Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Wednesday, December 15, 1999

Millennium Moments

Princeville's prince

WITH so many princes in Hawaii's history, just which royal member was Princeville on Kauai named after?

The young Prince Albert, Ka Hoku o Hawaii, the son of Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, who visited the area with his parents in 1860, according to "Place Names of Hawaii" by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert and Esther T. Mookini.

The site was a coffee and sugar plantation owned by Robert Crichton Wyllie, a Scottish doctor who was foreign minister to Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

The plantation, however, would outsurvive its namesake: The young prince died in 1862 at age 4.

Princeville later became a cattle ranch. In 1968, it was sold for development and today is a resort destination in Hanalei.

Wyllie himself is the namesake of a street in Nuuanu, the authors say. His home, Rosebank, sat on Nuuanu Avenue opposite the present-day Wyllie Street, with Nuuanu Stream at its back.

Judge won't reinstate sex-assault charge

Sex-assault charges dropped against local theater actor and director Gary Anderson will not be reinstated.

Anderson was accused of subduing three Waikiki prostitutes with a stun gun and raping them on separate occasions between September 1997 and January 1998.

Circuit Judge Richard Perkins yesterday denied the state's motion to reconsider his earlier decision dismissing four charges with prejudice after one of the woman failed to show up for trial last week.

Deputy Prosecutor Paul Wong had opposed the dismissal, saying the woman indicated she will testify, but fails to keep a regular calendar. Yesterday, the woman failed to show up on time again.

Anderson is scheduled to go to trial in April on 10 remaining sex assault charges involving another of the women.

Schools reorganization may go into 2nd phase

State Superintendent Paul LeMahieu's reorganization plan may soon head into a second phase.

Members of LeMahieu's staff briefed a Board of Education committee yesterday on the status of plans to revamp state Department of Education offices.

The first phase entails consolidating all personnel, business and administrative computer functions under the Division of Administrative Support, and curriculum and educational technology functions under the Division of Learner, Teacher and School Support.

There currently are four state offices.

Thomas Yamashita, director of the management analysis and compliance office, told the board's Support Services Committee that the state has given LeMahieu clearance to proceed with the next phase, focusing on district officers.

Fire in Salt Lake blamed on children playing with matches

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
A fire in the penthouse of a 13-story apartment building at 801
Ala Nioi Place appears to have been caused by children playing
with matches. The fire at 8:30 p.m. caused $70,000 worth of damage.
It took firefighters, above, about 14 minutes to bring the fire under
control. Five children, from 1 to 8 years old, and their grandmother
and grandfather were home when the blaze broke out. Residents of
the Lake View Royal apartments in Salt Lake, left, were evacuate
from the condominium during the fire. The family sitting in the
foreground is from the burned-out penthouse 3 unit.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

2 suspects surrender in injury of policeman

Two men suspected of driving a car that hit a police officer in Kaimuki Sunday turned themselves in to police last night.

Police said the men were believed to be occupants of the brown Honda that fled the scene of an arrest near Sierra Drive off Waialae Avenue and hit an officer.

A 21-year-old Kahaluu man and a 24-year-old Ahuimanu man turned themselves in at police headquarters at 10:53 p.m. They face first-degree attempted murder charges.

The officer, 33, was treated at Queen's Hospital for a bruised leg and released.

Auto crash near Kapolei kills Waianae woman

A 47-year-old woman died yesterday in a head-on collision on Farrington Highway about a half mile from Palehua Road near Kapolei, police said.

The medical examiner's office identified her as Lolita Batalon of Waianae. Police said the death occurred when a 1989 Honda driven by a 26-year-old man drifted over a double solid yellow line and collided with Batalon's 1989 Toyota at about 4:30 p.m.

Batalon, who suffered multiple head and chest injuries, died at the scene, police said.

The male driver was taken by helicopter to Queen's Hospital in critical condition, with head, chest and leg injuries, police said.

They said speed did not appear to be a factor, and it was not known whether alcohol might have been involved. A negligent homicide investigation is under way.

Pedestrian critically hurt when struck by truck

A 34-year-old man was critically injured when he was struck by a pickup truck while crossing the street near the Nimitz Highway Kmart last night.

The pedestrian was crossing Nimitz Highway near Sumner Street when he was struck by the Ewa-bound 1990 Dodge Dakota pickup at 9:27 p.m., police said. Police said the pedestrian may have been under the influence of alcohol and was not in a marked crosswalk.

In other news ...

A man was hospitalized early today in Enchanted Lake when he attempted to alert residents of a fire set by an arsonist. The man cut his arm when he broke out a window at the Akumu Street home, police said.

Fire investigators determined the 12:15 a.m. blaze was maliciously set in a washroom, causing $5,000 damage.

Police arrested a man in connection with Monday's holdup at the Mililani American Savings Bank. The suspect was apprehended in Waikiki at 7:25 p.m. yesterday, police said.

Fire officials were investigating the cause of a Wailuku fire that did an estimated $48,000 damage to a home and its contents at 1007 Alakai St. in Waiehu.