Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Kauai cave critters on endangered list
LIHUE -- Two blind cave animals that live only in lava tubes in a small portion of Kauai have been added to the endangered species list, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced yesterday.The Kauai cave wolf spider and the Kauai amphipod exist in a predator-prey relationship only in the area of Koloa, in the southeast corner of the island. Only three populations of the spider and five populations of the amphipod -- which most resembles a shrimp and feeds on decaying vegetable matter -- have been found.
Both were discovered in 1971 in areas where no cave animals were expected to exist. Kauai County last year voluntarily decided to move a road-building project to avoid disturbing their habitat.
Volcanoes Park ranger awarded for education
HILO --The Hawaii Environmental Education Association has named Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ranger Mardie Lane winner of its 1999 Award of Excellence in Environmental Education.Lane was recognized for environmental education going back to the early 1980s, including programs that host 10,000 schoolchildren at Hawaii Volcanoes every year.
In recent years she has brought attention to the potential destructiveness of rabbits running loose in park forests, wild cats preying on ground-nesting petrels, and dog attacks on nene.
Lane received a degree as a registered nurse from the University of Hawaii in 1974, and earned a degree in park management and environmental education from the University of Oregon in 1977.
Prostate cancer test urged for black men
The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Coalition has joined a national effort to encourage African-American males to get tested for prostate cancer.Doctors will be available to answer questions about prostate cancer at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Unity Rally from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at Kapiolani Park.
According to the American Cancer Society, African-American males have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world, and their mortality rates are more than twice as high as Caucasian men.
Men over 50 and those with a family history of prostate cancer are also at higher risk for the disease.
Waialae Ave. lane to be closed for curb work
A lane will be closed on Waialae Avenue between 19th and 21st avenues Tuesday and Wednesday.The left Hawaii Kai-bound lane will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for curb work.
Motorists are advised to use caution and allow for extra travel time.
Hanauma Bay needs cleanup volunteers
The Friends of Hanauma Bay is asking for volunteers to help clean the beach, park and other areas from 8:30 to 11 a.m. tomorrow.Volunteers should meet in the Hanauma Bay upper picnic area near the parking lot, where they will receive work assignments and garbage bags.
Residents should bring a photo ID to avoid paying the beach access fee. For more information, call 395-1217.
Clarification
The Hawaii Medical Service Association Foundation expects to award $1.2 million this year for community projects, including a substantial amount to improve the health of Hawaii's children. The total provided for the Child Health Initiative will depend on the number of applications approved for grants of $50,000 to $150,000 per year for three years. This clarifies a story that ran Tuesday.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Mother falls down stairs; son faces felony charge
Police have arrested and charged a Kaneohe man for allegedly assaulting his 69-year-old mother and causing her to fall down a flight of stairs.Walter Holua, 32, was charged with felony domestic abuse and second-degree terroristic threatening, police said. He is being held on $50,000 bail.
Holua and his mother were arguing at their home yesterday when he beat her, causing her to fall down the stairs at 11:46 a.m., police said. She suffered bruises to her left hip.
Holua was charged with felony domestic abuse because he has at least two previous domestic violence arrests.
In an unrelated case, a 32-year-old Nanakuli man was arrested yesterday for allegedly threatening to kill his father with a knife. The son was booked for first-degree terroristic threatening. No injuries were reported.
Rescuers rip open car to reach crash victim
Fire crews extracted a man who was trapped in his car this morning following a crash near Pearl Harbor.The man, 43, was pinned inside his car after another vehicle broadsided him on Center Drive and Kamehameha Highway at 4:16 a.m., a fire captain said.
Fire crews used a tool commonly referred to "the jaws of life" to rip open the top of his car and pry open the doors. The man was taken to Queen's Hospital in critical condition.The other driver was not injured.
Man chases, kidnaps teen, takes her car
Police arrested a 21-year-old man yesterday in connection with a robbery-kidnapping in Nanakuli on Tuesday.The suspect's former girlfriend, 16, reported she was driving in Nanakuli when a car started to follow her, police said. She kept driving but was blocked at a dead end on Laiku Place.
The suspect jumped out and ordered her out of the car, according to police.
When she refused, he reportedly grabbed her by the hair and forced her out of the driver's seat and into the passenger seat. He then got into the car and drove off.
She reported the incident a short time later.The man was booked for second-degree robbery, kidnapping and auto theft.
'Mr. Jameson' preys on seniors' bank worries
Police and First Hawaiian Bank are warning the public about a scam artist targeting senior citizens.The unknown suspect calls senior citizens and identifies himself as a bank manager named "Mr. Jameson." He asks people to check their bank statements and informs them money is missing from their account.
Police said complaints about "Mr. Jameson" go back as far as the early 1980s.
Two complaints were reported this week. Anyone with information may call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
