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Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Wednesday, March 8, 2000

3 high school students in running for ed board

Three high school juniors are in the running for a seat on the state Board of Education.

Finalists are Big Island students Mason Donald of Kealakehe High School and Joel Samuels of Hilo High School, and Oahu student Matthew McLane of Leilehua High School.

Elections began Friday and will continue until March 17. The winner will be announced in early April and will take office in July for a term ending June 30, 2001.

The student on the Board of Education is a nonvoting member. This is the third year that the Hawaii State Student Council has conducted the statewide election. The council is hoping that 50,000 students will vote.

Charges dropped against Rothman

Criminal charges have been dropped against Edward "Fast Eddie" Rothman, who was accused of breaking into a man's North Shore home and beating him up in November.

Deputy Prosecutor Victor Bakke said there was "insufficient evidence" to pursue charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree extortion and kidnapping against Rothman, 50. The charges were all dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can refile charges in the future if circumstances warrant.

Rothman's attorney, Michael Green, said he understood there were problems with the credibility of witnesses. The victim also had relocated to the mainland, Bakke said.

Rothman was indicted in December for barging into the Sunset Beach home of Phillip Koontz, demanding title to a truck owned by Koontz's friend and beating him up. Rothman also allegedly threatened to kill Koontz's sister, girlfriend and cousin if he didn't turn over the truck's "pink slip."

Rothman was acquitted in the late 1980s of running a cocaine distribution ring on the North Shore. At the time, he headed the "Black Shorts" surf group, also known as Hui O He'e Nalu, which prosecutors alleged was engaged in extorting North Shore surf meet promoters and film directors.

State to brief residents on Kalakaua walkway

The State Department of Transportation will brief residents on plans for a new pedestrian walkway on the Kalakaua Bridge.

The community briefing, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Tapa Ballroom, will also focus on H-1 freeway projects.

Members of the Board of Water Supply, City Department of Transportation Services and City Department of Design and Construction will also present construction projects involving the area.

Sen. Carol Fukunaga, Sen. Les Ihara, Rep. Galen Fox and Council member Duke Bainum will be at the briefing to answer questions.

Contemporary Museum will receive award

The local chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects will present the Contemporary Museum with the Medallion Award at a special ceremony Friday.

The award honors landscapes that improve the quality of life in communities throughout the nation. Special recognition will go to advising landscape designer Leland Miyano and TCM Building and grounds supervisor Garry Kaaihue and his staff.

Corrections Linda L. Vargo's boat is moored in the middle section of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor. A story Friday said incorrectly that her vessel was in a front-row slip. Theora Nakihei, who was killed in a pickup truck accident on Maui, was a Baldwin High School student, not a Maui High School student as reported yesterday in an article about a rally by delegates to a Mothers Against Drunk Driving youth summit.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Salt Lake man, 57, dies from 1999 accident

A 57-year-old Salt Lake man, injured last Nov. 9 in a motor vehicle incident on Ala Aolani in Moanalua, died Sunday.

Police said Jerry Takata's death will be counted as a 1999 traffic fatality, increasing Oahu's total last year to 47.

The medical examiner's office, meanwhile, is still awaiting confirmation before releasing the name of a man killed early Saturday morning when he lost control of his pickup truck and slammed head-on into another vehicle on Kaukonahua Road.

Eleven people have been killed on Oahu's roadways this year. The total includes five pedestrians, five motorists and a motorcycle operator.

Women hurt in collisions still in critical condition

Two women, ages 71 and 53, injured in separate motor vehicle collisions Sunday and Monday, remain in critical condition at Queen's Hospital.

The older woman was a passenger in a 1999 Toyota Corolla involved in a 2:30 p.m. collision with another car Sunday at the intersection of Luawai Street and Pahoa Avenue.

The other woman was injured Monday when her car crashed into a tree at 6:12 p.m. on Lanikuhana Avenue near Meheula Parkway in Mililani.

Downtown fight leads to man's assault arrest

Police arrested a 38-year-old man last night for allegedly attacking another man downtown yesterday.

The two men know each other and were involved in an argument near King Street and Fort Street Mall which escalated into a physical fight at 6:40 p.m., police said. The suspect punched the 50-year-old man several times.

The older man hit his head on the curb as he fell to the ground. He was treated at Straub Hospital for a head wound.

According to police, the suspect was detained by security and later arrested for assault.