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City Councilman and mayoral candidate Mufi Hannemann has challenged rivals Mayor Jeremy Harris and former Mayor Frank Fasi to a series of debates. Fasi scoffs, Harris accepts
challenge from Hannemann
for 'lively' debatesReaction was swift yesterday.
"Mufi is desperate for some publicity, I guess," said former Mayor Fasi.
"The mayor's happy to debate any viable candidate running for mayor," said Harris spokeswoman Carol Costa.
Hannemann says such debates will give voters a better idea of where each candidate stands on issues of importance and goals they plan to pursue if elected.
"Lively, face-to-face discussions of the issues always generates interest," Hannemann said. "Voters deserve the opportunity to hear the mayoral candidates describe their plans for Honolulu's future."
Fasi said he's been asked when he will really be coming out, and he refers to an old saying: "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Fasi is about to take aim.
"Right now the whites of their eyes are beginning to come into focus," he said. "Then I will fire."
Hannemann and everyone knows there will be many opportunities for the three candidates to come together in debate, Fasi said. Some media already have proposed joint debates, the former mayor said.
Honolulu Airport to get new safety equipment
A new radar system to help prevent runway collisions at night and during bad weather is expected at Honolulu Airport in about two years, said Robert Rabideau, Honolulu air traffic manager for the Federal Aviation Administration.It will provide extra ground safety when visibility is poor by giving air traffic controllers precise positions of planes on the ground during takeoffs and landings, Rabideau said. Currently, controllers must locate the planes by sight after the pilots report their positions.
"Because our weather is not that bad, we haven't had to have (a ground radar system). But at night, it's difficult to see the planes," Rabideau said.
Honolulu is one of 25 airports slated to receive the new radar equipment, ASDE-X. A similar system, ASDE-3 ground surveillance radar, now provides similar protection at 34 of the nation's busiest airports.
Teacher draws prison in molestation case
A Circuit Court judge has sentenced a Mililani Mauka teacher to five years in prison for molesting an 11-year-old girl.Kevin Kurasaki, 37, faced up to 20 years in jail. But under a plea agreement approved by the victim's family, Kurasaki pleaded guilty to 11 counts of third-degree sexual assault, which carries a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment.
Kurasaki apologized in court yesterday to the victim and her family, the Mililani Mauka community and to his friends and family. "I pray, with God's help, all of us will move on and make the right choices in life," he said.
But Judge Virginia Crandall criticized statements he made in a pre-sentence report in which he said he had been punished enough by losing his job and car.
"What you took from this child is greater than any punishment you will get from the criminal justice system," Crandall told him.
The molestations occurred from December 1998 to March 1999, including one incident at the school, prosecutors say.
Former Portlock pair to serve life for murder
A mother and her 25-year-old son each were sentenced to more than 120 years in prison for murdering a wealthy Manhattan widow in an attempt to steal her $7 million Upper East Side townhouse.Former Portlock residents Sante Kimes, 66, and her son, Kenneth, were found guilty of second-degree murder in the 1998 killing of Irene Silverman, 82. Silverman's body was never found.
The Kimeses also were convicted of robbery, fraud, eavesdropping and other charges. Sante Kimes was sentenced today to 120 years to life; her son, to 125 and one third years to life. The pair were convicted in May after a 13-week trial in New York.
Health officials cite dry cleaning plant
The Department of Health has filed a complaint and order against Caesars Cleaners for violating state hazardous waste rules at its Kaneohe production facility. The facility faces a $138,945 penalty.Caesars was also cited for operating a hazardous waste storage facility without a permit, failure to properly label hazardous waste containers, failure to certify that storage tanks were designed and installed properly, and failure to provide secondary containment for a new hazardous waste tank system. Caesars has 20 days to comply with state rules.
Legislature to shut Web site over holiday
The state Legislature will close its Web site over the Fourth of July weekend as a preventative measure.The governor's site was hacked Fourth of July weekend last year and the Legislature's Web site was attacked over the Memorial Day weekend.
The site will close Friday at 5 p.m. It will reopen Monday at 8 a.m. and close again on July 4 until 8 a.m. next Wednesday.
Corrections
As referenced in Joanne Bretschneider's Saturday letter to the editor, the correct Web site address for the Voter Integrity Project is http://www.voting-integrity.org.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Knife-wielding man robs K-Bay Drive gas station
Police were searching for a man who robbed a Windward gas station this morning.The suspect approached the cashier at the Chevron at 45-463 Kaneohe Bay Drive armed with a large hunting knife at 1:57 a.m., police said. He grabbed money from the cash register and ran.
He is described as in his 20s, 5- feet-8, 170 pounds with a medium build, tan complexion and black hair. He was wearing a blue cap, blue and white aloha shirt, jeans and beige slippers.
Card-game argument ends in stabbing
Police were investigating a stabbing yesterday in Kalihi.Two men, 40 and 41, were arguing during a card game at a 1687 Hauiki Street home when the younger man reportedly stabbed the other man in the upper chest with a knife at 11:10 a.m., police said.
The suspect ran away and has not been apprehended. The injured man was admitted to Kuakini Hospital where he is in stable condition. The case has been classified as an attempted murder.
Car-bus collision kills driver on Kauai
LIHUE -- A Kauai man was killed late yesterday when the car he was driving hit a Kauai County bus and burst into flames, Kauai police said today.None of the six people aboard the bus were seriously injured. Officers said the collision on King Kaumualii Highway east of Waimea took place in heavy rain and poor visibility at 6:44 pm.
Man killed in Sunday's H-1 crash identified
The 31-year-old man killed in Sunday's crash on the H-1 Freeway in Pearl City has been identified by the medical examiner's office as Shane Hirosane.Hirosane, of Kaneohe, was headed east on the H-1 near the Kaamilo Street overpass when he lost control and struck a guard rail, police said. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from his pickup truck.
Accused bank robber goes to federal court
The man accused of robbing two Windward banks last week made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday.Rudy Schenkel, 46, is suspected of robbing the Kailua and Kaneohe branches of Central Pacific Bank on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Schenkel was arrested at his Kailua home Friday night after CrimeStoppers received several calls from the public, identifying him as the bank robber, Detective Letha DeCaires said. He was also positively identified by the tellers at both banks.
Corpse found in Wainiha
LIHUE -- Kauai Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in Wainiha on Kauai's north shore shortly after 8 p.m. last night.Kauai Police Lt. Bill Ching said the 47-year-old man, a long-time resident,was found dead in his home on Powerhouse Road and had been shot.
Ching said this morning that he was waiting for crime scene technicians from Honolulu before examining the body.
