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Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Thursday, February 3, 2000

Seoul, U.S. missile talks
resume here next week

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

High-level South Korea and U.S. State Department officials will meet here next week to resume talks started five years ago that would allow Seoul to extend the range of its missiles.

The two-day talks, which will begin Tuesday at an undisclosed location, will be headed by Song Min-sun, director general at South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, North American Affairs Bureau, and Robert Einhorn, assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation. The last round of talks were held in Seoul in November.

South Korea wants missiles with longer ranges to counter the threat from North Korea. Two years ago, North Korea test-fired a Taepodong missile that is believed to have a range of more than 800 miles. It flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean.

Reports from South Korea indicate Seoul wants to extend the range of its missiles to 300 miles. Under a 1972 agreement the current ceiling is 100 miles.

Cathy Dale, Einhorn's spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said she couldn't say where the Honolulu talks will be and declined to comment on discussion subjects.

"We share the Republic of Korea government's concerns of the threats poised by the missile activities and in our bilateral discussions we have stressed that we will cooperate with the Republic of Korea government to assure adequate Republic of Korea defense and deterrent capabilities."

Rules on saltwater pools soon available

A draft set of rules to regulate saltwater swimming pools should be available for public review within two months, according to state Deputy Health Director Gary Gill.

A Circuit Court judge last year ruled that the state must establish rules pertaining to saltwater swimming facilities such as the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium.

An advisory committee made up of water quality and oceanography experts from the University of Hawaii, government officials and representatives from the pool, spa and hotel industries held its fifth meeting on the issue yesterday.

Gill said a final draft is expected to be completed by the fall and that the Health Department hopes to have rules approved by Gov. Ben Cayetano by the end of the year.

Waikiki water main undergoing repair

Honolulu Board of Water Supply crews were expected to spend most of today repairing a break in an 8-inch water line that closed two lanes of traffic on Kalakaua Boulevard near Fort DeRussy in Waikiki.

The break occurred near Keoniana Place about 3:30 a.m.

Head of Pacific Fleet to pay visit to China

Adm. Dennis Blair, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, will make one of the first visits to China as the two countries resume military relations following the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

China severed relations with the United States after the May 7 incident, in which three persons were killed and 20 injured.

Last week, U.S. and Chinese defense officials met in Washington to work out steps to restore relationships between the two countries.

Gen. Xiong Guangki, the Chinese People's Liberation Army deputy chief of staff, who participated in the talks, also paid a courtesy call on Blair during his Washington visit last week.

Weinberg gift to YMCA to allow land purchase

The historic Waipahu sugar mill smokestack will be preserved, thanks to a $1 million donation today from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation to the Leeward YMCA.

The YMCA said it will use the money to acquire two more acres of the old Oahu Sugar Co. mill site.

The YMCA already owns two acres of the site. About 30 percent of the donation will be used to restore the smokestack, a community landmark, and possibly build a swimming pool and fitness center.

The donation completes the YMCA's capital campaign to fund key improvements to the branch facility.

"This donation is a tremendous gift to the future of the Leeward community," said Don Anderson, president of YMCA of Honolulu. "The Weinberg Foundation is enabling the YMCA to reach more youths and families with our character-building programs while preserving a treasured monument to the plantation-era heritage of Leeward Oahu."

Kamehameha Highway work to begin in March

Work to improve pedestrian accesses along Kamehameha Highway, from Acacia Road in Pearl City to Honomanu Street in Waimalu, will begin in March.

The state Department of Transportation has awarded a $1 million contract to Global Specialty Contractors Inc.

Work will include constructing and reconstructing curb ramps, sidewalks and medians; installing new traffic signal pull boxes and pedestrian push buttons; relocating signs; upgrading bridge railings; installing guardrails and pavement markings; and trimming and removing trees.

Correction City Councilman Mufi Hannemann says he has no intention of running for the state Senate seat held by Norman Mizuguchi, as reported in some editions yesterday.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Big fight erupts
at Campbell High

By Susan Kreifels
Star-Bulletin

Two students were treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released following a fight involving about two dozen students outside the Campbell High School cafeteria yesterday, the principal said today.

Parents of students involved in the fight met with school officials today to work out a plan to prevent further problems, said Principal Louis Vierra. Another meeting will probably be held next week.

Police, who arrived about 12:30 p.m., said some teachers were struck by chairs thrown by students. Vierra said no weapons were found at the school.

The confrontation involving both males and females started last week between two students "looking at each other," Vierra said. Disciplinary action was taken and Vierra had started taking steps to prevent further problems. But students took sides and the fighting erupted yesterday.

Vierra said a group of neighborhood students, who call themselves the Ewa Beach Boys, and some black students were involved in the fight. However, he said no race had been targeted.

"It was not a racial thing, it was a teen-age thing, an attitude thing," Vierra said. "We're talking about teen-age problems where kids get in each other's faces."

Vierra said students were generally calm today, especially after parents got involved, and he explained the incident to the entire school through the public address system.

Police looking for driver in Maui hit-and-run fatality

WAILUKU -- Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a Maui man as he was trying to pick up his moped from a street in a residential neighborhood.

The male driver got out of the car, looked at the victim, then drove away in his vehicle without putting on his lights, police said.

Asa Dutro, 51, died following the crash on Eha Street in Wailuku at 8:30 p.m. last night.

Police are searching for a man with white hair, about 5 foot 6 with a pot belly, driving a sedan made from 1996 to 1998 that has a damaged front grill.

Dutro, a Wailuku resident, was the first traffic fatality on Maui this year, compared with two for the same period last year.

Man who robbed store was armed with pistol

Police are searching for a suspect who robbed a convenience store in Wahiawa yesterday.

A man entered the Kilani Avenue store, brandished a semi- automatic pistol and demanded money from the owner at 10:50 a.m., police said.

He grabbed the money in the cash register, stuffed it into a brown bag and ran away.

He was wearing a long-sleeved black jacket. He is about 5 foot 5 with a slim to medium build.