could be charged later as an adult for first-degree terroristic threatening.
The alleged threat was reported yesterday at 2:30 p.m.
Man, 28, charged with kidnapping, robbery
A 28-year-old man was charged yesterday for kidnapping and robbing another man Oct. 31 at the Waiakamilo Shopping Center in Kalihi.George Siamani, who is being held at Oahu Community Correctional Center for an unrelated offense, was identified through information developed from CrimeStoppers tips.
Bail for Siamani is $50,000.
Police seek missing Korean woman, 31
In Chin McDonald, a missing 31-year-old Korean woman, was at Neal Blaisdell Park in Pearl City between 9 and 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 21, police said.No one has seen her since.
She arrived at the park in a white van, police said.
McDonald's handbag was found near the shoreline at the park the next morning.
Anyone with information is asked to call HPD's Missing Persons Detail (529-2294) or CrimeStoppers (955-8300).
