Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Organ donor families, transplant recipients, candidates, professionals and supporters are invited to "Celebrate the Circle of Life" at a special event tomorrow in Waikiki. Gift of life
ceremonies tomorrowThe National Donor Sabbath Interdenominational Prayer Service and Candlelight Ceremony will be at the Royal Garden Hotel, 440 Olohana St. Registration will be at 5:30 p.m., with the service at 6 p.m. Validated parking is available.
The national observance is intended to highlight the fact that all major religions support organ donations, said Robyn Kaufman, Organ Donor Center of Hawaii executive director.
Candles made by a liver recipient will be lighted in memory of those who gave the gift of life and as a symbol of hope for those waiting for organs.
A memory table will be available for those wanting to display pictures, writings or other remembrances. Donor families also may pin patches in memory of loved ones on a blank cloth for application to the Hawaii Donor Quilt, Kaufman said.
She said a panel of the National Kidney Foundation's Donor Family Quilt will be displayed, but the Hawaii quilt is being reassembled.
The Japan-America Society of Hawaii will present a two-day conference Nov. 29-30 to give the community a basic understanding on Taiwan and how the island state affects Japan and America. Japan-America panel to
discuss Taiwan on Nov. 29-30Panelists at the conference will include James Auer, director of the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation at Vanderbilt University; Godwin Chu, retired fellow of East-West Center; Daniel Kwok and Rosita Chang, both professors at the University of Hawaii; Tadae Takubo, professor at Kyorin University; and Richard Halloran, former New York Times' Asia correspondent.
Reservation and payment deadline is noon Nov. 24. Call 524-4450 for information.
Two local tax-return preparers were indicted by an Oahu grand jury for multiple counts of false and fraudulent statements and theft, the state attorney general's office announced yesterday. Two tax-return preparers
indicted for fraudRichard Basuel, II, 30, and Rosalinda DeGuzman, 49, who do business as RB Tax Service, were indicted separately on Oct. 25 by the grand jury.
Basuel was indicted on 15 counts, and DeGuzman on 30.
Basuel is accused of advising a taxpayer to take a foreign earned income exclusion deduction for income earned in Hawaii.
He and DeGuzman are both accused of of fraudulently inflating itemized deductions on income tax returns they prepared for customers.
A fraudulent or false statement made in a tax return is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 per count.
If a corporation is responsible, it can be fined up to $500,000 per count.
A person who uses a fraudulent return to obtain a Hawaii tax refund can be convicted of theft in the third degree if the refund exceeds $100; theft in the second degree if the refund is more than $300; or theft in the first degree if the refund is more than $20,000.
Anheuser-Busch Foundation has donated $100,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for efforts to save Hawaii's state bird, the nene (or Hawaiian) goose. Anheuser-Busch gives
$100K to save neneThe nene is listed as an endangered species by federal and state governments.
Biologists and conservationists at Anheuser-Busch's theme parks -- Busch Gardens and Sea World -- have raised 200 nene geese, according to vice president Dane Starling.
At one time, Hawaii was populated by 25,000 nene. But by 1952, the number had dwindled to about 30. Through restoration efforts, the population has grown to about 1,000 geese, according to the company.
The primary causes of the decline in numbers have been habitat loss, hunting during breeding season, and other mammals -- dogs, cats, mongoose, rats and pigs -- preying on the geese.
Restoration efforts will focus on minimizing human-caused disturbance and providing predator-free breeding areas and sufficient food resources.
Mansho resolution opposes Ala Wai plan
City Councilwoman Rene Mansho has introduced a resolution opposing Gov. Ben Cayetano's plan to turn the Ala Wai Golf Course into a park.Mansho said the resolution was introduced at the request of the mayor's golf course advisory committee, which opposes Cayetano's plan.
Mansho, head of the Council's Budget Committee, said she does not think closing the golf course is a good idea, noting that it brings in nearly $3 million in revenues to the city annually. She said, however, that she wants to hear from the public before finalizing a position.
The resolution echoes concerns raised by golfers that Ala Wai is considered the busiest in the country when it comes to tee times and is the only municipal golf course in urban Honolulu.
It calls for looking at the site of the Department of Agriculture building on South King Street or vacant lots in Waikiki, Pawaa and downtown as possible urban park sites.
Army helps defuse Maui homemade bomb
An Army explosive ordnance disposal team went to Maui yesterday to help police defuse a homemade bomb discovered between Wailuku and Olowalu.A Maui police officer reported the device Wednesday while at a residence to issue a restraining order.
"The device looked like three propane tanks duct-taped together with a fuse in the middle," said the officer, Harold Purdy.
The three-man Army team flew to Maui on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
"There was no propane in the tanks," said Staff Sgt. Shane Pollard. "The contents were a few firecrackers, BBs and grass. The petroleum canisters seemed to be empty, so we determined that the person who made this had the intent but not the knowledge to actually make it work."
Tourism Authority accused of secrecy
The Hawaii Chapter of the Sierra Club has accused the Hawaii Tourism Authority of violating the state Sunshine Law in a complaint filed with the state Office of Information Practices.The complaint filed yesterday claims board members who are tourism executives held a closed-door strategy meeting with government officials in a private company conference room on Oct. 25.
No public notice of the meeting was given, and it was not open to the public as the law requires, said chapter Director Jeff Mikulina. "It's the public's right to know what decisions are being made with their $60 million in state funds," he said.
Windward cable short cuts power to 1,100
An underground cable short in Ahuimanu yesterday dislodged two concrete covers and left 1,100 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers without power for 59 minutes.The 3-by-2-foot "hand hole" covers are located off the roadway. The affected area was between Valley of the Temples and Kahaluu. The incident was reported at 12:08 p.m.
Tomorrow
Some events of interest
8 a.m.-5 p.m., Benjamin Parker Elementary School, Kaneohe: 10th Annual HPD Windward Community Blood Drive.
Correction
Attorney Meyer Ueoka, who was appointed to fill the Maui Board of Education seat vacated by Mike Victorino, will keep his seat. Final election results show he received 21,368 votes - 2,596 more than William Myers, who got 18,772 votes. A story Wednesday had incorrect results of the Maui race.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Gunmen steal jewelry from Waikiki store
Two gunmen wearing ski masks stole an unknown amount of jewelry from a Waikiki store yesterday afternoon, police said.The suspects entered a store at 334 Seaside Ave. shortly before 4 p.m. and forced a man in the store at gunpoint to the floor where they handcuffed him, according to a police report.
Autopsy scheduled in 'suspicious' Maui death
WAILUKU -- An autopsy is scheduled Monday in the death of a 22-year-old man whose body was found Wednesday morning in his Makawao house. Tallen Golden's body was discovered in the entryway inside his house at 4:54 a.m.Police detective Brian Kaya said the circumstances surrounding Golden's death are "suspicious" and could have been a result of "foul play."
18-year-old man refuses to stop, rams police car
WAILUKU -- An 18-year-old man has been charged with ramming his car into a police vehicle before driving away at Ulumalu in northeast Maui Monday night.Ramsey T. DeCoite was charged with first-degree criminal property damage and refusing a lawful order to stop at Kaupakalua Road near Hana Highway. He rammed a police car twice after officers tried to arrest him in light of several outstanding warrants, police detective Brian Kaya said. DeCoite turned himself in at the Wailuku police station Wednesday.
Kaya said two police officers suffered injuries from shattered glass but were not hospitalized.
Maui man to stand trial for alleged sex assault
WAILUKU -- Wailuku District Judge Yoshio Shigezawa decided a 42-year-old man should stand trial for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Japanese visitor in Wailea.Robert Mercer was arrested at a Kihei beach on Nov. 3 after the visitor told police she was walking along Wailea Alanui Road when she was approached by a man on a bicycle.
Maui police said the man pulled her into a construction area of a shopping center, beat and raped her after midnight on Oct. 27.
Police search for Big Isle woman missing since July
HILO -- Police are looking for a Big Island woman missing from her home in Paradise Park subdivision south of Hilo since July 26.The woman, Cheryl McGuire, 41, is described as Caucasian, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 135 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Anyone with information on her is asked to call police at 961-2373 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
