Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Chinese Culture Center to celebrate opening
The Chinese Culture Center will celebrate its grand opening tomorrow.It features an activity hall and a 26,000-book library dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat Sen, commonly called the "father of modern China," who lived in Hawaii as a teen and studied at Iolani and Punahou schools.
There will also be an art exhibition hall and a exhibit promoting tourism in Taiwan.
The center will be in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza Shopping Center, formerly known as the Chinese Cultural Plaza, at 100 N. Beretania St.
Longevity International Enterprises Corp. and the United Chinese Society are co-sponsoring the center. Longevity's president, Jack Hai-Lung Huang, said that in addition to $30,000 raised, the center received gifts from individuals and organizations.
The Taiwan National Museum donated replicas of ancient artifacts and clothing. Local artists donated paintings for the art exhibition hall, and antique furniture was loaned to the center by C.S. Li Furnishing Inc.
All of the center's programs are free, and space may be rented for educational and cultural programs.
Activities begin at 2:30 p.m. and will include food booths, traditional Chinese dance and martial arts, a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Jeremy Harris and a dance troupe from the American Chinese Art Society in Boston.
Driving checkpoints to be up all summer
Honolulu police will set up impaired-driver checkpoints at unannounced times and locations throughout the summer, including the July 4th holiday.Speed, alcohol and/or drugs have been contributing factors in 13 of Oahu's 29 traffic collisions this year, which have killed 32 people.
A Big Help
Makiki pool to be first built by city since '77
Ground was broken at Makiki District Park yesterday for a swimming pool, the first to be constructed by the city since 1977.The pool is estimated to cost $3.4 million and will take about a year to complete, according to area Councilman Andy Mirikitani, who helped secure the funding.
It will have eight lanes and a 16-by-20-foot training pool and include lockers, showers, restrooms and office space.
Mayor Jeremy Harris said additional pools will soon be built in Salt Lake, Mililani and Lanakila District Park.
Coast Guard air station has new commander
Capt. Robert Dunn took command of Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in yesterday's change-of-command ceremony at Air Station Barbers Point.He relieved Capt. Roger A. Whorton, whose next assignment is at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Dunn previously served as executive officer of Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento.
Federal grants to fund cops' bulletproof vests
Bullet-resistant vests for officers in three island police departments will be financed in part by federal grants totaling $388,037, according to U.S. Rep. Patsy T. Mink.The Department of Justice is authorized under a 1998 law to provide up to 50 percent of the costs of buying the life-saving vests.
Honolulu will receive $344,922 for 2,054 vests; Kauai, $26,487 for 77 vests; and Maui, $16,628 for 200 vests, Mink said.
In The Courts
Maui man, 33, indicted in false tax-return case
A 33-year-old Maui man was indicted yesterday on 15 counts of aiding others in filing false tax returns.The superseding indictment charges Wenjun Xu with allegedly helping taxpayers file returns seeking refunds based on fictitious and/or nonexistent stock losses, and also inflated or nonexistent itemized deductions and Schedule C business expenses.
Xu was previously charged with conspiring to submit fraudulent visa applications and encouraging aliens to enter the United States unlawfully.
Real estate agent fined for not paying excise tax
Real estate agent Severino Galacgac has pleaded "no contest" for failing to file his general excise tax returns from 1995 to 1998.On Monday at Circuit Court, Judge Karl Sakamoto sentenced Galacgac to pay a $2,000 fine for each of the years he failed to file his annual returns.
The fines total $8,000.
Sakamoto also granted Galacgac a deferred acceptance of his no contest plea.
The deferred acceptance means if Galacgac doesn't violate the law for four years, the conviction would be wiped from his record, said Stephen Hironaka, supervisory criminal tax investigator.
From 1995 to 1998, Galacgac earned more than $518,000 from commissions he received as a Realtor and solicitor of loans, resulting in unpaid general excise taxes of more than $20,000.
Federal grant earmarked for juvenile drug court
A $499,767 federal grant will help implement a juvenile drug court program under the Family Court.U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink said the U.S. Department of Justice initiative will take the form of a 10-month minimum, post-adjudication, treatment-based program for nonviolent juveniles under age 18 and their families.
"Drug courts have a proven record of helping rehabilitate nonviolent drug offenders," said Mink. "Money spent on rehabilitation and prevention is seven times more effective in reducing drug abuse than money spent trying to interdict drugs coming into the country."
The Family Court's juvenile drug court program will coordinate with the Department of Education, local substance-abuse treatment providers, the Teen Court and local sports and recreational service providers.
Correction
Management changes at Halekulani Corp. are effective tomorrow. A "Business Briefs" item yesterday in Hawaii Inc. omitted that information.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Police hunting suspect in Ewa Beach stabbing
The 33-year-old man suspected of stabbing a 44-year-old man in Ewa Beach yesterday was still at large as of this morning.The suspect confronted his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend at a Pohakupuna Road home yesterday at 6:20 a.m., police said. The suspect and the woman have a child together and ended a six-year relationship last year. She has a restraining order against him.
The suspect waited in the garage of the house until the new boyfriend, 44, came out of the house, then stabbed him several times, police said. The suspect fled on a bicycle, which was recovered nearby.
The injured man remains at Queen's Hospital, where his condition is not being released.
Woman arrested, second sought in Aiea attack
Police arrested one woman and are searching for another in connection with the robbery of an Aiea woman yesterday.The woman was at home when she was confronted by two women who accused her of theft at 2:35 p.m., police said. The woman was reportedly beaten and robbed of her purse.
One suspect was apprehended at the scene, police said. No major injuries were reported.
Dig It
Motorcyclist on Big Isle dies in high-speed crash
HILO -- A Big Island motorcyclist was killed yesterday when he rode at high speed into the back of a car on Volcano Highway just south of Hilo, police said. He was identified as Guy M. Quitoriano, 37, of Hilo.Quitoriano and another motorcyclist were heading toward Hilo on their cycles when Quitoriano hit the back of a Suzuki hatchback driven by a 41-year-old Hilo man about 8:51 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m.
The second motorcyclist left the scene. Anyone knowing his identity is asked to call police at 961-2332.
The driver of the hatchback was arrested for drunken driving, no insurance, expired weight tax and safety sticker, and fraudulent license plates. He was released pending further investigation.
Quitoriano's death was the 20th Big Island traffic fatality of the year compared to 10 at the same time last year.
Two suspects arrested in counterfeit cases
Two suspects were arrested yesterday for using counterfeit money.A 59-year-old man was arrested at his home after he presented a fake $20 bill at the Waianae Store, police said. A 30-year-old woman was arrested at the Auahi Street Office Depot after she returned to the same store, where she allegedly presented a counterfeit bill on Tuesday.
