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Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Friday, October 6, 2000

Hawaiian group against Akaka
bill to hold Sunday rally
at Magic Island

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By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

A group that vehemently opposed passage of the Akaka bill during the weeklong congressional hearings in Honolulu this summer is holding a Sunday rally at Ala Moana Park.

Henry Noa, communications director of the Reinstated Hawaiian Government/Nation, said pro-independence groups will gather from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Ala Moana Park's Magic Island to discuss native rights and what would happen to them under the legislation.

Noa said the rally - "We are Hawaiians, not Native Americans" - is a chance to provide some objection to the Akaka bill as it awaits passage in the U.S. Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill last month.

"We basically oppose the bill because it claims our identity," Noa said.

Group members opposed the Akaka measure during hearings in late August and early September, and prompted warnings from U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye to hecklers.

Time is running out this session to get the Akaka bill passed, although Hawaii's congressional delegation remains optimistic it can get approved before Congress adjourns this month.

TheBus drivers, others
approve new contract

Members of Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996 have voted to ratify a three-year contract with substantial pay increases and improved pension benefits for bus drivers and maintenance and clerical workers.

"The members have spoken loud and clear," said Local 996 President Mel Kahele after the 929-118 vote was announced.

The new pension provision means some drivers will be able to retire with a monthly income of $2,400 a month, not including Social Security, he said.

Oahu Transit Services employees came close to striking before agreeing Sept. 23 to go back to the bargaining table.

The new contract gives drivers a 50-cent-an-hour pay raise each year. After the third-year increase, a journeyman bus driver will earn $21.17 an hour, an increase of 7.6 percent over the pay scale in the old contract. The company's pension fund contribution also will increase to $3 an hour, from the current $1.28 an hour, by the end of the third year to finance hefty pension increases.

Anti-fraud bills include letting citizens sue

The public would have more incentive to disclose information about fraudulent activity involving city money under a measure being introduced by Councilman Duke Bainum.

The bill would allow a "qui tam" action, or citizen's lawsuit, to be filed by private individuals against people they believe have defrauded the city. Any proceeds recovered would be shared by the city and an individual successfully winning such an action.

Bainum said he hoped the bill would help prevent a repeat of the Ewa Villages scandal, which saw two city housing employees mastermind the theft and fraud of $5.6 million from a city commercial relocation fund.

A similar measure approved at the Legislature earlier this year would apply to state-related fraud and theft activity.

Meanwhile, City Council chairman Jon Yoshimura and Councilman Andy Mirikitani have introduced legislation to establish an independent city auditor's office, with functions similar to those of state Auditor Marion Higa.

Yoshimura's bill would have the Council choose the auditor. The Mirikitani proposal calls for an elected auditor. Both would require an amendment to the City Charter that would need to be approved by Oahu voters.

Home fire drills urged Wednesday

The Honolulu Fire Department is encouraging Oahu residents to conduct a home fire drill at 6 p.m. Wednesday during Fire Prevention Week.

Once a fire occurs, it's too late to start developing an escape plan, firefighters say.

In the United States, 88 percent of all fire deaths occur in home fires.

Some fire safety tips:

Every level of a house should have a smoke detector, and the batteries should be tested every month. Change the batteries at least once a year.

Family members should know and practice escape routes.

Practice feeling your way out of the house with your eyes closed.

Have a flashlight and whistle available.

Escape first and then call 911.

Never open doors that are hot to the touch.

Teach your family to stop, drop to the ground and roll if their clothes are on fire.

Designate a safe meeting place outside.

House District 30 gets replacement legislator

Gov. Ben Cayetano has appointed Kalihi banker Benjamin Cabreros to the 30th House District seat vacated by Romy Cachola, who resigned to run for the City Council.

Cabreros won the Democratic primary election for the House seat. He is faced by Republican Martin Romualdez, a deputy city prosecutor, in the general election.

The appointment expires on Election Day, Nov. 7.

Marshallese women seek redress from U.S.

The Women United Together for the Marshall Islands seek help gaining an apology and reparations from the United States and Japan for nuclear testing, toxic contamination and loss of culture in the Marshall Islands and Guam.

Two Marshallese women from Hawaii and one from Guam returned Wednesday with this message from the Marshall Islands after interviewing survivors of World War II nuclear testing of Bikini Atoll and attending last week's women's convention in the Marshall Island republic Majuro.

Residents of four atolls were exposed to 67 atomic and nuclear tests on Bikini Atoll.

The resolution adopted at the convention also seeks redress for Guam after colonization by the United States and Japan led to toxic contamination of the water and resources and cultural genocide.

Tomorrow

Some events of interest

12:30-1:45 p.m., St. Patrick Church: In observance of the Day of the Rosary, members of the church will have a street procession with a Mass at 3 p.m.

Corrections Some editions of yesterday's sports section had an incomplete final quote by Wahine volleyball player Kim Willoughby. She said: "I just like making people happy. I think that's what I was put here to do." The Kaimuki Parent-Teacher Association craft fair will be held Nov. 18. A story yesterday about the fish theft at the school had an incorrect date. A story Wednesday incorrectly identified Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Local 5 as Teamsters Local 5.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Missing person located

The Honolulu Police Department Missing Person Detail and CrimeStoppers announced that James J. Olson was located and arrested after a brief struggle with police officers near the Queen's Medical Center today at about 1 p.m.

Olson was reported missing yesterday morning after he told his wife he was planning to commit suicide. He was injured when the officers found him and is currently receiving treatment for the injuries and his mental state.

Man found dead at Volcanoes had heart attack

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK -- A Colorado man found dead Saturday in the coastal lava fields of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park died of a heart attack, the park announced.

Kirk A. Kiyota, 43, of Brighton, Colo., was found motionless by three hikers in the area. Kiyota was carrying a backpack and an empty water container.

Break in water main closes part of Piikoi

An 8-inch water main broke at about 3:26 a.m. today near Ala Moana, closing part of Piikoi Street.

About 15 businesses and 40 homes in the area were without water this morning, said Denise DeCosta, Board of Water Supply spokeswoman. They were all expected to have water service by midmorning.

DeCosta said the crews hoped to have at least part of that section of Piikoi open for evening rush hour.

Cause of death unknown on man who died at beach

The 57-year-old California man who died Wednesday after snorkeling at Makaha Beach has been identified as Dewain Hatch.

According to the medical examiner's office, the cause of death is still unknown.

Beer-bottle attack results in woman's arrest

Police arrested a woman yesterday for reportedly striking another woman with a beer bottle at the Waipio Costco last month.

The suspect allegedly struck the victim in the head with the bottle on Sept. 15, police said.