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Gov vetoes tax break for call centers
Saying it would have cost the state $62.8 million annually, Gov. Ben Cayetano has vetoed a bill that would have exempted call centers from the state general excise and public service company taxes.Cayetano said the bill is unfair because "it does not provide the same rate of credit to all taxpayers.
"It provides the greatest tax benefits to taxpayers with the largest financial resources, providing them with a credit that is 500 percent greater than the credit available to those taxpayers with more limited resources."
Hawaii girl advances in national spelling bee
WASHINGTON -- Hawaii's Heidi Maeda correctly spelled "amethysts" -- the plural of a word meaning a clear purple or bluish violet variety of crystallized quartz -- and advanced today in the 2000 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.The first two rounds claimed 49 of the first 124 contestants.
69 to graduate into police force
Sixty-five men and four women will become Honolulu's newest police officers at a graduation ceremony tonight at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall.The 133rd student officer training course is the largest recruit class since the 1970s.
Clarification
Federal Judge Martin Pence presided over the bankruptcy phase of Ronald Rewald's court case. A story and photo caption in some editions yesterday indicated incorrectly that he presided over the entire case.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Fire destroys one Aiea home, damages another
Six fire companies responded to a structure fire at 99-241 Ohialomi Place that caused an estimated $275,000 damage to two homes last night.The 9:15 p.m. blaze was brought under control within 20 minutes and extinguished at 9:58 p.m.
A 49-year-old woman, her two daughters, ages 23 and 21, and three friends were inside the single-story three-bedroom home.
They all escaped unhurt, but the home was a total loss.
An adjacent home at 99-239 Ohialomi Place was also damaged.
When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting through the roof. The cause remains under investigation.
The Red Cross is assisting the victims.
Teen thrown from pickup in critical care on Maui
WAILUKU -- A 17-year-old Hana boy was in critical condition this morning at Maui Memorial Medical Center after being ejected from the bed of a pickup truck in Hana.James Ribillia was riding in the pickup heading northeast on Waikaloa Road when it crossed the center line, struck an embankment and rolled over several times, said traffic investigator Sgt. Victor Ramos. The accident occurred about 2:20 p.m.
Ramos said police were investigating whether speed and alcohol had contributed to the accident.
Mikela Akoi, 16, another rear-bed passenger, was confined overnight and released from the hospital today.
The 17-year-old male driver and another teen, a front-seat passenger, were treated for minor injuries and released yesterday.
Kids drown at Waikiki and in Kailua pool
A 17-month-old boy apparently drowned in a family pool in Kailua yesterday, and a 3-year-old California girl died after being pulled from waters off Kuhio Beach in Waikiki.Firefighters responded to a 10:52 a.m. call to a Ilikupono Street home near Kalaheo High School after the baby was found at the bottom of the pool by family members.
Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at Castle Hospital.
A 4:17 p.m. call brought firefighters to the beach across from the Hawaiian Regent Hotel where lifeguards were attempting to revive a girl.
She was listed in critical condition and died at Kapiolani Hospital.
The girl had gone to the beach with her father and two sisters, firefighters said.
Pacific Palisades man gives up after standoff
Police arrested a 19-year-old Pacific Palisades man armed with a kitchen knife yesterday after a nearly four-hour standoff.The man and his 68-year-old father got in an argument at home, at 2235 Auhuhu St., and the son threatened to burn the house down, a detective said. After Pearl City police arrived, the son went into his bedroom and refused to come out.
Officers from the Specialized Services Division and police negotiators responded, and eventually the man was talked into surrendering.
He was taken to Castle Hospital for observation.
The standoff lasted from about 10:25 a.m. until about 2:15 p.m., police said.
Makaha teen arrested after family cars bashed
A 16-year-old Makaha boy was arrested yesterday after he apparently damaged several of his family's cars and threatened to kill his mother.The two were arguing at about 5:30 p.m. when the son became enraged and punched the walls of the Kaulaili Road home and went outside and smashed the windshields of three cars with a baseball bat, police said.
He then allegedly threatened to kill his mother and burn down the house.
