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Weinberg Foundation closes golf course deal
The Weinberg Foundation closed its $12 million purchase of the 1,084-acre Luana Hills Country Club in Maunawili from the course's Japan-based owner today, according to state records.The nonprofit foundation plans to spruce up the 18-hole course and run it for an indefinite period, said real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander, which brokered the purchase.
The seller, Pan-Pacific Development Inc., was the lender to country club's original developer, and acquired the course for $35 million in a 1995 foreclosure auction.
Gas Co. seeks 16% two-year rate increase
A nearly 16 percent rate increase statewide over two years is sought by the Gas Co., which made its request to the Public Utilities Commission yesterday.The monthly bill for a typical Oahu family would rise to $40 from $33 the first year and to $47 the second year under the plan, according to the company.
The 15.7 percent raise would be its first since 1996, when it received an 8.5 percent rate increase, the company said. The requested increase would add $8.9 million to annual revenues.
The company projects that it is entitled to seek additional revenues of $11.3 million, based on the nearly 10 percent rate of return approved by the PUC.
But it said it chose to limit its request to lessen the impact on residential customers and to maintain its competitive position with other energy sources.
The company said it needs the increase because of recent capital investments in safety and improving reliability of production and delivery.
Salvation Army rings up $129,500 in donations
The Salvation Army really rang the bell this holiday season, with more Christmas donations going into kettles than last year.Honolulu collections as volunteers rang the bells totaled $129,500, up from $116,000 last year, according to Maj. Warren Dabis, corps officer.
State tax forms to have photos of missing kids
The state Department of Taxation has started a program to locate missing children in Hawaii by including photos of the children on state tax forms, beginning Tuesday.This year, from Jan. 1 through Wednesday, 327 cases of missing children remain open, according to Renette Parker, assistant coordinator of the Missing Child Center Hawaii. That includes runaways, abductions and lost children.
Nearly 5,000 closed cases of missing children were reported for the same period. Parker said most children who are reported missing are recovered within two days.
Most of the photos printed in the blank pages of the tax forms will include children who have been missing for years.
Japanese Cultural Center seeks volunteers
The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii is seeking long-term and on-call volunteers in various areas, including data entry and computer support, translating, oral history and special events.Training will be provided for some positions. Long-term volunteers are asked to volunteer three hours a week.
An orientation meeting will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 29 at the cultural center office for interested volunteers. For more information, call 945-7633.
NewsCapade open at Ford Island until Jan. 8
The Newseum's NewsCapade traveling exhibit at the USS Missouri pier on Ford Island is open for visits from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Jan. 8.News-related exhibits, artifacts and displays are featured. NewsCapade offers guests of all ages the chance to be a "reporter for a day."
The Courts
Man, 21, pleads guilty to assaults on tourists
One of two men who allegedly broke into a Waikiki hotel room, sexually assaulted and robbed two Japanese female visitors of $300 in cash has changed his plea.Joshua Fields, 21, pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree robbery, four counts of third-degree sexual assault, and two counts of kidnapping in connection with the April 7 incident.
Under a plea agreement, he faces at least 10 years imprisonment. But Circuit Judge Richard Perkins said if he doesn't accept the agreement, Fields could face a 15-year term. Fields will be sentenced on April 27.
The second suspect, Chris Linville, 25, is awaiting trial in March.
Drunken driver pleads guilty to stoplight death
A drunken driver who rear-ended a car at an Ala Moana stoplight in October 1999, killing a rear-seat passenger, has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree negligent homicide.Francis Julian, 25, faces a 10-year term for negligent homicide when sentenced Feb. 28. He was initially charged with manslaughter, which carries a 20-year term.
He also pleaded guilty to first-degree negligent injury, punishable by a five-year prison term, for injuries suffered by another motorist whose car he also struck.
Deputy prosecutor Keith Seto said he will ask for the maximum terms possible.
Because the evidence amounted to negligence, not recklessness, the state was satisfied that first-negligent homicide was the "fair and correct charge," Seto said.
The evidence showed Julian had a blood-alcohol content of .232, well above the legal limit, Seto said. Julian also was estimated to be traveling 53 mph and as fast as 67 mph in a 35-mph zone when his vehicle struck the car at Ala Moana and Kiawe Street and then two other cars, Seto added.
Melissa Ynfante, 24, a flight attendant who lived in Australia, died of head injuries in the crash.
Howard Luke, Julian's attorney, said his client is very remorseful for what happened.
He does not dispute he had an elevated blood-alcohol content when the crash occurred. "It's the appropriate charge," Luke said.
Another woman in the second car struck by Julian suffered a separated shoulder. Although she underwent surgery, she remains impaired, Seto said.
A motorist in a third car was not injured.
Debra Barayuga, Star-Bulletin Tomorrow
Some events of interest
9 a.m.-3 p.m., various locations: Christmas tree recycling.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Motorcycle rider injured critically in Ewa crash
Police say a 22-year-old Ewa Beach man lost control of his motorcycle and crashed in Ewa last night.The man was taken by helicopter to the Queen's Medical Center, where he was in critical condition this morning.
The accident occurred at Awawalei Place south of Kahiuka Street in the Ewa By Gentry residential area at 8 p.m., police said.
Four hurt in Ewa wreck airlifted to Queen's
A 10-year-old boy who was sitting on a beach chair in the back of a pickup truck was in serious condition with spinal injuries after the truck went out of control on a turn and crashed into a concrete utility fixture in Ewa this morning.His condition was later upgraded to guarded.
The boy was the most seriously injured of four people in the truck in the 1:45 a.m. accident.
A 7-year-old boy sitting inside the truck cab suffered a broken ankle.
A 27-year-old woman is in good condition and a 30-year-old man was treated and released.
All four were taken by military helicopter to the Queen's Medical Center.
The crash occurred on Geiger Road, 370 feet of Essex Road near the Roosevelt Avenue/Geiger Road gate of Barbers Point.
Police say the truck, traveling eastbound, went out of control on a left turn and went onto the dirt and grass shoulder, where it hit a concrete sewer manhole foundation and struck a rectangular concrete utility fixture head-on.
Pedestrian, struck by bus, injured critically
A bus hit a pedestrian on Nimitz Highway near Mokauea Street around 9 a.m. today, critically injuring the 50-year-old man, the fire department said.A fire rescue crew which happened to be passing on the highway was able respond quickly to the incident, officials said.
The man was taken to the Queen's Medical Center.
Hanapepe free-diver dies off Brennecke's Beach
POIPU, Kauai -- A 22-year-old Hanapepe man who had been free diving and spearfishing was found dead in 30 feet of water near Brennecke's Beach yesterday afternoon, Kauai police and fire officials said today.His death is being classified as a probable drowning pending the outcome of an autopsy.
Two men, teen arrested in Ewa Beach robbery
Two 19-year-old men and a 17-year-old boy were arrested after they attempted to rob two men in Ewa Beach shortly before 6 a.m. yesterday, police said.The men first approached a 47-year-old man at a bus stop at North Road and Apole Street, police said.
The man refused to give the youths any money and fled after being threatened with a pipe.
The three stole the wallet of another man after threatening him with a pipe, police said.
The suspects fled on foot but were arrested. All three were released pending further investigation.
Man charged in beating woman with a hammer
Fabray Holokahi, 42, was charged yesterday with two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly beating his girlfriend with a hammer and his fists Wednesday in Makaha. Bail is set at $50,000.The Makaha man fractured the 29-year-old woman's jaw, broke her finger and ruptured her eardrum, police said. She remains at Queen's Medical Center.
Holokahi was arrested at the couple's Makaha home on Moua Street.
Military looks into what caused child's burns
Military investigators are looking into what happened to a 19-month-old boy who was brought to the Tripler Army Medical Center with third-degree burns on his feet and left hand Wednesday afternoon.The boy's parents told doctors that the child turned on the hot water in the bathtub, then climbed into the tub, causing the injuries.
No arrests were made and the case was turned over to the military criminal investigation division.
Shoplifting suspect arrested at Sears store
Police arrested a man who allegedly tried to steal power tools and electronic equipment from Sears Ala Moana by hiding them in a Liberty House shopping bag.The man, 24, passed four cash registers in exiting the store, but was caught and arrested by store security outside.
